This book looks at the relationship between the work women do with and for their children in relation to schooling. The authors break their analysis down by class lines, examining the ways in which women's economic positions further affects the experiences their children have. While many books have looked at the relationship between class differences and schooling itself, Smith and Griffith's work stands apart in its examination of the hidden gendered labor behind the scenes of school success and failure. Based on longitudinal interviews with mothers of school-age children, this book exposes...

Griffith and Smith explore the innumerable, hidden, seemingly mundane tasks like getting kids ready for school, helping with homework, or serving on the PTA can all have profound effects on what occurs within school. Based on longitudinal interviews with mothers of school-age children, this book exposes the effects mothers' work has on educational systems as a whole and the ways in which inequalities of educational opportunities are reproduced.