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Margaret Sherrard Sherraden

Professor
201 Bellerive Hall
Telephone: 314-516-6376
Fax: 314-516-6416
sherraden@umsl.edu

To view a Faculty Video Interview, click here.

Margaret Sherrard Sherraden is Professor of Social Work at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Research Professor at the Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Washington University (1989), an M.A. from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago (1974), and a B.A. in Sociology and Spanish from Beloit College (1972). Her research, publishing, and teaching focus on access and equity in domestic and international social policies, social and economic development, asset building and financial education, immigration and health, and global social policies. Research studies include matched savings accounts for low-income adults in the United States, school-based savings for college, U.S. microenterprise in low-income families, international volunteering and service, immigration and heatlh, and a Fulbright-funded study of rural health policy in Mexico.

Professor Sherraden was President of the Missouri Association for Social Welfare from 2000-2003, and whe received the UM-St. Louis Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2004.

Books

Margaret S. Sherraden, Amanda M. McBride, with Sondra G. Beverly (In press). Striving to Save: Creating Policies for Financial Security of Low-Income Families. University of Michigan Press.

Margaret S. Sherraden, Cynthia K. Sanders, and Michael Sherraden (2004). Kitchen Capitalism: Microenterprise in Poor Households. State University of New York Press.

Margaret S. Sherraden, and William C. Ninacs, eds (1998). Community Economic Development and Social Work. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press.

Recent publications

Margaret S. Sherraden, Benjamin Lough, and Amanda M. McBride (2008). Forms and Effects of International Volunteering and Service: Individual and Institutional Predictors. Voluntas, 19(4), 395-421.
(Abstract: Despite unprecedented recent expansion of international volunteering and service (IVS), there has been relatively little research on impacts. This paper proposes a conceptual model for impact research based on existing research evidence published in English. The model suggests that outcomes for host communities, volunteers, and sending communities vary depending on individual and institutional attributes and capacity. How institutions structure and leverage individual capacity influences who participates and how they serve, and shapes the impact of volunteer action. The conceptual model provides directions for future research.)

Margaret S. Sherraden, Sharon Laux, and Cassandra Kaufman (2007). Financial Education for Social Workers. Journal of Community Practice, 15(3), 9-36.
(Abstract: Social workers work with people who are financially vulnerable and who frequently have little financial knowledge and connections to mainstream financial institutions. Unfortunately, social workers often lack the knowledge and skills to help families who are in precarious financial positions to improve household stability and optimize their economic futures. Despite significant advances in financial education, social workers receive little practical training aimed at addressing family finances. We address why financial education is important, describe financial education initiatives, and then analyze an initial application of a course on financial management for social workers. The article concludes with a discussion about future directions for financial education in social work education, practice, policy, and research.)

Elizabeth Johnson and Margaret S. Sherraden (2007). From Financial Literacy to Financial Capability among Youth. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare 34(3), 119-145.
(Abstract: Youth in the United States are facing an increasingly complex and perilous financial world. Economically disadvantaged youth, in particular, lack financial knowledge and access to mainstream financiaI institutions. Despite growing interest in youth financial literacy, we have not seen comparable efforts to improve access to financial policies and services, especially among disadvantaged youth. Instead of aiming for financial literacy, an approach widely promoted in the United States, we suggest aiming for financial capability, a concept grounded in the writing of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. Building on research in the United Kingdom, the paper proposes that financial capability results when individuals develop financial knowledge and skills, but also gain access to financial policies, instruments, and services. The paper addresses theoretical and pedagogical approaches to increasing financial capability, followed by examples of programs in the United States. In the conclusion, we discuss implications for policy, practice, and research.)

Rebecca Vonderlack and Margaret S. Sherraden (2007). Microfinance, Women's Savings, and Financial Security in a Honduran Barrio. Social Development Issues 29(1), 65-80.

