Showing papers on "Disadvantaged published in 1994"

Does neighborhood and family poverty affect mothers' parenting, mental health, and social support?

Abstract: How neighborhoods affect families living in them has emerged as a key question in understanding the causes and effects of urban poverty. Over the last 20 years people with low incomes have become increasingly likely to live in metropolitan areas and in neighborhoods with a high concentration of low-income people (Jargowsky & Bane, 1990; Jencks & Peterson, 1991; Wacquant & Wilson, 1989; Wilson, 1987). This is particularly true for economically disadvantaged blacks and Hispanics, and for metropolitan areas in the Northeast and Midwest (Jargowsky & Bane, 1990). Some of the ways in which neighborhoods affect individuals have been elucidated in recent literature, although the focus of almost all existing work has been on adolescents and young adults, not on children or parents. Few studies have looked at the processes by which neighborhoods influence families, especially parents, and, in turn, how parents are likely to influence their children. This article addresses the question of how both neighborhood and family conditions might influence the ways in which parents behave. In The Truly Disadvantaged, Wilson (1987) undertook an analysis of the structural changes in postindustrial society that contributed to an increase in the number of poor and jobless people in inner-city neighborhoods. Wilson also has attempted to model linkages between structural changes and the behavior of residents of inner-city, poor neighborhoods. Much of the related work to date has focused on documenting the association between the increased poverty and joblessness in neighborhoods with a decline in jobs (especially jobs not demanding high literacy skills) in central cities (Freeman, 1991; Kasarda, 1990) and with the movement of more highly skilled and advantaged residents out of the inner cities (Wilson, 1987; however, see Massey & Eggers, 1990). Recently, Wilson (1991a, 1991b) has gone beyond structural changes to examine some of the familial and cultural processes that might result from living in neighborhoods with high concentrations of jobless men and family poverty. He suggested that living in neighborhoods in which relatively few individuals hold jobs, few jobs are located within the neighborhood, and single-parent households are prevalent may produce what he terms "social isolation"; these conditions in turn may produce socialization practices and family life styles that do not reinforce practices associated with steady employment. Postulated characteristics include a focus on the present rather than the future, poor planning and organization, little sense of personal control over events, and a lack of emphasis on school or job-related skills. This constellation of familial conditions might be expressed, and measured, through psychological dimensions such as coping behavior, self-efficacy, problem solving, and present-future orientation, as well as dimensions of family process, such as parenting behavior, organization of the household, and the provision of learning experiences for their children. While this hypothesis has received some attention, it has not been tested directly. Thus, little is known about whether or how neighborhoods may affect maternal characteristics and behaviors. Rather, the primary focus of research has been on how family-level poverty affects parents and children. Research bearing on the effect of family poverty has documented the association between poverty and greater psychological distress and depression (Belle, 1990; Belle, Longfellow, & Makosky, 1982; Danziger & Stern, 1990; McLoyd & Wilson, 1991; Parker, Greer, & Zuckerman, 1988). Poor families have to deal with a greater number of daily stresses which over time weaken their ability to handle subsequent stress (McLoyd, 1990). Both the inability to control the source of the stress, and the inability to cope or handle the stress itself contributes to the deleterious effect on psychological functioning (Makosky, 1982). …

From social inequality to personal entitlement: the role of social comparisons, legitimacy appraisals, and group membership

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter highlights the role that social comparison processes and attributions of responsibility play in translating social inequality into beliefs about personal and collective entitlement. The chapter illustrates the importance of entitlement as an explanatory construct in understanding the ways in which members of different social groups react to their socially distributed outcomes. This chapter organizes into a systematic framework current knowledge about the psychological antecedents and consequences of beliefs about entitlement. The chapter addresses the ways in which social comparison processes and attributions contribute to the development of a lesser sense of personal entitlement among members of objectively disadvantaged groups. Social comparison biases tend to prevent awareness of disadvantage, and attribution biases tend to legitimize disadvantage. As a result, what “is” has a marked tendency to become what “ought” to be. These processes are illustrated through a program of research on the origins of gender differences in personal entitlement to pay. Gender differences in entitlement are proposed to underlie the finding that women and men typically do not differ in their life, job, or marital satisfaction, despite situations at work and at home that are disadvantageous for women compared to the situations of men. The chapter considers the reason for members of other disadvantaged groups; for example, African—Americans; expressing discontent with their objectively unjust situations. The situational and personal factors that prompt people to compare with advantaged outgroups and that lead them to question the legitimacy of outcome distributions result in elevated entitlement among the disadvantaged and correspondingly higher levels of discontent.

