The students who were in programs that combined more rigorous requirements with more extensive services targeted to student needs did better than any other group of students. Students on welfare in all of these programs made above-average progress toward their degrees, which was not the case with welfare students not in programs. Regardless of whether they participated in a special program, students on welfare accumulated credits toward their degrees at the same rate as students not on welfare, demonstrating their potential for success in college. Empowering poor women through higher education not only improves their income and job prospects, but also positively affects their children. We have long understood that education is a powerful and dependable way to interrupt the intergenerational transmission of poverty.
Individual mothers tell how that happens.
They reported that they were better able to help their children with their homework, gave their children a more secure and safe home environment, and modeled reading and studying for their children. The children saw and experienced the direct results of their mother's motivation and work in school when she graduated and later found and kept a good job. Low educational goals and low academic achievement are also positively associated with early initiation of sexual activity at a younger age, among both African American and White adolescents. Teenage pregnancy is, however, closely related to the absence of a future, of hope for anything beyond producing a child. They also often lack sufficient work experience and training.