The Impact of Previous Experiences on Parent School Trust Ciara Smalls Department of Psychology University of Michigan

Overview Parent School Trust in Predominately White Schools –General School Trust –Racial School Trust Previous Experiences –Racial Discrimination Experiences –Previous School Experiences

Why is school trust important? Research has explored teacher trust in parents and students (Goddard, Tschannen- Moran, & Hoy, 2001). Work has examined how parental trust in school influences communication with teachers/school. Less work has explored the role of parents’ past experiences. Racial trust as a factor for parents of Black youth predominately white schools.

Parental School Trust General School Trust- belief that school personnel uphold the best interest of the child. Racial School Trust- belief that school personnel treat the child in a racially equitable way.

Parent Past Experiences Past Experiences with School-parent’s positive school experiences growing up. Past Experiences with Racial Discrimination- frequency of parent reported racial discrimination.

Additional Factors Racial Centrality- viewing race as a core part of one’s self-concept. Public Regard- feeling that others view African Americans positively or negatively.

Research Questions Are previous discrimination and school experiences related to school trust (general & racial)? –Hyp1: Higher levels of racial discrimination will predict lower levels of school trust. –Hyp2: positive past school experiences will be related to higher levels of school trust Are child and parent characteristics (gender and parent racial identity) related to school trust?

Method Sample 180 African American caregiver-child dyads from a small Midwestern city. Participants consisted of students in grades 7-11 who self-identified as African American and their primary caregiver. 157 mothers (81%), 19 fathers (9.8%), and caregiver age range was 30 to 74 (M=43). 104 female teens (58%) and teen ages ranged from 12 to 17 (M=14).

Past Experience Measures Caregiver Past School Experiences (3 items) -Sample item: “School was exciting for me.” Racial Discrimination Experiences (17 items) - Sample item: “Over your lifetime, how often have you been treated disrespectfully because of your race?”

School Trust Measures General School Trust (3 items) –“I would feel comfortable talking with the child’s teachers about his/her performance in school.” –“In general, I trust the child’s school.” Racial School Trust (4 items) –“I believe that the child’s teachers are sensitive to the cultural needs of Black children.” –“I see the child’s school as a supportive place for Black children.”

Study Variables

Discrimination and Past School Experiences on General School Trust General School Trust Child Gender Parent Gender Family Income Child Grade Level Parent Pub Regard N.S. p<.05, p<.01 Parent Centrality Adj. R 2 =.03

Discrimination and Past School Experiences on General School Trust General School Trust Child Gender Discrimination Exper. Parent Gender Family Income Child Grade Level Parent Pub Regard Past School Exper..32** N.S. p<.05, p<.01 Parent Centrality -.17* Adj. R 2 =.14

Discrimination and Past School Experiences on Racial School Trust Racial School Trust Child Gender Parent Gender Family Income Child Grade Level Parent Pub Regard Parent Centrality.22** N.S. p<.05, p<.01 p<.001 Adj. R 2 =.02

Discrimination and Past School Experiences on Racial School Trust Racial School Trust Child Gender Discrimination Exper. Parent Gender Family Income Child Grade Level Parent Pub Regard Past School Exper..33*** N.S. p<.05, p<.01 p<.001 Parent Centrality Adj. R 2 =.13

Summary of Results Both past school experiences and racial discrimination predicted general trust. Past school experiences predicted racial trust. Perhaps racial identity moderates discrimination and racial trust.

Conclusions Past experiences play an important role on parental school trust Future studies should further explore parent past experiences Future studies can also explore public regard as a moderator for school racial trust

Thank You !