Educational Resilience in Inner-City America. Challenges and Prospects.

Abstract: The story of life in inner-city America and the education of its people is often recounted as a tragedy; the ending is often predictable and usually dire, highlighting deficiency, failure, and negative trends. As with most social problems, children and youth in the inner cities are hit hardest. But this dismal view is only half of the full picture. The cities of our nation are a startling juxtaposition between the despairing and the hopeful, between disorganization and restorative potential. Alongside the poverty and unemployment, the street-fights and drug deals, are a wealth of cultural, economic, educational, and social resources. Often ignored are the resilience and the ability for adaptation which help many who are seemingly confined by circumstance to struggle and succeed "in the face of the odds." This book helps to broaden the utilization of ways to magnify the circumstances known to enhance development and education, so that the burden of adversity is reduced and opportunities are advanced for all children and youth -- especially the children and youth of the inner cities who are in at-risk circumstances. The focus is on: * raising consciousness about the opportunities available to foster resilience among children, families, and communities, and * synthesizing the knowledge base that is central to implementing improvements which serve to better the circumstances and educational opportunities of children and families. This volume is intended for a wide audience of readers, but particularly those who are in a position to shape public policy and deliver educational and human services.

Full-Service Schools: A Revolution in Health and Social Services for Children, Youth, and Families

Abstract: Full-Service Schools describes the movement to create an array of integrated support services in schools. It examines the declining welfare of many American families and prescribes solutions for the problems of increased sex, drugs, violence, and stress among youth.

The welfare of children

Abstract: Acknowledgments Introduction PART I. THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM 1. Emergence of the Modern Child Welfare System 2. Child Welfare Research: The Effectiveness of Casework 3. Child Welfare Reform through Research: Permanency Planning 4. The Changing Portrait of the American Family 5. The End of Child Welfare: The Transformation of Child Welfare into Children's Protective Services 6. The Decision to Remove a Child 7. Dealing with Child Abuse, the Red Herring of Child Welfare PART II. ENDING CHILD POVERTY 8. Wealth and Poverty in America: The Economic Condition of Children 9. The Rise and Fall of Welfare for Disadvantaged Children in America 10. The Fading Promise of Welfare Reform to End Child Poverty 11. Two Simple Programs for Ending Child Poverty 12. Child Future Savings Account: Social Security for Children Closing Bibliography Author Index Subject Index

The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability

Abstract: Draws on themes of the disability-rights movement to identify people with disabilities as members of a socially disadvantaged minority group rather than as individuals who need to adjust. Highlights the hidden history of people with disabilities in church and society. Proclaiming the emancipatory presence of the disabled God, the author maintains the vital importance of the relationship between Christology and social change. Eiesland contends that in the Eucharist, Christians encounter the disabled God and may participate in new imaginations of wholeness and new embodiments of justice.

Identifying Young, Potentially Gifted, Economically Disadvantaged Students1

Abstract: In this paper we present a rationale for and a description of the procedures developed by the staff of Project Synergy for identifying economically disadvantaged, potentially gifted kindergarten students in urban schools. ’ This approach emphasizes the development of site-ap’ propriate methods, observation, dynamic assessment, and the concept of best performance; it de-emphasizes the use of standardized tests. Validation data are presented and discussed. Numerous writers (c.g., Borland. 1989; Gallagher, 1985; Howley, Howley, ~: Pendarvis, 198C>) have remarked upon how intractable problems associated with what Tannenbaum (1983, p. 342) calls the inexact science of identifying gifted students seem to be. Since giftedness is a value-laden social construct the assessment of which often involves methods and instruments of uncertain validity, it is unreasonable to expect otherwise. identification probleIl1s will probably bedevil educators as lon~1 as there arc programs for gifted students. Some of the most persistent and troubling problems bear on the issue of equity. Ours is a multiracial. muttiethnic society . with marked between-group variation in the economic means available to families-,uul tlrus in the edurational expectations. experiences. and attainments of their children (see, e.g., Kozol, 1991). Unfortundtdv. there is evidence (e.g.. Passow. 1989; Richert, 1987: VciiiTcis,<>I-Raskcjii<>tGlu identifying and serving gifted students who are ecoIlon1iCc,llv disadvantaged. espeeia!ty students from racial and ethnic minority groups. The nlliorldl Fducationat Longitudinat Study of eighthgrade programs for gifted students hy the US. Department of Education (1991) reveaLs tile extent of the problem rather dramatically. Data from the study indicate tlrat students whose families socioeconomie status places them in the top quartile of tire population are about five times more likely to be in programs for gifted students than are students from families in the bottom ljucBrtih’

