Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2007. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." Curriculum Studies, under the direction of Advis Dell Wilkerson. ETD. Electronic version approved: December 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-150) and appendices.

Parental involvement has been identified as a targeted strategy to improve the academic achievement of children, and thus, educational reform policies and efforts have been created and implemented within the schools in order to bridge the achievement gap. Most educational reform efforts concerning parental involvement have focused on the involvement of parents from lower socioeconomic status and various ethnic and racial groups, including single mothers across these categories. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to understand how single working Black mothers became involved in their children’s education, the reasons why they were involved, and how they constructed their identity and meaning of an involved parent in their children’s education. In an attempt to move beyond the traditional models of parental involvement that place heavy emphasis on the presence of parents within the schools, this study aimed to recognize the efforts of mothers as they relate to their children’s overall growth and development within their homes and community in order to reconceptualize the meaning of parental involvement. / Department of Educational Studies

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-77).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 390-431).

Assistance to young, single, African American mothers requires adaptation to their environmental stressors along with reliance on social support. Further information is necessary for developing and supporting an appropriate model for delivery of that assistance. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine potential correlations between general social support and parenting skills and disciplinary practices amongst low-income, African American single mothers. Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory model supported this study to further develop an accurate perspective of African American families to inform more effective approaches to parenting. The participants for this correlational research design study were 78 mothers who had preschool age children, between the ages of 2 and 5. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Parents' Child-Rearing Behavior Interview Questionnaire, and the Attitudes Toward Spanking Children Questionnaire were used to measure the variables under study. Ordinal regression was used to examine the correlations between social support, parenting skills, and disciplinary practices. A significant interaction between social support, parenting skills, and disciplinary practices was not found with the tools used in this study; however, there was only a relationship determined between general social support and disciplinary practices. The knowledge gained from this study can be useful to researchers and practitioners in developing culturally appropriate parenting support and education, positively impacting the delivery of parenting by single, urban, African American mothers.

Despite known risk factors associated with families headed by single mothers such as delinquency, substance abuse, and early unprotected sex, researchers have rarely focused on how family relations positively shape the developmental trajectories of youth living in nontraditional families. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between the independent variables of ethnicity, parent-child relationship, and family interaction (including the relationship with important non-parental adults) and the dependent variables of developmental outcomes (social and emotional competence) for youth living in families headed by single mothers. The associations were investigated using data collected from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, a longitudinal cohort study. The relationships between variables were analyzed using a descriptive statistics method. The results of the study indicated no race-related differences in a child's closeness to mother in single-mother families. A significant positive correlation showed a difference in closeness to family members across ethnic groups, by age. Multiple regression analysis was employed to determine if there were statistically significant differences between closeness to the mother or family members, and the outcomes. The findings indicated that closeness to family was positively correlated to emotional outcomes for youth, and a significant positive correlation was found between family interaction and social outcomes. These results may have implications for positive social change by providing public health practitioners with strategies to support positive youth development, altering the future of youth, families, and society which will ultimately benefit from a stronger population of emotionally and socially competent young adults.

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Family Studies and Social Work, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-57).