Fatherless+Families+-+Predicting+Academic+Success

=Fatherless Families, the New Broken Home – Predicting Academic Success=

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**Overview**
Oxford Dictionaries defines a broken home as one in which the parents are divorced or separated. For the purposes of this article, a broken home will be defined as one in which the father is absent or distanced from the child.

Many people have touted over the last century that the nuclear family, the married two-parent household, is the ideal state in which to raise children. There are many studies that indicate that a child has a better chance of being successful when raised in a traditional, nuclear family (Sun & Li, 2011). However, with the increase of the single-parent, specifically the single-mother, household, more favorable opinions have been generated regarding the non-nuclear family.

One opinion that favors the single-parent home indicated that children that come from such homes possess an important character quality that those in traditional homes do not have – grit, a character trait that leads to a successful future. According to this //NY Times// journalist, children in single-parent homes are forced to deal with certain realities of life that toughen their character, and as a result, make them better people (Kripke, 2013). Another //NY Times// contributor and professor of journalism at New York University raises the question of considering the complexity of the data that is associated with a child’s success from a fatherless home. Specifically, she addresses inequality in men and women and the financial burden placed on the mother of the household as possible sources for the gap in success of children that many studies report (Roiphe, 2012). One reporter at //The Observer// indicated that once the economic gap was taken out of the equation, single-parent homes and two-parent homes showed the same trend in children’s success (McVeigh, 2014). This sentiment is echoed by Richard V. Reeves, co-director of the Center on Children and Families. He argues that it is not the marriage itself that contributes to the success of children, but rather the effects of marriage, primarily the income effect and the parenting effect. He summarizes that more income and more, and better quality, parenting may be the real reasons that married parents produce more successful children (Howard & Reeves, 2014).

According to professor of psychology at Michigan’s Hope College, David Myers claims that evidence suggests that the absence of a father in the home “puts children at increased risk for various psychological and social pathologies,” even after removing the income and educational differences between the fatherless home and the two-parent home (Myers, 2002). Studies have revealed that of the different mother-child family types, depression in children is at its highest in a single-mother household, regardless of the state of the relationship between the parents. These depression levels were higher than mothers who had remarried, which were higher than the traditional nuclear family levels (Clarvarino et al, 2011). Urie Bronfennbrenner, noted psychologist, showed that when mother-child interaction increases, problematic behavior in children decreases. This interaction may be decreased in single-mother households due to financial strain and lack of time. Bronfennbrenner’s studies also revealed that the grade point averages of children in two-parent, biological homes greatly outweighed those of single-mother homes (Brofennbrenner, 1992). A study by the U.S. Department of Education revealed that fathers who are actively engaged in their children’s lives have more academically successful children (U.S. Department of Education, 1997).

**The Issue**
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, as of the last U.S. Census in 2014, 45% of children under 18 living in poverty are those living in a single-mother household, and high school dropout rates are largest in households below the poverty threshold (U.S. Census Bureau – Table C8, 2014).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2014, approximately one quarter of families with children under the age of 18 were headed by single mothers (U.S. Census Bureau – Table C2, 2014). Of that quarter, almost half of the mothers were never married and 40% were living below the poverty line. More than two-thirds of children born to young, unwed mothers were on welfare (U.S. Census Bureau – Table FG6, 2014).

Because the portion of children being raised without fathers is so large and tied to financial instability, it is important for educators to evaluate the significance of this family demographic as it relates to academic success. They should specifically evaluate factors that contribute to academic success as well as those that do not within this demographic. If educators can better understand students and what influences success, or the lack thereof, they can create more positive school environments that encourage the kinds of life choices that lead to success.

While there will always be differences in opinion regarding family structure, the relationship between the single-parent home and academic performance exists, and the correlation is predictive of a weak financial situation for the family. The individual educator cannot solve every student’s familial or financial needs, but an educator can offer inspiration by example and exhortation and can help a student realize his potential by showing him the value he brings to society. For the individual educator, the most important question may be, “How can my every day make a difference?” s. According to Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory of Human Development, there are a number of factors that can affect a child’s academic performance, with one of the closest factors being family life. Brofenbrenner’s own studies show that children from two-parent families are less likely to develop psychological and behavioral problems (Bronfenbrenner, 1992). Teachers play a role in the development of the child, just as parents do. If Bronfenbrenner’s theory holds true, it could be even more important for teachers to build relationships with children from broken homes than those with two-parent households. As children search for identity and need stability, a teacher is in an extremely influential position in a child’s environment.

**What Can Be Done?**
The list of questions that need to be addressed regarding this issue are numerous. Are children of fatherless homes at a disadvantage? Is the link from family type to academic performance direct, correlated, or skewed? Is income a hidden factor in discriminating between married and single parent households? Why is it important for an educator to consider family situation? Are there ways to improve academic performance in children without regard to the family?

While this lone educator does not attempt to answer all of the questions associated with this issue, she does seek to make a recommendation to other educators and administrators with a high population of students from single-parent or no-parent households. Since there is a correlation between success and the home, perhaps the student is learning something in the home that he or she is not getting at school. Perhaps this is something as simple as the characteristic of accountability or acceptable social behaviors. These can be most easily addressed within the school through daily presentation of appropriate behavior and remediation of inappropriate behavior. Educators can seek to boost a student’s desire to be accountable by setting high expectations and offering a positive and encouraging learning environment. Forty-year teaching veteran and TED Talk contributor Rita Pierson says that encouragement makes the difference (Pierson, 2013).

Another possible way to help bridge the gap is through community, social programs like Guys in Ties. Guys in Ties is a program that seeks to educate young men about acceptable social behavior and leadership. It gets its name from the foundational idea of teaching young men, who may not have good male role-models, how to wear ties. Programs like these can be school affiliated or community sponsored. This particular program is affiliated with a school in Muscogee County, GA (Gaddy, 2015). This out-of-the-box idea is just one of many that schools could use to bridge the gap of the single-mother home.

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