The American family in black and white
Subtitle: a post-racial strategy for improving skills to promote equality
By: James J. Heckman
Contributors: National Bureau of Economic Research
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 16841; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 16841.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] :
Description: "In contemporary America, racial gaps in achievement are primarily due to gaps in skills.  Skill gaps emerge early before children enter school.  Families are major producers of those skills.  Inequality in performance in school is strongly linked to inequality in family environments.  Schools do little to reduce or enlarge the gaps in skills that are present when children enter school.  Parenting matters, and the true measure of child advantage and disadvantage is the quality of parenting received.  A growing fraction of American children across all race and ethnic groups is being raised in dysfunctional families.  Investment in the early lives of children in disadvantaged families will help close achievement gaps.  America currently relies too much on schools and adolescent remediation strategies to solve problems that start in the preschool years.  Prevention is likely to be more cost-effective than remediation.  Voluntary, culturally sensitive support for parenting is a politically and economically palatable strategy that addresses problems common to all racial and ethnic groups"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 5/26/2011.

Includes bibliographical references.

Also available in print.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.