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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine how parents' trust of the educational system is related to family-school relationships among African American families. Specifically, it will determine the relationship among family background variables (i.e., family income, family structure, and parent education level), school variables (school SES, racial composition, and institution of a parent involvement program), and trust as well as how these relationships relate to the family-school relationship was investigated. Latent variable structural equation modeling was used to test a proposed structural model of the family-school relationship among African American families. Additionally, follow-up interviews with families from schools reporting both high and low levels of parent involvement were conducted so that the findings of analyzed model may be understood within a broader conceptual framework. Results of this study indicated that trust did not mediate the relationship between family background or school background and the family-school relationship. However, trust, family background, and school background all had significant, direct effects with the family-school relationship. The quality of parent involvement program did not contribute to the school background variable, as indicated by standardized regression weights and goodness of fit indices, and thus was removed from the analyses. A review of the interview data indicated the families who were interviewed responded very similarly across low involvement and high involvement schools. The results of this study suggests that trust among African American families is not influenced by either family background or school background characteristics. Therefore, educators have the opportunity to build trusting relationships among families regardless of their backgrounds. This is particularly important since of the three variables studied, trust had the greatest influence on the family-school relationship.
