“mafia 1...}. a n- £3...) .33.... .R nflw a?» .. HE. 9.99%.? ‘ :1 I: . In. t. . l . 1 .. 1:3... g.m ... Jan i .54». aaxyifi .7 1.. , Eiruu. {u at mwvxuwx.“ a . I! y. .15: :9 .119): 3...: {I u .u, 1 .nnfiid. M). ,i 5362...! .5): ) .l v‘r. $ K aioxb. -31 .t T HESIS ICHIGTN STATE UNIV ‘ um wzn u unuuuiiiilflmiiiil 31 93 015671880 This is to certify that the dissertation entitled SEARCHING FOR A GROUNDED THEORY OF SOCIAL CAPITAL: HEARING THE VOICES OF HEAD START MOTHERS IN RURAL MICHIGAN presented by Pamela Hill Bump has been accepted towards fulfillrnent of the requirements for Ph.D. degreeirFflmily—Giflild Ecology “(L/4W1 Major professor Date 7/?,/9(/ MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 0- 12771 - ‘ .. A—A‘“- . .p— OH‘JW -—- '5 .—— _ '—‘ - - wa_-——...+~w fi—w--c—~—~u—\, o -I r LIBRARY Michigan State University PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove thie checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. DATEDE. DATE DUE DATE DUE . 2 SEP022008 , “A” 044—0-04— ol—G—fi-fi- MOI/"Hm 41:53:11; ___. W SEP242004 09140’F ‘091494 ____—’ 0W“ H I l ‘ I‘ , “0:7 ‘ 3'9 (5159192097 SEARCHING FOR A GROUNDED THEORY OF SOCIAL CAPITAL: HEARING THE VOICES OF HEAD START MOTHERS IN RURAL MICHIGAN By Pamela Hill Bump A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Family and Child Ecology 1996 ABSTRACT SEARCHING FOR A GROUNDED THEORY OF SOCIAL CAPITAL: HEARING THE VOICES OF HEAD START MOTHERS IN RURAL MICHIGAN By Pamela Hill Bump This study explored social capital in the lives of low-income women who cared for children attending Head Start in a rural town in Michigan. The problem, "How does social capital facilitate the development of human capital for children growing up in rural poverty?" was addressed from an ecological perspective through qualitative family research. All women listed as mothers on the Head Start applications for the 1994-95 school year were invited to participate in the study. Twenty women were interviewed concerning their aspirations for their children and the supports and obstacles they experienced in their efforts to achievement their goals. While all the women interviewed had mainstream goals for their children, the constraints of poverty made the goals seem remote from the realities of their daily lives. The discrepancy between the women's aspirations and their life contexts led to a search for a grounded theory Pamela Hill Bump of social capital. The themes which emerged from the interview data included: (a) the ecology of stress, which influenced the daily lives of the women and their families, (b) the interaction between stresses and supports. (0) the extent to which the women felt in control of their environments, and (d) the ties binding them to the people in their social networks. The concept of negative social capital, understood as the ecological life context, was introduced. The role of negative social capital in the development of human capital was discussed, and the ethic of care (Gilligan, 1982) was seen as an alternative perspective from which to view social capital. Gilligan. C. (1982). madifferentxomeaizsychologicaliheomanmomenls. dmlopmem. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. Copyright by Pamela Hill Bump 1996 To my parents, Martha and William Hill. who taught me that love is the strongest force in the universe, and to my husband, Michael. whose love illuminates my life. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Heartfelt thanks are given to Jewel Hollis and Connie Stoppenbach, and all the Three Rivers Head Start staff who make children's dreams come true, and to all the Head Start mothers who made this study possible. Love and gratitude are extended to Eve and Abe Schwartz who gave me, along with their love and bread pudding, their passion for social justice. Their voices, and their shared vision of social change will stay forever in my heart. My mentors at Michigan State University have been exceptional. I will always be grateful to my Committee members for their support of my efforts to do poverty research in an era when such support requires courage and an enduring commitment to academic freedom. Dr. Soderman has been my guiding star since the moment my graduate program began. Her gace and thoughtful scholarship have nurtured my mind and heart at every step along the way. Because she is esteemed as a scholar, and because she believed in me, doors opened which would have otherwise been closed. When things fell apart for me, Dr. Soderman was there to support me. The dissertation would not have been written if it had not been for Dr. Linda Nelson. Her commitment to teaching and to the growth of each of her students is legendary. I am only one of an endless stream of students whom Dr. Nelson has rescued and nurtured with her gift of time and her gift of herself. When I thought my graduate program had come to an end, Dr. Nelson phoned me from Argentina and put everything back together. For the infinite number of hours Dr. Nelson spent reading and rereading drafts of this paper, I will always be grateful. Dr. Louise Sause has been my revered and cherished mentor for twenty-five years. Her commitment to children, expressed through her work with Head Start, and as the Children's Advocate of the League of Women Voters is an inspiration to me both personally and professionally. Dr. Ames taught me that issues facing our youngest and our oldest citizens are similar, and that a just society is responsive to the needs of both. Dr. Ames‘ kindness and support have helped me through many difficult times. Dr. Walker is the mother of the conceptual basis of this paper. She introduced me to the concept of social capital, and nourished me by sending articles which stimulated my thinking and gave the paper its form. Through her course on poverty, her discussion of ideas, her constant encouragement. and her belief in my research. Dr. Walker threw me a life line and gave me a reason to continue. Dr. Keith's research on youth and her work building community coalitions on behalf of children, youth and families have contributed to the creation of a new paradigm of intervention. Dr. Marvin McKinney, now at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, gave me inspiration, hours of time, and his belief that qualitative research can effectively contribute to program design and to policy change. Early in 1995 the world lost to cancer two luminaries in the fields of anthropology and sociology. Janet Fitchen's pioneering work with the rural poor in upstate New York was a source inspiration for this study. James Coleman's employment of the concept of social capital in his study of the influence of family background on school achievement contributed greatly to the conceptual foundation of this paper. To Jan Armour and Gwen Combs, whose brilliance with computer technology is matched by their generosity of spirit and their incredible kindness as friends, I will always be grateful. To my husband, Michael, who believed in me against all odds, and to my mother who kept us alive by sending us baskets of food when we were too busy working and writing to eat, thank you with all my heart! TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES xiv LIST OF FIGURES xv I. INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the Problem 2 Significance of the Study 3 Purpose of the Study 5 Research Objectives 6 Research Questions 6 9W6 Ecological Model 7 Social Capital and the Ecology of Human Development 11 Intergenerational Closure as Social Capital 1 1 Parental Aspirations as Social Capital 16 Conceptual and Operational Definitions 16 Financial Capital 18 Human Capital 18 Social Capital 20 Intergenerational Closure 21 Head Start Mother 21 Parental Aspirations 22 Support 22 Obstacles 23 Functional Community 23 II. III. Assumptions LITERATURE REVIEW Effects of Poverty on Child Development Environmental Effects Effects of Poverty Mediated by Parental Behaviors and Home Environments Education and Developmental Outcomes Social Capital And Developmental Outcomes Contribution of Social Capital to a Child's Development Social Capital and High School Completion Social Capital and Adult Outcomes Support Networks/D Discrepancies Between Expectations of Parents and School Personnel Summary METHODOLOGY Ecological Setting Community History Community Profile Evolving Focus of the Study Informant Selection Description of Participants 838 31 8% 41 47 51 8} 57 61 61 Data Collection Techniques Participant Observation Interviews Validity and Reliability Limitations of the Study Researcher's Selection of Informants Researcher's Inexperience Concerning Drug Use Data Analysis and Synthesis Parental Goals of Head Start Mothers Parental Aspirations To Finish School Independence "To do better than I did" Love and respect Summary Supports Mentioned by Mothers Head Start and Other Community Resources Family Members and Friends Summary Obstacles Mentioned by Mothers People Constraints of Poverty SEES 8$8EEB 85259. VII. Daily stresses "1 need ajob!" Homelessness Lack of affordable childcare Lack of time Lack of transportation Neighborhood Summary SEARCHING BELOW THE SURFACE: EMERGING THEMES Ecology of Stress Interaction Between Stresses and Supports Locus of Control Invisible Loyalties EMERGING GROUNDED THEORY Negative Social Capital Ecological Niches of Poverty and Strategies for Survival Ethic of Care Nascent Grounded Theory SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS Summary 883388839 101 101 102 104 108 112 112 114 117 119 121 121 Implications Implications for Research Time Conflict and Reciprocity Implications for Theory Implications for Practice Implications for Policy Conclusion VIII. REFERENCES IX. APPENDICES A. Income Guidelines for Head Start B. Letter Inviting Participation . Informed Consent Form . Head Start Permission to Conduct Research C D E. UCHRIS Approval F. Interview Questions G . Annual Report 125 125 125 126 127 128 130 131 132 142 142 143 144 145 146 147 149 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1 Selected Demographics on Head Start Parents 1994-1995 2 Selected Demographics on Head Start Informants 1995 3 Profile of Informants' Marital Status, Education, Employment Status. Age, and Age at First Birth xiv Page 58 62 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE H Intergenerational closure 2. Social capital available to the head start child through intergenerational closure in a functional community 3. Parental aspirations spiraling through the social capital network 4. Negative social capital Page 12 14 17 115 CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION While welfare reform is debated at the state and national levels of government, the causes of persistent poverty are analyzed by scholars from such varied disciplines as psychology. sociologfanthropology, and economics. Though recent research indicates that rural poverty is widespread, and that an increasing percentage of families living in poverty are headed by single mothers, largely absent from the literature of the rural poor are the voices of the mothers of young children (Adams & Duncan, 1992; Dill 8: Williams, 1992; Fitchen, 1992; Garrett et al., 1993; Garrett, Ng'andu, & Ferron, 1994; Harvey, 1993; McAdoo, 1991; McKinney, Abrams, Ten‘y, 8r Lerner, 1994; McLanahan, Astone & Marks, 1991; O'Connor, 1992; Olson & Banyard, 1993; Polakow, 1993; Sherman, 1992, 1994: Sidel, 1996; Tickameyer et al., 1993; Wilson & Neckerman, 1984). A qualitative study of rural low-income women in their role as Head Start mothers offers a perspective from which to view socialization . in the context of rural poverty. Implicit in the discussions of welfare reform is the question: “Why are some individuals able to escape the poverty of their childhoods and to participate in the larger economy, whereas others remain entrapped by Poverty? Researchers from varied disciplines recently have explored this question in terms of the concept of "social capital" (Boisjoly, Duncan 8: l ‘ risk of lifelong economic disadvantage. \ Hofferth, 1995; Furstenberg 8: Hughes, 1995). The term social capital was coined by Loury, an economist, to indicate the consequences of social position in facilitating the attainment of market-valued characteristics or "human capital" (Ipury,qfl1977i./C\T)Ieman (1988) developed the term to include the resources which exist in the social structure-norms, values, social networks and relationships--which .. contribute to children s growth, and to their school achievemmitin’g WWIA- xfi‘ Coleman (1988), Furstenberg and Hughes indicate thatxsocial capital WJ—r’l’ f '6 plays a critical role in the development of human capital for children at _—H __.._..-— u ”N MM. W \4 Statement of the Problem The work of Furstenberg and Hughes (1995) with the children of teenage mothers in Baltimore points out that a useful way of looking at the contextual nature of development is to employ the concept of social . capital. Translated into a rural context, the question becomes: “How does social capital facilitate the development of human capital for children growing up in rural poverty?” < The concept of social capital as the strength of illustrating the . connection between the social resources available to a child within the family and in the environments outside the famil3>As it has been developed, however, the very strength of the concept in demonstrating the ecological nature of development is its weakness as a conceptual tool in measurement. As Loury (1977) predicted and recent outcome research has confirmed (Fletcher, 1993: Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995), the multi- dimensionality of social capital creates a plethora of measurement problems. Furstenberg and Hughes have suggested that the components of social capital may be differentially linked to specific developmental outcomes. Though previous research in this area has been done on existing data sets, no measures have been developed which address the differential nature of social capital. This study proposes to address, through qualitative research with women raising children in rural poverty, the question: “What is the role of social capital in the development of human capital?” Significance of the Study The problem, “How does social capital facilitate the development of . human capital for children growing up in rural poverty?” is of particular "‘-¢-.a~- Wfiflm‘u‘mfi significance at this time when childhood poverty is increasing, and when ‘---. ..——..-...-—~._.—--..-h- -. recent congressional decisions at the state angfederal levels have fled the availability of financial capital to children in poor families /. (Children's Defense Fund, 1995; Polakow, 1993; Sherman, 1994: Sidel, 1996). Recent research has demonstrated that a family's economic onstrain not welfare use per se, have a negative influence on c dren's acquisition of human capital (Rank & Cheng, 1995). While Furstenberg and Hughes (1995) have demonstrated the critical role of social capital in the development of human capital, no studies have been done at this time on the social capital available to Head Start children growing up in rural Michigan. For policies and programs to be effective, it is eSsential that they reflect the experience and the concerns of those whom they are designed to help (McKinney et al., 1993; McKinney, Abrams, Terry, & Lerner, 1994). Policies designed on the basis of theoretical models may be at odds both with the realities experienced by families and with the developmental needs of children. Qualitative research is needed to inform both policy and practice (Dillrnan, 1978, 1981; Fitchen, 1992; Garrett et al., 1993, Jarrett, 1992; McKinney et al. 1993). Grounded theory could guide future research and inspire the design of effective __,....t.