Background/Context: This work contributes to the growing body of scholarly and popular literature on middle-class parental anxiety and competition to ensure their children's academic success. Specifically, this study provides a better understanding of the measures parents will take to obtain high status gifted and talented (G&T) placements…

Together, Samuel L. Myers Sr. and Jr. prove that the apple tree, when properly nurtured in the rich intellectual orchards of academia, will bear prime fruit that lands close to its roots. The Doctors Myers both earned bachelor's degrees from Morgan State University and then ventured to Boston for their Ph.D.s in economics. Though their specialties…

In their seminal work "Poetic Inquiry: Vibrant Voices in the Social Sciences," Prendergast et al. (2009). point out that: "[t]he need for a plurality of methods that can be applied to individual research projects on the human condition has never had a stronger calling than it does now ... [p]oetic methods are qualitative and call for…

Contextual, mother-, child-, and father-level variables were examined in association with fathers' emotion talk to infants during a shared picture book activity, in an ethnically diverse, low-income sample (N = 549). Significant main effects included the rate of emotion talk from fathers' romantic partners (i.e., the infant's mother), infant…

This article considers the uses of literacy within the Jones family (all names are pseudonyms), an African American family who lives in the rural South of the United States. Drawing on life history data with three women in the Jones family--Harriet Jones (grandmother), Sally Harris (mother), and Lola Harris (granddaughter)--the author traces how…

This study illustrates the parenting experiences of a random sample of members of "Mocha Moms, Inc.", a national organization dedicated to supporting women of color who predominantly have elected not to work full-time outside of the home "(www.mochamoms.org)". Using modified grounded theory methods on 25 telephone interviews, we summarized the…

With the tendency of low-income African American and Latino children identified at-risk for school readiness and school success compared to their early-childhood counterparts, Head Start personnel are challenged to examine the role of family strengths in the promotion of academic success for these populations. This article provides a rationale for…

Being raised by a single mother is one factor that has been suggested as contributing to the plight of African American males. Yet few studies have focused specifically on African American single mothers' experiences with raising sons. This qualitative study explored the following questions: (1) What are the experiences of African American single…

This paper explores the relationship between notions of parent involvement and conceptions of care as they relate to educators' deficit perceptions of African American mothers. Black feminist and womanist interpretations of the ethic of care are used to reframe the biased discourse on parent involvement in schools. Specific consideration is given…

Using data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Study, this study analysed the stability of child aggressive behaviour beginning in infancy and tested whether spanking when the child was 36 months was associated with aggressive child behaviour among three ethnic groups and whether maternal warmth moderated the effect of spanking on…

In this post-industrial global society, parental and student role strains may exacerbate social-ecological risks and academic difficulties of African American male students. Therefore, school-based interventions must ensure rigorous preparation, promote successful navigation of social-ecological risks, and mobilize cultural-ecological strengths to…

This study investigates the extent to which the extended family provides support to African American nonresident fathers and its influence on their involvement with their children. The data for this study were collected from 278 African American nonresident fathers as a part of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The findings revealed…

This dissertation utilized a qualitative narrative case study method to explore the unknown factors and elements of perseverance in spite of adversity and crisis. The study documented the lives of five African American women in order to describe, understand, and explain the central research question of how and why some first-generation learners…

Individuals of color with disabilities and/or their family members need access to services and supports that will assist them with daily life and a way to advocate for these services. Disability organizations, whose core mission is advocacy, have had difficulty attracting and maintaining persons of color with disabilities or their family members…

The theme for the 58th annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) was Bridging Cultures Through Literacy. In the first section of the Yearbook, Parker Fawson's presidential address captures the unique nature of ALER and its role in his professional development, and then moved beyond to capture the changing…