Please join Education Next on March 5, 2015 in Washington, D.C. for a discussion of the state of the American family. At this event, panels will discuss the causes and consequences of single-parent families and strategies to strengthen families and improve educational outcomes.
The event is an opportunity to revisit Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s 1965 report “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action” (generally referred to as the Moynihan Report) on its 50th anniversary.
Senator Lamar Alexander, chair of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, will make a keynote address. The address will be followed by two panel discussions.
More details as well as instructions for how to register to attend are available on the event page. The event will also be webcast live.
| 11:45 a.m. | Lunch |
| 12:15 p.m. | Welcome • Introduction: Paul E. Peterson, Harvard University |
| 12:30 p.m. | Keynote Address • Senator Lamar Alexander, Chair of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions |
| 1:15 p.m. | Panel I: Causes and Consequences of Single-Parent Families Chair: Martin R. West, Harvard Graduate School of Education • Paul E. Peterson, Harvard University: Impact of Social Policy on Changes in Family Structure • William Julius Wilson, Harvard Kennedy School: Concentrated Poverty and the Black Male’s Struggle for Work • Greg J. Duncan, University of California Irvine: Family Structure and Educational Attainment • George Will, Washington Post |
| 2:45 p.m. | Break |
| 3 p.m. | Panel II: Strengthening Families and Improving Educational Outcomes Chair: Gerard Robinson, Patten University • James T. Patterson, Brown University: The Moynihan Report • Isabel Sawhill, Brookings Institution: Creating Stable Environments for Children • Robert L. Woodson, Sr., Center for Neighborhood Enterprise • William Galston, Brookings Institution |
| 4:30 p.m. | Adjourn |
The Spring 2015 issue of Education Next features articles by leading scholars that document changes in family structure over the last 50 years and discuss the policy approaches that might be undertaken to address the social problems that have accompanied these changes.
– Education Next