School Influences on Children's Development

Abstract: Schooling has direct effects on children's educational achievement, their acquisition of literacy, numeracy and scientific knowledge. These basic skills provide the foundation for later "subjects" such as geography, physics and foreign languages. Formal educational qualifications are the key to a child's entry into higher education or training and also employment. The learning of specific knowledge and skills is a direct effect of classroom teaching (Good & Brophy, 1986b). However, social cognitions and feelings are also influenced by school and these may be just as powerful in predicting later outcome as intelligence or school curriculum. Such indirect effects of school are more elusive because they are mediated by children's motivation to learn or avoid learning, their conception of themselves as pupils, and the attributions they create for explaining success and failure. Cognitive and motivational mediators of indirect effects continue to exert influence on individual development outside and beyond school. This selective review considers the evidence concerning direct and indirect effects of school on children's development. Section 1 examines the evidence on the effect of pre-school education on children's academic attainment, social behaviour and cognitions. There are several well designed experimental studies of the impact of preschool education which have included follow-up through young adulthood. These landmark studies employed randomised designs which contrasted the development of children who had and had not experienced pre-school education, thus allowing causal models to be devised which suggest lasting benefits of pre-school education, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Section 2 outlines a few of the major studies on the effect of primary schooling. Research on the effects of primary and secondary education does not withhold education from children, thereby necessitating either natural experiments or correlational designs employing sophisticated statistical techniques, over time, to

'Whenever and Wherever We Choose': The Replication of 'Success for All.' (Program for Disadvantaged Students)

Abstract: The authors present data demonstrating greater success for disadvantaged students can be routinely ensured in schools that are neither exceptional nor extraordinary. Fifteen years ago, Ronald Edmonds put forth a proposition that has served as the touchstone of the school effectiveness movement ever since: "We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us."[1] This proposition has two parts: one is the assertion that every child can learn; the other, that we have the knowledge we need to create schools in which every child will learn. Can every child earn? Research since the time Edmonds was writing has demonstrated do at-risk students can achieve at far higher levels than they have in the past. For example, research on early intervention and research on one-to-one tutoring demonstrate the principle that virtually every child can learn.[2] Extraordinary teachers and schools prove every day that they are able to produce extraordinary outcomes with disadvantaged and minority children. While it is becoming clear that every child can learn, there is a part of Edmonds' formulation that is more problematic. Is it really true that we can ensure the learning of every child "whenever and wherever" we choose? Demonstrations of outstanding learning achievements in laboratories or in schools with unusual, charismatic principals and teachers are useful, but they do not tell us that success can be replicated on a large scale. Many pilot programs have shown substantial success, but that success has proved difficult to replicate. Clearly, it is not enough to demonstrate success and expect others to do likewise. For a program or strategy to make a difference on a broad scale, it must be robust under many circumstances, it must withstand the test of time, and it must demonstrate its effectiveness in new sites that are not under the day-to-day control of the program developers. In this article we present a summary of data from Success for All, a program that is now in the process of making the transition from local pilot to national model. This is the first report to present data on several sites beyond the original home of Success for All in Baltimore. Earlier evaluations of the program have shown that it can be highly successful in increasing reading achievement among very disadvantaged students.[3] Can this success be replicated whenever and wherever we choose? It is important to state up front what is meant by we." No one can pretend that researchers, developers, or government agencies can by themselves ensure the success of all students. The enthusiastic and wholehearted commitment of school staffs and district administrations is also essential. In the case of Success for All, we work only with districts that have made a clear commitment to implement the program and with school staffs that have voted at least 80% in favor of participating. Our specific focus, then, is on the question of whether, in schools and districts that make a commitment to the success of every child, we can successfully replicate an effective program. Success for All began in Baltimore in 1986. It was designed in a collaboration between our group at Johns Hopkins and the Baltimore City Public Schools and piloted in one school in the 1987-88 school year. Since then Success for An has expanded both within and outside of Baltimore and is currently being implemented in a total of 85 schools in 37 school districts in 19 states from coast to coast. From the outset, the program has emphasized rigorous evaluation of its results in comparison with those of matched control schools in the same districts, preferably through the use of individually administered tests of reading. Due to funding limitations, not all Success for All schools are being assessed in this way, but we currently have high-quality assessment data from 15 schools in seven districts in seven states, a remarkable body of evidence for an innovative program. …

