Transcript Harnessing Parents’ Hopes for Their Young Children

Escape From Poverty:
Dual-Generation Education
and Training Interventions for
Low-Income Families
P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale
Cells to Society (C2S): The Center on Social Disparities and Health
Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University
Presentation at the Ascend Roundtable
March 29, 2011
Acknowledgements:
Collaborators

Teresa Eckrich Sommer
Northwestern University

Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Margo Gardner
Columbia University

Christopher King and Robert Glover
University of Texas at Austin

Diane Rauner and Karen Freel
Ounce of Prevention Fund, Chicago

Steven Dow and Monica Barczak
Community Action Project of Tulsa
Acknowledgements: Funders
Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation
Administration
for Children, Youth,
and Families, HHS
Presentation Overview
 Education
 Parents’
Crisis in America
Roles in Children’s Success
 Antipoverty
 Innovation:
Policy in the U.S.
Ounce Collaboration with
Chase-Lansdale and Brooks-Gunn
Disadvantage in the
United States:
CHILDREN
Children Under Age 6, By
Family Income, 2009
46% of children
under 6 are low
income
Near
Poor
Middle/
Upper
Poor
Income
Basic Facts About Low-income Children, 2009: Children Under Age 18. National Center for Children in Poverty,
Columbia University
Children Under Age 6 Living in
Low-Income Families, 1997-2009
47
46
% Children Under 6
46
45
44.9
44
42.9
43
42
40.9
41
40
39
38
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
Basic Facts About Low-income Children, 2009: Children Under Age 18. National Center for Children in Poverty,
Columbia University
Education Crisis in America
Percent of 4th Graders Scoring Below
Proficient by Family Income
90
80
83%
Percentage
70
60
67%
50
55%
40
30
20
10
0
All Students
Low-income students Moderate and High
income students
Source: Council on Foundations, The Campaign for Grade Level Reading
Children Under 6 in Low-Income
Families, by Parent Education,
2009
59% of parents
with high school
education or less
High
school
Some
college or
more
Less than
high school
Basic Facts About Low-income Children, 2009: Children Under Age 18. National Center for Children in Poverty,
Columbia University
Defining Postsecondary
Education
A
postsecondary degree (AA or BA)
A
certificate with value in the
marketplace
Access versus Completion
 Postsecondary
enrollments, 2- and 4-
year degrees


Increased 300% from 1965 to 2005
From 5.9 million to 17.5 million
 Completion


of PSE degree
Proportion has remained stagnant
<50% attain a degree by age 26
0
Australia
Iceland
Poland2
Finland
Sweden
New Zealand
Slovak Republic
Norway
Hungary
Russian…
United States
Korea
Denmark
Netherlands
United Kingdom
Israel
OECD average
EU19 average
Italy
Portugal
Czech Republic
Greece
Slovenia
Japan
Spain
Chile
Estonia
Ireland
Austria
Switzerland
Germany
Belgium
Mexico
Turkey
Percentage
Entry Rates in 4-year
Universities and Colleges
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Data from Education at Glance 2008: OECD Indicators
0
Iceland
Australia
New Zealand
Finland
Poland
Denmark
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Italy
Ireland
United Kingdom
Japan
OECD average
Israel
United States
EU19 average
Canada
Slovak Republic
Portugal
Spain
Hungary
Switzerland
Czech Republic
Austria
Germany
Slovenia
Greece
Turkey
Percentage
Graduation Rates from 4-year
Universities and Colleges
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Data from Education at Glance 2008: OECD Indicators
Family Income Quintile
Socioeconomic Disparities in U.S.
Postsecondary Degree Completion
Graph from Isaacs et al., 2008; Brookings tabulation of PSID data from 2005
Parents’ Roles in Their
Children’s Success
A Conceptual Model of Inputs for
Healthy Child Development
Community
Context
Parental
Characteristics
Employment
Home
Environment
Child
Outcomes
Income
Non-family
settings
Family & Kin
Postsecondary
Education
Child
Characteristics
A Conceptual Model of Inputs for
Healthy Child Development
Community
Context
Home Environment
Employment
•
Partner/marital relationship
• Parenting (warmth &
connection; language &
literacy; cultural traditions)
•Shared learning and role
modeling
• Neighborhood
•
Labor Market
• Educational institutions
• Public policies and social
services
Parental
Characteristics
Child Outcomes
•
Race/ethnicity
• Age
•Gender
• Abilities
• K-12 education
• Mental health
•
School success
• Social competence
Income
Non-family settings
•
•
Preschool (0-5)
Evening/weekend care
• K-12
• After school programs
Family & Kin
•
Fathers, husbands, and
partners
• Number of children
• Kin availability and social
networks
• Income from family and
networks
Child Characteristics
• Race/ethnicity
• Age
Postsecondary
Education
•
•
Gender
Temperament
• Genetic Predispositions
U.S. Antipoverty Policies to
Promote Socioeconomic Status
 Welfare
Reform
 Earned
Income Tax Credit
 Education
AFDC/TANF Caseload: 1960-2007
5
4
3
2
1
Source: U.S Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/caseload/caseloadindex.htm
2005
2000
1995
1990
1985
1980
1975
1970
1965
0
1960
# of Families in Millions
6
Percentage of mothers working
Percentage of Employed Married, Single and
Never-married Mothers : 1985-2005
Source: Gary Burtless, The Brookings Institution, 2005
Efforts to Improve
Young Mothers’ Education
 An
underdeveloped field
 Overriding
influence of welfare
reform
 Very