Margaret S. Sherraden, Elizabeth Johnson, William Elliott III, Shirley Porterfield, and William Rainford (2007). The "I Can Save" Program: School-Based Children's Saving Accounts for College. Children and Youth Services Review 29(3), 294-312.
(Abstract: This paper examines an innovative college savings program for public elementary school children. The project is based on the proposition that children will gain financial knowledge and be more likely to view college as an attainable goal because they are accumulating savings to help pay for higher education. As the latest in a long history of school-based savings programs, this program pioneers the idea of matched savings in which children and family savings in the students' accounts are matched one to one up to a maximum of $3000. Findings suggest that the principal, teachers, children, and their families are enthusiastic about the program. Saving patterns show that families can save, but low levels and patterns of saving suggest that structures that encourage regular saving might improve saving rates. The program successfully teaches financial education through an after-school club, but it has been more difficult to incorporate it into classroom teaching and to reach parents. Universal children's savings accounts may circumvent some of the limitations of this program, although more research is required to assess which program components would be the most effective in such a system.)

Margaret S. Sherraden, John Stringham, Simona Costanza Sow, and Amanda M. McBride (2006). Forms of International Voluntary Service: A Sector of Global Civil Society. Voluntas 17(2), 156-173.
(Abstract: International voluntary service (IVS) has a significant and growing presence worldwide. IVS is a policy and program tool used for international development aid, humanitarian relief, and promotion of international understanding. In the last century, forms of IVS have proliferated, while research on scope, effectiveness, and impacts has lagged behind. We propose a typology that addresses duration, nature of service, and degree of “internationality.” Further, we identify IVS networks and support organizations that bolster the capacity of IVS sending and hosting organizations, and in this process create large and little recognized international institutions of cooperation. Building on the typology, we suggest program, policy, and research implications to advance knowledge of the role of IVS, its role in global civil society, and impacts it may have on human conditions and cross-cultural understanding.)

Margaret S. Sherraden, Amanda M. McBride, Stacie Hanson, and Lissa Johnson (2006). Short-term and Long-term Savings in Low Income Households: Evidence from Individual Development Accounts. Journal of Income Distribution 13(3-4), 76-97.
(Abstract: Previous research has found that individuals frame savings for short-term and long-term uses. These findings are reinforced through in-depth interviews with 59 participants and 25 controls in an experiment testing the effects of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). All respondents are from low-income households. IDA participants appear more likely than control respondents to earmark savings for long-term purposes and asset investments. This could be interpreted as a result of the institutional saving structure provided through the IDA program. IDA participants are presented with savings goals, which they believe are made attainable through conveyed expectations, matching funds, financial information, and staff facilitation. Interviews suggest that savings may lead to psychological, behavioral, and economic effects. Future research can explore the distinct and marginal effect that each institutional dimension has on savings over the long term and the effects of savings on family well being.)

Amanda Moore McBride, Margaret S. Sherraden, and Suzanne Pritzker (2006). Civic Engagement among Low-Income and Low-Wealth Families: In Their Words. Family Relations 55(2), 151-162.
(Abstract: Through in-depth interviews with 84 low-income, low-wealth families, we find civic engagement across a range of behaviors, e.g., volunteering through religious organizations, neighboring, involvement in children's activities, and contributing. Data are suggestive of a modified life cycle theory of engagement as well as a "stakeholding" theory, highlighting assets as resources and incentives for action. Time constraint is noted as a primary mediator. Possible implications for measurement, future research, and social interventions and policies are discussed.)

Research Interests:

• Social Policy
• Community Economic Development
• Asset Building
• School-Based Savings
• Financial Education
• International Volunteering and Service

Teaching Interests:

• Social Policy
• Social and Economic Development
• Community Economic Development
• Community Organization

Education:

• Ph.D., Sociology, Washington University in St. Louis, 1989
• M.A., School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, 1974
• B.A., Beloit College, 1972

Courses:

FS2009

• SW 3210 - Social Issues and Social Policy Development