- Helena Duch
- Spring/Summer 2017
- Focus-33-2c3
- Link to foc332c3 (PDF)
- Link to foc332sup (PDF)
Poverty tends to be associated with myriad risk factors, including single parenthood, low maternal education, residential mobility, substance abuse, and lack of social support. The effect of these risk factors on child cognitive outcomes may be mitigated by positive parenting behaviors, suggesting that parenting is a key area for social policy around school readiness.1 While preschool programs can certainly have a large effect on school readiness, programs that target parents as well as teachers have the potential to achieve better school readiness outcomes than either type of intervention alone. Few current programs focus on the home and school environments with equal emphasis. This article presents evidence from two programs for low-income families that are designed to promote school readiness through parental engagement.
Categories
Child Poverty, Children, Early Childhood Care & Education, Education & Training, Family & Partnering, Inequality & Mobility, Intergenerational Poverty, Parenting