The Effects of Single-Parent Households on the Literacy Achievement of Third-Grade African-American Students Stephanie Bryant Professor O’Conor-Petrusso

Table Of Contents Introduction 3 ◦ Statement of the Problem 4 ◦ Review of the Literature 5 ◦ Statement of the Hypothesis 7 Methods 8 ◦ Participants8 ◦ Instruments 8 ◦ Procedure 9 ◦ Experimental Design 10 Threats to Validity 11 Data Analysis 12 Discussion 16 Implications 17 References 18

Introduction There is a vast increase in the number of single-parent households. There is a vast increase in the number of single-parent households. This change can be accredited to the many factors. This change can be accredited to the many factors. Single-parent households are especially prevalent in the African- American community. Single-parent households are especially prevalent in the African- American community.

Statement of the Problem Children from single-parent households are faced with extra burdens that children from two-parent households do not have to face. In an effort to alleviate these stresses, adjustments need to be made. Children from single-parent households are faced with extra burdens that children from two-parent households do not have to face. In an effort to alleviate these stresses, adjustments need to be made.

Review Of Related Literature Single-Parent Households Do Affect Student Achievement Single-Parent Households Do Affect Student Achievement ◦ Pros: Parents who are involved in their student’s academic career help to increase the student’s academic achievement.  Epstein & Dauber (1991) ; Zellman & Waterman (1998); Hawes & Plourde (2000); Senechal & LeFevre (2002, March-April) ; Ricciuth (2004, March/April) ; England, Luckner, Whaley, Egeland (2004); Amato (2005); Driessen, Smit, & Sleegers (2005, August); Jeynes (2005, Summer) ; Houtenville & Conway (2008). Single-Parent Households Do Not Affect Student Achievement Single-Parent Households Do Not Affect Student Achievement ◦ Cons: Single-parent households do not play a role in student’s academic achievement, but other factors such as student’s motivational level play a role in student’s academic achievement.  Iverson, Brownlee, & Walberg (1981); Dominia (2005, July); Debell (2008); Sojourner & Kushner (1997).

Current Educational Strategies There are some strategies being implemented in schools to help single-parent households increase the academic achievement of their children. These include: There are some strategies being implemented in schools to help single-parent households increase the academic achievement of their children. These include: ◦ Training parents on how to conduct reading instruction at home (Faires, Nichols, & Ricklman, 2000). ◦ Having teachers implement strategies such as  maintaining a positive relationship with parents.  having active parents spread the word to other parents to alleviate the educational barrier that African-American parents when dealing with their child’s teacher (Neuman, Hagedorn, Celano, & Daly, 1995Trotman, 2001).  having active parents spread the word to other parents to alleviate the educational barrier that African-American parents when dealing with their child’s teacher (Neuman, Hagedorn, Celano, & Daly, 1995 ; Trotman, 2001). ◦ Having schools implement strategies that  exhibit themes of empowerment, outreach, and indigenous resources (Abdul-Adil & Farmer Jr., 2006).

Statement Of Hypothesis H R 1 H R 1 ◦ Implementing the shared reading strategy with nine African-American third-grade students from non-intact (single) parent/guardian households over a six week period will help students at P.S. X increase their reading and writing achievement on the practice New York State English Language Arts Examination.

Methods Participants ◦ Twenty-two third-grade students  Sixteen African- American  nine African- American students from non-intact households  Six Latino American ◦ Working Class Families ◦ Public School in Brooklyn, NY Instruments ◦ Demographic Survey ◦ Literacy Surveys  Student and Parent ◦ Two New York State English Language Arts Practice Exams

Methods Cont’d Procedure ◦ In early February, consent forms were sent home to parents. ◦ In mid February, students were given a Literacy survey of their attitude towards Reading and Writing.  Students were also given a pre-test using practice New York State English Language Arts exams to assess the needs of each student. ◦ From late February- early April, students were exposed to the Shared Reading strategy twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays) for six weeks.  Students from single-parents households were posed with comprehension questions by the action-researcher to aid in their understanding of the text. ◦ In late April, students were post-tested using a different practice New York State English Language Arts exam to see the effects of being exposed to the Shared Reading strategy had on their post-test scores.

Experimental Design Pre-Experimental Design ◦ One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design ◦ Symbolic Design: OXO  The study involves one group of students who will be pretested (O), exposed to a treatment (X), and post tested (O).

Threats to Validity Internal Threats ◦ History ◦ Testing/Pretest Sensitization ◦ Instrumentation ◦ Morality ◦ Differential Selection of Subjects External Threats ◦ Ecological Validity ◦ Generalizable Conditions ◦ Pretest Treatment ◦ Selection Treatment Interaction ◦ Specificity of Variables ◦ Treatment Diffusion ◦ Experimenter Effects ◦ Reactive Agreements / Participants Effects ◦ Hawthorne Effect ◦ Novelty Effect

Classroom Parental Structure Demographic Survey Question # 4 ◦ Parental Situation:  (1) Intact: Two- Parents/ Guardians Household  (2) Non-Intact: One Parent/Guardian Household

Data Analysis With a correlational coefficient of 0.81rxy there appears to be a strong, positive correlation between parents reading to their children every night and the student's self assessment of their reading comprehension.

Data Analysis Cont’d With a correlational coefficient of 0.52rxy, there appears to no correlation between students reading for an hour every night and their mid-year Reading Scores.

Pre-test/Post-test Results The results of the pre-test depicted a classroom average of 55% for students from single-parent households and 57% for students from two-parent households. ◦ The range of scores is 50%-75% for both household structures. The post-test depicted a classroom average of 80% for single-parent households and 75% for two-parent households. ◦ The range of scores is 50%-100% for both household structures. This represents an increase of 25% for students from single-parent households and 17% for students from two parent households after being exposed to the instructional strategy.

Discussion After being exposed to the instructional strategy, all students had an increase on their post-test. ◦ This finding adheres to the available research that parental involvement does affect student achievement.  Students from single-parents households had a slight advantage over those from two-parent households. (Faires, Nichols, & Ricklman, 2000).  Comprehension questions posed mirrored classroom reading strategies (Faires, Nichols, & Ricklman, 2000). Regardless of the household structure, all students benefit from additional reading they were exposed to.

Implications The results of this study suggest the need for the following implications : ◦ a need for studies at the elementary level. ◦ a need for a larger sample size. ◦ more longitudinal studies

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