Reflecting on racism: School involvement and perceived teacher discrimination in African American mothers

The relationships among maternal perceptions of racial discrimination, mother–teacher relationship quality, and school involvement were examined in this sample of 73 African American mothers of kindergarteners and first graders. Mothers reported time spent in school-related activities at home, their attitudes about the importance of school involvement, the quality of their interactions with their childrenʹs teachers, and incidents of racial discrimination by their previous teachers. Mothers and their childrenʹs teachers also reported on mothersʹ involvement at school. Mother–teacher relationships moderated the association between perceived teacher discrimination and involvement in somewhat complicated ways. When mother–teacher interactions were more positive, mothers who perceived more discrimination tended to be less involved. In the context of a less positive mother–teacher interaction, greater perceived discrimination was associated with greater involvement. Results are discussed in terms of the potential effect on childrenʹs outcomes and strategies by which to increase parentsʹ school involvement.