-. interventions and enhghtened policy. Since "theory, analysis and _, ”fin-‘—’ ‘m “a m- 1 program are inexorably interrelated, " (Garrett et al., 1993, p. 258) qualitative, ecological research would Contribute to the development of both grounded theory and practice. MM.- a—W—~__ “~— --—-.....~_.1 h...“ The need for qualitative research is felt on a local level as a result of a perceived distance between the environments of the schools and the family contexts of the children who attend them. As the numbers of children living in poverty increase in the community, as measured by the growmg numbers of children who receive free or reduced lunches (Oflice of the Assistant Superintendent, Three Rivers Community Schools. personal communication, 1995), teachers express bewilderment concerning the home lives of their students. Teachers voice frustration over the gap between the expectations they have of their students and what they surmise is a lack of expectations at home. As a school social worker in the community for 20 years, the researcher's job has been to bridge the gaps between heme and school. On a personal level, the significance of the study is the opportunity it affords to see the child, the school, and the community from the perspective of a Head Start mother. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this research was to explore social capital in terms of the social resources which rural low-income women have available for the Head Start children in their care. The qualitative interview was the chosen research method in order to provide the mothers with a chance to articulate their parental aspirations, and their relationships within the - family and in the community, in their own terms. In-depth qualitative interviews also provide an opportunity to explore the categories and assumptions which shape the mothers' perspectives and their views of their children's future. The qualitative research process is a search for theory grounded in the experience of the research participants (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). With the understanding that "qualitative data can inductively generate new theories or inform existing theories," (Jarrett, 1992, p. 193) the 6 study of parental aspirations is a search for theory grounded in the experience of Head Start mothers. Research Objectives This study had two objectives: (a) to provide qualitative data concerning how rural Head Start mothers in Michigan describe their current lives. and the goals they have for their children. and (b) to contribute to a theory of the development of human capital in families living in rural poverty. The first objective had two components: (a) to learn the parental aspirations of Head Start mothers. and (b) to learn about the lives of the mothers through asking what types of supports exist and what types of obstacles they encounter on a daily basis. Research Questions 1. What are patterns or themes in the ways rural Head Start mothers describe their aspirations for their Head Start children? 2. How do rural Head Start mothers describe the support they receive for their goals for their Head Start children? 3. How do rural Head Start mothers describe the obstacles they encounter in their efforts to achieve their goals for their Head Start children? 4. How do the perceptions of Head Start mothers interviewed relate to already established theories of social capital? (Coleman, 1988): Fursenberg 8: Hughes, (1995). The above questions guided the direction of the interviews. The goal was to discover themes in the responses of the Head Start mothers that contribute to an understanding of the development of human capital in families of the poor in rural Michigan. Conceptual Framework: The Ecological Model Comprehension of poverty requires an appreciation of how it both shapes and is shaped by the family's ecological context: Understanding how poverty influences children's development requires a conceptual model in which the individual and family are placed in the ecological contexts of neighborhood, school, culture, and economic conditions (Huston, 1991, p. 293). Ecological systems theory offers such a model in that it describes human development in the context of the family and the larger social environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1986, 1989; Bubolz & Sontag, 1993). The study of the family in interaction with its environment provides a way to understand the dynamics of development in context (Bubolz & Sontag, 1993). The process of socialization, by which one generation shapes the next generation, is a product of the cumulative influences of the interaction between the family and the environment. This process is described by McKinney et al. (1994) in terms of a "developmental contextual model." Developmental contextualism focuses on human diversity and on the ecological context in which development takes place: "This theory embeds the study of children in the actual families, neighborhoods, and communities in which they live their lives"- (McKinney et al.,1994, p. 30). The ecology of human development stresses a "critical mode" and gives credence both to the individual's subjective experience and to the role of the political economy in influencing human development (Garbarino, 1992a, p 14). In the WWW Bronfenbrenner, (1979) created a new conceptual language oriented to practice and to policy, which is used to "analyze the validity of research . and theory in developmental psychology" (Garbarino, 1992a, p. 14). Using Bronfenbrenner's model, one may examine the systems in a child's life from the perspective of whether they enhance or impede development (Garbarino, 1992a, p. 50). Garbarino explored the risks and opportunities at each level of Bronfenbrenner's model-~the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, and the macrosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1989: Garbarino, 1992a). Garbarino described developmental "risks" as irnpoverishing development, whereas "opportunities" enrich development. The microsystem is the proximate setting in which the child develops (Bronfenbrenner, 1989). Children's experiences of the people, the objects, and the events in their environments shape their views of themselves and of the world. When a child's microsystem is "socially impoverished," it becomes a source of developmental risk (Garbarino, 1992a, p. 38). When negative interaction predominates, and when limited positive interaction occurs within the microcosm, the child's sense of worth and sense of efficacy in other settings are undermined. Mesosystems are the relationships between two or more microsystems in which the child is an active participant, such as home and school. Mesosystem risk exists when there is no connection between the microsystems in a child's life, or when there is a conflict of values between two microsystems. Garbarino points out that a strong bond is needed in order for the child to feel "at home" at school; in a world where academic success is a key to later economic opportunity. "to be an alien to the academic culture is to be at developmental risk" (Garbarino, 1992a. p. 46). Exosystems are settings which influence the child's development but in which the child does not participate directly. Exosystem risks include settings, such as the parent's workplace, which exert an influence on the parents' functioning at home, and institutions such as the school board or welfare office that make decisions affecting the settings in which the child participates. Garbarino describes the neighborhood as simultaneously a lO microsystem, a mesosystem, and an exosytem. Children and their parents participate in the neighborhood, but it also exerts an indirect influence by the quality of support it offers parents. The neighborhood, in turn, reflects the quality of support given it by the larger economic and political institutions (Garbarino, 1992a). Macrosystems are blueprints which reflect the assumptions of people concerning how things should be done, and include the institutions which embody those assumptions (Bronfenbrenner, 1989). Sociocultural risk takes two forms: (a) social impoverishment which is robbing a child's environment of significant social resources; and (b) cultural impoverishment--a set of values which undermine the child's ability to function in other settings. Garbarino finds that "it is the social deprivation that accompanies economic poverty which is responsible for its truly devastating human consequences" (Garbarino, 1992a. p. 65). When patterns of deprivation occur, when family, school and . neighborhood all reinforce developmental delay, "the entire human ecologr seems to operate in a concerted attack upon the foundations for successful child development" (Garbarino, 1990, p. 89). The link between child maltreatment and social impoverishment has been established, but for many children, social impoverishment inflicts invisible wounds, and the "failure to thrive" is not noted until the children reach adolescence and become adults. 11 Social Capital and the Ecology of Human Development Coleman's (1988) development of the term "social capital" to include the resources within the social structure--the norms, the interpersonal relationships within the family and in the community}? fillers a new way to view human development within the context of the larger social environment. Coleman has contributed to an understanding of the ecology of human development, and to the process by which children acquire human capital. Two forms of social capital. intergenerational closure and parental aspirations will be examined in the following sections. The dynamics of the family's interactions with its immediate environment and the surrounding community can be illustrated through Coleman's model of intergenerational closure. Coleman describes "intergenerational closure" in terms of the norms and goals a parent has for a child being reinforced by the relationships the parent has with other parents and with ,institutionsin the community (Coleman, 1988). As depicted in Figure 1a., when parents act in isolation, or have different reference groups, they are not in a position to join forces as they attempt to enforce Eggs for their children (Coleman, 1988). Intergenerational closure exists when, as illustrated in Figure 1b., 12 mmo <-> 10013:! Puma <-> rue-Ice Figure 1a. represents a network without intergenerational closure. While the children know each other, their parents do not. Adult Talk "‘ a] PII‘IO <"> “flied PII‘IO <"> 306184 f anaéfls'ram J {E Figure 1b. represents a network with intergenerational closure. The children and the parents within this network communicate with each other. Figure 1. Intergenerational Closure Note: This is an interpretation of Coleman's diagram of intergenerational closure from "Social capital in the creation of human capital" by J. S. Coleman, 1988. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 8107. (Graphics con- sultation given by Jan Armour and Gwen Combs, 1996.) 13 the relationship between two mothers helps them to develop a consensus about what is appropriate behavior for their children. To measure the extent of intergenerational closure would be to measure the extent to *‘1.5_ “4...... __‘ __~_...1 m..- which communication and friendships exist between parents of children who are friends with one another. Mgggggggigi 061er may fit within the family, within the kin network, and in the neighborhood, the school, and the larger community. The structural consistency across generations creates what --.-—-—~ 4 a ”r— . Coleman calls a functional commuruty Coleman describes this as "a .4.“ H , community in whiehsqcial norms and sanctions, including those that .____...-P cross generations, arise out of the social structure itself, and both reinforce and perpetuate that structure" (Coleman 8: Hofi'er, 1987 , p. 7). Figure 2 represents an expansion of Coleman's original diagram of intergenerational closure to include the different systems in a Head Start child's life. As the ecological model of interconnected systems illustrates the environmental context of development (Bronfenbrenner, 1989; Bubolz & Sontag, 1993), Figure 2 describes the interactive systems in a child's life as potential resources of social capital. In the "functional community" described by Coleman, the household is contained within a neWork of social relations which include the kin network, the neighborhood, the school, and the community. The interconnection of institutions in the community has been demonstrated through the quantitative and qualitative research of the Community Coalitions in Action (Keith et al.. 1993), and has been 14 Figure 2. Social capital available to the head start child through intergenerational closure in a functional community Social Capital is represented by lines linking the resources of the interactive systems in a child's life. In this expansion of Coleman's (1988) original diagram of intergenerational closure. the child's household is viewed as contained within, and supported by, a network of social relations. The closure of the network supports the transmission of norms and sanctions from one generation to another. (Graphics consultation given by Jan Armour and Gwen Combs. 1996) 15 recognized in state policies creating systems reform through community collaboration (Michigan Human Services Directors. 1995). The Report of the Human Services Commission of the county in which this study took place also affirms that, "the strength of the community is based on the interdependence of its major institutions-Home, Family, School, Church, Workplace, Health Care and Government Institutions" (O'Dell, 1995, p. 2). Integral to the continuity of a functional community are commonly held values. In a functional community there is a clear and consistent set of norms that express these dominant values; and the degree of conformity to these norms determines, with few exceptions, the position of individuals and families in the status hierarchy. (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987 , p. 10). There is a tendency for children's positions in the social structure to be largely determined by the positions occupied by their parents (Coleman 81 Hoffer). The social structure is transmitted from one generation to the next via the network of social relations. The development of both financial capital and human capital is seen as embedded in the network of these social relations (Granovetter, 1985; Mingione, 1991). "It is the exploration of these socially embedded relations that may hold the key to understanding class, gender, race and ethnic 'effects' in persistent rural poverty" (Summers et al., 1993, p. 12). 