Race, ethnicity, culture, and science

Abstract: Race and ethnicity are commonly used variables in medical research. Each year about 2500 papers are indexed under the headings “ethnic groups” or “racial stocks” on Medline1; many more control for ethnic group or cultural differences during analysis. Patterns of disease, response to treatment, and the use of services are increasingly being explained in ethnic or racial terms, and from next April providers in the NHS must collect “ethnic data.” However, substantial problems exist with this burgeoning literature. The categories of race or ethnic group are rarely defined, the use of terms is inconsistent, and people are often allocated to racial or ethnic groups, arbitrarily.2 Some researchers use the original Blumenbach classification3 and class “Asians” as “Caucasian,” though modern definitions often class “Asians” as “black.”4 Some use “Afro- Caribbean” for people of African or Caribbean descent; others use it for people who are black and of Caribbean ancestry. The King's Fund no longer uses the term “ethnic” because of its heathen connotations and classes all disadvantaged groups as “black populations,” believing that the experience of racism is paramount.4 Meanwhile, the commission for Racial Equality uses the term “ethnic minorities,” believing that cultural and religious differences are important (Commission for Racial Equality, personal communication). Race is …

Winter Setback: The Racial Composition of Schools and Learning to Read

Abstract: This is a longitudinal study of the growth in reading comprehension over the first two years of school among a mixed-race random sample of children in Baltimore, Maryland. African-Americans in integrated schools made less progress in reading comprehension in winter when school was in session than did their counterparts in segregated schools. In summers, however, when they were not in school, the African-American children who attended integrated schools gained considerably more than their counterparts who attended segregated schools. White children made about the same progress in reading in integrated and segregated schools in winters and summers, even though the whites in integrated schools came from more educationally advantaged families. Thus, children of both races in integrated schools, who generally came from more educated families, did not make the expected gains in reading comprehension when school was open. In summers, however, students whose parents had more education forged ahead of those whose parents were high school dropouts. We consider several explanations for the relatively slow growth in reading comprehension we observedfor children in integrated schools. It is most likely that acquisition of reading skills is harder for youngsters of both races in integrated schools because their language backgrounds differ. Early reading development depends heavily on a child's knowledge of spoken language, which for Baltimore children reflects their experience in segregated neighborhoods. At the same time, schools seem to help the children from economically disadvantaged homes-the ones who need help the most.

Homeless Children: Are They Different from Other Low-Income Children?

Abstract: The economic growth during the "recovery" of the 1980s contrasted starkly with the fate of children during that time. Child poverty increased 21 percent between 1979 and 1989 (Children's Defense Fund, 1991; Waxman & Reyes, 1989), and the number of homeless families with children also increased dramatically. Homelessness was initially a phenomenon of large urban areas but more recently has swept across the nation, affecting midsize cities as well as suburban and rural areas (Edelman & Mihaly, 1989; First et al., 1990). Contributing to the rise of homelessness in midsize cities is the migration of disadvantaged families from large urban settings to smaller towns and cities in search of a safer environment and better life for their children. Homelessness among young children may represent a larger, more devastating problem: long-lasting childhood poverty accompanied by lack of residential stability and of supportive social relationships. But do homeless children's needs differ from those of other economically disadvantaged children? The answer to this question is crucial because of the way in which resources are distributed to people in need: Programs target populations deemed to be at risk and therefore may focus inappropriately on smaller, more visible populations. The literature has addressed this question but offers no definitive answer. The serious cognitive and socioemotional problems experienced by homeless children has been documented in several studies. One of the pioneering studies of homeless children by Bassuk and Rubin (1987) reported that about half of the children experienced high levels of anxiety and depression on the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (Reynolds & Richmond, 1885) and the Children's Depression Inventory (Kovacs, 1983), indicating the need for further psychiatric evaluation. Their mothers' responses on the Achenbach & Edelbrock (1986) Child Behavior Checklist yielded similar results (Bassuk & Rubin, 1987). In addition, 25 percent of the school-age children in their sample were in special education classes, and 45 percent had repeated a grade. Other studies support these findings (for example, Molnar, Rath, & Klein, 1990). Few studies have examined the difference between economically disadvantaged, housed children and children who have experienced homelessness. Moreover, the ability to generalize from this research has been limited by small sample sizes or sampling problems. Studies generally have not found significant differences between the two groups, except in health (Molnar et al., 1990; Rafferty & Shinn, 1991). When differences were reported, homeless children exhibited more problems than their housed counterparts (Rafferty & Shinn, 1991). Bassuk and Rosenberg (1988, 1990) found homeless children to be more impaired on some measures of socioemotional and cognitive functioning than a comparison group of low-income housed children, although most differences were not significant. What was significant in their study and most other studies of homeless and low-income housed children was the severity of the problems experienced by both groups compared with other groups of children. This study addresses the question of whether there are significant differences by comparing large, representative samples of homeless children and low-income, residentially mobile children. Homelessness is clearly a stressful event. Living in a shelter or hotel for months or years undoubtedly negatively affects children's development and parent-child relations (Boxhill & Beaty, 1990). Yet most shelter stays are relatively short term, whereas poverty and residential mobility often last for an entire childhood. The effect of chronic poverty on homeless children is even more devastating than poverty alone, because the effects of multiple simultaneous stresses have a stronger negative effect than the sum of individual stresses (Neiman, 1988). The literature provides evidence for the dynamic of poverty, lack of residential stability, and lack of social support in relation to homelessness. …

