Family Life and School Achievement: Why Poor Black Children Succeed or FailUniversity of Chicago Press, 2015 M07 31 - 264 pages Working mothers, broken homes, poverty, racial or ethnic background, poorly educated parents—these are the usual reasons given for the academic problems of poor urban children. Reginald M. Clark contends, however, that such structural characteristics of families neither predict nor explain the wide variation in academic achievement among children. He emphasizes instead the total family life, stating that the most important indicators of academic potential are embedded in family culture. To support his contentions, Clark offers ten intimate portraits of Black families in Chicago. Visiting the homes of poor one- and two-parent families of high and low achievers, Clark made detailed observations on the quality of home life, noting how family habits and interactions affect school success and what characteristics of family life provide children with "school survival skills," a complex of behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge that are the essential elements in academic success. Clark's conclusions lead to exciting implications for educational policy. If school achievement is not dependent on family structure or income, parents can learn to inculcate school survival skills in their children. Clark offers specific suggestions and strategies for use by teachers, parents, school administrators, and social service policy makers, but his work will also find an audience in urban anthropology, family studies, and Black studies. |
Contents
1 | |
2 Research Methods | 16 |
3 The Family Life of High Achievers in TwoParent Homes | 26 |
4 The Family Life of High Achievers in OneParent Homes | 61 |
5 An Analysis of Dispositions and LifeStyles in High Achievers Homes | 111 |
6 The Family Life of Low Achievers in Two Parent Homes | 143 |
7 The Family Life of Low Achievers in OneParent Homes | 171 |
8 An Analysis of Dispositions and LifeStyles in Low Achievers Homes | 190 |
9 The Family and the Bases for Academic Achievement | 197 |
10 Families and Futures | 209 |
Notes | 217 |
Bibliography | 229 |
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Common terms and phrases
ability academic adult Alice American American Sociological Association Anthony Anthony's attitude basic behavior Black Families boys Carl Child Development Child-Rearing Chivers Claremont Graduate School classroom concepts daugh Dee Dee educational encouragement environment ethnic expectations experiences family members family unit Farland father feels friends function Gail ghetto girls goals Gordon Persons grade graduate Harris Harvard University Hayes high achievers high school home activities homework household interaction Jackson James Earl Jerry Johnson kids learning living low achievers Marie Marie's marriage ment moral mother needs norms opportunities orientation parent-child parents patterns performance person Pierre Bourdieu Press problems processes psychological Randall Collins reading relationships Research responsibility Rhonda rituals role self-concept Sheila siblings sisters skills social Social Class Sociology status structures student success talk teach teachers tell things tion Treppit University of Chicago Urban Urie Bronfenbrenner Wilson York young