Showing papers on "Disadvantaged published in 2004"

Why Public Schools Lose Teachers

Abstract: Many school districts experience difficulties attracting and retaining teachers, and the impending retirement of a substantial fraction of public school teachers raises the specter of severe shortages in some public schools. Schools in urban areas serving economically disadvantaged and minority students appear particularly vulnerable. This paper investigates those factors that affect the probabilities that teachers switch schools or exit the public schools entirely. The results indicate that teacher mobility is much more strongly related to characteristics of the students, particularly race and achievement, than to salary, although salary exerts a modest impact once compensating differentials are taken into account.

Inequality in Preschool Education and School Readiness

Abstract: Attendance in U.S. preschools has risen substantially in recent decades, but gaps in enrollment between children from advantaged and disadvantaged families remain. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999, we analyze the effect of participation in child care and early education on children's school readiness as measured by early reading and math skills in kindergarten and first grade. We find that children who attended a center or school-based preschool program in the year before school entry perform better on assessments of reading and math skills upon beginning kindergarten, after controlling for a host of family background and other factors that might be associated with selection into early education programs and relatively high academic skills. This advantage persists when children's skills are measured in the spring of kindergarten and first grade, and children who attended early education programs are also less likely to be retained in kindergarten. In most instances, the effects are largest for disadvantaged groups, raising the possibility that policies promoting preschool enrollment of children from disadvantaged families might help to narrow the school readiness gap.

Does Prekindergarten Improve School Preparation and Performance

Abstract: Prekindergarten programs are expanding rapidly, but to date, evidence on their effects is quite limited. Using rich data from Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, we estimate the effects of prekindergarten on children's school readiness. We find that prekindergarten increases reading and mathematics skills at school entry, but also increases behavioral problems and reduces self-control. Furthermore, the effects of prekindergarten on skills largely dissipate by the spring of first grade, although the behavioral effects do not. Finally, effects differ depending on children's family background and subsequent schooling, with the largest and most lasting academic gains for disadvantaged children and those attending schools with low levels of academic instruction.

A Behavioral-Economics View of Poverty

Abstract: Standard theorizing about poverty falls into two camps. Social scientists regard the behaviors of the economically disadvantaged either as calculated adaptations to prevailing circumstances or as emanating from a unique "culture of poverty," rife with deviant values. The first camp presumes that people are highly rational, that they hold coherent and justified beliefs and pursue their goals effectively, without mistakes, and with no need for help. The second camp attributes to the poor a variety of psychological and attitudinal short-fallings that render their views often misguided and their choices fallible, leaving them in need of paternalistic guidance. We propose a third view. The behavioral patterns of the poor, we argue, may be neither perfectly calculating nor especially deviant. Rather, the poor may exhibit the same basic weaknesses and biases as do people from other walks of life, except that in poverty, with its narrow margins for error, the same behaviors often manifest themselves in more pronounced ways and can lead to worse outcomes. In what follows, we illustrate the kinds of insights that might be gained from a behaviorally more realistic analysis of the economic conditions of the poor, and we propose that alternative policies for alleviating poverty be considered.

Implicit Ingroup Favoritism, Outgroup Favoritism, and Their Behavioral Manifestations

Abstract: Three broad themes that emerge from the social psychological research on unconscious or implicit prejudice and stereotypes are highlighted in this article. First, individuals who belong to socially advantaged groups typically exhibit more implicit preference for their ingroups and bias against outgroups than do members of socially disadvantaged groups. This research suggests that intergroup preferences and prejudices are influenced by two different psychological forces—people's tendency to prefer groups associated with themselves as a confirmation of their high self-exteem versus their tendency to prefer groups valued by the mainstream culture as a confirmation of the sociopolitical order in society. Second, these inplicit prejudices and stereotypes often influence people's judgements, decisions, and behaviors in subtle but pernicious ways. However, the path from implicit bias to discriminatory action is not inevitable. People's awareness of potential bias, their motivation and opportunity to control it, and sometimes their consciously held beliefs can determine whether biases in the mind will manifest in action. Finally, a new line of research suggests that implicit biases exhibited by individuals who belong to socially disadvantaged groups towards their own group may have unintended behavioral consequences that are harmful to their ingroup and themselves.

