Mapping the Perspectives of Low-Income Parents in a Children's College Savings Account Program

Purpose: This study uses participatory concept mapping techniques to explore the perspectives of low-income parents in a children's college savings account (CSA) program. Social policies and programs that help people living in or near poverty have historically been based on income. To achieve sustainable economic security, however, both poor and non-poor families need income and assets. Recently, asset theorists have suggested that institutional factors are largely responsible for saving and asset building in families at all income levels. This study was an opportunity to explore whether an institutional understanding of saving and asset accumulation would emerge from focused discussions with low-income parents who were saving for their children's college education in a structured asset-building program.

Methods: Approximately 28% (n=11) of the parents involved in a school-based CSA program in a large urban city consented to participate in this study. A concept mapping approach was used to investigate the following research questions: (1) What do parents perceive to be effective components of a college savings program for children? (2) How important is each of these components in a CSA program? Working as a group, participants completed the following focus prompt: A college savings program is effective when it_________ and thereby identified 45 statements that represented effective components of a CSA. They then sorted the components into conceptual groups reflecting their perspectives on how the elements related to each other. Finally, participants were asked to rate the importance of each component on a five-point scale. Multidimensional scaling was used to create a map of points that represents the set of 45 effective CSA components, and hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted in order to systematically group similar components into conceptual clusters.

Results: The map that was created from this study is a visual representation of how the CSA program components that were considered by parents to be particularly effective were sorted into six conceptual clusters and rated in terms of importance. Parents labeled the six conceptual clusters respect at all levels, options for money saved, program accountability, teaching children to save, benefits of saving, and speakers and events for parents. The cluster of statements labeled respect at all levels received the highest average ratings (3.95 – 4.18) and emerged from the analysis as the most important conceptual cluster. Three other clusters: options for money saved, program accountability, and teaching children to save received moderate to high ratings (3.47 – 3.95) and contained components that reflect the importance of institutional aspects of college savings accounts and related financial services.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings suggest that parents view CSA components that: (1) demonstrate respect for parents and (2) enhance accountability as being particularly effective and important components of CSAs. Support was found for the notion that both interpersonal and institutional factors shape experiences with saving and asset accumulation among low-income parents. The paper concludes with implications for institutional theory, asset-building policies, CSA programs, and future research.