This paper examines the concept of "empowerment" and analyzes contrasting perspectives on the empowerment of parents that have informed developments at national and local levels in the United Kingdom and also in the United States and other countries. Empirical data illustrate the limited impact these approaches have on a group of working-class parents in England. The first approach is exemplified by social democratic initiatives that define empowerment as a strengthening of the role of parent-as-citizen through mechanisms designed to encourage the closer involvement of parents in the planning and delivery of local education services. The second definition of empowerment is contained within the British Conservative Party's emphasis on promoting the role of the parent as consumer, especially through policies claiming to enhance parental choice of school. A third approach, supported by the "new centrists" emphasizes the responsibility of the individual to empower himself or herself by taking advantage of opportunities to participate. The experiences of a racially mixed working class group of parents and their perceptions of the forms of action open to them during a teacher shortage illustrate how little sense of power these parents had. Data collected through interviews with 50 parents, some of whom were Bangladeshi, showed how far from empowered these parents felt as the teacher shortage disrupted classes and their children's educations. The beliefs and attitudes of many parents, especially low-income and minority group members, remain untouched by the rhetoric of parent empowerment. (Contains 65 references.) (SLD)