After Care: the education and occupation of adults who have been in care

Abstract: Data from the 1981 and 1991 sweeps of the National Child Development Study are used to explore the educational qualifications and the subsequent occupations of people who had experienced care as children. The results confirm previous investigations which show that people who have been in care have much lower educational qualifications than their peers who have never been in care; they also show that they have higher risks of unemployment and, if they obtain jobs, are more likely to be in lower‐level jobs. These results do not, however, apply equally to all people who have ever been in care. People who experienced short periods of care before the age of one perform close to the national average, while one of the most disadvantaged groups are people who came into care before eleven years of age and did not leave care until after eleven. This group typically remained in care for around nine years, and they not only had low educational attainments but also had even lower occupational attainments than would have been expected given their lack of qualifications.

Head Start and Beyond: A National Plan for Extended Childhood Intervention.

Abstract: In this volume, Zigler and Styfco look at the three large federal programs for the education of disadvantaged children-Head Start, Follow Through, and the Title I/Chapter I programs-and discuss how their missions might be interrelated. There could hardly be a better time for this kind of discussion. No one is better qualified to think about the issues and to set the stage for a public consideration of the questions than Zigler."-Sheldon H. White, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University "A fascinating look at the massive institution that Head Start has become, and the myriad possibilities for what could well be its next twenty-five years...A thoughtful and informative discussion of the issues that will be critical for Head Start's future success."-Harvard Educational Review "This excellent volume compares the nationally successful outreach model, Head Start, with other outreach programs to alleviate the effects of poverty on children. These wonderful ideas delineated in this book present guidelines for future national and local early intervention programs."-T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., professor emeritus, Harvard Medical School "[This] book is accessible to an unusually wide range of audiences in child development, education, and social policy including researchers, program designers and evaluators, and policy makers. ..I highly recommend this forward-looking volume. It is full of insights and good ideas."-Arthur J. Reynolds, Child Development Abstracts & Bibliography "This slim volume is key reading for American policy-makers, taxpayers and educators interested in reviewing the thirty-year impact of governmentally funded early intervention programmes."-Virginia E. Garland, Journal of Educational Administration and History

Narrative Skills and Social Class

Abstract: Narratives play an important role in education, for pragmatic and theoretical reasons. Narrative skills of four-year-old children are hypothetically important for later school success. This research investigated the relationship between specific narrative skills and social class in a culturally and racially homogeneous sample, focusing particularly on narratives of economically disadvantaged children from disorganized households. Both middle-class and economically disadvantaged children (but not economically disadvantaged children from disorganized households) often produced long and informative narratives. In contrast, children from disorganized households were most likely to produce extremely minimal narratives, and even their longer ones tended to be chronologically disorganized and poorly patterned in terms of overall structure. Since narrative is one building block teachers use pedagogically, such differences in the match between child skills and school demands at school entrance are cause for concern.

Children, work and 'child labour' : changing responses to the employment of children

Abstract: textWorking children and young people occupy a relatively weak and easily exploitable position in work relations and in the labour market. As a social group, they share this problem with various other structurally- disadvantaged social groups in society (examples are women, e!liiiic minorities or migrants and the disabled). However, they are the only-one among such groups whose exploitation is generally addressed by attempts to remove them completely from the labour market, rather-17 than by efforts to improve the terms and conditions under which they work. What is the basis for treating the 'child labour~,:p~oblem in such a different way: i.e. by demanding special laws and regulations excluding this category of persons from access to employment, rather than by demanding the abolition of discrimination against them?

