Teacher‐Parent Relationships and School Involvement among Racially and Educationally Diverse Parents of Kindergartners

In this study we examined associations between the quality of teacher‐ and parent‐perceived relationships and teacher‐reported parental involvement among families of children in kindergarten and whether these associations were moderated by racial/ethnic or socioeconomic factors. Participants were 483 parents and 431 teachers of children from the 2002–2003 kindergarten cohort from the National Center for Early Development and Learning Multi‐State Study of Pre‐Kindergarten. Parents were selected if their children were identified as African American (27%), Latino (23%), or white (50%). 52% of parents were from low‐income homes. The teachers were 98% female, and had an average of 14.65 (SD= 9.96) years of experience. Teachers were 80% white, 9% Latino, 7% African American, 3% multiracial, and 1% Asian American and represented 225 schools across 6 states. Kindergarten teachers and parents completed scales during the spring of the 2002–2003 school year. Regression analyses revealed that both parent‐ and teacher‐perceived relationship quality moderately to strongly predicted teacher‐reported parental involvement regardless of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic factors. However, African American, Latino, and less educated parents were less involved in school than whites or more educated families. There were no significant interactions between racial/ethnic and socioeconomic factors. Implications for research and practice are discussed.