Flexible employment contracts, the psychological contract and employee outcomes: an analysis and review of the evidence

Abstract: There has been growing interest in the impact of flexible employment contracts on workers affected by them. In the light of assumptions that such workers are significantly disadvantaged, European-wide legislation has been introduced to ensure that they are treated similarly to permanent employees. The evidence on the impact of flexible employment contracts on employees’ attitudes and behaviour is reviewed within the framework of the psychological contract. The body of research is limited but is sufficient to challenge the assumption that workers on flexible contracts are invariably disadvantaged. Those on contract of choice, particularly knowledge workers who may be pursuing boundaryless careers, are especially likely to report positive outcomes. The evidence also indicates that a framework that incorporates the psychological contract provides additional value in explaining variations in outcomes.

Capitals, Ethnic Identity and Educational Qualifications

Abstract: Cultural capital analysis, or class analysis more generally, exacerbates rather than resolves the anomaly of why non-white ethnic minorities in Britain are over-represented in higher education. Some of these groups have a disproportionate lower, socio-economic profile and yet at least some of these groups are more likely to pursue and achieve entry into higher education than whites, especially, their white working-class peers. They also suffer additional disadvantages such as racism and cultural marginality. Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital is designed to explain why members of a disadvantaged class achieve less educational success than an advantaged class. It is not helpful in explaining why some disadvantaged groups do better than one would have predicted on the basis of a class (and/or racism) analysis. On the other hand, US sociological studies which deploy the concept of social capital in combination with ethnicity to explain the trajectories of ‘second generation’ migrants seem promising. This conclusion is offered on the basis of a brief literature review and a suggestion that the ‘motor’ of the British South Asian and Chinese overcoming of disadvantage lies in migrant parents getting their children to internalize high educational ambitions and to enforce appropriate behaviour.

Preschool, Day Care, and Afterschool Care: Who's Minding the Kids?

Abstract: The majority of children in the US and many other high-income nations are now cared for many hours per week by people who are neither their parents nor their school teachers. The role of such pre-school and out-of-school care is potentially two-fold: First, child care makes it feasible for both parents or the only parent in a single-parent family to be employed. Second, early intervention programs and after school programs aim to enhance child development, particularly among disadvantaged children. Corresponding to this distinction, there are two branches of literature to be summarized in this chapter. The first focuses on the market for child care and analyzes factors affecting the supply, demand and quality of care. The second focuses on child outcomes, and asks whether certain types of programs can ameliorate the effects of early disadvantage. The primary goal of this review is to bring the two literatures together in order to suggest ways that both may be enhanced. Accordingly, we provide an overview of the number of children being cared for in different sorts of arrangements; describe theory and evidence about the nature of the private child care market; and discuss theory and evidence about government intervention in the market for child care. Our summary suggests that additional research is needed in order to better characterize interactions between government programs and market-provided child care.

The Limitations of “Vulnerability” as a Protection for Human Research Participants

Abstract: Vulnerability is one of the least examined concepts in research ethics. Vulnerability was linked in the Belmont Report to questions of justice in the selection of subjects. Regulations and policy documents regarding the ethical conduct of research have focused on vulnerability in terms of limitations of the capacity to provide informed consent. Other interpretations of vulnerability have emphasized unequal power relationships between politically and economically disadvantaged groups and investigators or sponsors. So many groups are now considered to be vulnerable in the context of research, particularly international research, that the concept has lost force. In addition, classifying groups as vulnerable not only stereotypes them, but also may not reliably protect many individuals from harm. Certain individuals require ongoing protections of the kind already established in law and regulation, but attention must also be focused on characteristics of the research protocol and environment that present ethical challenges.

