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McAdama Ducy, E. & Stough, L.M. (2011). Exploring the Support Role of Special Education Teachers After Hurricane Ike: Children With Significant Disabilities. Journal of Family Issues, (32)10, 1325-1345.

This study explored the role of special education teachers of children with significant disabilities during Hurricane Ike. Grounded theory methods were used to analyze interview data of the teachers (n = 4) who were employed in school districts directly affected by the hurricane. The five categories that emerged from the data were losses for students and families, losses for teachers, resource supports, communication supports, and supports to reestablish routines. Despite being affected by the storm themselves, the teachers provided essential support to their students and families throughout all phases of the disaster. The role of these teachers evolved to include instrumental and psychological supports, which has been documented in previous studies. These teachers’ roles differed in that they provided support while school was closed and included the disability-related needs of their students. Recommendations include that teachers receive training on the needs of students with significant disabilities and their families during natural disaster.

Henderson, T. L. & Hildreth, G. (2011). Experiences in the Face of Disasters Children, Teachers, Older Adults, and Families​. Journal of Family Issues, (32)10,1277-1284.

The current collection contributes to our understanding of the stress experienced by and resilience of individuals and families in the aftermath of a disaster. We begin the collection with an article on two theories, vulnerability and social capital theory. These theories serve as tools to capture physical, social, and economic vulnerabilities as well as to determine how the dynamics of social networks interact when experiencing a disaster. The remaining authors of the current collection examined the experiences, stresses, and resilience of lower-income mothers, special education teachers, older adults, and families. Authors offer recommendations for disaster planning or future research.

Cooper, C.E., Crosnoe, R., Suizzo, M., Pituch, K.A. (2010). Poverty, Race, and Parental Involvement During the Transition to Elementary School. Journal of Family Issues, (31)7, 859-883.

Using multilevel models of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort (N = 20,356), the authors find that parental involvement in education partially mediates the association between family poverty and children’s math and reading achievement in kindergarten, but differences exist across race. In Asian families, poor and nonpoor children have similar levels of achievement. Poverty is not related to Black children’s participation in organized activities, but these activities are not associated with Black children’s achievement. Home-learning activities predict reading achievement in Hispanic families only. The findings provide support for application of the family process model to educational outcomes during the transition to elementary school and underscore the need to examine developmental models across racial subsets of the population.