Parents, privilege and the education market‐place

Abstract: According to advocates of ‘marketization’ in education, market systems of school provision are fairer than those organized around catchment areas. Whereas catchment areas are said to privilege the wealthy and deny choice to the poor because they lead to a system of ‘selection by mortgage’, market systems are held to give all parents ‐‐ rich and poor alike ‐‐ the opportunity to choose a school for their children. This paper builds on existing research that points to the ways in which market systems privilege certain groups or classes of parents and children. It draws on data collected as part of an ongoing ESRC study into markets in secondary education to illustrate how class bias operates in a market system of provision and how immigrant families with middle‐class backgrounds may also be disadvantaged in the market‐place. Three broad categories of families are identified ‐‐ the Privileged, the Frustrated and the Disconnected ‐‐ defined in terms of their position in relation to the education marke...

A Study of Self-Concept and Social Support in Advantaged and Disadvantaged Seventh and Eighth Grade Gifted Students.

Abstract: Understanding differences in perceptions of self‐concept and social support among special populations of gifted learners is critical to planning appropriate services for them. The present study investigated these differences among intellectually gifted students of junior high age who were participating in full time intensive programs for the gifted. Specifically, differences as a function of gender, ethnicity, and socio‐economic class were examined. Findings indicated some differences based on ethnicity and gender, but most differences were observed between lower and higher socio‐economic groups, particularly in the areas of social support and social and behavioral self‐concept. Implications from the study would suggest attention to these dimensions in program planning.

Social Comparisons and Contentment Exploring the Psychological Costs of the Gender Wage Gap

Abstract: This study explored the role of social comparison processes in fostering contentment among those who are objectively disadvantaged. We focus on how comparisons can produce gender differences in personal entitlement, perceptions of one's own performance, and pay satisfaction. We hypothesized that individuals would base judgments of entitlement, performance, and pay satisfaction more on comparisons with ingroup (same-sex) than outgroup (cross-sex) others, even when both types of comparison information were equally available, unavoidable, and made clear the disadvantaged status of the ingroup. As predicted, the amount students felt they were entitled to be paid, how well they thought they had performed (women only), and how satisfied they were with their pay were all influenced more by same-sex than cross-sex comparison information. The implications of these results for the tolerance of injustice among disadvantaged groups are discussed.

The State of Chicago School Reform.

Abstract: To dwell on the fact that the ultimate aim of reform has not yet been accomplished can be very debilitating, the authors point out. A more prudent and productive approach would focus on evidence that these initiatives are evolving in ways that are likely to lead to major improvements in the school experiences and learning of students. THE CHICAGO School Reform Act has launched an undertaking of unprecedented scope that is still very much in the process of developing. The findings summarized here stem from a systematic in-depth analysis of what has happened to Chicago's elementary schools in the first four years of this reform.[1] That analysis draws on in-depth case studies in more than 25 school communities and on systemwide analyses of indicators based on administrative records and on original surveys gathered from more than 400 principals and 12,000 teachers. A Closer Look at the Reform School reform in Chicago gave principals greater authority over school budgets and over the physical plant. It also empowered principals to recruit and hire new teachers. Having lost their tenure, principals are now accountable to their Local School Councils (LSCs). Together, these changes have encouraged principals to direct their efforts toward meeting the needs and concerns of local constituencies. The reforms gave parents and community members a real voice in school affairs because each group has representatives on the LSC. These parent-majority councils have the power to hire and fire the principal and to approve the budget and the "school improvement plan." Teachers were also given an expanded voice. Through their two seats on each LSC, teachers now have direct influence on school affairs, including the choice of principal. They also have advisory responsibility over school curriculum and instruction through the teacher-elected "professional personnel advisory committee." New resources also became available to support school improvements. Schools with large numbers of disadvantaged students received substantial increases in discretionary dollars and greater freedom regarding how those dollars could be spent. To guide the local school change process, the Chicago School Reform Act also formulated explicit educational goals for children and an extended set of school objectives. The intent was to use these goals and objectives to focus local efforts on improving school quality and student learning. In the most general terms, the Chicago School Reform Act focused on reclaiming initiative for parents, community members, teachers, and principals. The new structures and roles established by this law sought to create a political force in school communities that would support school improvement. It was argued that such a political force could help to bring about the organizational changes that would enable schools to be more responsive to the communities, families, and students they serve. At base was the belief that the expanded engagement of local participants in the work of the schools would sustain attention and provide substantial support for improvements in classroom instruction and in student learning. We organized our investigation to examine rigorously the implied logic here as it has played out in school communities. How are these new governance arrangements actually functioning? Are schools using their newfound autonomy to promote fundamental reorganization? Is there any attention to improving teaching and learning? In the contexts in which expanded local participation has emerged, is there any evidence that this democratic localism is an effective lever for organizational change and instructional improvement? What Has Happened? The approximately 500 elementary schools within the Chicago system produce a diverse and varied story. In many school communities, parents, community leaders, teachers, and principals have joined together to use the resources and the opportunities offered by school reform to institute broad and deep changes that aim to revitalize their schools and make them central to their communities. …

