African American Parents' Involvement in their Children's Special Education Programs

We examined the empirical literature dating from 1979 to 2002 on the involvement of parents of African American students with special needs in their children's schooling. The purpose was to determine (a) the quantity of empirical studies on this topic, (b) the overall quality and form of this research, (c) specific outcomes of the studies, and (d) efforts by researchers and/or schools to improve any of these factors. Findings suggest the lack of a substantive body of empirical work in this area and insufficient reporting of critical information such as a sample selection, data collection, and data-analysis procedures. A substantial increase in the number of studies published within the last decade indicates that schools and researchers are beginning to acknowledge the need for further investigations in this area.