Mechanisms Behind the Negative Influence of Single Parenthood on School Performance: Lower Teaching and Learning Conditions?. Issue 7 (3rd October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dronkers, Jaap; Veerman, Gert-Jan M.; Pong, Suet-Ling
• Is Part Of: Journal of divorce & remarriage. Volume 58:Issue 7(2017)
• Page Start: 471
• Page End: 486
• Publication Date: 2017-10-03
• Subjects: Disruptive behavior -- education -- family structure -- math performance -- single-mother family -- truancy; Divorce -- Law and legislation -- United States -- Periodicals; Divorce -- Periodicals; Remarriage -- Periodicals; 306.89
• DOI: 10.1080/10502556.2017.1343558
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1050-2556

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We take a first step toward unravelling the mechanisms behind the negative influence of single parenthood and the proportion of single-parent families on school performance, using 2012 international Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) data. We find that individual truancy of pupils fully explains the relationship between living in a single-mother family and math performance (after controlling for confounding factors, such as parental socioeconomic status). School-level measures of classroom disruption and truancy and individual truancy explain some of the negative effect of the school's concentration of students from single-parent families on individual students' math performance. However, the effect of a school's proportion of single-parent families remains significantly negative on individual performance.