16 E IIE'I' S'IC'I] The present study views social capital in terms of a mother's aspirations for her child, and in terms of the support the mother receives in her attempts to realize those aspirations. In Figure 3, parental aspirations and supports for those aspirations form a double helix which spirals through the various systems in a child's life. Support received from her kin network, from her neighborhood, from the school, and from the community, offers potential reinforcement for the aspirations she holds for her child. Parental aspirations also serve as a reference point, according to which one might measure the child's future development. By voicing both her present hopes for her child's future, and her perceptions of what in the environment currently supports or blocks the fulfillment of these aspirations, the mother offers a lens through which the child's current environment and future development can be viewed. Conceptual and Operational Definitions The term "capital" is defined comprehensively in the field of economics. In this study. the terms "financial capital," "human capital," and "social capital" are used more narrowly to describe components of family background which contribute to the child's development, and which influence the child's future participation in the economic world. 17 Figure 3. Parental aspirations and support Parental aspirations and support for those aspirations form a double helix which spirals through the systems in a child's life. (Graphics consultation given by Jan Armour and Gwen Combs, 1996) 18 Although the term "social capital" was initially coined to indicate the consequences of social position in facilitating the attainment of market- valued characteristics (Loury, 1977), it is used here, along with the terms, "financial capital" and "human capital," following Coleman's usage in his studies of the influence of family background on school achievement (Coleman, 1988, 1990; Coleman & Hofi‘er, 1987). "Human capital," "financial capital" and "social capital" are used here, not as intentional investments made by mothers for their children, but as resources available to children as they develop in the context of their family and community environments. Einancialfiapital "Financial capital" is understood as the financial resources to provide for the physical needs of children and to aid their achievement. Operationally. all the families in the proposed study are understood to have limited financial capital. In order for a child to be eligible for Head Start. the family must meet the Family Income Guidelines included in Appendix A. HumanLapital "Human Capital" is understood conceptually as the educational resources and the potential cognitive environment for the child. While 19 the term, "human capital" has been defined in economic terms, as investments made in the interest of further production (Becker, 1993), it is used here to describe the educational investment made by the Head Start parents in their own education. The decision to continue their education affects their own productive output. The interest here is to ascertain the potential cognitive environment for the Head Start child, and to some degree, the view the mother has of her child's educational future. The “human capital” of the Head Start children could not be measured, except indirectly through their mothers' education and work experience. Parental “human capital” has been measured according to the parents' education, participation in the labor market, and income (Furstenberg 8: Hughes, 1995. p. 585). In the present study, all participants are considered “low income” as measured by the income eligibility requirements of Head Start (Appendix A). Operationally, maternal “human capital” is defined in terms of the level of the mother's . education and her participation in the job market. The question forming the basis of this study is, “What is the role of social capital in the development of human capital for children growing up in rural poverty?” The term “human capital” here refers to the future investments in the children's education and in the acquisition of skills they will need in order to participate in a global economy. In traditional economic theory human capital has been used to describe an individual’s investments in education and work experience 2O (Loury, 1977). An exploration of the social capital available to an individual enables one to look at the process by which such investments are made. W (:Social Capital" is understood conceptually as the social relations between people which contribute to a child's growth? "Family social capital" refers to the relationships between the adults and the children within the household. Operationally, family social capital is measured in terms of the ratio of adults to children in the household, and also in terms of the mother's expectation that the child will go to college (Coleman, 1988: Coleman 81 Hoffer, 1987). <§>cial capital outside the family is understood. both conceptually and operationally, /as the relations the child's parentsuhave with other adults and with institutions in the community: 79’ In some studies of social capital, the measure of social capital outside the family is the number of times a child changed schools due to family moves (Coleman, 1988: Fletcher, 1993) and in other studies the measure is whether the family moved from the area where the head of household was raised (Boisjoly et al., 1995). In this study, measures of extrafamilial social capital include the number of times the family moved during the last year and during the lifetime of the Head Start child. 21 Intergenerationalflnsnre As a form of social capital, "intergenerational closure" is understood as the structure of relations between families who share the same norms and sanctions. Coleman (1988) has pointed out that frequent family moves sever social relations and prevent highly mobile families from benefiting from whatever intergenerational closure exists in the community. Accordingly, in this study, proximate indicators for intergenerational closure are the number of times the family has moved during the last year and during lifetime of the Head Start child. The mother's perception of who provides support for her parental goals is a more direct indicator of the intergenerational closure available to the mother and child. The concept of "mother" is complex. The term applies to a child's biological mother; in this study, however, it came to be used to refer to the person taking care of a Head Start child, therefore filling the mothering role in the child's life at this time. The term "mother" thus refers more to a role or function than to a biological relationship. It is a role that is taken on, held in suspension and sometimes lost, as when parental rights have been terminated or when custody is lost. "Head Start mothers" in this study include the 22 women who have taken on the role of mother, and who provide a home for the Head Start child. although their relationship may be that of adoptive mother, aunt, grandmother, great grandmother, or foster mother waiting to formally adopt the children in their care. BarentaLAspiraiinns "Parental aspirations" are understood conceptually as one form of social capital available to a child. Coleman (1988) includes the mother's expectation that her child will attend college as an indicator of adult attention in the family. Coleman uses this as a proximate measure of social capital, along with ratio of adults to children in the home. In this study, the mother will be asked what her aspirations are for her Head Start child, and the mother will define whether her goals are long-range or short-range by her responses. . Support "Support" is understood conceptually‘as a source of aid in __ achieving ones “goal. OperationallysHead Start mothers will be asked what supports are available to them, particularly with regard to the realization of their aspirations for their children. The mothers them- selves will indicate by their responses whether supports are understood as people in their lives-or as institutions in the community, or as both. "Obstacles" are understood conceptually as impediments to the goals voiced by the Head Start mothers. Operationally, obstacles are defined in terms of the people (friends, relatives, and professionals) and life circumstances (homelessness, violence in the home or neighborhood, and other stresses) perceived by the mothers as roadblocks to the achievement of their goals for their Head Start children. EincfionaLCommunim "Functional community" is defined conceptually as a community in which intergenerational closure exists (Coleman & Hofier, 1987). In this study, the operational definition of functional community will be the structure of social relations described by the Head Start mothers. Specifically, the definition will be based on how the Head Start mothers describe the support they receive for their parental aspirations. Assumptions A basic guiding principle directing this research isxhe assumption that both the generation of financial capital and the development of human capital are embedded in the social structure (Coleman, 1988; 24 Granovetter, 1985; Mingione, 1991). A second assumption is that then: is an inverse relationship between poverty and the attainment of human capital characteristics. As Loury (1977) pointed out in his creation of the term "social capital," a child living in poverty has fewer opportunities to succeed in school and to obtain human capital than a child growing up in affluent circumstances. On a local level, it is assumed that there is a direct relationship between thslarge numbers of children living in poverty in the rural town where this research was conducted and the fact that the MEAP scores of its students in 1994 were below the state average in every area, and at every grade level (Miller, 1995). It is assumed that to understand the process whereby children succeed in school and acquire human capital characteristics, an understanding must be gained of the resources available to a child in the context of the family's social environment (Garbarino, 1990, 1992a,b). It . is assumed that the resources available to a child prior to entry into kindergarten will influence future school success (Duncan, Brooks- Gunn, & Klebanov, 1994). It is assumed that qualitative research is the methodology most fitted to yield an understanding of a mother's perceptions of her young child's family context. A corollary to this assumption is that interviewing the child's mother in her home will provide the best account of the social resources available to the child. 25 It is assumed that each mother who participates in the research will honestly_ describe her aspirations for her child, and her perceptions of relatiqnships within the family and in the community. CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, literature is reviewed concerning the effects of poverty on a child's development, and the role of social capital in the creation of human capital. The correlates of poverty are diminished financial, human, and social capital resources for today's children, and for the next generation. Literature concerning social capital will be reviewed, with special attention given to available research concerning support networks and parental aspirations as social capital, and their roles in the development of children living in poverty. Studies concerning the discrepancies between parental aspirations and the expectations of school personnel will be reviewed. In later chapters, additional sources will be reviewed as themes and patterns emerge from the data. Effects of Poverty on Child Development While the child poverty rates in Michigan and in the nation are on the increase, the poverty rate for children under 6 is at an all-time high (Children's Defense Fund, 1995; Kids Count in Michigan, 1995; National Center for Children in Poverty, 1995). The National Center for Children in Poverty reports that the national poverty rate for children under 6 rose to 26% in 1992. The last available Michigan poverty rate for children 26 27 under 6 was 21.8% in 1989 (Kids Count in Michigan). The poverty rate for all school-aged children in Michigan, as measured by the number of children receiving free and reduced lunches, was 30.5% in 1995 (Kids Count in Michigan). The risks of poverty to the development of the young child begin before birth. Poor mothers are less likely to receive prenatal and postnatal care, and are more likely to deliver low birthweight babies (Garrett et al., 1994; Klerman, 1991; McAdoo, 1991). The effects of poverty on child development are seen perhaps most dramatically in the well—documented connections between poverty and infant mortality, and between poverty and child maltreatment (Garbarino, 1992b; Hewlett, 1992, 1995; Kids Count in Michigan, 1995), but the association between poverty and risk exists for every aspect of development--from risks to a child's health to underachievement in school (Schorr, 1988). According to data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Infant Health and Development Program, poverty is associated with compromised developmental outcomes in cognition, as well as with internalizing and externalizing behavior problems (Duncan et al., 1994). Analysis of longitudinal data from the Infant Health and Development Program reveals that family income and poverty status "are powerful correlates of the cognitive development and behavior of children--even after accounting for other differences--in particular family structure and maternal schooling between low- and high- income families” (Duncan et al., p. 296). Children in persistently poor families were found to have 9.1 28 points lower IQs, 4.0-point worse scores on the internalizing problem behavior index, and 3.3-point worse scores on the externalizing problems behavior index than never-poor children (Duncan, Brooks-Gunn, & Klebanov. 