Showing papers on "Disadvantaged published in 2003"

Can Mandated Political Representation Increase Policy Influence for Disadvantaged Minorities? Theory and Evidence from India

Abstract: accountable governments often fail to reflect the interests of disadvantaged minorities. This paper exploits the institutional features of political reservation, as practiced in Indian states, to examine the role of mandated political representation in providing disadvantaged groups influence over policy-making. Ifind that political reservation has increased transfers to groups which benefit from the mandate. This finding also suggests that complete policy commitment may be absent in democracies, as is found in this case. (JEL D72, D78, Hl 1, H50)

Social inequality and the reduction of ideological dissonance on behalf of the system: evidence of enhanced system justification among the disadvantaged

Abstract: According to system justification theory, people are motivated to preserve the belief that existing social arrangements are fair, legitimate, justifiable, and necessary. The strongest form of this hypothesis, which draws on the logic of cognitive dissonance theory, holds that people who are most disadvantaged by the status quo would have the greatest psychological need to reduce ideological dissonance and would therefore be most likely to support, defend, and justify existing social systems, authorities, and outcomes. Variations on this hypothesis were tested in five US national survey studies. We found that (a) low-income respondents and African Americans were more likely than others to support limitations on the rights of citizens and media representatives to criticize the government; (b) low-income Latinos were more likely to trust in US government officials and to believe that ‘the government is run for the benefit of all’ than were high-income Latinos; (c) low-income respondents were more likely than high-income respondents to believe that large differences in pay are necessary to foster motivation and effort; (d) Southerners in the USA were more likely to endorse meritocratic belief systems than were Northerners and poor and Southern African Americans were more likely to subscribe to meritocratic ideologies than were African Americans who were more affluent and from the North; (e) low-income respondents and African Americans were more likely than others to believe that economic inequality is legitimate and necessary; and (f) stronger endorsement of meritocratic ideology was associated with greater satisfaction with one's own economic situation. Taken together, these findings are consistent with the dissonance-based argument that people who suffer the most from a given state of affairs are paradoxically the least likely to question, challenge, reject, or change it. Implications for theories of system justification, cognitive dissonance, and social change are also discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Improving the Retention of Students from Lower Socio-economic Groups

Abstract: Success in higher education for students from lower socio-economic groups and from disadvantaged backgrounds is becoming an increasingly important policy goal in the UK and abroad. An analysis of the HEFCE performance indicators identified six English higher education institutions performing above their benchmarks with regard to widening participation and also student retention and completion, and prompted an investigation of what these institutions had been doing that might account for their success. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior managers responsible for retention and completion, which focused on institutional strategy. Analysis of the interviews suggested that success in retaining students from lower socio-economic groups required a strong policy commitment to access and retention, backed up by practical action. A number of actions were identified as possible contributors to such success.

The early education of socioeconomically disadvantaged children.

Abstract: This chapter reviews selected research on the education of low-socioeconomic status (SES) children from birth through the first years of elementary school. Themes include the importance of early academic skills and interest to later achievement; the benefits of integrating knowledge from research on mental health and other areas; the need to utilize and build children's strengths as well as address their weaknesses; and a call to connect research to practice and policy. Relevant research on race and culture is reviewed because ethnic minority low-SES children are at great risk of poverty. Gender is discussed because low-SES boys have poorer general achievement than girls, while very few low-SES girls pursue careers in math- and science-related fields.

Quality of Life Research: A Critical Introduction

Abstract: `Quality of life' is one of the fastest growing areas of research and policy. The concept has an intuitive appeal as a measure of the well-being of individuals, communities and nations. It is increasingly promoted as an aid for political decisions and public funding. But what does the concept really mean? And how can it be operationalized in teaching and research? This is the first introductory text to offer a critical overview of the concept of quality of life and the ways in which it is researched. Using an inter-disciplinary approach the book covers every aspect of the concept and its application - from the calculation of Quality-Adjusted Life Years to conversation analysis, from the estimation of the quality of life of nation states to ethnographic studies of the life quality of individual disadvantaged people. The book fills a huge gap in teaching and research. Written with authority, and the need to produce an accessible critical introduction to the field, it will be of interest to students of sociology, psychology, public health and nursing, health economics, politics and medicine.

