A FORK IN THE ROAD TO HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION: EXPLORING ADOLESCENT FATHERS’ EDUCATIONAL PATHS

Abstract

Early childbearing frequently disrupts development and reduces prospects of realizing one’s human capital potential. Using life course and risk and resiliency perspectives, we explored factors associated with the educational paths of adolescent fathers who (a) continued and completed high school, (b) dropped out of high school but returned, and (c) dropped out of high school and stayed out. Using the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), resampling methods were employed to compare individual, familial, and community risk and protective factors in these three groups. Differences were found among fathers as their educational paths diverged from school completion. Overall, our findings suggest that labeling all adolescent fathers as “at-risk” misrepresents them as a homogenous group and ignores the variability of behaviors and experiences affecting their educational progress.