Effects of Remarriage Following Divorce on the Academic Achievement of Children

Abstract

Most educational leaders are aware of the added academic challenges that children of divorce from single-parent homes face. However, there has been an assumption among educators and the American public that parental remarriage benefits children academically. Therefore, educational researchers and theorists have given almost no exhortations for teachers and principals about sensitizing themselves to the needs of children of divorce from reconstituted families. Using the 1988 National Educational Longitudinal Survey data set, this study matched students by family structure, race, and socioeconomic status. The results indicate that children of divorce from reconstituted families score no higher and often even lower in academic achievement than children of divorce from single-parent families. Therefore, the assumption by many educators that children of divorce from reconstituted families are better off academically than children of divorce from single-parent families is not supported.