Commentary

Do Single Parent Families Short Suit Childrens' Education?

Do Single Parent Families Short Suit Childrens’ Education

If the Education Industry is in your sights, here are some interesting facts about the importance of the responsibility and makeup or family in children’s success. Cheryl Russell, editorial director, New Strategist Publications has assembled a series of facts that argues for affirmative action in cases where the family structure might actually be a deterrent to educational success.

Though colleges are attempting to level a playing field unbalanced in part by a public school system that increasingly asks parents to shoulder the responsibility for educating their children. But as schools encourage more parental involvement, making it key to academic success, substantial numbers of children are getting left behind. Not surprisingly, the ones left behind are the poor and minorities--who are far more likely to be from single-parent families.

Russell suggests, and studies show, that two-parent families are more involved in their children's education than single-parent families (most of which are headed by women). That's because one-parent families have only half as many parent-hours available. And single mothers are more likely than married mothers to be at work. Seventy-nine percent of single mothers have jobs compared with 70 percent of married mothers. The 60 percent majority of single mothers work full-time compared with a 48 percent minority of married mothers. The consequences are evident in the classroom, on test scores, and in college admissions policies.

Among children living with both biological parents, the 58 percent majority have a mother who is highly involved in their school, according to a study by the National Center for Education Statistics. Among children living with their mother only, a smaller 48 percent have mothers who are highly involved in the school.

Among children in grades K through 5, the 56 percent majority of those from two-parent families had a parent volunteer in the school. Among children from single-parent families, only 35 percent had a parent volunteer. Among children in grades 6 through 8, the comparable proportions are 36 percent for children from two-parent families and 22 percent for children from single-parent families.

Among poor children, the 54 percent majority live in a female-headed single-parent family. Among black children, the 51 percent majority live with their mother only. The comparable figure among non-Hispanic white children is just 15 percent.

Russell concludes that the difficulty of single parents to keep up with an increasingly demanding public school system creates a gap in academic achievement that continues throughout the elementary and secondary school years.

For more about parent participation in schools, see results from the National Household Education Surveys at http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/.

Find out more here.

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