Motivation and Self-Regulation as Predictors of Achievement in Economically Disadvantaged Young Children

Abstract: The primary purpose of the present study was to better understand the roles of motivation and self-regulated task behavior for early school achievement differences among young, economically at-risk and not-at-risk children. Of the at-risk participants, 43 were 5-6-year-olds and 42 were 7-8-year-olds. Of the not-at-risk participants, 21 were 6-year-olds, and 21 were 8-year-olds. Results of the study showed that child-and-teacher-reported motivation levels were comparable among the at-risk and the not-at-risk children. However, the at-risk children showed poorer abilities to regulate their task attention than the not-at-risk children did. In addition, younger at-risk children's achievement scores were predicted by their levels of attention-regulation abilities. Results are discussed in relation to the importance of at-risk children's attention-regulation skills.

Private Choices, Public Consequences: Magnet School Choice and Segregation by Race and Poverty

Abstract: Little is known about the influence of school choice programs on race and economic segregation in public schools. Studies of housing segregation suggest that small differences in the preferences of particular race or socioeconomic groups have the potential to produce large-scale patterns of segregation. In this study, I raise three questions regarding the link between individual choice and educational segregation: first, are the school choices of higher status families driven by a desire to avoid schools populated by students they consider to be of lower race or class status? Second, can other school features, such as safety, appearance, and educational quality, explain apparent raceor class-based choices? Third, can families' choices of schools be linked directly with segregation patterns independent of school district policies that may interfere with (or galvanize) the ability of people to exercise their choices? To answer these questions, I analyze magnet school application data from a large city to explore the choices of families for schools that vary in racial and economic composition. Findings show that white families avoid schools with higher percentages of non-white students. The tendency of white families to avoid schools with higher percentages of non-whites cannot be accounted for by other school characteristics such as test scores, safety, or poverty rates. I also find that wealthier families avoid schools with higher poverty rates. The choices of white and wealthier students lead to increased racial and economic segregation in the neighborhood schools that these students leave. Moreover, the link between choice and segregation cannot be explained by school district policies. Findings suggest that laissez faire school choice policies, which allow the unfettered movement of children in and out of schools, may further deteriorate the educational conditions for disadvantaged students left behind in local public schools.

Is Marriage a Panacea? Union Formation among Economically Disadvantaged Unwed Mothers

Abstract: Current U.S. government policy views marriage as an economic panacea for disadvantaged unwed mothers. In this article, we use retrospective family life history data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth to examine marital histories of at-risk women. First, we examine current marital behavior and poverty of women from disadvantaged family backgrounds. Second, we evaluate the role of unwed childbearing in linking poverty and welfare dependence between childhood and adulthood. Third, we document the extent to which marriage is associated with economic well-being among socially and economically disadvantaged women, and the extent to which unwed mothers ultimately benefit from marriage. Our results indicate that disadvantaged women who have had children out of wedlock have substantially lower rates of subsequent marriage than other women. Poverty and welfare receipt are substantially lower for those who married and stayed married than for those who never-married or were divorced. The economic benefits of marriage are especially strong among women from disadvantaged families. However, for women who marry, but later divorce, poverty rates exceed those of never-married women. Marriage alone will not offset the long-term deleterious effects associated with unwed childbearing, nor will it eliminate the existing disparity in poverty and welfare receipt among various racial and ethnic groups.

Staying on Track in School: Religious Influences in High- and Low-Risk Settings

Abstract: Religious communities are known to instill standards of achievement in their young people, but this observation may not apply as well to disadvantaged youth and their culture. In this study, we explore whether religious involvement enables youth in low-income neighborhoods to stay on track in school, rather than falling behind. Using data from two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we find that adolescents in low-income neighborhoods do not differ in their church attendance patterns from their peers in higher-income areas. However, their religious involvement is more likely to contribute to their academic progress than it is among youth in higher-income neighborhoods, even with adjustments for key risk and protective factors. This cross-level interaction involving youth church attendance shows a consistent relationship with several other measures of neighborhood disadvantage. We explore explanations for church attendance's uniquely positive effect in impoverished neighborhoods and its broader implications.

Effective relationship-based practice: A theoretical exploration

Abstract: This paper looks at the importance of a relationship-based approach within social work. It explores past writings on the social worker-client relationship, why the relationship was seen to be central to effectiveness and good practice, and why this perspective fell out of favour. It revisits the importance of a relationship-based approach, within a psychosocial perspective, in relation to eight areas of practice. These include the assessment task and process; relationship difficulties; people who are vulnerable or reliant on others for their well-being; situations that require practitioners to be able to hold and contain anxiety; the relationship as a foundation for capacity building, empowerment and developing people's potential; and in relation to disadvantaged and marginalised sectors of the population, how social workers can use the 'front-line' knowledge they have gained through the relationships they have created in political ways--to bear witness and report on 'social ills' as they impact on the li...

