Minority Families in the Rural United States: Family Processes, Child Care, and Early Schooling

Abstract

This chapter will outline how disparities play out in the rural United States, with a focus on the unique experiences of minority families. To explore the lives of rural minority families, we will frequently describe findings from the Family Life Project (FLP), a representative sample of 1292 children living in low-wealth rural areas in the United States who were followed from birth. FLP oversampled for families in poverty and African American families, with these populations comprising 70 % and 40 % of the full sample, respectively. This chapter will provide background on the early development of these children in preschool and the transition to school, using key findings from the FLP study. We will focus on ecological factors that have been linked to school readiness, including: (a) rural isolation, work, and poverty; (b) child care; and (c) parenting. At the end of the chapter, we will discuss future directions, including implementing effective interventions in rural schools and conducting sensitive and efficacious studies in rural minority communities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)