ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the resources that parents have and the actions that they take in their children's education. It provides a general overview of selected forms of parent involvement in the home, school, and community. The book then describes the relationship among family composition, parent involvement, and student outcomes. It also focuses on the effect of maternal employment on parent involvement and student outcomes. The book examines how schools facilitate or inhibit parent involvement, especially school-based involvement. It also examines which parents take advantage of school choice opportunities in either the public or private sectors and what effect expanded choice might have for increasing equality of educational opportunity for disadvantaged students. The book suggests that educational disadvantages due to race and ethnicity are different than those created by low parental education levels.