modest results to date
GED
College attendance, not completion
 Little
focus on fathers
Cumulative Vocabulary (Words)
Disadvantage and Child
Development
College
Educated
Parents
1200
Working Class
Parents
600
Welfare
Parents
200
16 mos.
24 mos.
Child’s Age
Hart & Risley, 1995
36 mos.
When Mothers Increase Their
Education,
Children’s Learning Improves
Dashed Lines reflect the time period during which mother's education increased
Magnuson,K. (2007).
Theory of Change
Short-term outcomes
Early Education
•
•
Child
High-quality
classroom
environments
Family support
services
Mother
(and
Father)
Academic preparedness; career exposure
Social emotional readiness for kindergarten
ADD:
• Career Coach
• Partnerships with
community
colleges, job
training
•
•
•
•
Understanding of relationship between own
education and that of child
Motivation to pursue education and careers
Defined education and career goals
Higher rates of PSE and career training
enrollment and persistence
Theory of Change
Mid-term
outcomes
•
Success in
elementary school
Increased high
school graduation
rates
• Increased PSE
attainment
•
•
Early Education
•
Child
Mother
(and
Father)
High-quality
classroom
environments
Long-term outcomes
Family support
services
ADD:
•Career Coach
•Partnerships with
community
colleges, job
training
Higher rates of
adult basic education
• PSE credit
accumulation
• PSE persistence
• PSE completion
Increased emotional
well-being
• Greater life stability
• Career
advancement
• Increased salaries
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Postsecondary Success Initiative

$69 million in grants to improve college
enrollment and completion rates in U.S.

By 2050, double the percentage of lowincome students who attain a postsecondary
degree

Goals



Improve postsecondary education system
Support young adult success
Influence policy and practice
Our Project

Exploratory Study

Intervention Framework
Research Questions
1. How do young, low-income mothers
vary in their postsecondary
educational readiness?
2. What does participation in high
quality early childhood education
programs mean for mothers’
educational trajectories?
Research Questions
3. In what ways do mothers, in the
context of high quality early
education, connect their educational
goals for their children with their
own educational goals?
STUDY SITES

3 high quality, urban early
childhood centers
(6 months-5 years; full-day, full-year)

Denver, Chicago, and Miami
DATA COLLECTION
 51
Mothers, 12 interviewed twice
 60-90
minute interviews, taped and
transcribed
 17

Focus Groups
Leadership, family support, teachers
SAMPLE
 15-19
mothers at each site, randomly
selected
 Study
sample (N=51) and program
population of 3 centers (N=302) similar
Mothers’ Characteristics
Race/ethnicity
Age
White
6%
Other/Biracial
2%
18-22
24%
27-35
30%
Hispanic
37%
23-26
46%
AfricanAmerican
55%
Mothers’ Background
 Immigrant

20% born outside of the United States
 Marital



status
status
14% married
61% single
24% cohabiting
 Raising
two children, on average
Education and Employment
 Education



18% < HS
55% HS diploma
26% PSE degree
 Employment



29% Full-time
31% Part-time
41% Not employed
Public Assistance
 14%
Unemployment benefits
 71%
Food stamps
 8%
TANF
 6%
SSI
Data Coding and Analytic
Strategies
 NVivo


Transcribed mother interviews and focus
groups
Field notes and demographic surveys
 Two