Risk and Resilience in the Life Course: Implications for Interventions and Social Policies

Abstract: It is now increasingly recognized that youth research needs to pay at least as much attention to the development of competences, resources, skills, and assets as to the emergence of disadvantage and risk. This paper summarizes recent developments in theory and research on resilience, a construct describing positive adaptation in the face of adversity, and explores possible applications of the theoretical advances and empirical findings to the development of interventions and social policies. A series of guiding principles are discussed along with examples of existing programmes aiming to promote the well being of disadvantaged, high-risk young people in our society.

'Social Mixing' and the Management of Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods: The Dutch Policy of Urban Restructuring Revisited

Abstract: Summary. The Dutch government currently pursues a comprehensive and ambitious policy of ‘social mixing’ in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The second section of this paper suggests that it has as yet not been adequately explained why the Dutch government pursues this so-called restructuring policy. The third section develops an approach derived from regulation theory that potentially helps to decipher the forces behind the Dutch restructuring policy. It is argued that planning practices and discourses should be analysed in relation to the dynamics of the regulatory framework in which they are embedded. The remainder of the paper uses this approach to give an alternative account of the Dutch restructuring policy, suggesting that it represents an attempt to facilitate the social management of disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Thus, it serves to mitigate the social effects of the problematic integration of ethnic minorities and facilitates a national city-oriented growth strategy.

The Social Prerequisites of Success: Can College Structure Reduce the Need for Social Know-How?

Abstract: A study of fourteen colleges finds that community colleges require certain kinds of social know-how—skills and knowledge less available to disadvantaged students. They present seven obstacles: (1) bureaucratic hurdles, (2) confusing choices, (3) student-initiated guidance, (4) limited counselor availability, (5) poor advice from staff, (6) delayed detection of costly mistakes, and (7) poor handling of conflicting demands. However, we find that a very different kind of college—the private occupational college—takes steps to structure out the need for this social know-how and address the needs of disadvantaged students. We speculate about possible policy implications.

Teachers and productive pedagogies: contextualising, conceptualising, utilising

Abstract: Improving students' outcomes from schooling requires schools to be learning organisations, where both students and teachers are engaged in learning. As such, knowledge and talk about pedagogy need to be at the core of the professional culture of schools. This article argues that this will require the valuing of teachers' work, that is, their pedagogical practices, to be a central focus of educational policy. Dangers are associated with this argument in terms of understating the impacts of poverty, lack of funding to disadvantaged schools and other social factors such as the pressures of globalisation upon students' educational opportunities. Hence, while acknowledging the importance of pedagogy to students' outcomes, the article contextualises the argument through a recognition of the policy and structural conditions that work against the valuing of teachers and their work. It then conceptualises how, within this context, a focus on pedagogies can make a difference to students' academic and social outcomes from schooling. This conceptualisation utilises the productive pedagogies model of classroom practice, developed in a large Australian study of school reform, as an example of the forms of pedagogical practices that support students' achievement of academic and social outcomes. It is argued that such pedagogical practices ought to be a concern of teachers, school administrators, education systems and local communities interested in schools as learning organisations.

The Lowest Rung: Voices of Australian Poverty

Abstract: This 2003 book is a fascinating and moving portrait of the people who are suffering in a more divided and less egalitarian Australian society. Based on the author's conversations with hundreds of people living in three areas commonly described as 'disadvantaged' - Inala in Queensland, Mount Druitt in New South Wales and Broadmeadows in Victoria - this is a book in which impoverished Australians, who are often absent from debates about poverty, tell their own stories. Some are funny, others are sad. There are stories about loss, despair and an uncertain future they can hardly bear to tell. But there are also stories about hope, and the capacity of poorer people to imagine and create a fairer world. Rather than focusing on abstractions such as the underclass, this book provides an intimate account of real people's fears, hopes and dilemmas in the face of growing inequality, entrenched unemployment, and fading opportunities for the young.

Status processes and the institutionalization of women as leaders.

