Managing to Make It

Frank F. Furstenberg, Thomas D. Cook, Jacquelynne Eccles, Glen H. Elder Jr.

ISBN 10: 0226273911 / ISBN 13: 9780226273914

Published by The University of Chicago Press, US, 1999

About this Item

One of the myths about families in inner-city neighbourhoods is that they are characterized by poor parenting. The sociologist Frank Furstenberg and his colleagues explode this and other misconceptions about success, parenting, and socioeconomic advantage in this text. The book launches a series which focuses on how and why youth are able to overcome - rather than succumb to - social disadvantages. Based on more than 500 interviews and qualitative case studies of families in inner-city Philadelphia, the text reveals how parents managed different levels of resources and dangers in low-income neighbourhoods and how this management, rather than community involvement, contributed to the success of their children. The authors detail the factors that shape the trajectories of adolescents and in so doing provide information about programmes and services that should be useful to policy makers, sociologists, educators, and indeed anyone concerned with the fate of the urban poor.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780226273914

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Managing to Make It
• Publisher: The University of Chicago Press, US
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226273911
• ISBN 13: 9780226273914
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 624 grams

About this title

Synopsis

One of the myths about families in inner-city neighborhoods is that they are characterized by poor parenting. Sociologist Frank Furstenberg and his colleagues explode this and other misconceptions about success, parenting, and socioeconomic advantage in Managing to Make It. This unique study—the first in the MacArthur Foundation Studies on Successful Adolescent Development series—focuses on how and why youth are able to overcome social disadvantages.
Based on nearly 500 interviews and case studies of families in inner-city Philadelphia, Managing to Make It lays out in detail the creative means parents use to manage risks and opportunities in their communities. More importantly, it also depicts the strategies parents develop to steer their children away from risk and toward resources that foster positive development and lead to success.

"Indispensible to anyone concerned about breaking the cycle of poverty and helplessness among at-risk adolescents, this book has a readable, graphic style easily grasped by those unfamiliar with statistical techniques." —Library Journal

About the Authors

Frank F. Furstenberg is the Zellerbach Family Professor of Sociology Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of many books, most recently Destinies of the Disadvantaged: The Politics of Teenage Childbearing. 

Frank F. Furstenberg,Jr. is the Zellerbach Family Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Thomas D. Cook is the professor of sociology, psychology, education, and policy research at Northwestern University.

Jacquelynne Eccles is a professor of education and psychology at the University of Michigan.

Glen H. Elder, Jr. is the Odum Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Arnold Sameroff is professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.

Glen H. Elder Jr. is the Howard W. Odum Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology and research professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.