Desegregation of Gifted Educational Programs: The Impact of Brown on Underachieving Children of Color

Abstract: In recent years, increasing attention has been paid and efforts devoted to the identification and placement of minority students in gifted education programs. This response reflects the unfortunate reality that minority children, particularly African American children, are severely underrepresented in gifted programs (Alamprese & Erlanger, 1988; Ford & Harris, 1991; Richert, 1987; U.S. Department of Education, 1990) and gravely overrepresented in Special Education programs for the learning disabled, behavioral disordered, and mentally retarded (Chinn & Selma, 1987; B. Ford, 1992; Kunjufu, 1993; Patton, 1992). This discrepancy reaches 50% nationally, but may be even higher in some school districts and states. Abundant data suggest that gifted programs are perhaps the most segregated educational programs in this nation, and that more concerted efforts must be undertaken to ensure that minority students, economically disadvantaged students, as well as underachievers receive the education to which they are ethically and legally entitled.This article has four major goals. First, it highlights the current state of gifted education relative the presence (or lack) of African American students in gifted programs. Second, possible explanations for the aforementioned discrepancy--that is, the underrepresentation of African American learners in programs for the gifted--are advanced. Third, suggestions are offered to redress this problem, to "desegregate" gifted programs and otherwise redress inequities. These suggestions range from new definitions and theories of giftedness to promising identification practices. Finally, the issue of not only identifying and recruiting African American students but also retaining them in gifted programs is discussed, along with recommendations.INDICES OF SEGREGATION IN GIFTED PROGRAMSThe year 1994 marks the 40th anniversary of the epochal decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954). No longer in its infancy, this ruling is rapidly approaching middle age. Still, African Americans continue to struggle with the basic issues of justice, equity, and equality the proponents of Brown sought to address. The long battle for political, economical, social, and educational parity has been fought in a milieu of contradictions (Sizemore, 1978). On the one hand, American democracy espouses equality and equity in all facets of life, particularly education. On the other hand, four decades after Brown, the nation holds steadfastly to practices that promise he persistence of inequity and inequality in educational opportunities and access to quality programs. African Americans are still fighting for justice in schools across the land.Brown represents the most significant ruling in the history of the Supreme Court on equal educational opportunity. It is the cornerstone of all subsequent legal developments ensuring the rights of disenfranchised groups (Ford, Russo, & Harris, 1993; Russo, Ford, & Harris, 1993). However, the absence of controlling Supreme Court precedent or mandatory federal legislation on gifted education requires reasoning by analogy regarding Brown's implications for gifted education.The most far-reaching legislation for gifted education is the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Act of 1988. This Act clearly marked the culmination of the efforts of proponents of gifted education. Not only does it provide financial assistance to state and local educational agencies, it also gives highest priority to students who are racial minorities, economically disadvantaged, limited English proficient, and disabled. However, despite the stellar efforts of this legislation, a disconcerting underrepresentation of nontraditional students in gifted programs persists. For example, the U.S. Department of Education's (1990) 12th annual report to Congress notes that African American males are disproportionately placed in Special Education programs compared to students of any other racial, ethnic, or gender group. …