1994, p. 307). Poverty carries with it developmental risks because it limits a family's access to basic human services, and undermines its ability to meet basic needs (Garbarino, 1992b, p. 229). These two themes--the "opportunity deficit hypothesis" and the "stress hypothesis"--run through the literature concerning the means by which familial economic hardships compromise human development (Danziger 81 Danziger, 1993, pp. 72-73). According to the "opportunity deficit hypothesis," poor families live in neighborhoods characterized by a lack of resources and opportunities. According to the "stress hypothesis," poverty compromises the development of children via the stresses which overwhelm their \ parents (Danziger & Danziger, p. 73). ~ EnnmnmemaLEffects The environmental risks associated with poverty jeopardize children's immediate safety and compromise their development. Inadequate health care and nutritional deficits, which lead to impairments in cognitive functioning and overall healthy development, compound the risks poor children face (Kids Count in Michigan, 1995). Unsafe housing and frequent changes in housing have both immediate 29 and long term effects on children's welfare. The risks of poverty increase for children growing up in single parent families (Kids Count in Michigan, 1995; Polakow, 1993; Sherman, 1992). When the parent must be both nurturer and provider, and it is necessary for the parent to be out of the home to work, the child is more dependent upon neighborhood and community resources (Elwood, 1988; Polakow, 1993). When limited finances force families to move from place to place, the community network which comprises the child's social world dissolves (Kids Count in Michigan, 1995). The only constant world in the child's life is that of the immediate family, which often crumbles under the weight of the stresses of poverty (Fitchen, 1992; Rubin, 1994). WWW Environments Economic hardship has an effect on children indirectly through the psychological effect it has on their parents (Duncan et al., 1994). Garrett et al., (1994) studied the relative contributions of poverty. household, maternal, and child characteristics to the quality of the home environment. Their analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth led the authors to conclude that the effects of poverty variables on the quality of the home environment vary according to the level of poverty experienced (Garrett et al., 1994). Maternal characteristics and behaviors mediate the effects of 30 income on development (Duncan et al., 1994; Garrett et al., 1994). The relation between income and IQ is mediated by the learning environment of the home. The relation between income and a child's behavior problems is mediated by maternal depression and coping (Duncan et al., p. 3 15). ” Research has demonstrated that poor children are at high risk of mental health problems (McLoyd & Wilson, 1991, p. 107). Some of the behavioral and psychological problems of poor children--social maladjustment, low self-confidence, depression, conduct disorders, and peer conflict--are mediated by parenting styles fostered by economic hardship. McLoyd and Wilson describe the psychological distress and mental health problems of poor mothers as "normative and situational responses to economic hardship" (McLoyd & Wilson, p. 128). "Ultimately, it is poverty itself that creates suboptimal conditions for maternal psychological functioning, child rearing and child development" (McLoyd 81 Wilson, p. 128). McLoyd (1990) describes the process by which economic hardship impacts family functioning and parenting behavior, and adversely affects the socioemotional development of children. Poverty undermines the capacity to provide consistent, involved parenting (McLoyd). Economic hardship brings with it a succession of stresses, which create parental psychologcal distress, and deplete the parent's resources to deal with new problems and negative life events (McLoyd). Danziger and Danziger (1993) describe the stresses which absorb 31 parental attention and exhaust parental time and energy. When overburdened by chronic stresses, parents are less apt to provide adequate supervision, and more apt to develop ineffective parenting styles which include physical punishment and inadequate attention to the nutritional, health, and developmental needs of their children (Danziger 8r Danziger, 1993; Hewlett, 1992). Whatever their aspirations are for their children, their own limited resources keep them from preparing a brighter economic future for them. Their reduced eamings' capacity, skill level, and employment opportunities undermine their own chances of providing a secure firture for their children. The chances of being poor as an adult are over three times greater for children who experience poverty as compared to those who were never poor (Danziger & Danziger, 1993, p. 2). Educationandflevelopmenialfluimmes Increasing numbers of children are poor and at risk of school failure (Kids Count in Michigan, 1995). The dropout rate in Michigan almost doubled from 1992 to 1994 (Kids Count in Michigan). In Michigan, and across the nation, children from low income backgrounds score less well on standardized tests, such as the MEAP test, than do other children (Kids Count in Michigan, 1995, p. 34). Because of the poor MEAP scores of its students, many schools with a high pupil turnover, and with a high percentage of students who are eligible for free 32 or reduced lunches, face a threatened loss of state funding (Kids Count in Michigan: Walters, 1995). . The effects of poverty on school achievement and high school dropout rates are complex. Nutrition, safe housing, and routine health care--including immunizations and the correction of viSual and hearing problems--all contribute to a child's success at school (Schorr, 1988). Poor children often lack such basics. Such risks associated with economic hardship undermine physical and cognitive development, and are consequently linked with lack of readiness for school, underachievement, and failure to complete high school (Danziger & Danziger, 1993; Garbarino, 1992b: Klerman, 1991; Levin, 1991; McLoyd & Wilson, 1991). While low income and residential mobility are major factors in the educational disadvantage of children in single parent families, mobility has been found to be the primary contributor to dropping out of school (Kids Count in Michigan, 1995). Risks associated with economic hardship influence human development throughout one's life and into the next generation (Danziger 81 Danziger, 1993; Duncan & Rodgers, 1988). Poverty, early school difficulties, and living in a poor neighborhood are all risk factors which contribute to dropping out of school, substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, and teenage pregnancy. The problems experienced in adolescence decrease the economic opportunities available to the adult and have consequences for the next generation. The adolescent who drops out of school or becomes a teenage 33 parent, or both, is at much greater risk of having children who themselves become teenage parents and drop out of school than is the young person who completes high school and who avoids teenage parenthood (Danziger 8r Danziger, 1993). Family poverty is correlated with high rates of teenage childbearing, high school dropouts, and violent crime (Schorr, 1988). "Persistent and concentrated poverty virtually guarantees the presence of a vast collection of risk factors and their continuing destructive impact over time" (Schorr, p. 30). When several risk factors exist together, the stresses of a child's home, school, and neighborhood multiply and intensify one another. The influences of the micro-, meso-, exo- and macrosystem of a child's life can compound each other, leading to an accumulation of risks, and _ to multiple threats to a child's development (Garbarino, 1992a). Compounding each other, the risk factors associated with poverty create impoverished developmental outcomes for the children of today, and for the next generation (Danziger 81 Danziger, 1993; Garbarino, 1992a, 1992b; Harman 8: Luster, 1991; Schorr, 1988). Social Capital and Developmental Outcomes The "opportunity deficit hypothesis" and the "stress hypothesis" concerning the processes by which economic hardship compromises child development (Danziger 8r Danziger, 1993) can also be used to describe the external versus internal aspects of social capital. The "opportunity 34 deficit hypothesis" relates to the effects of socially impoverished neighborhoods, and the "stress hypothesis" pertains to the depletion of social capital within the family as a result of the stresses associated with poverty (Garbarino, 1990; McLoyd & Wilson, 1991). Both the lack of resources in the community and the stresses felt within the family affect the amount of social capital available to a child. From an ecological perspective, the social capital a child gains from the family environment, and from the neighborhood and larger community environments--and from the interaction between them--affect the child's development (Bronfenbrenner, 1986, 1989; Bubolz & Sontag, 1993: Garbarino, 1992a). C I'II' [S'IC ‘IlI [21.11.11] I Coleman's development of the concept of "social capital" introduces the view that just as risks may compound each other to compromise a child's development, resources and opportunities can be multiplied and intensified when home, school, and neighborhood work together. Social capital exists as resources which reside within (or are absent from) the social structure--the social networks, the norms and the interpersonal relationships that nurture a child's growth (Coleman, 1988). "In Loury's usage, social capital is the set of resources that inhere in family relations and in community social organization and that are useful for the cognitive or social development of a child or young person" (Coleman, 1990, p. 300). 35 A family's internal social capital is measured by the presence of one or two parents and the number of additional children in the household (Coleman, 1988, 1990). In essence, the ratio of adults to children is a measure of the social capital a family has available for the education of any one of the children. The number of siblings present is regarded as a reduction of adult attention available to the child. An additional indicator of social capital is the mother's expectation that the child will go to college (Coleman, 1988, 1990). Coleman reports that with the HighScthaniBeyond. sample of students, sophomores whose mothers expected them to go to college were less likely to drop out of school. For those sophomores who lacked this maternal expectation, the drop out rate was 8.6 percentage points higher than those with it. (Coleman, 1988, p. 5113). Coleman measured a family's external social capital in terms of "intergenerational closure" (Coleman, 1988). "Closure" exists when neighbors know each other, children attend the same school, and - parents know their children's friends and the parents of their children's friends. Closure creates a trust in the social structure which permits the existence of effective norms, sanctions, expectations, and obligations. Behavior sanctioned by the child's parent is sanctioned by adults in other settings in the child's life. Coleman used the number of times the child changed schools due to family moves as a proximate measure of intergenerational closure. Every time a family moves, the relational bonds which create social capital are broken. 36 In their analysis of the 1980 and 1988 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Boisjoly et a1. (1995, p. 626) found that the factor most consistently linked to social isolation from social capital was having moved from the region in which the head of household was raised. Moving away was found to disrupt social capital by reducing family ties, and the stock of family-based time and monetary assistance (Boisjoly et al., p. 629). Children living in poverty move about twice as often as nonpoor children (Children's Defense Fund, 1995: Sherman, 1994). As Fitchen (1981, 1992) discussed, geographical mobility is related to low income, and to limited employment and housing opportunities. Associated with poverty and substandard housing are conditions which cause frequent moves: overcrowding, utility shut-offs, and inadequate heat. Interacting with the factors of employment, housing problems, and mobility are changes in family structure and the attenuation of family ties. Geographic mobility is both a result and a causative factor in the , instability of a family's informal support network (Fitchen, 1992). SiICiI] ”1.5151“: 1|. Recent studies have demonstrated the critical roles of social capital and residential mobility in high school completion (Fletcher, 1993; Kids Count in Michigan, 1995). Residential mobility was discovered to be a primary contributor of children from single parent 37 families dropping out of school (Kids Count in Michigan, p. 6). It is estimated that when other factors are held constant, each move diminishes a child's chance of finishing high school by two percentage points (Children's Defense Fund, 1995, p. 64; Sherman, 1994, p. 19). Coleman (1988) described dropping out of school as an important outcome of a lack of social capital, whether this is measured by the adult-child ratio in the home, residential mobility, or by parental aspirations. Using the Highficthandflextmd. sample of high school students, Coleman reported that when financial and human capital factors were controlled, drop out rates were higher for students whose families had limited social capital (Coleman, 1988; Coleman & Hoffer, 1987). In her analysis of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics data set, Fletcher (1993) found that the number of siblings in the family and the number of moves during childhood were negatively associated with educational achievement. Reviewing longitudinal data from their study of youth at risk of lifelong disadvantage, Furstenberg and Hughes (1995) discovered a positive association between measures of social capital and high school completion. A Coleman and Hoffer (1987) analyzed the Highfichmlanifiexond. sample, and discovered differences in the drop out rates of students attending Catholic Schools compared to those attending public schools or those attending private schools without a religious basis. Coleman and Hoffer ascribed the low dropout rate in Catholic Schools (3.4% as 38 compared to 1 1.9% in private schools and 14.4% in public schools) to the high degree of intergenerational closure in Catholic schools. Coleman described how Catholic and other religion-based schools are surrounded by a "functional community" based on the religious institution. The adults have multiplex relations with each other as members of the same religious organization and as parents of children in the same school. Coleman and Hoffer (1987) found that Catholic schools are more successful than either public or other private schools in raising the academic achievement and lowering the drop out rates of African Americans, Hispanics, and children from lower socioeconomic groups. Coleman and Hoffer attributed this success to the students' integration into a functional community. For students from all backgrounds who attend public schools, frequency of attendance at religious services. regarded as a measure of social capital through intergenerational closure, was strongly related to dropout rate (Coleman, 1988, p. SI 14). . Religious attendance is interpreted as participation in a local functional community which "provides the support, norms and constraints that lead high school students to complete their high school schooling rather than to drop out” (Coleman & Hoffer, p. 139). Coleman (1988) _ interpreted the low dropout rates of students who attend Catholic schools (or other schools with a religious base), and of students who often attend religious services, as evidence of the importance of social capital for students' educational outcomes. SociaLCapitaLandAdultflutmmes Fletcher (1993) tested Coleman's hypothesis that higher levels of capital investments in children result in higher levels of adult achievement. Using intergenerational data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, (PSID), Fletcher asked how financial, human, and social capital investments in childhood affect the adult outcomes of children (Fletcher, p. 374). Using wage rates and educational achievement as measures of the socioeconomic achievement of adults. she found, as Coleman did, that the mother's presence in the family is positively related to outcomes, whereas the number of siblings and the number of moves have a negative effect on children's educational attainment. Like Coleman, Fletcher described as a limitation of her study the fact that the PSID data set was not explicitly collected to study the . capital investments in children. Absent from the PSID data are descriptions of the nature of parent—child relationships and of the social networks of parents in the community (Fletcher, 1993, p. 380). Thus, like Coleman and Hoffer (1987), Fletcher used indirect measures of social capital and intergenerational closure, such as the number of family moves during childhood. Furstenberg and Hughes (1995) used data from a longitudinal study of 252 children of teenage mothers to look at the relationship 40 between indicators of adult success of the children, and measures of the social capital available to them as adolescents. They explored the extent to which social capital within the family and the community affects the life chances of children when they reach early adulthood. Positive outcomes for the children were measured in terms of their socioeconomic achievement as adults: completion of high