Neighborhood, Parents, No One

About this book

Although there is a large literature focused on the employment networks effect of social isolation on adults (Wilson, 1987, 1996), and the academic effect by ethnicity of social isolation on children, there is no comparable literature that focuses on the effect of social isolation on children's information about status attainment possibilities. In my thesis, I examined middle-school students' access to information with which to build an understanding of adult economic opportunities. This is important because, to achieve many educational or career aspirations, middle-school students must choose appropriate academic programs (college preparation, general educational or vocational track) before the start of the ninth grade. To deal with the issue of reliability, I applied an innovative measurement approach in my data-gathering process. Building on cognitive development skill theory, (Fischer, 1980) my survey instrument elicited responses to questions about economic opportunity in several contexts, appropriate to a child first embarking on a new conceptual quest, reasoning about his or her own future.