Family engagement has long been held as an important component of the educational experience for our students. This study is about how schools tend to aim towards the middle when looking to engage families in their child's school life, and future implications for how educators need to shift from the lens of the middle-class to reach our…

This paper critiques what it sees as a tendency on the part of certain social researchers to engage in moralistic critiques of middle-class parents, especially in relation to the choices and actions of such parents within educational quasi-markets. It proceeds to a linked critique of the influence within education of certain aspects of the work of…

Discusses the way in which natural community contexts influence early language socialization and behavior. Compares approaches to language usage and literacy in Black middle- and lower-class families in a particular Southern community. (RJC)