The Effects of Post-Nntal Enrollment on Attainment on Children's Educational Attainment

• In Event: 381 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 12. Intersectionality and Families

Abstract

Modern higher education serves a large number students who are themselves already parents. But does college-going by parents have a beneficial impact on their children’s educational outcomes? Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1979 and the NSLY Children and Young Adults Survey, I estimate the impact of maternal college enrollment and bachelor’s completion on already-born children. For a range of educational outcomes, estimated effects of both enrollment and attainment are sizeable. Estimated effects seem to be larger if children were somewhat older when their mother either returned to college or earned a bachelor’s degree. And the impact of post-natal schooling seems to be stronger on female children than on male children. These results strongly suggest that supporting postsecondary enrollment and completion by parents could be a very effective strategy for boosting children’s educational outcomes.

Author

• David B. Monaghan, University of Wisconsin-Madison