Data File
analytic approaches
Mother profiles
Grounded theory
Mother Profiles
Dimensions of Postsecondary Readiness





Postsecondary educational experiences
Educational motivation and desire
Support system
Employment and financial supports
Life circumstances and risks
(3=high, 1=low)
Coding Scheme
 Postsecondary
education experiences
1=none
2=discontinuous PSE
3=uninterrupted enrollment
 Educational
motivation and desire
1=little or none
2=vague desire
3=specific plans
Coding Scheme
 Support
System
1=none or just one person
2=limited or inconsistent
3=regular support
 Employment
and financial supports
1=mostly public assistance
2=part-time work and/or food stamps
3=adult with steady, full-time work
Coding Scheme
 Life
risks: family health, housing
instability, legal status, trauma or loss,
language barrier
1=two or more
2=only one
3=none

Reverse-coded
Variability in Potential
Postsecondary Success
10
9
Number of Mothers
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
6
7
8
9
10
11
Potential PSE Success
12
13
14
15
Variability in Potential
Postsecondary Success

High (N=9)

Medium (N=27)

Low (N=15)
High PSE Readiness Level:
I’m going for it; nothing will stop me

HS degree or GED, mostly on-time with
positive learning experiences

2/3 currently enrolled in PSE program

Highly motivated with specific goals

Strong support network
High Level of PSE Readiness

Do they need an intervention?

Doing well currently, but one crisis away

Possible narrow or short-term vision
Low PSE Readiness Level:
I want my child to succeed where I have not
 HS
drop out or GED
 Few
positive high school learning
experiences
 None
enrolled in PSE
 Limited
social supports
Low Level of PSE Readiness

Lack of success: poor ability, poor
opportunities, or both?
 Significant
challenges: how can we
better support them?
 Beyond
scope of educational
intervention?
Medium PSE Level

3 possible subgroups



Highly motivated but lack emotional or
financial support
Regular supports and some financial
stability, not highly motivated
Doubt PSE is right choice currently for
reasons that may make sense
Mothers View College As
Essential
Mothers View College As
Essential

“You can’t make it today without an education.
You need a degree – that’s how I feel.”

“I think it should be…a requirement because
it’s like right now, in this day, in this world,
you really, really, need an education beyond
high school.”
High Aspirations

All (51) mother’s committed to their
children’s educational achievement, most
often college (39), or more

Some mothers committed to their own
education; others had given up and
focused only on children
Implications of High
Aspirations?

Not surprising given college for all ethos

Ambition paradox: mismatch between
goals and successful pursuits

Unrealistic expectations may have negative
consequences
PSE and Single StudentParents

Rates of college enrollment doubled (7% to
13%) for unmarried parents in last 20 years

