Rethinking parent involvement: African American mothers construct their roles in the mathematics education of their children

is article presents initial findings from a study that examined how African American mothers from a low-income neighborhood conceptualized their roles in their children’s mathematics learning. Based on interviews and observations focusing on ten mothers ’ involvement in their children’s education, we offer a framework that expands typical characterizations of parent involvement. is framework privileges practices that are both traditionally visible and invisible to the school and highlights how parents act as “intellectual resources ” in their children’s education (Civil, Guevara, & Allexsaht-Snider, 2002). Our find-ings offer evidence that traditional understandings of parent involvement may overlook ways that low-income parents deliberately involve themselves in their children’s education. Our findings also identify challenges that these parents face in relation to their children’s mathematics education. Some of these chal-lenges were due in part to stereotypes held by practitioners about the families they serve in low-income urban schools. Key Words: parent involvement, parental beliefs, mathematics reform, ele-mentary school mathematics, home-school relationships, race/ethnicity/SE