Children of the Land

Children of the Land Adversity and Success in Rural America

by Glen H. Elder Jr. and Rand D. Conger

University of Chicago Press, 2000
Cloth: 978-0-226-20266-2 | Paper: 978-0-226-21253-1 | Electronic: 978-0-226-22497-8
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226224978.001.0001

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ABOUT THIS BOOKAUTHOR BIOGRAPHYREVIEWSTABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS BOOK

A century ago, most Americans had ties to the land. Now only one in fifty is engaged in farming and little more than a fourth live in rural communities. Though not new, this exodus from the land represents one of the great social movements of our age and is also symptomatic of an unparalleled transformation of our society.

In Children of the Land, the authors ask whether traditional observations about farm families—strong intergenerational ties, productive roles for youth in work and social leadership, dedicated parents and a network of positive engagement in church, school, and community life—apply to three hundred Iowa children who have grown up with some tie to the land. The answer, as this study shows, is a resounding yes. In spite of the hardships they faced during the agricultural crisis of the 1980s, these children, whose lives we follow from the seventh grade to after high school graduation, proved to be remarkably successful, both academically and socially.

A moving testament to the distinctly positive lifestyle of Iowa families with connections to the land, this uplifting book also suggests important routes to success for youths in other high risk settings.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

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. Rand D. Conger is distinguished professor of psychology, human development, and family studies in the Family Research Group at the University of California, Davis.

REVIEWS

“Excellent example of applied social science research.”

— Library Journal

“By forcefully demonstrating how a ‘rural ecology’ contributes to a healthy life for children, Elder and Conger provide a welcome corrective to the literature on development, which has focused almost exclusively on metropolitan areas. Extended family ties, productive work, and active parental involvement in their children’s activities provide the social capital necessary for adolescents to make positive decisions and overcome adversity. More broadly, through their careful connection of life choices to life chances in historical context, the authors offer a model of sociological inquiry worthy of emulation.”

— Social Forces

“What is it about ‘ties to the land’ that influences the development of young people? The answers the authors provide are not only analytically compelling, but they reveal invaluable insights for solving many of the problems facing our urban and suburban school communities as they struggle to provide meaningful environments for socializing and educating our adolescents into productive adults.”

— American Journal of Sociology

List of Illustrations

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Part 1. Rural Change and Life Chances

1. Ties to the Land

Two Worlds of Childhood: Rural Decline and Urban Prosperity

The Iowa Project and Approach

Family Ties to the Land and Resourceful Pathways

Studying Lives in Changing Times: A Cautionary Note

2. Families and the Generations

Family Continuity in Agriculture and Kinship

Social Ties in the Community

Values to Live By

Resourceful Families and Children

Part 2. Pathways to Competence

3. Ties to Family and Land

Family Continuity and Change

Pathways to Success in High School

Developmental Risks and Success

Conclusion

4. Always Work to Do

Some Developmental Meanings of Work

The Ecologies of Children's Labor

Work Paths to Competence

Productive Work Empowers

5. Bridging Family and Community

Community Ties in a Rural Ecology

Doing Better or Worse than Expected

The Socially Embedded Family

6. Wisdom of the Ages

Ways of Grandparenting

Grandparents in Young Lives

Significant Grandparents and Successful Development

Family Strength and Social Redundancy

7. Church, Family, and Friends

Passing on Religion

From Church to Youth Group

Religious Ways and Competence

8. Lessons from School

Activity Patterns through Adolescence

Getting Involved: The Influence of Family and School

Achieving Competence through Activities

Turning Points in Activities

Lessons for Life

9. Achieving Success, Avoiding Trouble

Agrarian Culture and Youth Competence

Promoting Success and Avoiding Trouble

Questions of Resilience and Vulnerability

Putting the Story Together

Some Reflections

Part 3. Past, Present, and Future

10. Legacies of the Land

Approaches and Some Alternatives

Pathways of Resilience for Young Lives

Midwest Themes of a Rural Adolescence

Continuity and Change

A. The Iowa Youth and Families Project

B. Measurements I: Indicators of Competence and Success

C. Measurements II: Other Indicators by Chapter

D. Analytic Approach: Identifying Resilient and Vulnerable Youth

E. Appendix Tables

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index