| Irenee Beattie
University of Arizona
How high schools matter: Within and between school stratification and the dynamics of women's welfare recipiency
FINAL REPORT:
In the wake of the 1996 federal welfare reform, programs to train and educate single mothers on welfare were cut back in favor of programs fostering rapid labor force attachment. Such "Work First" interventions do little to address the underlying problems of low educational attainment and limited basic skills in this population. Although research has identified that high school dropout is linked to welfare receipt, we know nothing about how stratification within and between high schools might influence women's welfare trajectories. Sociological research on education suggests that curricular tracking and school context/resources are likely to influence several outcomes (i.e. teen motherhood, high school dropout, limited work experience, single motherhood, and poverty) that are proximate causes of welfare dependency.
This study bridges gaps in education and welfare research by analyzing the effects of high school experiences on women's risk of first receipt in young adulthood. I use National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data (1979-1998) and event history, logistic, and OLS regression. Within-school stratification (curricular tracking) exerts important influences on welfare receipt by diminishing the risk of proximate causes (particularly teen pregnancy and high school dropout), net of extensive controls. There is greater variation within the college track than there is between the college and lower tracks in terms of teen motherhood and welfare receipt, with disadvantaged women faring substantially worse in the college track than in lower tracks. For low-SES black women, the vocational track is associated with the lowest probabilities of these outcomes. The effects of between-school variation (school context and resources) are less conclusive.
Theoretically, these findings identify the importance of considering how the effects of tracking vary by social origins. Also, this study illustrates that stratification within schools influences non-academic life outcomes. With respect to policy, the results suggest that efforts to "de-track" high schools and place all youth in academic coursework akin to that in the college track might have unintended consequences for the most disadvantaged women. Instead, these findings support recent efforts to provide integrated academic and vocational coursework to all students in order to maintain the possibility of college attendance while also providing occupationally-relevant, hands-on learning experiences that are linked to future employment possibilities. In terms of welfare policy, the results indicate that efforts to forge "self-sufficiency" among those already receiving welfare may be too late. In addition to such programs for the welfare reliant, governments should focus on creating high school experiences that provide beneficial socialization and learning opportunities that can help women avoid welfare in the first place.
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