Does Family Policy Environment Moderate the Effect of Single-Parenthood on Children's Academic Achievement? A Study of 14 European Countries.

This paper examines whether national family and welfare policies reduce or exacerbate the effects of single-parenthood on a child's educational achievement. Using the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), we compare 5th grade students from English single-parent families with their cou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of Comparative Family Studies Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 227 - 249
Main Authors:	Hampden-Thompson, Gillian, Pong, Suet-Ling
Format:	Article
Published:	Journal of Comparative Family Studies Spring 2005
Subjects:	Children of single parents Family policy Academic achievement Cross-cultural studies European Union countries
Online Access:	View this record in EBSCOhost

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Summary:	This paper examines whether national family and welfare policies reduce or exacerbate the effects of single-parenthood on a child's educational achievement. Using the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), we compare 5th grade students from English single-parent families with their counterparts from 13 other European countries. The analysis results suggest that the achievement gap between students from two-parent and single-parent families is far greater in England than it is in all other countries, with the exception of Scotland. The evidence provided in this study suggests that a nation's family policy environment plays an important role in moderating the influence of single-parenthood on children's academic achievement. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.