The invisible gender: educational outcomes for African American females in father-only versus mother-only households

Abstract

In the last three decades, we have witnessed dramatic demographic changes in the number of African American children raised by a single parent. During this period, the majority of scholarly work has focused on African American males raised in mother-only households. Missing from this important discussion is the influence of other types of African American single parent households on African American females.

Using a nationally representative sample of eighth grade students from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS), this research examines the relative effects of being in a single parent mother-only versus father-only household on the educational achievement of African American middle-grade females (N = 63,090). Findings are that: (1) females in mother-only households perform less well than their counterparts in father-only households; (2) socioeconomic status is over three times more important than household type in predicting educational outcomes; (3) females in mother-only households get a greater return for increases in socioeconomic status than their counterparts in father-only households; and (4) race, gender, and class are simultaneously intersecting categories/relations in the family experiences and educational achievement processes of African American females.