Abstract: Socially disadvantaged individuals often encounter resistance when they rise to high-status positions. For example, women, according to status characteristics theory, will be disadvantaged relative to men in social interactions, other things being equal. Institutionalizing women as leaders may overcome such disadvantages. Drawing from status characteristics theory and institutional theory, it is predicted that institutionalization of female leadership can reduce the influence gap between women and men by legitimating structures of female leadership. Results of an experiment conducted to test this idea show that, as predicted, male leaders attained higher influence than did female leaders, and leaders appointed on ability attained higher influence than did randomly assigned leaders. Institutionalization, however, reduced the advantage of men such that female leaders appointed on ability when female leadership was institutionalized attained influence as high as male leaders appointed on ability when female leadership was not institutionalized.

A Meta-Analysis of Government-Sponsored Training Programs

Abstract: This study uses meta-analysis to synthesize findings from 31 evaluations of 15 voluntary government-funded training programs for the disadvantaged that operated between 1964 and 1998. On average, t...

Beyond 'beer, fags, egg and chips'? Exploring lay understandings of social inequalities in health

Abstract: This paper seeks to contribute to the limited body of work that has directly explored lay understandings of the causes of health inequalities. Using both quantitative and qualitative methodology, the views of people living in contrasting socio-economic neighbourhoods are compared. The findings support previous research in suggesting that lay theories about causality in relation to health inequalities, like lay concepts of health and illness in general, are multi-factorial. The findings, however, also illustrate how the ways in which questions about health and illness are asked shape people's responses. In the survey reported on here people had no problem offering explanations for health inequalities and, in response to a question asking specifically about area differences in health experience, people living in disadvantaged areas 'constructed' explanations which included, but went beyond, individualistic factors to encompass structural explanations that gave prominence to aspects of 'place'. In contrast, within the context of in-depth interviews, people living in disadvantaged areas were reluctant to accept the existence of health inequalities highlighting the moral dilemmas such questions pose for people living in poor material circumstances. While resisting the notion of health inequalities, however, in in-depth interviews the same people provided vivid accounts of the way in which inequalities in material circumstances have an adverse impact upon health. The paper highlights ways in which different methodologies provide different and not necessarily complementary understandings of lay perspectives on the causes of inequalities in health.

'Knowing their limits'? Identities, inequalities and inner city school leavers' post-16 aspirations

Abstract: This paper draws upon data collected from 20 working class, inner city pupils in a British (London) school (in Year 11, aged 15/16 years) as part of a research study exploring the ways in which young people understand their options and identities. Pilot study data is used to develop an analysis of the processes through which inner city, working class young people come to leave school at the age of 16. Attention is drawn to issues of identity and inequality within processes of leaving education. In particular, we highlight the ways in which the young people viewed themselves as ‘not good enough’ and ‘knew their limits’ in relation to post-compulsory educational routes. It is suggested that these views were constructed and compounded by complex social and institutional factors, and were exacerbated by educational policies that impact upon inner city ‘failing’ schools and disadvantaged communities.

Access to Higher Education and Disadvantaged Young People

Abstract: This article will highlight the difficulties faced by qualified but disadvantaged young people in accessing higher education. This is an issue which has strong implications for education policy, economic efficiency and social justice. Over the past two decades, despite large increases in overall access to higher education, the gap in level of participation between the most affluent and most disadvantaged school-leavers has remained intact. This article will examine patterns of educational attrition amongst less affluent young people, who gain sufficient qualifications to enter higher education. In other words, in order to redress the imbalance in the uptake of places in higher education, this article will distinguish between the factors which qualify young people to access university and those which predispose them to participate. A range of factors (barriers) which impacted upon levels of participation in higher education was found. Access to higher education was primarily dictated by level of school achievement, although this in turn was found to be a function of disadvantage. Furthermore, some qualified but disadvantaged young people forwent the opportunity to enter higher education on leaving school, while others enrolled in less advanced courses, for reasons other than academic ability.

Same, Different, Equal: Rethinking Single-Sex Schooling

Abstract: In this timely book, Rosemary Salomone offers a reasoned educational and legal argument supporting single-sex education as an alternative to coeducation, particularly in the case of disadvantaged minority students. "A carefully organized, often lively ...compendium of everything that matters in the debate: how boys and girls do in classes and on tests, their differing learning styles, and the legal tussles."--Timothy A. Hacsi, New York Times "Smart, objective, evenhanded. Must reading in this important debate."--Susan Estrich, University of Southern California Law School "Everyone concerned about inequalities in our schools and our society should want to read it."--Michael Duffy, Times Educational Supplement (U.K.) "If you have time for only one book and you really want to be informed about single-sex education, then make it Same, Different, Equal."--John Borst, Education Today "The single best book I have read about single-sex education. A must-read for every educator who is concerned about the different outcomes for boys and girls in school."--Michael Thompson, Ph.D, coauthor of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys

The palliative care needs of people with intellectual disabilities: a literature review.

