ABSTRACT
This chapter examines teachers' encounters with white and black parents. It explores the views of black and white parents on aspects of their children's schooling. The majority of teachers and headteachers, particularly in the multi-racial schools, expressed dissatisfaction with the nature of home-school relations. Compared with white parents, Afro-Caribbean and Asian parents were found to only occasionally participate in initiatives which involved visiting the school. Asian parents expressed concern about the attitudes of the school on matters relating to the customs of the home. In contrast to the Asian parents, the Afro-Caribbean parents revealed a disillusionment with almost all aspects of their children's schooling. Overall, the comments of the Afro-Caribbean parents revealed considerable unhappiness with their children's schooling; a feeling which ostensibly gave rise to despair and frustration. A greater proportion of white parents than black parents said that they were likely to participate in school activities such as Parent Workshops.
