Two-generation human capital programs for families provide education and workforce training for parents simultaneously with education for children. This study uses a quasi-experimental design to examine the effects of a model two-generation program, CareerAdvance, which recruits parents of children enrolled in Head Start into a health care workforce training program. After 1 year, CareerAdvance parents demonstrated higher rates of certification and employment in the health care sector than did matched-comparison parents whose children were also in Head Start. More important, there was no effect on parents’ short-term levels of income or employment across all sectors. CareerAdvance parents also experienced psychological benefits, reporting higher levels of self-efficacy and optimism, in addition to stronger career identity compared with the matched-comparison group. Notably, even as CareerAdvance parents juggled the demands of school, family, and employment, they did not report higher levels of material hardship or stress compared with the matched-comparison group. These findings are discussed in terms of the implications of a family perspective for human capital programs.

In this review we bring a psychological perspective to the issue of intergenerational economic mobility. More specifically, we present a new dual developmental science framework to consider the educational outcomes of parents and children together in order to foster economic mobility. We focus on two key populations: children in early childhood (from birth to age 6) and parents in early adulthood (in their 20s and early 30s). We posit that mastery of three sets of developmental tasks for each generation—academic/language skills, self-regulation/mental health, and parent-child relationship—will lead to improved educational outcomes for both. Taken as a whole, the dual developmental science framework integrates theory and research on single-generation development (i.e., children or parents) with dynamic and bidirectional theories about the interdependence of children and parents over time. We conclude the review by evaluating existing education interventions and research using the dual developmental science framework, and we discuss opportunities for innovation. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 72 is January 5, 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Two-generation human capital programs seek to promote the education of parents and children simultaneously. This study examines relations between family participation in CareerAdvance, which recruits parents of Head Start children into a workforce training program, and children's Head Start attendance. The sample included 293 children (on average 4 years old) and their parents. After one semester, CareerAdvance children demonstrated higher rates of attendance and lower rates of absence and chronic absence (missing 10% or more of school days) than matched comparison children. These associations were similar across a range of high-and low-risk subgroups at baseline. These findings are discussed in terms of the implications of a family systems approach for improving children's Head Start attendance. Early childhood education, including Head Start, has become a central policy lever for expanding opportunity, especially among low-income children in the United States (

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