Developmental Activities and the Summer Setback: Does Parents’ Time Spent with Children Vary by Race?

• In Event: 3429 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 28. Summer Setback Effects

Abstract

Racial and socio-economic gaps in educational achievement widen during the summer months and remain steady during the school year. What explains the “summer setback” documented in previous research? We analyze time-use data asking two questions: 1) Are there racial differences in the total amount of time parents spend with children outside of school during the summer, compared with the school year? 2) Are there racial differences in the type of activities parents engage in with their children during the summer compared to the school year? We hypothesize that racial/ethnic minority and low-SES parents spend less time engaging with children in educational, social capital, and cultural capital developmental activities, and racial and socioeconomic differences in such time-use will be larger in summer months as compared to academic year months. Using American Time Use Survey time diaries, we develop broader, richer measures of the activity’s parents engage in with children. This research extends knowledge on parenting and the achievement gap.

Authors

• Corey Culver, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Rob Warren, University of Minnesota