school, enrollment in college, status on a global measure of socioeconomic status, and participation in the labor force (Furstenberg & Hughes, 1995). Although almost all of the children in the study spent much of their lives in poverty or near poverty, the majority of the mothers of the children held mainstream goals for their children. Consistent with Coleman's data, the results of the study showed that the mother's educational aspirations for her child are related to the positive outcomes of graduation from high school, and entrance into college or the labor force (Furstenberg & Hughes, p. 587). Social capital is multidimensional. Furstenberg and Hughes , (1995) measured social capital not only by parental aspirations. but by the mother's support network, including her relationship with her own mother, the mother's knowledge of her children's friends, and by the residential stability of the family. Each of these variables was linked to acceptable socioeconomic outcomes for the child, even when controls were made for the family's human capital, as measured by the parent's education, income, and labor force participation. Furstenberg and Hughes (1995) found that other markers of adult 41 success--the avoidance of live birth by age 19, serious criminal activity, and depression--were unrelated to their measures of social capital. They concluded that the multidirnensionality of social capital must be understood. Because particular components of €991¥199P191 are related to specific outcomes, it may not be appropriate to seek a correlation between a unitary measure of social capital and a unitary measure of success in the early adult years (p. 589). Furstenberg and Hughes (1995) described as a limitation of the study the fact that there was no measure of the social capital available to the children studied during their formative preschool years. They pointed out that the concept of social capital had not been developed at the time when the children were initially studied. Since the numbers of children under the age of 6 living in poverty are at an all—time high (National Center for Children in Poverty, 1995), and since it has been postulated that 50% of adult achievement has been determined by age 6 (Hewlett, 1995), a study of social capital available to young children ~ living in poverty seems particularly relevant. Support Networks What has been described above as "social capital" could be considered a summary term for what Garbarino (1992b) called the seven “we mm- —N————‘—§- basic needs of families--a stable environment, security, positive time together, a belief system that makes sense of the world, involvement in a 42 caring community, justice, and access to basic resources. The observation that "families need to be woven into a social fabric through an active, caring community" (Garbarino, 1992b, p. 221) is to describe participation in what Coleman calls a "functional community" (Coleman, 1988: Coleman & Hoffer, 1987). A §I§121¢£§§1€1§E9§££§ QEEEQW and involvement with others in a caring network create the intergenerational closure Coleman (1988) describes as essential for the transmission of values from one generation to another. Examples of intergenerational closure and of participation in a functional community can be found in the literature describing the role of support networks in the lives of poor families. In their analysis of the 1980 and 1988 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Boisjoly et al. (1995) noted that contrary to the premise BEWWFP the work of Wilson (1987) and other poverty researehers is based (that poor neighborhoods lack social capital), families in poor neighborhoods reported access to social capital, mainly » in friend-based networks. ‘flf. ._ «Ac-mm < Boisjoly et al. (1995, p. 61 1) defined the AW social capitfl as potential access to time or financial help from nonhousehold members in times of emergency. They defined the investment in socialmfl capital as the giving of time and monetary assistance to friends and relafivég They . found that the factor most consistently linked to social isolation from family—based social capital was having moved from the region in which the head of household was raised (Boisjoly et al., 1995, p. 626). Moving 43 away was found to disrupt social capital by reducing family ties, and the stock of family-based time and monetary assistance (Boisjoly et al., 1995, p. 629). Noting that moving away was associated with a greater reliance on friendship networks, Boisjoly et al. suggested that "families may compensate for living in a high-poverty areas through developing strong friendship networks" (1995, p. 630). _ what connections existed between social support and stress. Reviewing research concerning parental support networks, Bronfenbrenner (1986) found that "environmental stresses and supports interacted with each other, with support serving to buffer the disruptive efiects of stress" (p. 730). Other researchers have documented the efi'ects of stress, sometimes termed "chronic sociodemographic stress” (Zuravin, 1988), "cumulative risk" (Harman & Luster, 1991) and the "pile-up of demands" (McCubbin & Patterson, 1986), and most have found that 103 network support ameliorates some of the effects of stress (Zuravin, 1988). Bronfenbrenner (1986) found that an exception to research indicating the buffering efiect of social support was a study by Crockenberg (1987) which found that for a group of adolescent mothers who lived under highly stressful conditions, social networks ceased being a positive influence and became instead a source of stress. Crockenberg (1987) concluded from her research that there is an essential distinction between a mother's social network and her social support. Frequently members of the mothers' support networks were also sources of stress. The relationships with others in the support network were often characterized by instability and conflict. People in the mothers' social networks made demands on the mother's time, energy, and financial resources, and often failed to provide needed support. Fiore, Becker, and Coppel (1983) found that unmet expectations of support led to frustration, distress, and depression in the chronically stressed population they studied. Unmet expectations and critical or negative input from significant others led to the perception that the social network was itself a source of stress (Fiore et al.). Tracy's (1990) research on at—risk families supports this finding. In her research on families at-risk of disruption due to out-of-home placement, Tracy found that not only was there limited reciprocity within the household of highly stressed families, frequently members of the network were negative and critical, undermining the mothers' efforts. 104 It appears that certain combinations of stresses influence mothers to perceive their social networks in negative terms. In research on the supports and stresses in mothers' lives, it was discovered that the influence of social networks on psychological well-being turned negative in the presence of the following factors: (a) reduced socioeconomic status, (b) misfortune occurs to significant others, and (c) low level of belief in one's ability to influence one's own life, or in the probable success vs. failure of one's own efforts to seek help (Riley & Eckenrode, 1986). The findings of this study are consistent with those of Crockenberg (1987), Fiore et al. (1983), Olson & Bande (1983), Riley and Eckenrode (1986), and Tracy (1990). A review of the interview data revealed that the mothers who viewed their social network in negative terms were those who had low levels of belief both in their ability to influence events, and in the probable success vs. failure of their efforts to seek help. The mothers who voiced having the least control over their lives were characterized by the maternal risk factors described by McKinney et al. (1994): (a) the mother had less than 12 years of schooling, (b) the mother was not married to the child's father, and (c) the mother was less than 20 years old when she had her first child. Locus of Control On the basis of what was volunteered by the mothers, it appears that locus of control is best seen as a spectrum. At one end of the 105 spectrum are the mothers who expressed the feeling that their efforts had an impact on creating the environment they wanted for their children and on the eventual fulfillment of their parental aspirations. Other mothers felt that they had some control, but that at any moment they might be overwhelmed if additional stresses compounded those they had already. Finally, a few mothers felt that they had little control over their home environments. As it turned out, the three mothers who voiced feeling that things were "out of control" did lose custody of some of their children due to the intervention of Protective Services. Dixie expresses the point of view of the mothers who feel an internal locus of control. Basically everything I've done, good or bad, has been because of me. It hasn't been of anybody else. I was always...l wanted better, I guess. With only a few exceptions, all the women interviewed tried to exert control over as much of their environment as possible. They often showed remarkable ingenuity in developing strategies to make ends meet financially, and in trying to create the type of environment they wanted for their children. Whether working two jobs, or utilizing low-cost or borrowed materials to fix up houses and cars which were falling apart, mothers tried to "hold everything together" in the best way they could. While some mothers expressed having little control over neighborhood conditions, two women exerted control over their 106 children's immediate environment by literally fencing out the neighborhood. Donna, for example, had little income, and her house had burned down last year due to sparks from the electrical line above her house. She felt that she had no support from neighbors, and she lived now in a dangerous neighborhood. She built a fence out of scrap lumber, and purchased toys from garage sales so that her children could enjoy the play area in their backyard with a sense of safety. Marlene had similar feelings about her neighborhood and started a day care business. She organized each day around activities that the children would enjoy inside or outside under her supervision. Both mothers expressed long- range goals for their child "to do better than I did" and worked to see that their goals were realized. The majority of the mothers expressed a belief in their abilities to influence their own lives and the lives of their children, but were working constantly to keep things from "going out of control." Like the families described in the series "Life at the Edge" (Life at the edge, 1987), the . informants voiced the concern that they were "only just making it" and that an illness could make everything fall apart. For all the informants, but most particularly for the three who had all three maternal risk factors, and who expressed that things were "out of control," an event such as an accident could break the fragile bonds which hold everything together. For Sally, the precipitating event which made things "out of control" was her grandmother's accident. The grandmother's role in the 107 lives of the young mother and her children was pivotal. When the grandmother's hospitalization made it impossible for the grandmother to continue to provide childcare, Sally felt overwhelmed. The weakening of her informal support system led Sally to request help from the formal support system of Preventive and Protective Services. For others, it was not a precipitating event but a continuation of an endless stream of stresses which led to things being "out of control" and to the removal of their children. Zuravin (1988) cited the presence or absence of social support as the mediating factor between chronic sociodemographic stress and child abuse and neglect. For Dena, who says she receives no support from anyone, things are so out of control that Protective Services and outside "support" are viewed as additional stresses: What all started is...for starters they made my fiancé move out of here. And they said he abused my kids ...and that's a crock. For one thing, I don't spank my kids. Why would I let somebody else abuse them? So they sent all my kids to live with their dad.... They made my fiance move out of here...and he can't even be around my kids. So when he's around, I have to leave the kids with a sitter. So on their [visitation] week-ends, I leave them usually with... They're making me go to the Domestic Assault Shelter. He doesn't hit me. He gives me verbal abuse but I give it right back to him. He calls me a bitch and I call him an asshole....Wrap Around...it's supposed to help keep families together...All they did with my family was rip it apart. I mean they've got my kids so they can't see their brothers, and their niece and their other sister. It's just all a big joke...I'm moving out of state. In contrast, Della feels that things are out of her control with 108 respect to the children she lost in the past through interventions by Protective Services, but that she has some control over the future of her Head Start child: That's a lot of different goals for what I couldn't...I didn't know how to have with my girls that I do know how with my boy...As far as what I, you know, do to keep things going with him...to make sure he has a good life and ...kind of help him out through that...to show him, look you know. you can't always sit on your butt to get everything in life. Invisible Loyalties The disparity between holding mainline aspirations for their children and spending limited time on intermediate goals, such as going over school work or reading with their children each day, might be explained by the amount of time and energy consumed by daily stresses. It might also be explained by a lack of a sense of control over one's fortunes. In addition to the pressures from daily stresses, and to fragile sense of control over one's fortunes, a theme which appeared in the interview data was the loyalty many mothers had to their social network and to the status quo. The term "invisible loyalties" was coined by Boszormenyi-Nag and Spark (1984) to indicate that "in families, as well as in other groups, the most fundamental loyalty commitment pertains to the maintenance of the group itself" (p. 40). Members of a group internalize group 109 expectations. Seen in this light, individual achievement is at odds with loyalty to the group (Boszormenyi-Nagy & Spark, p. 20). Loyalty to the members of one's family, social network, neighborhood, or community is complex. Loyalty in some cases appears to be out of a fear of reprisals or anxiety about losing 'a relationship. An underlying theme which could not be addressed in the interviews was the loyalty to household members who were involved in the use or sale of drugs. In addition to outer pressures was what appeared to be an undercurrent of loyalty to a way of life the mothers experienced when they were children. Mittelstaedt (1994) cited Musick in her finding that the teen-age mothers she studied felt "psychological pressures to validate the life style choices of others in their lives" and that to behave differently from one's family threatens to disrupt ties with mothers, sisters, grandmothers, and aunts, and with all sources of family support (Mittelstaedt, 1994, p. 171). Whyte (1993) in W demonstrated the power of loyalty to one's social group in his description of a