Only 4.6% complete BA within 6 years

Community colleges: only 23 % of those
who enroll complete a degree in 4 years
Participation in High Quality Early
Education Can Make a
Difference in Parents’ Views of
What is Possible
Child Care As Context for Adult
Educational Intervention
Child development
My child is learning and growing here.
Psychosocial benefit
I don’t have to worry. I can focus on school or
work.
Relational support
I get support at the center.
Information support
I find helpful information and resources here.
My child is learning and growing
here (N=50)
When I came here it was like, it really looks
like a school! Like I like it so much
because… it’s not just a place,
somewhere for the kids to just come and
play. It is not like a daycare where they
just go and play; all day they are learning
and interacting with other kids and that’s
what I want them to do. I don’t want them
to be sheltered from the real world, I
want them to be able to interact with kids
and get an early start, you know.
I don’t have to worry; I can focus on
school or work (N=38)
…like right now, per se, I don’t worry. You
know when you’re trying to focus on
school, you need to try to weed out all
the problems, everything that’s going to
take away from your education. Like
childcare, if you don’t have no one to
watch your children, you can’t go to
school…If you think your child is
somewhere that is not safe, you can’t
read and understand what you’re
reading…
I get support at the center (N=33)
Well like Ms. D, I love Ms. D because she's like
your mother that stays on you… And if you -if something's wrong she wants you to be able
to talk to her - because then they can help you
and keep you moving… they're just like
another set of people that you can have in
your corner. They always, you know, they just
want to know what's going on with you, not
just with your son, but with you as well... So
they really care about you just as well as they
care about your child.
Parenthood, When Combined
With Participation In High
Quality Child Care, Can Be a
Powerful Educational Motivator
Parenthood May Provide Powerful
Educational Motivator
I
want to give my child more than I had
(N=26)
 I want to be a good educational role
model for my child (N=35)
 I know that my child’s school success is
linked to my own educational success
(N=2)
I want to give my child more than I
had.
I do want them to go above and beyond...
Definitely when you are a parent, you
always want your, your children to do
more than what you did.
I want to be a good educational
role model for my child.
Interviewer: What are your dreams and
goals for your boys?
Respondent: Well, I want them to of course
finish high school and go to college. I
want to be able to show them I went to
college, and I was a person that I would
have never seen myself in college. I
know that if I can do it, they can do it.
I know that my child’s school
success is linked to my own
educational success.
I put myself as an example because I think a lot
about the educational future of my daughter
and mine too. The first thing that comes to
mind is if I study, she is going to live better.
And, as she sees my example, she is going to
prepare herself mentally, as she grows, to
focus in her studies., because that is what
she’s going to see…. I focus on her education
because without an education, you are
nothing. What are you going to do? That is
the best legacy you can give to your children.
Staff: Mothers’ Education and
Children’s Learning
 Mothers
enrolled in postsecondary
education may positively influence their
children’s learning.
We have a mom who’s a mechanic, and she just
graduated from school. His <her son’s>
vocabulary is through the roof; it’s so rich. She
<the mother> talks about working on cars,
different kinds of cars, colors of cars, what in a
car… I mean he knows more about cars than we
do….
Staff: Children’s Learning and
Mothers’ Education
 Parents
who observe their children’s
success in early care may be more
motivated to persist educationally
I think the parents who are really excited about
their child’s education were the ones that then
said ‘Okay, I’m gonna do something about my
education.’
Part of the success for families here is that their
investment here leads them to figure out ways to
make themselves successful.
An Innovative
Dual-Generation Education
Intervention
Parents and Children:
Dual-Generational Approach
2
Education
Workforce
Development/
Employers
Local
Colleges
Early Childhood
Education Center
PSE Coach
Basic
Education
& ESL
Student Peer
Cohorts
Financial Incentives &
Supports
Elementary
Schools
CareerAdvance Model

Community Action Project (CAP), Tulsa,
OK, Steven Dow and Monica Barczak
 Christopher
King & Bob Glover, LBJ
School, Ray Marshall Center, UT-Austin
 Hiro
Yoshikawa, Harvard Graduate
School of Education
Directions for the Future
 How
does Ascend define Two Generation
Programs?
 Role
of fathers
 Compelling
evidence for shaping future
policy and practice
Parents and Children

“You are an example to your kids and if you are the
type of parent where you are trying to make your life
better for you and your children…..So if you all had
that type of support system here, it'll push you to do
better, and it will push you to be better parents
because you're doing this for your kids… It's an
intimidating factor because we didn't go to school…

But if you had somebody that you could talk to and
they're like, okay, you're going to school for this…It'll
kind of motivate you. And even if your kids see you
talking to somebody, it'll kind of motivate them to
know that, okay, my mamma did this. I can do it too…”
CareerAdvance Model

Community Action Project (CAP), Tulsa,
OK, Steven Dow and Monica Barczak
 Christopher
King & Bob Glover, LBJ
School, Ray Marshall Center
 Hiro
Yoshikawa, Harvard Graduate
School of Education
Case Example:
Focus on Children and Job

Having children changed her focus
•
“Made me wake up and take things more
seriously”

Full-time at well-paying, satisfying job in
customer service at supermarket chain

When asked about school, “I just want to
work,” too much time away from children
Life Balance:
Responsibilities as Parents
“If I would go to school, I wouldn’t be able to go every
day because I work every day. I would have to set a
schedule.… I just don’t want to be so stuck with that
because I really won’t have any time with my kids…
And for my son to not see me all the time, I feel bad, you
know? Because when my son sees me he’s like [gasp,]
like he saw Jesus or something. He starts saying mama
papa dada…he just starts blabbing because he’s so
excited to see me. So that’s why I don’t want to get stuck
at school or work…I don’t want to feel like I’m rejecting
them, you know?”
Family, Work, AND School?
 If
and when is a PSE intervention
appropriate?
 Would
mothers see their choices
differently if they had more knowledge or
guidance about options in the short and
long run?
Part-time or Full-time?
 If
schooling is part-time, can mothers
with young children support themselves
and stay committed and motivated over a
longer time frame?
 Should
an intervention focus only on
parents who can attend school full-time?