Family Size and Educational Attainment

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at studies that demonstrate how family size has an adverse effect upon the educational attainment of children. The paper then discusses a study that showed that Muslim nuclear families blessed with strong extended family ties can be large ones without their size negatively impacting the educational attainment of young people. The paper concludes that while there does seem to be a correlation between family size and educational attainment, other factors clearly come into play.

From the Paper:

"To begin with, it must be noted that the correlation between family size and educational attainment is a phenomenon that can be explained by some (but not all) sociological theories. Structuralism, for one, is a sociological theory (as most students of sociology well know) that holds that people are shaped by the larger society of which they are part. In short, the values, the institutions, and the culture of a society shape the roles and actions individuals will play in life (incidentally, for an interesting comparison of structuralism to individualism within sociological theory, please see Gannon & Freidheim, 877-882)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anh, T.S. "Family size and children's education in Vietnam." Demography, 35.1 (1998): 57-70.
• Blake, J. "Family size and the quality of children." Demography, 18.4 (1981): 421-442.
• Carnoy, Martin, and Henry M. Levin. "Educational Reform and Class Conflict." Journal of Education, 168.1 (1986): 35-46.
• Gannon, Thomas M., and Elizabeth A. Freidheim. "'Structuralism' or Structure: A Comment on Mayhew." Social Forces, 60.3 (1982): 877-882.
• Kantaveric, Jasmin, and Stephane Mechoulan. "Birth Order, Educational Attainment, and Earnings." Journal of Human Resources, 41.4 (2006): 755-777.

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