low-income Italian neighborhood. Whyte showed how loyalty to the peer group created obstacles to mobility. The only member of the group who went to college had to break ties with the members of his friendship network. In their research in low-income, predominantly African American communities, Stack (1974) and Stack and Burton (1993) coined the terms "kin-work," "kin-time," and "kinscripts" to convey the idea that in 110 order to endure over time, families need to accomplish certain work, such as maintaining intergenerational responsibilities and shared values. The work is accomplished through "kinscripts," i.e. prescribed patterns of family interaction which dictate role performances of family members and expectations for when (during the life course) certain roles should be performed. Burton (1990, 1992) has written extensively about the role of grandmothers in rearing grandchildren, and the expectation that the grandchildren will give their own children to their mothers to raise. The power of the messages to perform "kinwor " and to serve the needs of the group first was felt in the undercurrents of the themes expressed by the mothers. Loyalty to family or to a subculture appeared to operate in the same way that loyalty or participation in a functional community works. The community or subculture "functions" to perpetuate itself. Just as participation in a church school involves a child in a subculture where peers and adults share common values, participation in an extended family or friendship network, or in a subculture involving substance abuse, can be a governing force in one's life, and in the lives of one's children. At times, giving up custody of one's children to the care of other members of the kinship system is in itself a gesture of trying to control the destiny of the children in a positive way. Two of the women who saw the locus of control outside of themselves saw their homelessness as the major obstacle to their goals for their children. Sylvia constantly moves between her mother's house and her aunt's house. Sally described herself 111 as actively looking for a place to stay at the time of the interview. Sally could not recall how many times she had moved during the lifetime of her Head Start child. Both Sylvia and Sally have given up the care of some of their children to their mother or to their grandmother. Sylvia and Sally each recognize that "being on the move" is not conducive to the type of environment they want for their children. Placing their children in the hands of their mother or grandmother, appears to be a recognition of the fact that a stable environment is what they want for their children. Since Sylvia and Sally list their mother and their grandmother as their main sources of support, placing their children in their hands could be understood as a type of intergenerational closure. In response to the interview question, What do you do now to work toward your goals for your Head Start children? Sally said. I put them in the best situation. The best home and the best atmosphere that they could be in is with my grandmother. Sally's response to the stressful realities of her life, to her feelings for her children, and to the invisible loyalty she had to the way she was raised was to place her children in the care of her grandmother. Through this response she allowed intergenerational closure to take place. VI. EMERGING GROUNDED THEORY The themes of the ecology of stress, locus of control, and invisible loyalties form a backdrop for an emerging grounded theory of social capital. The Head Start mothers in Madrid described‘the context of their lives in ways which illuminate the multidimensionality of social capital. In the existing literature, and in this study, secial capital has been understood as social resources which contribute to a child's growth and to the development of human capital. Parental aspirations have been presented as a source of social capital which encourage children's development and school achievement. GEE sources of social capital, such as fiiendship networks, and relationships unthrelafives are ‘ seen in terms of the support they provide for those aspirations. Obstacles to the parents' goals are described as conditions which diminish the supply of social capital. For example, homelessness and geographical mobility are conditions which attenuate relational ties, creating a deficit of social . capital. Weak relational ties, in turn, can contribute to geographical mobility. Negative Social Capital Analysis of the mothers' responses in this study suggests a different perspective from which to view social capital. While the mothers 112 113 in this study articulated mainstream goals, the people and practices they used to meet the demands of the day worked against the achievement of their long term goals. The social relations which provided social capital in terms of coping with daily exigencies served to perpetuate the status quo, including the conditions of poverty. . The author of WW introduced the concept of "negative space" to describe the empty spaces around the subject of a picture (Edwards, 1989, p. 93). When one looks at a tree, one perceives it as a subject silhouetted against the sky. It is also possible to focus one's perception on the spaces around the tree and between its branches. By mentally seeing the background as the foreground, one becomes aware of the "empty spaces" as subjects in themselves. The data analysis of this study invites such a transformation of perception. Tone of voice, body posture, avoidance of certain questions by switching the topic, or stopping in mid sentence when others walked into the room, all become subjects of analysis. When patterns are discovered in terms of how things are said as well as what was said, a different picture comes into focus. The goal is a holistic picture. "The objects and the spaces around them fit together like pieces of a puzzle" (Edwards, 1989, pp. 99-100). In the drawing exercises suggested by Edwards, as the artist observes and draws the negative spaces, e.g. the spaces around a tree and between its branches, the figure of the tree emerges. This is a metaphor for what 114 happens in qualitative research. As the researcher notes the "negative space"--the emotional, social and physical context of the informant-~a picture emerges. A mother’s life space, understood as negative social capital, is depicted in Figure 4. Ecological Niches of Poverty and Strategies for Survival The pattern that emerges most frequently is the experience that things verge on being "out of control" and that strategies make survival possible. Larger economic forces are beyond one's control. Coping mechanisms, e. g. expenditures of time and energr to "get by," help one to survive the vicissitudes of the economy but these mechanisms also impede getting ahead. Fitchen (1981, p. 101) discussed the spending patterns of the rural poor. Spending, whether it is for a used snowmobile instead of for a needed pump for the house, gives periodic small rewards which are the mechanisms by which a man who gains little from the economic system is able to continue to believe in the values of that system...they help reassure him that his children will be able to have a better life than he did, that hope is not foolish but both necessary and reasonable. When Fitchen (1992) retumed to the area a dewde later, she found that the children in the families interviewed had fared less well than their parents. Although their parents had wished for them "a better life" the adult children were in many cases worse off than their parents. 115 Ethic Of Care Dangerous Limited Lack of Affordable C Substance Abuse of Network Member Neglected Health Problems Family Relations Figure 4. Negative social capital Negative social capital is depicted as the life context of a Head Start mother. The fragmentation of the life space of the mother and her children is seen as different puzzle ieces of the ecolo of stress. The life space is bounded by the ethic 0 care, represented y circles of formal and informal support. (Graphics consultation given by Jan Armour and Gwen Combs. 1996) 116 Factory closings and the consequent lack of well-paying jobs made it impossible to “get ahead.” It was becoming increasingly hard to even get by in these rural areas. The sociocultural effects of the structural conditions which produce features of low-income life in inner cities have'been documented by Wilson (1987). Wilson discussed ecological niches of poverty which have the "concentration effects" of living in a neighborhood where residents have limited access to jobs, marriageable partners, and "exposure to conventional role models" (Wilson, 1987, pp. 142, 144). Residents of these neighborhoods are socially isolated. In the face of prolonged joblessness, basic institutions in the inner cities decline. As the social organization of the neighborhoods disintegrates, norms and values pertaining to employment, education, and family structure also deteriorate. The upper income people who moved out of the neighborhood had provided the necessary institutional stability. Coleman (1980) called this the "public good" aspect of social capital and , saw it as a casualty of geographic mobility. The effects of de facto segregation in large cities have been chronicled by Wilson (1987) and other poverty scholars (Massey & Denton, 1993, p. 8) Residential segregation has been instrumental in creating a structural niche within which a deleterious set of attitudes and behaviors—~a culture of segregation-has arisen and flourished. Segregation created the structural conditions for the emergence of an oppositional culture that devalues work, schooling and marriage and that stresses attitudes and behaviors that are antithetical and often hostile to success in the larger economy. 117 The rural counterpart to these ecological niches of poverty exists. Some of the characteristics of negative social capital have emerged from the interview data. Responses to the ecology of stress frequently include the feeling that things are "going out of control." It is when they sense that the locus of control is outside of themselves that the mothers are most vulnerable to negative aspects of the social structure. Undocumented through the words of the women interviewed, but apparent through observation of the negative social capital, and documented in public record is evidence that drug use is one of the elements which contribute to the kaleidoscopic patterns of poverty. Ethic of Care The response to this fact can be best viewed through the lens fashioned by Gilligan (1982). Her concept of the "ethic of care" offers a way to view the mothers' responses to the stresses of poverty and to the awareness that loved ones and their children have been affected by drug use. The ethic of care was demonstrated repeatedly in the interviews with the Head Start mothers. Choices were made to give time and energy to others even at times when these decisions were at odds with the mother's own individual needs. Behavior which seemed to conflict with the mothers' aspirations for their children's school achievement could be best understood as a conflict involving “different portrayals of 118 achievement and affiliation, leading to different modes of action and difierent ways of assessing the consequences of choice" (Gilligan, 1982, p. 62). The most dramatic instances of the ethic of care in action were seen in decisions made by women who took on the role of mother of children who were not their own. This decision involved great sacrifice on the part of the caregiver, and a total transformation of lifestyle. Doris became the mother of her sister's three children. Yes, it caused me to separate from my husband. He didn't want me to take this on. It caused me to move. to give up my home and myjob. I had a goodjob as an emergency medical technician. Here there are no jobs. I had to take the children away from Chicago, though. That was no place for children. Gilligan (1982) contrasts the image of hierarchy with the image of a web of affiliation. "The ideal of care is thus an activity of relationship, of seeing and responding to need, taking care of the world by sustaining the web of connection so that no one is left alone" (p. 62). The ideal of . meeting the needs of others was a recurrent theme in the mothers interviewed. This ideal is given eloquent voice by Doris: Because I want the best for them. In fact, you know, Iwish I could take all the kids of the world that's suffering. and do something to help them. Because they didn't ask to come here. They've been brought here. I think we have an obligation to them. There are some people are meant to be parents and some aren't. You have to do the best you can for them. That's the way I see it. Through accepting parental responsibility of children who are not 119 her own, Doris has made intergenerational closure possible for the children. Her decisions were governed by her adherence to the "ethic of care." When one loses the locus of control, especially when one surrenders it to another person, one is dependent upon that person to operate out of the ethic of care. When this does not happen, the ecolog' of stress overwhelms the mother. If the informal network falters, the only alternative is the formal support network of community service agencies. In Figure 4, the life context is bounded by the ethic of care. If this fiagile bond snaps due to pressures on the informal support network, the family is totally dependent on formal supports. When the continued funding and existence of formal supports are threatened, as they are now at the state and national level, little will be left to assist mothers in their efforts to hold things together, and to withstand the corrosive effects of the ecology of stress. Nascent Grounded Theory Poverty has a disintegrative effect on a family's social capital. The conditions described here as the "ecology of stress" wear away resources which might otherwise be available for the development of the children's human capital. Family social capital--time, energy and adult attention available to a child--is dissipated when a mother is pulled in many 120 directions by the stresses of poverty. When the conditions of poverty lead to moves and to changes in household structure, a family's social capital is diminished. The Head Start mothers interviewed in this study have described lives and relationships which are shaped by the stresses of poverty. Rather than facilitating the achievement of goals and the development of human capital, a mother's social relations reflect, and are reactive to the stresses she is experiencing. The social relations are not instrumental to propelling her child out of poverty. Instead, they give a mother survival mechanisms so that she is able to provide her family with shelter and food. The benefits of the social relations are not without cost, however. People in the Head Start mother's social network are also living in poverty, experience similar stresses, and make demands on others in the network in order to meet daily survival needs. When meeting basic needs is a source of daily stress, parental aspirations can reflect little more than a dream or an expression of hope. - Parental aspirations become goals to pursue when shared by others who are free from the "drain" of chronic sociodemographic stress, and who invest in the children's future. VII. SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS Summary This study explored the question, "What is the file of social capital in the development of human capital for children growmg up in rural poverty?" The problem was addressed through ecological qualitative research with low-income women who cared for children attending Head Start in a rural community in Michigan. All women listed as mothers on the Head Start applications for the 1994-1995 school year in the community called "Madrid" were invited to participate. Twenty women were interviewed concerning their aspirations for their Head Start children, and the supports and obstacles they encountered as they worked to achieve their goals. As the study developed, and the data on aspirations were gathered. discrepancies between the mothers' goals for their children, and the mothers' accounts of their daily lives became evident. The mothers' responses revealed both the stresses associated with living in rural poverty, and the interaction between stresses and supports in the mothers' social networks. It became clear that an exploration of social capital was essential to an understanding of the development of human capital in the families interviewed. 