Abstract: People with intellectual disabilities are among the most disadvantaged groups in society. A literature review was conducted aiming to answer the following question: What are the palliative care needs of people with intellectual disabilities? The literature review covers case histories, morbidity and mortality patterns for people with intellectual disabilities, their healthcare needs and primary care provision, the way they may present symptoms, their conceptualization of illness and death and issues around education and training. While the literature review reveals a lack of empirical data around the palliative care needs of people with intellectual disabilities, a number of potential problem areas are highlighted. These include late presentation of illness, difficulties in assessing symptoms, difficulties in understanding the illness and its implications and ethical issues around decision making and consent to treatment. It is suggested that future studies will need to include the views and experiences of people with intellectual disabilities themselves. Areas for possible future development include symptom assessment, evaluation of current practice and access to services and the development of information and training materials.

Buddy, Can You Spare A Dime? Homelessness, Panhandling, and the Public

Abstract: The authors use data from two national surveys to shed light on panhandling among homeless people and the public’s responses to it. A comparison of homeless panhandlers and nonpanhandlers shows the former group to be more isolated, troubled, and disadvantaged than the latter. Although only a minority of all homeless say that they panhandle, a majority of domiciled individuals report being panhandled, and most give at least occasionally. Such encounters have mixed but limited effects on the public’s attitudes and behaviors. Overall, results challenge the notion that panhandling constitutes an especially threatening feature of urban life. The wisdom of anti-panhandling ordinances is discussed in light of this conclusion.

Workforce diversity status: a study of employees’ reactions

Abstract: Primary data based on 1,083 observations were analyzed to examine the reactions and perceptions of male and female employees across categories about workforce diversity status in Indian organizations. Results indicated the prevalence of gender and category (racial) discrimination in Indian organizations. Male employees rated female employees less qualified, less competent, and less productive than females rated themselves. General category employees perceived that minority and socially disadvantaged employees were less competent and productive. Almost all employees believed that minority, socially disadvantaged, and disabled employees were provided with comparatively less organizational support in terms of working facilities, promotions, and salary increases. Even females of the general category believed that they had less chance of receiving working facilities, promotions, and salary increases than males from the general category. Further, each category of employees believed themselves to be more important than others. Females from all the categories valued diversity more highly than males. Females from the general category and both males and females from minority, disabled, and socially disadvantaged categories placed higher value on employers’ efforts to promote diversity compared with general category males.

The digital divide: a global and national call to action

Abstract: The phrase “digital divide” has been applied to the gap that exists in most countries between those with ready access to the tools of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and those without such access or skills. This may be because of socio‐economic or geographical factors, educational, attitudinal and generational factors, or because of physical disabilities. The paper reviews recent research concerning the digital divide in New Zealand, and the factors that alienate people from enjoying the benefits of information technology and participation in the knowledge economy. While socio‐economic factors affect use of ICTs by urban Maori and Pacific Island communities, and rural communities are affected by inadequate telecommunications infrastructure, rural Maori are even more disadvantaged. The paper examines strategies used in the USA and the UK at national and regional levels to address similar issues, including the use of libraries to reduce the digital divide, and compares these with New Zealand initiatives, to identify positive means of increasing participation in the knowledge economy.

Continuity and Change in Levels of Externalizing Behavior in School of Children From Economically Disadvantaged Families

Abstract: This study used a person-centered approach to understand continuity and change in the externalizing behavior of children from economically disadvantaged families (N = 134). Groups of children differed in showing high levels of externalizing behavior in first grade (7 years old) that persisted (persistent problem) or decreased (improver) in third grade (9 years old) and low levels in first grade that were stable (unproblematic) or increased (new problem) in third grade. The results showed that verbal ability, behavioral impulsivity, parent maladjustment, and harsh parenting distinguished the persistent problem and unproblematic groups. Family instability was associated with change for the improver and new problem groups. The results suggest the importance of examining changes in the early adjustment to school for children from economically disadvantaged families.