Background: In today's fast-paced world, the complexity of family relations is growing. This demands a closer look into the effects of parental marital relationships and parents' involvement on children's literacy outcomes. Objective: The study objective was to examine the connections between parental marital status, parental involvement, and…

In 2020 preschool participation rates substantially declined. A recent NIEER survey found that the Fall 2022 preschool participation rates had nearly returned to pre-pandemic 2019 levels. The NIEER survey asked parents of young children who were still not in preschool in the Fall of 2022 to report why they did not enroll their children. The top…

This article explores single-mothers' experiences regarding the schooling of their children. Because most research on home-school relations has been derived from samples of two-parent families, little is known about single parents' perspectives on their children's education. Drawing on in-depth interviews with eight single mothers in Hong Kong…

This dissertation addressed the topic of early childhood literacy development in the home environment. The dissertation will focus on studying the early childhood literacy experiences a small population (7 to 10 participants) of single mothers living in the municipality of Utuado, Puerto Rico had during this stage of their lives. The single mother…

Household composition has diversified and encompasses the number of parents and the types of extended relatives in homes with implications for a child's development. Yet, few studies have included Latinx children of immigrant parents. To fill this gap, I draw upon the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, 2011-cohort to analyze the household…

This study assumes that preventing the risk of social exclusion (RSE) of children, in the context of ECEC, entails guaranteeing ECEC availability and pedagogical practices that provide children with the necessary skills for healthy and successful development. This can be achieved by strengthening the protective factors in the child's surroundings.…

Despite the extensive research evidence about the importance of high-quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), English policy makers continue to promote nurseries for the 'childcare' they provide, rather than the transformational effects they can have in areas of socio-economic challenge. The aim of this study was to investigate if and…

Many welfare programs give greater benefits to unmarried individuals than to a married couple of otherwise identical income. The resulting marriage penalty discourages marriage and rewards single parenthood. Combined marriage penalties across federal and state welfare programs can reach tens of thousands of dollars per year for a given family. One…

In the United States, schools have dubbed Black kids as the bad kids as Black kids are more likely to be suspended, expelled and pushed out than any other group (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2018; Gregory et. al, 2010; Monroe, 2005; Noguera, 2003; Skiba et. al, 2002). While research has called attention to these disparities, this work,…

Disparities in school discipline data indicate that children of color, particularly boys, receive more frequent and harsher disciplinary actions than their white peers, and this begins in early schooling. Within today's print-centered, bodily restricted school curricula, literacy instruction is often reduced to highly controlled, leveled readers…

This phenomenological study explored six single mothers' experiences of support at their young children's school. Themes resulting from interpretative phenomenological analysis suggest the single mothers experienced tangible (e.g., school resources, school-wide events, structural flexibility, teachers' formal communication) and intangible (e.g.,…

This study focuses on flexibly scheduled early childhood education and care (ECEC), an institutional childcare service for Finnish families where both parents, or a single parent, work non-standard hours. Although many countries nowadays offer extended hours day care, only Finland has a publicly provided, law-based system guaranteeing ECEC during…

Reflective functioning has been referred to as the ability to understand intentions, motives, and actions in both oneself and others. This study explored reflective functioning in African American single mothers of infant and toddler children. Mothers were asked to participate in four psycho-educational group discussions that included information,…

This study examines the relationship between county-level estimates of implicit racial bias and black-white test score gaps in U.S. schools. Data from over 1 million respondents from across the United States who completed an online version of the Race Implicit Association Test (IAT) were combined with data from the Stanford Education Data Archive…

The 34th edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT® Data Book describes how the country's lack of affordable and accessible child care negatively affects children, families and U.S. businesses. This year's publication continues to present national and state data across four domains--economic well-being, education, health and family and…