Showing papers on "Disadvantaged published in 2016"

Teaching a lay theory before college narrows achievement gaps at scale.

Abstract: Previous experiments have shown that college students benefit when they understand that challenges in the transition to college are common and improvable and, thus, that early struggles need not portend a permanent lack of belonging or potential. Could such an approach—called a lay theory intervention—be effective before college matriculation? Could this strategy reduce a portion of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic achievement gaps for entire institutions? Three double-blind experiments tested this possibility. Ninety percent of first-year college students from three institutions were randomly assigned to complete single-session, online lay theory or control materials before matriculation (n > 9,500). The lay theory interventions raised first-year full-time college enrollment among students from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds exiting a high-performing charter high school network or entering a public flagship university (experiments 1 and 2) and, at a selective private university, raised disadvantaged students’ cumulative first-year grade point average (experiment 3). These gains correspond to 31–40% reductions of the raw (unadjusted) institutional achievement gaps between students from disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged backgrounds at those institutions. Further, follow-up surveys suggest that the interventions improved disadvantaged students’ overall college experiences, promoting use of student support services and the development of friendship networks and mentor relationships. This research therefore provides a basis for further tests of the generalizability of preparatory lay theories interventions and of their potential to reduce social inequality and improve other major life transitions.

Redesigning America's Community Colleges

Abstract: REDESIGNING AMERICA'S COMMUNITY COLLEGES BAILEY, T. R., S. S. JAGGARS, AND D. JENKINS. 2015. CAMBRIDGE, MA: HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS. 286 PP.Community colleges account for a significant proportion of higher education institutions in the United States. They serve more than 10 million students per year, many of them first-generation college students or from minority or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. According to Bailey, Jaggars, and Jenkins, community colleges have played an integral role in improving education equity, developing students' skills and talents, and helping students achieve their academic and career aspirations.Even though community colleges have helped increase access to higher education, the authors contend that there is a ciisconnect between "maximizing access and realizing course success" (p. z): there has been little improvement in community college students' graduation and transfer rates over the past half century. Currently, fewer than four in ten community college students complete any type of degree or certificate program within six years of first enrolling (p. i).The authors suggest that previous reform efforts met with limited success because they were based on the design framework of community colleges from the 1960s and 1970s. Previous reform efforts sought to strengthen rather than challenge the prevailing model. Real change, they argue, requires fundamental redesign. Bailey et al., propose a shift away from the "cafeteria" model, in which students choose from an expansive menu of program and course offerings, to a "guided pathways approach," in which community colleges offer a clear and coherent pathway that leads either to the successful transfer of credits to a four-year college or university or to career advancement (p. 15, zz).Bailey and colleagues state, "Confusing pathways can make it difficult for students to make good decisions" (p. 16). They contend that in the cafeteria model, community colleges offer too many options with little or no guidance-with the result that many students make poor decisions. Consistent with the findings of Cox (Z009), Bailey, Jaggars, and Jenkins note that students frequently make decisions based on short-term outcomes rather than long-term goals. In addition, many students may not be fully aware of their own needs or preferences or may delay making decisions until no good alternatives are available.Bailey and colleagues recommend that community colleges begin offering a narrower set of program options with prescribed courses and course sequences, coherent learning outcomes, and clearly articulated transfer agreements with four-year institutions. Recognizing that the guided pathways plan may seem overly authoritarian or limiting from the viewpoint of student choice, the authors call for an "active choice" approach in which students choose a pathway from a limited number of clearly defined curricular options and have the ability to opt out or change pathways later as they wish.SUPPORT SERVICESIn addition to aligning curricular goals with learning outcomes, the authors suggest that the guided pathways approach can provide "a framework for redesigning other key college functions to support student learning and success" (p. 51). For example, academic advising services can build upon and reinforce the guided pathways students choose. Through a combination of in-person advising and e-advising resources, community colleges should be able to accomplish the following three tasks: (a) track student progress through program milestones, (b) provide frequent feedback to students, and (c) intervene with individual students when they get off track (p. 53). The authors suggest that this grouping of high-tech (e.g., e-advising) and hightouch (in-person advising) tools as well as streamlined program offerings could empower students to navigate their chosen academic pathways successfully.Similarly, Bailey and colleagues note that student success courses, such as UNIV101 or First-Year Experience, often are used to help students transition successfully to the college environment. …

Family Disadvantage and the Gender Gap in Behavioral and Educational Outcomes

Abstract: Using birth certificates matched to schooling records for Florida children born 1992 – 2002, we assess whether family disadvantage disproportionately impedes the pre-market development of boys. We find that, relative to their sisters, boys born to disadvantaged families have higher rates of disciplinary problems, lower achievement scores, and fewer high-school completions. Evidence supports that this is a causal effect of the post-natal environment; family disadvantage is unrelated to the gender gap in neonatal health. We conclude that the gender gap among black children is larger than among white children in substantial part because black children are raised in more disadvantaged families.