A structural model for the developmental status of young children

Abstract: All children born into advantaged families do not enjoy advantaged circumstances as adults Similarly, all children born into disadvantaged circumstances do not remain forever disadvantaged The intergenerational transmission of advantage and disadvantage is not automatic Nevertheless, there is a general tendency for advantage and disadvantage to be reproduced intergenerationally This tendency constitutes a fundamental problem addressed by social stratification theory and one that identifies family processes as critical in the intergenerational transmission of inequality The fact that social inequalities are reproduced across generations is uncontested, but how this process occurs is intensely debated One body of scholarship stresses the advantages that privileged parents can provide to their children Such parents can structure enriching experiences for children, facilitate their academic and occupational achievement, and generally position children to succeed Another body of scholarship stresses the human cost of economic hardship This work focuses on the deleterious consequences of poverty for family dynamics and for children's physical, social, and psychological development The literatures on privilege and poverty are poorly integrated Consequently, how the socioeconomic status of parents and the developmental status of children interact is not clearly understood Nevertheless, available scholarship does suggest that processes responsible for the intergenerational transmission of inequality are complex, operating at several levels of analysis and interacting in a synergistic fashion This study uses structural equation modeling to explore the determinants of the developmental status of young children This technique is particularly appropriate for evaluating hypotheses that derive from well-developed bodies of substantive and theoretical research (Lavee, 1988) Children aged birth to 4 years from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) are analyzed The literature reviewed suggests that characteristics of mother, household, and child collectively influence the quality of the home environment, which mediates the influence of demographic and socioeconomic variables on child outcomes The present research assesses this model, focusing on the overall goodness-of-fit between theoretically-derived expectations and empirical results Analysis is conducted on a model-fitting sample and replicated on a model-testing sample The adequacy of fit is also assessed for specific subgroups INFLUENCES ON CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENTAL STATUS ORIENTING PRINCIPLES Scholarship inspired by diverse theoretical perspectives and disciplinary traditions can initially be integrated only under a broad and relatively nonsectarian framework This literature review adopts a generalized ecological perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 1986) because it can subsume most reported research without altering authors' original intent An ecological perspective has little to say about the relative importance of successively more proximate contexts as determinants of outcomes, but more proximal/distal contexts are not inherently privileged An ecological perspective is, therefore, appropriate because the objective of this study is not to assess the relative importance of specific determinants of children's development but rather to evaluate a general model of multiple influences Available scholarship is extensive but not expansive Most studies explore the relationship among a delimited set of variables and acknowledge that other relevant variables are excluded, frequently because small and unrepresentative samples do not permit analyses of demographic and socioeconomic differences Most available scholarship, however, raises questions about relationships among included and excluded variables Some of these questions are beginning to be answered by research on the NLSY data set The pioneering work of Menaghan and Parcel (1991) and Parcel and Menaghan (1990, 1993, in press) is particularly important because it explores the home environment and child outcomes in a holistic context …

‘Stressed-Out’ Communities: ‘Out-of-Sight, Out-Of-Mind’?

Abstract: In a recent guest editorial for Society and Space, Vera Chouinard noted ‘how the working class and other disadvantaged groups, like the disabled, are often curiously absent from the landscapes represented in postmodern cultural geographies of the city.

Social support systems and the disadvantaged gifted: A framework for developing programs and services ∗

Abstract: Most research on the talent development process has focused on middle class children and on the role of the family, particularly parents, in assisting talented children. Relatively little is known about the talent development of disadvantaged children, whose parents or families may not be able to play a central role in their development. This means that programs designed to help disadvantaged students are based on a “best guess” about what will be effective. In this article, we explore the literature on social networks and social support systems, which offers promising ideas for designing interventions for talented, economically disadvantaged children. Specifically, we extend the ideas of social support systems to giftedness and disadvantagement and present examples of two intervention programs based on these concepts.

Adjustments to Traditional Procedures for Identifying Underserved Students: Successes and Failures:

Abstract: Thirty-nine school districts were surveyed in a study to examine the success or failure of alternative strategies for identifying gifted students in school districts serving large numbers of culturally diverse students. Many districts listed ethnic/linguistic minorities and economically disadvantaged students as important underserved populations. Alternative identification procedures were primarily intended to expand the assessment basis. Factors most associated with success of procedures included school personnel and assessment practices. Factors causing problems included testing and policies at state and local levels, as well as a lack of recognition of giftedness as it is manifested in diverse cultural populations.

Are multidimensional social classifications of areas useful in UK health service research

Abstract: OBJECTIVES--To show the advantages and disadvantages of a multi-dimensional small area classification in the analysis of child health data in order to measure social inequalities in health and to identify the types of area that have greater health needs. DESIGN--Health data on children from the district child health information system and a survey of primary school children's height were classified by the census enumeration district of residence using the Super profiles neighbourhood classification. SETTING--County of Northumberland, United Kingdom. SUBJECTS--One cohort comprised 21,702 preschool children age 0-5 years resident in Northumberland, and another cohort 9930 school children aged 5-8.5 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Variations between types of area in the proportions of babies with birthweight less than 2.8 kg; births to mothers aged less than 20 years; pertussis immunisation uptake; child health screening uptake; and mean height of school children. RESULTS--Areas with the poorest child health measures were those which were most socially disadvantaged. The most affluent areas tended to have the best measures of health, although rural areas also had good measures. Problems in analysis included examples of the "ecological fallacy", misleading area descriptions, and the identification of the specific factors associated with poor health measures. Advantages included a wider view of social circumstances than simply "deprivation" and the ability to identify characteristic types of areas with increased child health needs. CONCLUSIONS--There is a limited place for multidimensional small area classifications in the analysis of health data for both research and health needs assessment provided the inherent drawbacks of these data are understood in interpreting the results.