Date of Award
PhD Education for Social Justice
Reyes L. Quezada, EdD, Chairperson; Angela C. Louque, EdD, Committee Member; Shannon K. McManimon, Phd, Committee Member
Educational Advocates, Sytemic Racism in Education, Black Parent Support to Address Educational Racism, Black Student Achievement, Black Student Overrepresentation in Disciplinary Referrals, Black Student Overrepresentation in Special Education Referrals, Critical Race Theory in Education, Home-School Partnerships and Relationships, Education Recruitment for Diversity
Research indicates that educators’ deficit perceptions of Black students and their families factor into Black student overrepresentation in disciplinary and special education referrals and underrepresentation in advanced coursework (Annamma et al., 2014; Ford et al., 2023). This prevalence of implicit bias is documented, as is the significance of Black parent involvement in their children’s education (Latunde & Clark-Louque, 2016). Black parents’ awareness of educator racism encourages distrust of educators and interferes with cultivating effective home-school relationships that encourage successful student outcomes. School districts offer the services of educational advocates to provide support to parents whose children are referred for special services. Such services, however, are not provided to Black parents seeking to support their children against inequitable educational resources due to racism.
This study delved into experiences and perceptions of Black parents regarding the use of educational advocates to support their children in grades 7-12, where coursework becomes more challenging, special education referrals are more frequent, adolescent behaviors are more concerning, and access to advanced coursework is available. The study involving 12 participants revealed that Black parents support the use of educational advocates to disrupt racism in education. The study’s key findings were: Black parents support the use of educational advocates, Black parent/educators are more adept at navigating school systems to advocate for their children but support the use of educational advocates for those who need them, and Black parents do not specifically consider home-school partnerships and relationships as essential to their children’s educational outcomes.
Dissertation: Open Access
Learning and Teaching
Digital USD Citation
Butler, Fredericka R. PhD, "Black Parents’ Use of Educational Advocates: Disrupting Structural and Systemic Racism in Education" (2025). Dissertations. 1071.
Copyright held by the author