Systematic review of barriers and facilitators to accessing and engaging with mental health care among at‐risk young people

Abstract: Introduction This study aims to review the literature on barriers and facilitators to accessing and engaging with mental health care among young people from potentially disadvantaged groups, including young people identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (ATSI); culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD); lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex (LGBTQI); homeless; substance using; and youth residing in rural or remote areas. Methods Fourteen databases were searched to identify qualitative and quantitative researches that examined barriers and/or facilitators to mental health care among the six groups of potentially disadvantaged young people. Results Out of 62 studies identified, 3 were conducted with ATSI young people, 1 with CALD young people, 4 with LGBTQI young people, 14 with homeless young people, 24 with substance-using young people, and 16 with young people residing in rural or remote areas. Findings generally confirmed barriers already established for all young people, but indicated that some may be heightened for young people in the six identified groups. Findings also pointed to both similarities and differences between these groups, suggesting that ATSI, CALD, LGBTQI, homeless, substance-using, and rural young people have some similar needs with respect to not only mental health care, but also other needs likely to reflect their individual circumstances. Discussion This systematic review highlights that young people from potentially disadvantaged groups have distinct needs that must be recognized to improve their experiences with mental health care. Future research of good methodological quality with young people is needed to increase accessibility of, and engagement with, mental health care.

Mental and Physical Health of Children in Foster Care

Abstract: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Each year, nearly 1% of US children spend time in foster care, with 6% of US children placed in foster care at least once between their birth and 18th birthday. Although a large literature considers the consequences of foster care placement for children’s wellbeing, no study has used a nationally representative sample of US children to compare the mental and physical health of children placed in foster care to the health of children not placed in foster care. METHODS: We used data from the 2011–2012 National Survey of Children’s Health, a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized children in the United States, and logistic regression models to compare parent-reported mental and physical health outcomes of children placed in foster care to outcomes of children not placed in foster care, children adopted from foster care, children across specific family types (eg, single-mother households), and children in economically disadvantaged families. RESULTS: We find that children in foster care are in poor mental and physical health relative to children in the general population, children across specific family types, and children in economically disadvantaged families. Some differences are explained by adjusting for children’s demographic characteristics, and nearly all differences are explained by also adjusting for the current home environment. Additionally, children adopted from foster care, compared with children in foster care, have significantly higher odds of having some health problems. CONCLUSIONS: Children in foster care are a vulnerable population in poor health, partially as a result of their early life circumstances.

Children rectify inequalities for disadvantaged groups.

Abstract: Children's decisions regarding the allocation of societal resources in the context of preexisting inequalities were investigated. African American and European American children ages 5 to 6 years (n = 91) and 10 to 11 years (n = 94) judged the acceptability of a medical resource inequality on the basis of race, allocated medical supplies, evaluated different resource allocation strategies, and completed a measure of status awareness based on race. With age, children were increasingly aware of wealth status disparities between African Americans and European Americans, and judged a medical resource inequality between groups more negatively. Further, with age, children rectified the resource inequality over perpetuating it, but only when African American children were disadvantaged. With age, children also referenced rights when reasoning about their judgments concerning the disadvantaged African American group. When European American children were disadvantaged, children did not systematically allocate more resources to one group over another. The results are discussed in terms of social inequalities, disadvantaged status, moral judgments, and intergroup attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record

Acting in Solidarity: Cross‐Group Contact between Disadvantaged Group Members and Advantaged Group Allies

Abstract: The actions of advantaged group activists (sometimes called “allies”) are admirable, and they likely make meaningful contributions to the movements they support. However, a nuanced understanding of the role of advantaged group allies must also consider the potential challenges of their participation. Both in their everyday lives and during their activist work, advantaged group allies are especially likely to have direct contact with disadvantaged group members. This article considers when such contact may harm rather than help resistance movements by disadvantaged groups. We also suggest that to avoid these undermining effects, advantaged group allies must effectively communicate support for social change, understand the implications of their own privilege, offer autonomy-oriented support, and resist the urge to increase their own feelings of inclusion by co-opting relevant marginalized social identities.

Analysis of National Institutes of Health R01 Application Critiques, Impact, and Criteria Scores: Does the Sex of the Principal Investigator Make a Difference?

Abstract: PurposePrior text analysis of R01 critiques suggested that female applicants may be disadvantaged in National Institutes of Health (NIH) peer review, particularly for renewals. NIH altered its review format in 2009. The authors examined R01 critiques and scoring in the new format for differences due

The Scandinavian Fantasy: The Sources of Intergenerational Mobility in Denmark and the U.S

Abstract: This paper examines the sources of differences in social mobility between the U.S. and Denmark. Measured by income mobility, Denmark is a more mobile society, but not when measured by educational mobility. There are pronounced nonlinearities in income and educational mobility in both countries. Greater Danish income mobility is largely a consequence of redistributional tax, transfer, and wage compression policies. While Danish social policies for children produce more favorable cognitive test scores for disadvantaged children, these do not translate into more favorable educational outcomes, partly because of disincentives to acquire education arising from the redistributional policies that increase income mobility.

Does Affirmative Action Work? Caste, Gender, College Quality, and Academic Success in India

Abstract: Public policy in modern India features affirmative action programs intended to reduce inequality that stems from a centuries-old caste structure and history of disparate treatment by gender. We study the effects of one such affirmative action program: an admissions policy that fixes percentage quotas, common across more than 200 engineering colleges, for disadvantaged castes and for women. We show that the program increases college attendance of targeted students, particularly at relatively higher-quality institutions. An important concern is that affirmative action might harm intended beneficiaries by placing them in academic programs for which they are ill-prepared. We find no evidence of such adverse impacts.

The educational problem that MOOCs could solve: professional development for teachers of disadvantaged students

Abstract: The demographics of massive open online course (MOOC) analytics show that the great majority of learners are highly qualified professionals, and not, as originally envisaged, the global community of disadvantaged learners who have no access to good higher education. MOOC pedagogy fits well with the combination of instruction and peer community learning found in most professional development. A UNESCO study therefore set out to test the efficacy of an experimental course for teachers who need but do not receive high-quality continuing professional development, as a way of exploiting what MOOCs can do indirectly to serve disadvantaged students. The course was based on case studies around the world of information and communication technology (ICT) in primary education and was carried out to contribute to the UNESCO “ Education For All ” goal. It used a co-learning approach to engage the primary teaching community in exploring ways of using ICT in primary education. Course analytics, forums and participant surveys demonstrated that it worked well. The paper concludes by arguing that this technology has the power to tackle the large-scale educational problem of developing the primary-level teachers needed to meet the goal of universal education. Keywords: MOOCs; blended learning; disadvantaged students; teaching designers; peer learning; learning community; professional development (Published: 13 April 2016) Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2016, 24 : 29369 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v24.29369

A systematic review of factors linked to poor academic performance of disadvantaged students in science and maths in schools

Abstract: Socio-economic hardships put children in an underprivileged position. This systematic review was conducted to identify factors linked to underachievement of disadvantaged pupils in school science and maths. What could be done as evidence-based practice to make the lives of these young people better? The protocol from preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) was followed. Major electronic educational databases were searched. Papers meeting pre-defined selection criteria were identified. Studies included were mainly large-scale evaluations with a clearly defined comparator group and robust research design. All studies used a measure of disadvantage such as lower SES, language barrier, ethnic minority or temporary immigrant status and an outcome measure like attainment in standardised national tests. A majority of papers capable of answering the research question were correlational studies. The review reports findings from 771 studies published from 2005 to 2014 in ...

A global call for action to include gender in research impact assessment

Abstract: Global investment in biomedical research has grown significantly over the last decades, reaching approximately a quarter of a trillion US dollars in 2010. However, not all of this investment is distributed evenly by gender. It follows, arguably, that scarce research resources may not be optimally invested (by either not supporting the best science or by failing to investigate topics that benefit women and men equitably). Women across the world tend to be significantly underrepresented in research both as researchers and research participants, receive less research funding, and appear less frequently than men as authors on research publications. There is also some evidence that women are relatively disadvantaged as the beneficiaries of research, in terms of its health, societal and economic impacts. Historical gender biases may have created a path dependency that means that the research system and the impacts of research are biased towards male researchers and male beneficiaries, making it inherently difficult (though not impossible) to eliminate gender bias. In this commentary, we – a group of scholars and practitioners from Africa, America, Asia and Europe – argue that gender-sensitive research impact assessment could become a force for good in moving science policy and practice towards gender equity. Research impact assessment is the multidisciplinary field of scientific inquiry that examines the research process to maximise scientific, societal and economic returns on investment in research. It encompasses many theoretical and methodological approaches that can be used to investigate gender bias and recommend actions for change to maximise research impact. We offer a set of recommendations to research funders, research institutions and research evaluators who conduct impact assessment on how to include and strengthen analysis of gender equity in research impact assessment and issue a global call for action.

Situational Trust: How Disadvantaged Mothers Reconceive Legal Cynicism

Abstract: T he relationship between poor minority communities and the police is of urgent national concern after recent, muchpublicized incidents in Baltimore, MD; Cleveland, OH; Ferguson, MO; North Charleston, SC; Staten Island, NY; and numerous towns and cities across the United States. A May 2015 report from the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, convened in response to some of these incidents, identified building police trust and legitimacy among communities of color as the first pillar and "foundational principle underlying this inquiry into the nature of relations between law enforcement and the communities they serve" (President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing 2015: 9). Correspondingly, an abundant and long-standing body of sociological literature finds that African Americans and residents of high-poverty neighborhoods are cynical about the law, distrust legal authorities, and believe police are ineffective (Hagan and Albonetti 1982; Kirk and Papachristos 2011; Sampson and Jeglum Bartusch 1998). This research concludes that those groups thus generally avoid official channels for public safety, governing themselves instead according to a "code of the street" whereby violence becomes an acceptable extra-legal strategy of protecting oneself or resolving disputes (Anderson 1999; Venkatesh 2000; see also Black 1976, 1983).Of course, the code of the street has never been fixed or universal among poor African Americans. At the same time that urban sociologists were documenting distrust of the police and a resultant propensity toward self-help among the black urban poor, policing scholars were reporting, based on data from urban areas, that poor people called the police more often than wealthier people because they "depend upon police assistance in times of trouble, crises, and indecision," often to resolve noncriminal issues (Reiss 1972: 63). More recent ethnographies have identified poor African-American women, especially women with children, as occasional instruments of the penal state who contribute to processes of crime control, criminalization, and incarceration in disadvantaged communities by, for example, using the police to control male partners and children (Goffman 2009; Jones 2010: 39-45; Rios 2011; Venkatesh 2000). Rios (2011), in a qualitative study of black and Latino boys in Oakland, California, finds that mothers are part of a "youth control complex" along with police, probation officers, schools, community centers, the media, and other institutions. According to Rios, because mothers acquiesce to institutional messages about appropriate parenting behavior, they call the police on their children and thereby label them as criminal. Goffman (2009), in an ethnographic study of a Philadelphia neighborhood, finds that women sometimes proactively contact the police as a means of socially controlling their male intimate partners, and at other times are actively coerced to report their partner's, son's, or grandson's whereabouts through threats of arrest, loss of child custody, and physical force. Research using administrative data on police reporting has shown that- even controlling for crime rates-African Americans, women, and residents of high-poverty neighborhoods are equally or more likely to call the police than other groups (see Avakame, Fyfe, and McCoy 1999; Baumer 2002; Bosick et al. 2012; Desmond and Papachristos 2016; Schaible and Hughes 2012). Taken together, these studies suggest that African-American women's reports to the police contribute to the criminalization and, sometimes, incarceration of African-American men.Women's use of the police can be costly: Although contacting the police does not usually lead to arrest, it sometimes does, with unpredictable consequences for intimates and family members.Whenmenarelockedup,itseparatescouplesandcripples family relations, making it difficult to retain cohesive relationships and financial support (Braman 2004; Comfort 2008; Suk 2009; Waller 2002; Western 2006; Wildeman and Wakefield 2014). …

Missing Elements in the Discussion of Teacher Shortages.

Abstract: Though policymakers are increasingly concerned about teacher shortages in U.S. public schools, the national discussion does not reflect historical patterns of the supply of and demand for newly minted teachers. Specifically, the production of teacher candidates has increased steadily since the mid-1980s, and only about half of graduating teacher candidates are hired as public school teachers in a typical year. That said, there is considerable evidence of teacher shortages in specific subjects (e.g., STEM and special education) and specific types of schools (e.g., disadvantaged). We therefore discuss public policies that contribute to these specific shortages and potential solutions.

Moving STEM beyond Schools: Students' Perceptions about an Out-of-School STEM Education Program.

Abstract: Recent reports call for reformed education policies in Turkey in accordance with the need to develop students’ knowledge and skills about STEM education and improving STEM workforce in the country. This research implemented an integrated out-of-school STEM education program for 6th grade students who come from disadvantaged areas in a large urban city in Turkey. The study investigated students’ perceptions about the STEM activities implemented in the program. Forty 6th grade students (15 female) studying in public schools participated in the study. The data source used in this study was the activity evaluation forms completed by the students at the end of each activity. The evaluation forms were qualitatively analyzed to identify students’ perceptions on the content and skills gained, the challenges and limitations faced and suggestions for improvement. The results present recommendations on the implementation of integrated out-of-school STEM education programs.

Assessing Perceptions of Culture and Trauma in an Elementary School: Informing a Model for Culturally Responsive Trauma-Informed Schools

Abstract: Negative outcomes for students of color and those who are economically disadvantaged are troubling patterns in schools nationwide. Systemic racial disparities, including disproportional poverty, are part of the problem. Regardless of their race, however, children who live with poverty often have heightened exposure to adverse experiences. Implementing a culturally responsive trauma-informed approach to understand and respond to students can address the impact of disparities, teach resiliency skills, and promote the wellbeing and achievement of all students. This study describes a school-university collaboration to develop such a model. Findings explore school personnel’s perceptions about race, trauma, and the stressors their students face in the context of the developing model.

Three dimensions of equity of access to higher education

Abstract: Concerns over equity of access to higher education are widespread, but there is significant disagreement over what should constitute a fair system. This article assesses diverse conceptualisations of equity and explores the ways in which they embody themselves in the policies of three systems, those of England, Brazil and Kenya. While showing significant disparities of income level and enrolment ratio, all three have made concerted efforts to expand higher education access, accompanied by increasing stratification in terms of the quality and prestige of institutions. Analysis of policy options and outcomes leads to a proposal of three principles for understanding equity of access: availability, accessibility and horizontality. The third of these principles addresses the little-acknowledged safeguard that disadvantaged students should not be confined to lower-quality institutions, while at the same time allowing for diversity of ethos and disciplinary focus.

Does information and communication technology lead to the well-being of nations? a country-level empirical investigation

Abstract: This paper examines the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in enhancing the well-being of nations. Extending research on the role of ICT in the productivity of nations, we posit that the effects of ICT may not be limited to productivity (e.g., GDP), and we argue that the use of ICT can also improve the well-being of a country by helping citizens to develop their social capital and achieve social equality, enabling access to health-related information and health services, providing education to disadvantaged communities, and facilitating commerce. Using a number of empirical specifications, specifically a fixed-effects model and an instrumental variable approach, our results show that the level of ICT use (number of fixed telephones, Internet, mobile phones) in a country predict a country's well-being (despite accounting for GDP and several other control variables that also predict a country's well-being). Furthermore, by using an exploratory method (biclustering) of identifying both country-specific and ICT-specific variables simultaneously, we identify clusters of countries with similar patterns in terms of their use of ICT, and we show that not all countries increase their level of well-being by using ICT in the same manner. Interestingly, we find that less developed countries increase their level of well-being with mobile phones primarily, while more developed countries increase their level of well-being with any ICT system. Contributions and implications for enhancing the well-being of nations with ICT are discussed.

Selling Schools: Marketing and Recruitment Strategies in New Orleans

Abstract: Under new school-choice policies, schools feel increasing pressure to market their schools to parents and students. I examine how school leaders in New Orleans used different marketing strategies based on their positions in the market hierarchy and the ways in which they used formal and informal processes to recruit students. This study relied on qualitative interviews, observations of board meetings, and board-meeting minutes from a random sample of 30 schools in New Orleans. Findings indicate that marketing was a very common strategy. Yet even though choice policies were meant to give parents, not schools, power in selecting where their children attend school, some schools found ways to avoid enrolling disadvantaged students, often by not marketing. Faced with the pressure of accountability and charter renewal, these schools traded greater funding for potentially greater averages in student achievement. At the same time, some schools that were oversubscribed invested in marketing and recruitment anyway ...

Neighborhood effect heterogeneity by family income and developmental period

Abstract: Effects of disadvantaged neighborhoods on child educational outcomes likely depend on a family's economic resources and the timing of neighborhood exposures during the course of child development. This study investigates how timing of exposure to disadvantaged neighborhoods during childhood versus adolescence affects high school graduation and whether these effects vary across families with different income levels. It follows 6,137 children in the PSID from childhood through adolescence and overcomes methodological problems associated with the joint endogeneity of neighborhood context and family income by adapting novel counterfactual methods--a structural nested mean model estimated via two-stage regression with residuals--for time-varying treatments and time-varying effect moderators. Results indicate that exposure to disadvantaged neighborhoods, particularly during adolescence, has a strong negative effect on high school graduation and that this negative effect is more severe for children from poor families.

Universal screening increases the representation of low-income and minority students in gifted education.

Abstract: Low-income and minority students are substantially underrepresented in gifted education programs. The disparities persist despite efforts by many states and school districts to broaden participation through changes in their eligibility criteria. One explanation for the persistent gap is that standard processes for identifying gifted students, which are based largely on the referrals of parents and teachers, tend to miss qualified students from underrepresented groups. We study this hypothesis using the experiences of a large urban school district following the introduction of a universal screening program for second graders. Without any changes in the standards for gifted eligibility, the screening program led to large increases in the fractions of economically disadvantaged and minority students placed in gifted programs. Comparisons of the newly identified gifted students with those who would have been placed in the absence of screening show that Blacks and Hispanics, free/reduced price lunch participants, English language learners, and girls were all systematically “underreferred” in the traditional parent/teacher referral system. Our findings suggest that parents and teachers often fail to recognize the potential of poor and minority students and those with limited English proficiency.

Modelling the relationship between travel behaviours and social disadvantage

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to model the travel behaviour of socially disadvantaged population segments in the United Kingdom (UK) using the data from the UK National Travel Survey 2002–2010. This was achieved by introducing additional socioeconomic variables into a standard national-level trip end model (TEM) and using purpose-based analysis of the travel behaviours of certain key socially disadvantaged groups. Specifically the paper aims to explore how far the economic and social disadvantages of these individuals can be used to explain the inequalities in their travel behaviours. The models demonstrated important differences in travel behaviours according to household income, presence of children in the household, possession of a driver’s licence and belonging to a vulnerable population group, such as being disabled, non-white or having single parent household status. In the case of household income, there was a non-linear relationship with trip frequency and a linear one with distance travelled. The recent economic austerity measures that have been introduced in the UK and many other European countries have led to major cutbacks in public subsidies for socially necessary transport services, making results such as these increasingly important for transport policy decision-making. The results indicate that the inclusion of additional socioeconomic variables is useful for identifying significant differences in the trip patterns and distances travelled by low-income.

Education as Liberation

Abstract: This paper studies the political and social impacts of increased education by utilizing a randomized girls' merit scholarship programme in Kenya that raised test scores and secondary schooling. Consistent with the view that education empowers the disadvantaged to challenge authority, we find that the programme reduced the acceptance of domestic violence and political authority. Young women in programme schools also increased their objective political knowledge. We find that this rejection of the status quo did not translate into greater perceived political efficacy, community participation or voting intentions. Instead, there is suggestive evidence that the perceived legitimacy of political violence increased.

Spatial Distance, Community Disadvantage, and Racial and Ethnic Variation in Prison Inmate Access to Social Ties

Abstract: Objectives:This article examines the impact of distal prison placements on inmate social ties. Specifically, we test whether distance adversely affects inmates by reducing their access to family and friends and then test whether the effects are amplified for minorities and inmates who come from socially disadvantaged areas.Methods:These questions are assessed using a sample of inmates that includes all convicted felony offenders admitted to a single state’s prison system over a three-year period.Results:We find that inmates vary greatly in the distance from which they are placed from home and that Latinos are placed more distally than Blacks and Whites. We also find that distance and community disadvantage adversely affect the likelihood of inmate visitation. Although the adverse effect of distance appears to be similar across racial and ethnic groups, a difference exists among Blacks—for this group, high levels of community disadvantage amplify the adverse effects of distance.Conclusions:This study ident...

Diversity and Equity: A Global Education Challenge

Abstract: This article sets out the international context for this special issue on equity and diversity. Tracing the development of the United Nations’ policy ‘Education for All’ since 1990, it notes the struggles that have gone on to ensure that this is, in fact, concerned with all children, whatever their characteristics and circumstances. This inclusive vision was recently endorsed by the Incheon Declaration, which emerged from the World Forum for Education in 2015. A groundbreaking document, it makes a commitment to address all forms of exclusion and marginalisation. In so doing, it points to the need to focus efforts on the most disadvantaged learners to ensure that no one is overlooked. Bearing this new international policy in mind, the article draws on findings from the author’s own research in order to suggest an overall agenda for change, focusing on national policies for equity and the development of inclusive school practices.