Public-Private Partnerships: The Trojan Horse of Neoliberal Development?

Abstract: This article concerns the equity dimension of partnerships between disadvantaged communities and local governments and private sector firms to provide basic services and amenities. It examines the ...

Role of gender in health disparity: the South Asian context

Abstract: South Asia's girls and women do not have the same life advantage as their Western counterparts. A human rights based approach may help to overcome gender related barriers and improve the wellbeing of men, women, and children. Behaviour has an important role in health disparities—for example, young men take greater risks, causing injury and violent death, and men smoke more.1 In industrialised countries women are born with an advantage; their healthy life expectancy is two years longer and their life expectancy six years longer than those of men.2 This advantage is prominent in childhood; girls are more likely to survive the first five years of life than boys.2 However, does this female advantage endure in parts of the world where gender discrimination exists? We present the case of South Asia to illustrate the role that gender has on health. From many perspectives women in South Asia find themselves in subordinate positions to men and are socially, culturally, and economically dependent on them.3 Women are largely excluded from making decisions, have limited access to and control over resources, are restricted in their mobility, and are often under threat of violence from male relatives.4 Sons are perceived to have economic, social, or religious utility; daughters are often felt to be an economic liability because of the dowry system.5 We believe that individual and societal beliefs about and attitudes towards appropriate gender specific roles, and the choices of individuals and households on the basis of these factors, mean that women are disadvantaged with regard to health and health care. There are some instances in which gender differences hurt men's health—for example, men are more likely to be involved in road crashes or occupational accidents as they are more likely to be outside the home or in a …

Real and Imagined Barriers to College Entry: Perceptions of Cost

Abstract: Patterns of postsecondary attendance in the United States continue to be stratified by socioeconomic background and race/ethnicity. We suggest that inequalities in knowledge of the costs of going to college contribute to persistent patterns of stratification. We hypothesize that disadvantaged parents who believe their child will attend college are less certain of the costs of college attendance. As a result, they are less able or willing to provide an estimate of the costs of college attendance, more likely to over-estimate those costs if they do provide an estimate, and make larger errors in estimation than comparable middle class or white parents. Using nationally representative data, we find mixed support for these hypotheses. Socioeconomically disadvantaged parents and minority parents are less likely to provide estimates of college tuition and, when they provide estimates, tend to make larger errors. On average, though, parents provide upwardly biased estimates of cost that are uniform across race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. We discuss implications of these findings for sociological theory and for inequality in postsecondary education.

The impact of pre-school on young children's cognitive attainments at entry to reception

Abstract: This article explores the impact of pre-school experience on young children's cognitive attainments at entry to primary school and analyses data collected as part of a wider longitudinal study, the Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) project, which followed a large sample of young children attending 141 pre-school centres drawn from six types of provider in five English regions. The article compares the characteristics and attainments of the pre-school sample with those of an additional `home' sample (children who had not attended pre-school) recruited at entry to reception. Multilevel analyses of relationships between child, parent and home environment characteristics and children's attainments in pre-reading, early number concepts and language skills are presented. Duration of time in pre-school is found to have a significant and positive impact on attainment over and above important influences such as family socio-economic status, income, mother's qualification level, ethnic and language background. The research also points to the separate and significant influence of the home learning environment. It is concluded that preschool can play an important part in combating social exclusion by offering disadvantaged children, in particular, a better start to primary school.

Understanding resilience in diverse, talented students in an urban high school

Abstract: This article summarizes findings from a 3‐year study of 35 economically disadvantaged, ethnically diverse, academically talented high school students who either achieved or underachieved in their urban high school. In particular, the resilience of these two groups of high ability students is explored. Comparative case study and ethnographic methods were used to examine the ways in which some academically talented students develop and/or employ strategies associated with resilience to achieve at high levels. Both risk factors and protective factors are examined to explore participants’ pathways toward either positive or negative outcomes. The results of this study suggest that some protective factors helped some academically talented students to achieve at high levels. The protective factors include supportive adults; friendships with other achieving students; opportunity to take honors and advanced classes; participation in multiple extracurricular activities both after school and during the summer; the d...

The diversity and welfare of older migrants in Europe

Abstract: This paper sets the scene and provides a conceptual framework for the articles in this special issue. They present the findings of research on European residents who have reached or are on the threshold of old age and whose current circum- stances have been strongly influenced by a migration across an international border. Such ' older migrants  are scattered throughout Europe and they have especially diverse characteristics. They include some of the most deprived and socially excluded, and some of the most affluent and accomplished, but all to a greater or lesser extent are disadvantaged through an interaction between social policies and their ' otherness  by living in a foreign country. Some claim attention through the severity of their unmet health and welfare needs and poor capacity to access advice and treatment, while the affluent groups are of great interest to social gerontology because of their enterprising, developmental and positive approaches to old age. They include among the most innovative of the latest generation of older people, who pursue new combinations of family responsibilities, leisure pursuits and income generation. The paper proposes that the concept ' human capital  summarises variations in preparedness for old age, that is, the resources by which people cope with demands for income, roles, treatment, care and support. A typology of the 'welfare position  of international migrants in contemporary Europe is presented.

The Effect of Extra Funding for Disadvantaged Pupils on Achievement

Abstract: This paper evaluates the effects of two subsidies targeted at disadvantaged pupils in the Netherlands. The first scheme gives primary schools with at least 70 percent minority pupils extra funding for personnel. The second scheme gives primary schools with at least 70 percent pupils from different disadvantaged groups extra funding for computers and software. The cutoffs at 70 percent provide a regression discontinuity design which we exploit in a local difference-in-differences framework. For both subsidies we find negative point estimates. For the personnel subsidy these are in most cases not significantly different from zero. For the computer subsidy we find more evidence of negative effects. We discuss several explanations for these counterintuitive results.

An Event History Analysis of Teacher Attrition: Salary, Teacher Tracking, and Socially Disadvantaged Schools

Abstract: In this event history analysis of the 1990-1991 Schools and Staffing Survey and the 1992 Teacher Follow-up Survey, a retrospective person-year database was constructed to examine teacher attrition over the course of the teaching career. Consistent with prior research, higher teacher salaries reduced attrition, but only slightly so. Teacher attrition was no higher in socially disadvantaged schools, but poor behavioral climates did lead to greater attrition. Despite strong evidence on the effects of teacher tracking on satisfaction and efficacy, there was no evidence of higher rates of attrition among teachers who taught predominantly low-track classes. In general, school- and district-level effects were much weaker than individual-level effects.

Psychological resilience in disadvantaged youth: A critical overview

Abstract: This paper provides a critical review of research into the notion of psychological resilience and its implications for studies of disadvantaged young people. A number of significant conceptual and methodological challenges are examined, the most important of these being the difficulties associated with the operationalisation of resilience, the development of culturally relevant thresholds and the circularity inherent in commonly used definitions. The limitations and potential value of integrated theoretical models, such as Brofenbrenner's ecological model and Bandura's self-efficacy theory are considered, along with suggestions for methodological strategies to enhance the validity and comprehensiveness of resilience research.

A literature review of the impact of early years provision on young children, with emphasis given to children from disadvantaged backgrounds

Abstract: This report reviews international research on the impact of early years provision upon young children. Emphasis is given to work related to disadvantaged children. The issues of timing, duration, type, quality and quantity of early years provision are considered in terms of developmental effects upon children and when possible parents. An evaluative summary of the literature on cost benefit analyses of early years provision is also included. Conclusions tempered by the relative rigour and extensiveness of the evidence are produced. Early research was primarily concerned with whether children attending institutions developed differently from those not attending such centres. Later work recognised that childcare is not unitary and that the quality or characteristics of experience matters. Further research drew attention to the importance of the interaction between home and out of home experience. High quality childcare has been associated with benefits for children's development, with the strongest effects for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. There is also evidence that sometimes negative effects occur. The studies have largely been American but research elsewhere, including the UK, indicates results are not culture-specific. While the research on pre-school education (3+ years) is fairly consistent, the research evidence on the effects of childcare (0-3 years) upon development has been equivocal with some studies finding negative effects, some no effects and some positive effects. Discrepant results may relate to age of starting and also probably at least partly to differences in the quality of childcare received by children. In addition childcare effects are mediated by family background with negative, neutral and positive effects occurring depending on the relative balance of quality of care at home and in childcare. Recent large-scale studies (EPPE, NICHD) find effects related to both quantity and quality of childcare. The effect sizes for childcare factors are about half that for family factors. However, family effects incorporate genetic factors. Hence, family and childcare effects may be more equivalent than this comparison implies. Family factors and childcare quality covary, low-income families tending to have lowest quality care. The analysis strategy of most studies attributes variance to childcare factors only after family factor variance has been extracted. Where the two covary this will produce conservative estimates of childcare effects.

Children's experience of public space

Abstract: Children and young people regard the external physical environment as important for their needs. Their use of space varies according to age and circumstance and includes designated play and leisure facilities as well as other informal areas within their neighbourhoods. However, children have little influence over the development of public space as they do not have the opportunity to contribute their views to local processes. This paper explores children's and young people's views and experience of public space in regeneration areas. It considers whether children's perspectives are accurately reflected in public policy. It draws on primary research with young people aged ten to 14 years and representatives from local organisations in a disadvantaged urban area in Scotland.

Is Neighborhood Context Differently Related to Externalizing Problems and Delinquency for Girls Compared with Boys

Abstract: Although a number of reviews of gender differences in conduct problems and delinquency exist, this paper fills a gap in reviewing neighborhood influences on gender differences in conduct problems and delinquency. These influences are known to be important for boys in childhood and adolescence, but cannot be assumed to be influential in the same manner for girls. The paper starts with several conceptualizations of the association between gender, neighborhoods and juvenile delinquency. It then addresses 4 key questions. Is residing in a disadvantaged neighborhood associated with problem behavior in girls? Are neighborhood effects independent of girls' age? Are girls in disadvantaged neighborhoods exposed to more risk factors than girls in advantaged neighborhoods? Can mediating risk factors explain gender differences in neighborhood effects on children's and adolescents' conduct problems and delinquent behavior? Answers to these questions are important to steer research and elucidate aspects of interventions that can be optimized for girls.

The Relations between Contextual Risk, Earned Income, and the School Adjustment of Children from Economically Disadvantaged Families.

Abstract: This longitudinal study examined the relations between multiple risk indexes representing contextual adversity, income-to-needs ratios, and the elementary school adjustment of children from economically disadvantaged families. The results provide evidence for volatility in family circumstances over 2-year intervals from preschool to 5th grade, for relations between the contextual risk indexes and change in externalizing behavior, and for relations between the income-to-needs ratios and change in academic competence. The results also show differences in the timing of the effects. Little evidence was found for persistence effects. Theoretical implications concern conceptualizations of the diverse and dynamic nature of the family circumstances experienced by disadvantaged children.

Leadership for inclusion: a comparison of international practices

Abstract: The issue of inclusion is high on the educational reform agenda in many countries. Set within the context of the United Nations organisation's push for ‘Education for All’, the aim is to find ways of increasing the participation and learning of pupils who are vulnerable to marginalisation within existing educational arrangements (World Education Forum, 2000). In the United States, inclusive education is generally thought of as an approach to serving children with disabilities within general education settings. Internationally, however, it is sometimes seen more broadly as a reform that supports and welcomes diversity among all learners (Ainscow, 1999). The research reported in this paper adopts this broadened formulation. It presumes that the aim of inclusive education is to eliminate social exclusion and that is a consequence of attitudes and responses to diversity in race, social class, ethnicity, religion, gender and ability (Vitello & Mithaug, 1998). Children with disabilities and others seen as having special educational needs are part of this agenda. The paper focuses specifically on the implications of these developments for leadership roles in schools. In particular, it uses evidence from case studies of leadership practice in three countries to address the question, what types of leadership practice foster inclusion in schools? The paper provides a theoretical framework that throws light on what is involved in such practices and presents illustrative examples. The aim is to provide an analysis that will be of direct relevance to practitioners, whilst at the same time adding to theory. The examples of leadership that are examined were found in schools in England, Portugal, and the United States that serve culturally and linguistically diverse groups of children, including significant numbers from low-income families. In each of the schools, children with disabilities and others categorised as having special educational needs are taught in general education classrooms alongside their peers.

Black parental involvement in education

Abstract: The South African Schools Act of 1996 (SASA) provides formal power in education to parents as well as communities. SASA creates the expectation for parents to be meaningful partners in school governance. It envisages a system where school-based educators would collaborate with the parents to ensure quality education, including curriculum matters such as outcomes-based education (OBE). An ethnographic study was conducted in historically disadvantaged black secondary schools. The study focused on the effects of black parental involvement on the success of their children. For a period of twelve months spread over two years (2002/2003), 24 parents with learners in eight different historically disadvantaged secondary schools (HDSS) were investigated. The findings of the study revealed that the black parents' role is crucial in the enhancement of learner success. Parents who played little or no role in their children's homework and study programmes contributed to the poor performance of their children in the classroom. Also, the extremely limited success thus far in the implementation of OBE in historically black communities was significantly due to the absence of co-operation between the school and the home. This study affirms the view that community input is crucial in the development of curriculum in schools. Without proactive black community involvement, HDSS are less likely to succeed in their efforts to improve education. South African Journal of Education Vol.24(4) 2004: 301-307

America's untapped resource : low-income students in higher education

Abstract: With access to higher education more important than ever, low-income students of all racial and ethnic groups continue to lag in participation. What can be done to ensure that more low-income students have adequate financial aid to attend college? That disadvantaged students are academically prepared for college and can persist to graduation? That selective universities are open to students of all economic backgrounds? As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, a group of widely respected scholars proposes a number of provocative ideas in this volume. Chapters include "Low-Income Students and the Affordability of Higher Education," by Lawrence Gladieux, a former official with the College Board; "Improving the Academic Preparation and Performance of Low-Income Students in Higher Education," by P. Michael Timpane of the Aspen Institute and Arthur M. Hauptman, a higher education consultant; and "Socioeconomic Status, Race/Ethnicity and Selective College Admissions," by Anthony P. Carnevale of the Educational Testing Service and Stephen J. Rose of ORC Macro International. The volume also includes an appendix, "Pell Grant Recipients in Selective Colleges and Universities," by Donald Heller of Pennsylvania State University.

Smoking, social class, and gender: what can public health learn from the tobacco industry about disparities in smoking?

Abstract: Objective: To discover how the tobacco industry considers social class and gender in its efforts to market cigarettes in the USA, particularly to socially disadvantaged young women. Methods: A systematic on-line search of tobacco industry documents using selected keywords was conducted, and epidemiological data on smoking rates reviewed. Results: The two largest cigarette manufacturers in the USA consider “working class” young adults to be a critical market segment to promote growth of key brands. Through their own market research, these companies discovered that socially disadvantaged young women do not necessarily desire a “feminine” cigarette brand. Conclusions: Considering the tobacco industry’s efforts, alongside the persistent and growing disparities in cigarette smoking by social class, and the narrowing of differences in smoking by gender, it is concluded that additional tobacco control resources ought to be directed toward working class women.