"Some Parents Just Don't Care'' : Decoding the Meanings of Parental Involvement in Urban Schools

This article looks at the way language subtly shapes and constrains the way we perceive reality. It examines one term—parental involvement. This apparently simple and democratic term serves as a portfolio of meanings that separate and divide. It illustrates two of these meanings, which take the form of a conjoined metaphor of “full/empty,” or “lacking/having.”