Citation

McAllister CL, Thomas TL, Wilson PC, Green BL. Am. J. Public Health 2009; 99(2): 205-210.

Affiliation

Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2005.068569

PMID

19059871

PMCID

PMC2622773

Abstract

Racial differences in school readiness are a form of health disparity. By examining, from the perspective of low-income minority families participating in an Early Head Start study, community and policy environments as they shape and inform lived experiences, we identified several types of social and economic dislocation that undermine the efforts of parents to ready their children for school. The multiple dislocations of community triggered by housing and welfare reform and "urban renewal" are sources of stress for parents and children and affect the health and development of young children. Our findings suggest that racial differences in school readiness result not from race but from poverty and structural racism in American society.

Language: en