Poverty, specifically child poverty, has been an area of great concern impacting the United States for decades (Chen & Corak, 2008; Douglas-Hall & Chau, 2008; Fajth & Holland, 2007; Germany, 2007; Raphael, 2005; Wight, Chau & Aratani, 2010; Wilson, 2010). This paper explores the differing views, experiences and perceptions of poverty through interviews with three impoverished families: one child and mother each located in an (1) urban (2) suburban and (3) rural community. By looking at children and parents living in impoverished homes in diverse neighborhoods I sought to investigate the societal, social, and emotional perceptions and experiences of children and parents living in urban, suburban, and rural poverty. Children between the ages of 6 and 7 years old were interviewed, as were their mothers, utilizing a qualitative, case study methodology. Research found parental themes of overall concern regarding child well-being due to past personal and peer experiences, a fear of the future, and the differences in variations of family, community, and financial support. Child themes included an awareness of the financial burdens of their families, knowledge of crime and violence and perceptions of wealth and home. / Department of Elementary Education

Researchers have shown that certain demographic variables and parenting strategies can predict the degree of potential for child abuse that a mother may experience with her children. The major objective of this study was to determine the specific characteristics and traits that identify mothers who have the greatest potential to abuse or neglect their children by determining whether parenting strategies, age of the mother, educational attainment, and isolation indicated by place of residence and marital status are predictive of the potential for child abuse. T-tests were performed to see if there significant differences in scale means for the subscales of parenting strategies in urban and rural groups of the sample. All subscale’s scores were significantly different when the urban and rural groups were compared. T-test and Chi square tests were computed on the relationship between demographic variables including educational attainment, age and marital status and urban and rural groups. Significant differences were found on all three demographic variables. Four variables were found to be predictive of the potential for child abuse. Four parenting strategies (i.e., spank, reason, allow, and praise) were tested for their power in predicting the potential for child abuse. Only allow was found to be a significant predictor for the potential for child abuse. Educational attainment, support group (which is a combined variable representing marital status and living arrangements) and urban vs. rural residence were found among the demographic variables to be predictors of the potential for child abuse. These results suggest that although a demographic like educational attainment may be important, the context of parenting (urban vs. rural and support group) and parenting style (allow) are the best predictors of the potential for child abuse. / Master of Science

Using Patricia Cross's Chain of Response model as a guide, this research sought to understand the complex socio-economic and environmental factors that inhibit public housing residents from participating in educational activities. The Chain of Response model developed by Patricia Cross assumes that participation in educational activities by adults whether in an organizational setting, or self-directed is not a single act, but a result of chain of responses, each based on an evaluation of the position of the individual in relation to his or her environment. The design method for the study is the qualitative case study approach. First, an interview-dialogue technique was used to gather information from 24 public housing residents. The interview questions were structured according to the elements of the conceptual model. The interview-dialogues were taped in a microcassette recorder and then transcribed. The second part of the data gathering process was accomplished by the use of a survey questionnaire instrument which was administered to 27 different public housing residents. The purpose of the questionnaire was to further explore emerging themes from the interview-dialogue. Findings show that a majority of the public housing residents in this sample are single adult females raising their children without a spouse. Among the barriers identified by respondents that inhibit their participation in educational activities include: situational barriers such as lack of child care and lack of time; institutional barriers such as high tuition costs; psychological barriers such as lack of interest and being tired of schooling. Findings also indicate that the sample public housing residents are interested in learning Cosmetology, Child Care Provider, Secretarial and Computer skills. Further, findings suggest that respondents prefer on the job training as the best way of getting training in their desired job skills. The implication of this study is that in order to encourage participation in educational activities by this population, the barriers to participation should be removed. Of greater significance is that public housing providers and policy makers may use information generated in this study to design job training programs in the identified areas of interest of public housing residents. / Ed. D.

This study explores and assesses the attitudes of the personnel of welfare-oriented governmental bureaucracies toward the poor. To fulfill these goals, a treatment and a control group were selected to compare their attitudes toward this group. They were measured by a disguised-structured instrument using the survey approach. It was found that the majority of respondents in both groups have a pro-poor attitude but it is more prevalent among the bureaucrats than among the students. In light of the knowledge we have of the effect of attitudes on the execution of policies, these results suggest that the policies governing the different programs studied are being executed to the advantage of the client.