Disadvantaged

About: Disadvantaged is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 17050 publications have been published within this topic receiving 337157 citations. The topic is also known as: disadvantaged person.

A tutorial language program to develop abstract thinking in socially disadvantaged preschool children

Abstract: A specialized language program was developed to facilitate abstract thinking in young deprived children through short, individual tutoring sessions on a daily basis. The role of individual attention in the experiment was controlled through the use of a comparison group which had daily individual sessions without the specialized tutoring. A second comparison group was included which consisted of children who received their usual training in the regular nursery school program. The results show a marked gain in IQ for the groups who received the specialized tutoring and no significant gains for the control groups.

Pedagogies of transformation: keeping hope alive in troubled times

Abstract: This paper seeks to challenge the view that there are no alternatives today to global neo-liberalism and its manifestation within schooling systems and educational practices, particularly as high stakes testing and reductive pedagogies and curricula. The paper challenges the fast and shallow learning endemic to these practices, arguing instead for a different temporality of learning and school change. Indeed, the paper argues that there is a pressing need for progressive educational change and that ideas are an important component for such change and for rethinking practices, although not enough in and of themselves. The paper works with a broad Enlightenment construction of pedagogies and a conception of school reform framed by values of democratic citizenship and social responsibility and the need to connect with school communities, especially those communities disadvantaged by contemporary economic and policy settings. In disadvantaged communities, schools and teachers need to work with community funds...

Strategies for Closing the Gap: Predicting Student Performance in Economically Disadvantaged Schools.

Abstract: In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act placed even stronger responsibility on states to raise student performance. As a result of these accountability standards, states must now administer standardized tests to "measure adequate yearly progress" of all students. They face costly federal mandates and must submit comprehensive accountability plans. The federal law also focuses on narrowing the achievement gap between races. It requires that states monitor the performance of racial and economic subgroups and undertake corrective action in failing schools (Wong, in Gray and Hanson, 2004, p. 376). Researchers examining student performance consistently find that one of the most important influences on student achievement is socioeconomic status (SES) of students. The more affluent the student's background, the better he or she will perform (Coleman, et. al., 1966; Jencks et. al., 1972). This research, often referred to as "status attainment research," generally concludes that other school and teacher characteristics as well as school policies and spending decisions have minimal consequences for student achievement. Later studies continue to support these conclusions (Hanushek, 1989, 1996). Okpala (2002, p. 907), in one of many studies that examines resource usage in public schools concludes, "Some of the major factors that are theoretically under the control of a school...have little if anything to do with student performance." These findings give little comfort to educators in economically disadvantaged schools who are facing heavy pressure to improve performance and close the gap between minority and white students. Yet Verstegen and King (1998) claim that a growing body of research is using better databases and more sophisticated methodological strategies to provide evidence that school policies can make a positive difference in student outcomes. They also emphasize that resource patterns that optimize performance in one setting do not necessary work in others. Encouraged by this line of thinking, we investigate factors that may explain the differences in performances in schools that share a common socioeconomic context. That is, are there choices made by policymakers and administrators in economically disadvantaged schools that spark significant improvements in performance in these schools? In this study, we assume the significance of SES or "input" factors in explaining achievement, and we consider the impact of other "process" variables, that is, factors over which schools have some control. Using the Texas Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) data, we examine these variables to determine the elements that can impact success or failure of public school campuses. Our measure of performance is the standardized test given in 2001 to students in Texas public schools, the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). We focus our study on Texas schools that are predominantly populated by students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. From this pool of poor school campuses we select two groups of very "high-performing" and very "poor-performing" school campuses. The central question of this study is to discover what factors contribute to the success of some and failure of other schools. We do acknowledge that factors that affect student achievement at the primary school level may not necessarily increase performance at the secondary level. Thus our study compares primary and secondary schools. Impact of process variables Although our statistical models include measures for SES (percent of economically disadvantaged students and percent white students), our focus is on process variables. The latter include those variables that school systems more or less control. We categorize these variables into three general areas: 1) school characteristics (school size, student/teacher ratio, and campus expenditures by function and program); 2) teacher characteristics (salary and experience levels); and 3) the global resource measure of per pupil expenditure (PPE). …

SUPPORT Tools for evidence-informed health Policymaking (STP) 10: Taking equity into consideration when assessing the findings of a systematic review

Abstract: This article is part of a series written for people responsible for making decisions about health policies and programmes and for those who support these decision makers .In this article we address considerations of equity. Inequities can be defined as "differences in health which are not only unnecessary and avoidable but, in addition, are considered unfair and unjust". These have been well documented in relation to social and economic factors. Policies or programmes that are effective can improve the overall health of a population. However, the impact of such policies and programmes on inequities may vary: they may have no impact on inequities, they may reduce inequities, or they may exacerbate them, regardless of their overall effects on population health.We suggest four questions that can be considered when using research evidence to inform considerations of the potential impact a policy or programme option is likely to have on disadvantaged groups, and on equity in a specific setting. These are: 1. Which groups or settings are likely to be disadvantaged in relation to the option being considered? 2. Are there plausible reasons for anticipating differences in the relative effectiveness of the option for disadvantaged groups or settings? 3. Are there likely to be different baseline conditions across groups or settings such that that the absolute effectiveness of the option would be different, and the problem more or less important, for disadvantaged groups or settings? 4. