Suet-ling Pong

The Effects of Change in Family Structure and Income on Dropping Out of Middle and High School

Using a longitudinal sample of eighth graders who lived with both biological parents in 1988, we estimate the increased risk of dropping out among students whose two-parent families experienced disruption over the subsequent 4 years. We differentiate the impact on school dropout of initial family income before family disruption from income change after the marriage ends. This approach helps to disentangle two interpretations of the relation between income and family structure. Our results suggest that both measures of income are significant contributors of the risk of dropping out for children whose families became mother-only families. When income loss is taken into account, along with initial income and other family, demographic, and prior school achievement factors, there is no evidence of increased risk of dropout among children who began to live with a single mother during the 1988-1992 period.

Class Size and Eighth-Grade Math Achievement in the United States and Abroad

Using data from the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), we examine the relationship between class size and eighth-grade math achievement in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Iceland, Singapore, and the United States. Class sizes tend to be greater and more homogenous in centralized education systems compared with those in decentralized systems. The United States seems to be unique among the countries in our study. After controlling for possible confounding characteristics of the teacher, school, and classroom, in no other country than the United States did we find a beneficial effect of small classes. Contrary to our expectations, we also found little evidence that smaller or larger classes differ in the amount of curriculum taught or in the instructional practices of teachers. Except for the case of Hong Kong, neither curricular coverage nor instructional practices mediates the relationship between class size and math achievement.

Authoritarian Parenting and Asian Adolescent School Performance: Insights from the US and Taiwan:

Our study re-examines the relationship between parenting and school performance among Asian students. We use two sources of data: wave I of the Adolescent Health Longitudinal Survey (Add Health), and waves I and II of the Taiwan Educational Panel Survey (TEPS). Analysis using Add Health reveals that the Asian-American/European-American difference in the parenting—school performance relationship is due largely to differential sample sizes. When we select a random sample of European-American students comparable to the sample size of Asian-American students, authoritarian parenting also shows no effect for European-American students. Furthermore, analysis of TEPS shows that authoritarian parenting is negatively associated with children’s school achievement, while authoritative parenting is positively associated. This result for Taiwanese Chinese students is similar to previous results for European-American students in the US.

Sibship Size and Educational Attainment in Peninsular Malaysia: Do Policies Matter?

The Second Malaysian Family Life Survey is used to explore one of the most important components of interfamily inequality of school attainment: Sibship size. The survey data document the differences in the effects of sibship size on childrens secondary school attainment among Malaysias three ethnic communities. They also show the response of the sibship size effect to public policies targeting the ethnic Malay population. Three broad questions can be addressed using the available data: First, how important is sibship size as a determinant of educational attainment, ceteris paribus, within the Malay and nonMalay populations? Second, how have the effects of sibship size changed over time? Third, are there ethnic differences in any such changes, differences that could be interpreted in light of the governments regulation of school supply and employment opportunities for each group? Addressing these questions in the case of Malaysia illuminates the extent to which public policy more generally can alter the effect of sibship size on educational attainment. The findings indicate that restrictions on family size by each of Malaysias ethnic groups were a rational attempt by parents to compensate for constraints on their ability to invest in their childrens education.

Employment During Middle School: The Effects on Academic Achievement in the U.S. and Abroad

An international debate over student employment turns on the question of whether work generally helps or harms childrens development. This article focuses on two indicators of child development that are goals in all education systems: math and science achievement. After reviewing the major theoretical perspectives on school achievement and employment, we propose a general framework for analyzing their relationship. We then present the results of our cross-national study. From the U.S., we use cross-sectional and longitudinal NELS data. In the U.S. and in 22 other nations, we use cross-sectional TIMSS data to examine the effects of after-school work during the eighth grade. Our findings from each investigation are consistent: For boys, and to a lesser extent for girls, there are negative effects on math and science achievement that are associated with adolescent employment, even after controlling for family background and, in the NELS, after controlling for prior achievement.

Trends in gender and family background effects on school attainment: the case of Hong Kong.

Using household census data from Hong Kong in 1971 1976 1981 and 1986 the authors constructed new individual data sets for 4 separate cohorts of youth. The new data include family background variables and allow the authors to examine the selectivity in education over time. The question of how background and gender affect educational attainment is addressed in 2 complementary ways. They first used linear regressions on the number of school years completed and then logistic regressions to calculate the likelihood of making particular school transitions. Consistent with prior research in the US Hungary and the Philippines the 2 methods yield results which are apparently contradictory. The linear effect of family background and gender on attainment diminished over time suggesting a more open educational system. However the effect of these same variables on the odds of making transitions actually increased at the higher levels. During the 15 year period examined Hong Kong attempted to expand the educational opportunities for its youth. Few nations have provided free and compulsory secondary schooling so shortly after having instituted universal primary education. One might expect rapid educational expansion to lead to a more open educational system as well. In fact while the system did become much more open at both the primary and secondary levels it also became more selective at the higher educational levels. (authors)

One Country Two Peoples

This article weighs the demographic evidence for either assimilation or separation among Hong Kong residents who were born in British Colonial Hong Kong or Mainland China. Using successive waves of Hong Kong census data from 1991 to 2011, we show the effects of nativity on four indicators of social distance and differentiation: residential segregation, linguistic assimilation, wage inequality and educational opportunity. On the one hand, there is some evidence of assimilation in terms of residential location and home language. On the other hand, in terms of wage inequality and access to postsecondary education, our findings suggest that Hong Kongs population could become more divided depending upon birthplace.

Within-District Effects of Catholic Schooling on 12th-Grade Math Achievement

Using a propensity score matching method, and regression modeling based on the 2002 Education Longitudinal Study, this study found a significant Catholic school, mathematics achievement effect among those 12th graders who were least likely to attend Catholic school. This result is evident within districts after we used the School District Demographics System map data to locate Catholic schools within school district boundaries. Furthermore, the Catholic school effects were statistically significant for students in districts that allowed publicly funded private education.