121 122 The concept of social capital is pivotal to an understanding of the ecology of the families of this study because it illustrates the connection between the influences within and without the family which shape the family's present and contribute to the children's future. As Furstenberg and Hughes (1995) point out, the measures of social capital in previous studies have been restricted by the questions asked in the existing data sets. In Coleman and Hoffer's (1987) analysis of the High School and Beyond data set, the measurement of family social capital was based on the ratio of adults to children and the mother's expectation that her child would attend college. Social capital outside the family was measured in terms of the number of family moves and the length of residence in a community. An additional measure of intergenerational closure and involvement in a functional community was family participation in church (Coleman & Hoffer). The interviews with 20 low-income women who care for Head Start children in Madrid reveal that indirect measures do not give a clear picture of the role of social capital in their lives. The proximate measures used in previous studies--the adult to child ratio in the home, the mother's expectation of college, and the number of moves a family makes--appear to be limited in describing social capital in the Head Start families studied. The mothers' responses in the interviews indicate that the ratio of adults to children in the household is not necessarily a measure of the amount of social capital in the home. The mothers indicated that while 123 some adults in the home are supportive, others are not. Moreover, some mothers felt that rather than the number of their children being a dilution of adult attention, the children often were sources of support. Similarly, a mother's expectation of college for her child was not always an indication of the amount of adult attention available to a child. All the mothers interviewed had mainstream goals for their children. The mothers varied however, in the amount of time and attention they spent in helping their children to develop skills needed for school success. There appeared to be a connection between a mother's sense of an internal locus of control and the amount of time and energy she placed in daily activities with her child. While the majority of mothers made great efforts to affect the child's home environment in positive ways, a few saw the locus of control as totally outside themselves. For these mothers, there was no relation between their voiced aspirations and efiorts made to positively affect their environment. The disparity between the parental aspirations of the women interviewed and the realities of their daily lives led the researcher to look at the data in a more penetrating way. From a review of the data with a focus on context, the concepts of "ecology of stress" and "negative social capital" emerged. The daily stresses of life in poverty consumed a major part of the mothers' energies. Fitchen (1981; 1991) has pointed out that limited employment opportunities, low income, substandard housing, 124 inadequate education, neglected health problems and low self-esteem are interactive factors in rural poverty. The interrelated factors contributed to another stress associated with diminished social capital-geographical mobility. Children living in poverty move about twice as often as nonpoor children‘ (Children's Defense Fund, 1995; Sherman, 1994). As Fitchen (1991, 1992) discussed, geographical mobility is related to low income, and to limited employment and housing opportunities. Associated with poverty and substandard housing are conditions which cause frequent moves, e.g. overcrowding, utility shut-offs, and inadequate heat. Interacting with the factors of employment, housing problems, and mobility are changes in family structure and the attenuation of family ties. Geographic mobility is both the result and a causative factor in the instability of a family's informal support network (Fitchen, 1992). Focusing on the ecological context of each of the Head Start families in the study led to the formation of the concept of negative . social capital. To view the informants' environmental context is to witness the effects of ecological stress on family functioning. The understanding gained from this observation illuminates the revolutionary implications of family ecological theory. When family behavior is understood as intimately connected with environmental conditions such as poor housing, joblessness and drug abuse, the social structure which maintains those conditions is unmasked. 125 Implications The role of social capital in the formation of human capital is highly complex. Social capital, in the form of social support, is essential both in order to cope with the daily stresses associated with poverty, and to work toward the achievement of one's goals for one's children. The mothers interviewed demonstrated that a negative side of social capital exists in the form of demands made to support others within an ecology of stress. The concept of the "ethic of care" demonstrates that there is an alternative way of viewing family resources and individual achievement. ImplicaflcnsioLResearch; In order to better understand the role of social capital in the development of human capital, the multidimensionality of social capital must be recognized. Parental time and attention, and the nature of relations within the social network, and between the family and the larger community all have a bearing on a child's development. Research is needed in the areas of mothers' use of time with their children, the role of social capital in children's lives at different ages, and the function of conflict and reciprocity in social networks. Time One of the findings of the study was the discovery that while 126 the Head Start mothers had educational goals for their children, only a few mothers mentioned spending time in educational activities with their children. Qualitative research, particularly participant observation, is needed in order to better understand the use of time in low-income families with young children. A study of the activity patterns (Nelson, 1963) of low income families with children would help to answer the following questions: How is the day used? Are expenditures of time and energy made to benefit the chfldren's development and school success? How much time do mothers spend going over school work, and reading to their children? How much time is spent on survival tasks? Longitudinal studies would be helpful to determine the social capital available to children at different ages, and the amount of human capital the children of the Head Start mothers in this study have acquired by the time they are 18. Similar studies might also illuminate the role of social capital in the development of the mothers interviewed. W Boisjoly et al. (1995) discussed perceived Social support in terms of the family's stock of social capital. The awareness of potential access to help in terms of time and money from Peeple outside the household acts as a buffer, and prevents stresses from seeming overwhelming. Some theorists have viewed social networks as bllfl‘ers to stress, and have predicted that social support given to mothers Will meliorate stress and positively influence the care of the child (Crockenberg, 1987; Hashima 81 Amato, (1994)). 127 Other researchers have discovered that social networks can be experienced as sources of stress (Crockenberg, 1987; Fiore et al., 1983; Riley & Eckenrode, 1986: Tracy, 1990). TWO aspects of support networks which deserve further study are conflict and reciprocity. Some research has indicated that critical or negative relationships in. a network can ofiset the positive effects of more supportive relationships (Fiore et al., 1983: Tracy, 1990). Future research is needed to explore how reciprocity strengthens the supportive aspects of social networks and the positive aspects Of social capital. The findings of the present study indicate that qualitative research offers a means of capturing nuances and dimensions of social capital which might be missed if indirect or proximate measures were used. Previous studies of social capital have used existing data sets, and have therefore been limited in exploring the different dimensions of social capital. The challenge is to develop measures of social capital which take into account its many facets. W The discovery of negative social capital in the lives of the Head Start mothers has widespread implications for theory as well as research. Instead of viewing social capital in terms of its presence or absence, it should be viewed as multidimensional, with aspects which promote the development of human capital, and with other aspects which impede 128 human capital development. When understood as the ecological context in which people live, negative social capital describes the stresses as well as the supports in the social network. For poor families the life context is characterized by the ecology of stress, which militates against the develOpment of human capital. Gilligan (1982, p. 62) envisioned an alternative way of viewing affiliation and achievement. From the perspective of the ethic of care, social relations are valued not as means to an end, but as ends in themselves. The voices of the Head Start mothers in this study confirm Gilligan's findings. Social relations were viewed by the mothers as primary. Even cherished parental aspirations were eclipsed by the demands of family survival, and by efforts to maintain the social network. As a theory of social capital is developed, it would be enhanced by an exploration of the roles that negative social capital and the ethic of - care play in the creation of human capital. 1].” EEI' Family ecology theory offers a holistic view of the family in the context of its environment. Ecological theory, research and practice can be united into a new paradigm of intervention such as that which has resulted from research on children at-risk and community coalitions 129 (Keith 81 Perkins, 1995). The concept of the "ethic of care" provides a way to view intervention which would help to utilize the positive aspects of social capital. Burton (1991,1992) has demonstrated that utilizing natural support networks, and supporting grandmothers who 'are raising their grandchildren, is the most effective way to engage the formal support network. Recent research on community collaboration (Keith et al., 1993) has demonstrated the power of community-based efforts. The need for practice to be based on this research has been recognized in state policy. The Michigan Human Services Directors have initiated reforms based on the realization that "multigenerational families have complex needs that cut across agency boundaries. They should receive uncategon'zed, collaborative services tailored to their specific needs, culture and community" (Michigan Human Services Directors, 1995, p. 2). In the present study, Head Start was mentioned more often by the mothers than any other source of support. The Head Start staff simultaneously helped mothers to deal with the ecology of stress, by giving practical assistance for present needs, and encouraged the mothers to discover how they could help their children to succeed in school. Head Start in Madrid is a model for how practitioners can actualize the ethic of care and provide social capital in meaningful ways to families in need. 130 W The findings of this study reveal that poverty erodes social capital and undermines the development of human capital. The availability of jobs which pay a living wage, adequate housing, and child care would make a major difference in the lives of the mothers interviewed and in the lives of their children. For effective changes to occur in the life situations of the families interviewed in this study, policies must be changed on a macrocosmic level. Present state and national policies concerning the allocation of resources to mothers and children living in poverty are based on the fallacy that economic dependence can be eliminated without the creation of economic opportunity (Palley, 1996). Loury's (1977) concept of "social capital" forces one "to consider the extent to which individual earnings are accounted for by social forces outside an individual's control" (p.176). Anything less than a total revision of current economic policies concerning the provision of financial resources to mothers and children living in poverty is to ignore Loury's observation and to turn a deaf ear to the voices of mothers who speak for the children of today and the citizens of tomorrow. 131 Conclusion At a time when the funding of Head Start and other agencies is disputed, the question becomes whether the national and state policies will be governed by the ethic of care or driven by political expediency. Research (Fitchen, 1981, 1992) has shown that increasing the opportunities for employment, housing, and a living wage would reduce the ecology of stress for families living in rural poverty. For those families overwhelmed by the stresses of poverty, research has shown interventions which are comprehensive, intensive, and based on family and community collaboration are most effective (Schorr, 1988). As Schorr has discussed, it is no longer a question of knowing what is needed to lift people out of poverty, but how to summon the political will to do it. REFERENCES REFERENCES Adams, T. K. 8: Duncan, G. (1992). Long- -term poverty in rural areas. In C Duncan (Ed) RuraLpoxerbLinAmericaJpp 63- 96) New York: Auburn House. Anderson, L. (1987). Scraping by. A field study of semi-rural poverty in the Texas hill country. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin. 1987) DissertationAbstracmmtemanonaLAfi. 10 Becker, GS. (1993). ' ’ ' (3rd edition). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Boisjoly, J., Duncan, G ..,J & Hofferth, S. (1995, September). Access to social capital. JontnalnLEamihclssuesJfi. 5, 609-631. Boszormenji-Nagy, I. & Spark, G.M. (1984).1nyjsih1e_]gya1ties;_ ReciprocmLmiergeneraficnaLfamththeramL New York: Brunner/Mazel. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). Theeccloggcofhnmannezelopmenn. Experimenishgcnaiureandnesign. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. W 22.5. 723-742. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1989). Ecological systems theory. In Ross Vasta, (Ed..) Annals_of_child_deyelc.pment.6. (pp. 187-248). JAI Press. Bubolz, M.M. & Sontag, M. S. (1993). Human ecologr theory. In P. Boss. W. Doherty, R LaRossa, Schumm, W.R & S. Steinitz (Eds.). EE 1 l [E .1 I] . l i: :tlJDdS° e contextual approach (pp. 419-448). New York: Plenum. Burton, L. M. (1990). Teenage childbearing as an alternative life- -course strategy in multigeneration black families. HumarLNatumJJZ), 308- 313. Burton, L.M. (1991, May/June). Caring for children: Drug shifts and their implications for children. WMSZ 132 133 Burton, L.M. (1992). Black grandparents rearing children of drug- addicted parents: Stressors, outcomes and social service needs. ThefierontologisLBZG, 744-751. Children's Defense Fund. (1995). IhestatentAmerica‘schildren. xearhaok. Washington, DC: Children's Defense Fund. Colbert, RD. (1991, December). Untapped resource: African American parental perceptions. ElemenianLSchMrdancefifionnseling. 26. 96-105. C,oleman J. S. £1388). Social capital in the creation of human capital. ‘_ J AmericarLqumalnLSociology. 94.18upplement), 895-5120. .1. Coleman J. S. (1990). Eonndaiionsanccialihean. Cambridge, Mass. L Belknap. z/j Coleman, J. S. & Hoffer, T. (1987). impacLoLcommnniiies. New York: Basic Books. Crockenberg, S. (1987). Support for adolescent mothers during the postnatal period: Theory and research. In C.F.Z. Boudkydis (Ed.), pencil (pp. 3-24). Norwood, N.J.: Ablex. Daly, K. (1992). The fit betwen qualitative research and characteristics of families. InJ. F. Gilgun, K. Daly& G. Handel (Eds.), Qualitaime. MeihcdanEamihLResearchmp 3-11) Newbury Park: Sage. Danziger, S. K. & Danziger, S. (1993). Child poverty and public policy: Toward a comprehensive antipoverty agen.da 1. 57-84. ~ Dill, B ..T & Williams, B. B. (1992) ..Race gender, and poverty in the rural south: African American single mothers. In C. Duncan (Ed) RurameLemLinAmerica. (pp. 97- 109). New York: Auburn House. Dillman. CM (1978 April). Scrrthemruralharentsmrieniaiicnimrd. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Los Angeles, CA. Dillman, C. M. (1981). Scuthemnrralnarenismrientaticniomrd. edncafimandinmeardmobflmcfontheinchfldren. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Los Angeles, CA. Doberstein, J. (1995, August 31). Group seeks solutions for identified health ills. ThreeBixersLornmerciaLNems. p. 1. 134 Duncan, G.D., Brooks-Gunn, J ., & Klebanov. PK. (1994, April). Economic deprivation and early child development. Chili Dexelopmenififi. 2. 296-3 18. Duncan, G. D. & Rodgers, W. L. (1988, Nov.). Longitudinal aspects Of childhood poverty. JonmaLofMamageantheEamilm 1007- 1021. Edwards. B. (1989). Drawingrmihehgmsrdeatthehram Los Angeles: J .P. Tucker. Elwood, D. (1988). W New York: Basic Books. Fiore, J ., Becker, J ., & Coppel, DB. (1983). Social network interactions: A buffer or a stress. AmericanflonmaLomommunihLPsm IL 4. 423-439. Fitchen, J .M. (198 1). BoxencirrmralAmericarAcasesnrdic Boulder Colorado: Westview Press. Fitchen, J.M. (1991). Errdangeredspacemndufingnlacesfihange. identificandsnmizalinmaLAmenca. Boulder. Colorado: Westview Press. Fitchen, J .M. (1992). Rural poverty in the northeast: The case of upstate New York. In C. Duncan (Ed.), Wamp. 177- 200). New York: Auburn House. ’ Fitchen, J. M. (1995). 'The single- parent family," child poverty, and welfare reform. Hmnanflrganizaflomji4, 355-362. Fletcher, C. (1993). The role of capital investments in the adult socioeconomic attainments of children. In R.N. Mayer (Ed.), WI | I' 1 fl 1 . I] i l I (pp. 371-381). Columbia, Missouri: ACCI. Furstenberg, F.F. & Hughes, ME. (1995, August). Social capital and successful development among at-risk youth. Wosgz. Gans, H.J. (1982). ' ° ' - New York: The Free Press. Garbarino, J. (1990). The human ecology of early risk. In S. J. Meisels & J. P. Shonkoff (Eds. ), (pp. 78-96). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. 135 Garbarino. J. (1992a). ChrldrennndiamihesanihesncraLemdmnmeni (2nd ed.). New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Garbarino, J. (19921), January/ February) The meaning of poverty in the world of children. AmeficanBehardoralScienfistfiiZZO-237. Garrett, P., Fitchen, J ., Hardesty, C., Johnson, C., Lennox, N., 8: Thompson, M. (1993). Rural families and children in poverty. In Rural Sociological Task Force on Persistent Rural Poverty (Eds) EersistenLErmertlLinfiuraLAmenca (pp. 230-258). Boulder, CO.: Westview Press. Garrett, P., Ng'andu, N. 8: Ferron, J. (1994, April). Poverty experiences of young children and the quality of their home environments. Child. DerelcpmenLfifl. 2. 331-345. Gilgun, J. F. (1992). Definitions, methodologies, and methods in qualitative family research. In J. F. Gilgun, K. Daly & G. Handel (Eds ) Qualitafixernethodsdniamilxmearch (pp. 22- 39). Newbury Park: Sage. Gilligan, C. (1982). - ' ' Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Glaser, B. G. & Strauss, AL (1967). straiegiesionqnaliiafixeresearchrChicago: Aldine. Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. AmeficanflmrmaLoLSch. 3. 481 -510. Hall, RH. 81 Stack, C. (Eds.). (1980). HoldingnnirLtheJandandihe. smith. (pp.25-40). Southern Anthropological Society Proceedings, No. 15. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. Hannan, K 8: Luster, T. (1991, Spring). Influence of parent. child and contextual factors on the quality of the home enviromnent. InfanLMentaLHealthrlmrmalJZ. 1.17-28. Harmg. L. & Agnosti. P. (1986).Ihree.Bi1Lers:_The_ear:hL¥ears.Three Rivers, MI: Three Rivers Sesquicentennial Committee. Harvey, D.L. (1993). ' ' ' ' New York. Aldine de Gruyter. Hashima, P.Y. & Amato, RR (1994, April). Poverty, social support and parental behavior. W. 394-401. 136 Hastings, J. 81Typpo M. (1984). AnelephaniiniheJildngmomA leade:s_guidc_for.helping_children_ofalcchclics. Minneapolis. Compcare. Hewlett. SA. (1992). lllllcnfllehorrghhreaksalhehcstnfneglccfingcnr. children. New York: Harper-Perennial. Hewlett, SA. (1995, December 7) Address given at the Kids Count Conference. East Lansing: Michigan State University. Hill, M. S. (1995, Spring). When is a family a family? Evidence from survey data and implications for family policy. W W 1, 35- 64. Hollis, J. (1995). [Statistics from Head Start, 1994-1995]. Unpublished raw data. Huston, A.C. (1991). Antecedents, consequences. and possible solutions for poverty among children. In A. C. I-Iuston (Ed. ), Childrenjn. (pp. 282- 315). New York: Cambridge University Press. Jarrett, RL. (1992). A family case study: An examination of the underclass debate. In J. F. Gilgun, K Daly & G. Handel (Eds.,) Qualitatixemethndsiniamillcresearch (pp. 172- 197). Newbury Park: Sage. Jarrett, R.L. (1993). ‘ Unpublished paper, Ihrssell Sage Foundation. Jayakody, R, Chatters, L.M. & Taylor, R.J. (May, 1993). Family support to single and married African American mothers: The provision of financial, emotional and child care assistance. Jonmalhf. Marn‘ageandiheiamilmfi. 26 1 -276. Keith, J., Perkins, D. F., Zouh, Z, Clifford, M. C., Gilmore, B. 8r Townsend M Z. (1993. January) Brnldmgandmamiaining. IIIII II I. II III I I I .c‘. .0 (Research Report 529). East Lansing: Michigan State University, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and the Institute for Children, Youth and Families. Keith. J 8: Perkins D. F (1995). 13.0110.adclescents_speak°.A_pmfile_of. Community Coalitions in Action. East Lansing, Michigan State University. ' (1995). Lansing, Michian: Michigan Children, Michigan League for Human Services and 137 Michigan State University. Klerman, L. V. (1991). The health of poor children. In A. C. Huston, (Ed) (pp. 136- 157). New York: Cambridge University Press. Levin, H. M. (1991). Education acceleration for at-risk students. In A.C. Huston, (Ed. ) policy (pp. 222- 240). New York: Cambridge University Press. Life at the edge: The hard choices facing low-income American families (1987, June. July, August). ConsumeLReports. 374-378, 436-439, 504-507. Loury, G. (1977). A dynamic theory of racial income differences. In P.A. Wallace and A LeMund. (Eds ) W employmentdiscriminafion. (Chapter 8) Lexington. MA: Lexington Books. MacLeod, J. (1987) AinJLnanakin_it:_LeiLeled_aspirations_in_a.lom; incomencighhorhood. Boulder, CO.: Westview Press. Madrid Chamber of Commerce (1995). Information sheet. Massey, D. & Denton, N. (1993). lhemakmghflhcmndfldass. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. McAdoo, H. (Summer, 1991). The impoverished family and child. JonmaL offlealthfiareiorihefioonandllndersemedjfl 52-57. McAdoo, H. (1993). The socio cultural contexts of ecological developmental family models. In P. Boss, W. Doherty, R. LaRossa, Schumm, W. R. & S. Steinitz (Eds). SourcebookgL (pp. 298- 301). New York: Plenum. McCubbin, H. and Patterson, J. M. (1986). Adolescent Stress, Coping and Adaptation: A Normative Family Perspective. In G. K. Leigh, and G. W. Peterson, (Eds. ) Adolescentsoniamilies. pp. 256-276. Cincinatti, OI-I: South-Western. McKinney, M.H., Abrams, L.A., Terry, P.A., Lerner, RM. (1994, September). Child development research and the poor chldren of America: A call for a developmental contextual approach to research and outreach. Jonmalza. 1 ,26- 42. McKinney, M., Hill, N. Gainer, K., Juang. L., McDonald, D., Peart, N., 138 Villarruel, F., & Lerner, R. (1993, February). Building. Draft of unpublished manuscript. Michigan State University. Institute for Children, Youth and Families. East Lansing, MI. McLanahan, S. S, Astone, N. M. 8: Marks, N. F. (1991). In AC. Huston, (Ed) (pp. 51- 78). New York: Cambridge University Press. McLoyd, V.C. (1990). The impact of economic hardship on black families and children: Psychological distress, parenting and socioeconomic development. Wflm 1-346. McLoyd, V. C. 81 Wilson, (1991). The strain of living poor. Parenting, social support and child mental health. In A. C. Huston, (Ed) (pp. 105- 135). New York: Cambridge University Press. Michigan Employment Security Commission. (1994, April). LahoLMarkeL Statistics. Office Correspondence. Sturgis, MI. Michigan Human Services Directors. (1995, February). W Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of Mental Health. Miller, M. (1995, August). ' reportflhree Rivers, MI: Office of Curriculum] Instruction. Mingione, E. (1991). ' ' ' (Paul Goodrich, Trans). Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell. Mittelstaedt. M (1994) Iniergerrerafionalfamihcpattemsntteenmcihers. W Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, East Lansing. Murphy, 5.0. (1992). Using multiple forms of family data: Identifying pattern and meaning in sibling- -infant relationships. In J. F. Gilgun, K. Daly & G. Handel (Eds. ). WW famfly.reseamh(pp. 146-171). Newbury Park: Sage. National Center for Children in Poverty (1995). New York: Columbia University School of Public Health. 139 Nelson. L.J. (1963).DaihLacti1dtleattems_of_peasanLhomemakers_ Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Michigan State University, East Lansing. O'Connor, A. (1992) Modernization and the rural poor: Some lessons from history. In C. Duncan (Ed.), We. (pp.l- 20). New York: Auburn House. O'Dell, E. (1995). County... Unpublished Report. Centreville, Michigan: St. Joseph County Human Services Commission. Ogbu, J. U. (1974). ammnneighhorhood, New York: Academic Press. Olson, S. L. 81 Banyard, V. (1993. Jan.) “Stop the world so I can get off for a while”: Sources of daily stress in the lives of low-income single mothers of young children. EamflLRelafionsAZ. 1, 50-56. Palley, T. I. (1996, July). The forces making for an economic collapse. W 1. 44-58. Polakow, V. (1993). mlhehfheLAmerica. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Prosser, W.R. (1991, Summer). The underclass: Assessing what we have learned. W 2, 1-18. University of Wisconsin-Madison: Institute for Research on Poverty. Rank, M. R. 8: Cheng, LC (1995, August). Welfare use across generations: How important are the ties that bind? JonmaLof. Marriagennitbel‘amilLSZ. 673-684. Riley, D. 81 Eckenrode, J. (1986). Social ties: Subgroup differences in costs and benefits. doumaLoLEersonanhLaniSociaLEsxchology. 5.1.. 770-7 78. Rubin. LB. (1994). EamfliesmiheiarfltlmcaAmencalsdmrkingslasa speaksnntabmrtiheiamihciheeconomxmaniethnicitx. New York: Harper Collins. Schorr, L. B. (1988). disadizanlage. New York: Anchor Books. Sherman, A. (1992). Eallingil: ' Washington, DC: Children's Defense Fund. Sherman. A (1994). WastingAmericaisjrtlrmaTheehildrensnefense. fimdmeportomtbehostsnfchildmremr. Boston: Beacon. 140 Sidel, R (1996). KeepingmomeoandehildrenlastrAmericalsmanonihe. pooh New York: Penquin Books. Stack, C. (1974). community. New York: Harper 81 Row. Stack, C. & Burton, L.M. (1993, Summer). Kinscrlpts. donmaLof. Comparatixeiamihcsmdies. XXIII. 2. 157-170. Strauss. A.E. & Corbin. J. (1990). BasicsnLQualitaiilzeBescarch. Newbury Park: Sage. Summers, G.F., Bloomquist, L.E., Butte], F., Garrett, P., Glasgow, N., Humphrey, C., Lichter, D.T., Lyson, T., Snipp, C.M., 8r Tickamyer, A. (1993). Introduction. In Rural Sociological Task Force on Persistent Rural Poverty (Eds.), W Amefica (pp. 1-19). Boulder, CO.: Westview Press. Tickamyer, A., Bokemeier, J ., Feldman, S., Jones, J .P., Wenk, D.A., 81 Harris, R. (1993). Women and persistent rural poverty. In Rural Sociological Task Force on Persistent Rural Poverty (Eds. ), BersistentBolremLinBuralAmerichp. 200-229). Boulder, CO.: Westview Press. Tracy, EM. (1990, May). Identifying social support resources of at-risk families. Sociallllork. 252-258. Tracy, E. M. 8: Whittaker, J. K. (1990). The social work map: Assessing social support in clinical practice. 8. 461-470. US. Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. (1990a). Summary social, economic and housing Characteristics.199.0_Censns_oL iEoprrlaiiomandHousing. U.S. Deparment of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. (1990b). Income and poverty characteristics of St. Joseph County. SEA. 80-127. Walters, B. (1995, October 29). 'Everything depends on this day': School's future rests on success of its fourth-graders on state test. Kalamazoofiazetie. pp.A1, A4. Whittaker, J .K. 81 Garbarino, J. (1983) helpinginihehumansendces. New York: Aldine. Whyte, w. (1993). slum. Chicago: University of Chicago. 141 Wilson, W.J. (1987). ° Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Wilson, W.J. 8r Neckerrnan, KM. (1984). WW2. Themidemugaphetmeenflddenceandhublichohclussues. Paper presented at the conference Poverty and policy: Retrospect and prospects sponsored by the Institute for Research on Poverty and the US. Department of Health and Human Services, Williamsburg, VA. Zuravin, Susan J. (1988, January). Child maltreatment and teenage first births: A relationship mediated by chronic sociodemographic stress? AmedcanrlmrmaLomdhopsychiaimml. January, 91- 102. APPENDIX A 142 .uooIOI macaququuo coco uOu ooc.~m can .uuooIOI o :ogu anon sud: nude: >~q¢uu you o~n..~ o o.~.- s 633.5” 6 o.~.s~ n 665.." v oun.«~ n 6.5.5 ~ oon.p » a «sauna aqualuaqluuluqluuqu .~H¢:¢= 62¢ 66% SUMMARY will include onAD: run: am STATE or MICHIGAN 5 W" ' 55°" 'ma'" MEAP data m «.9 75,. < 50% UNACCREDI'TED disaggregated em as or .7 by race and I I‘I'H 5| .7 5| .9 gender, PERCENT OF SECOND GRADE STUDENTS BY RACE AND GENDm WHO SCORED ABOVE AVERAGE. AVERAGE. AND BELOW AVERAGE ON THE COGNIHVE ABILITIES TEST RT - Aug... 1995 PUBLISHED av THE OFFICE OF CURRICULUM/INSTRUCTION 323 Wooo SrnEEr - THREE RIVERS. MICHIGAN 49093 MERV MILLER. DIRECTOR or cunmcuwn/msrwucno»; TWILA BONINE HAchr'r. SECRETARY ‘IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII“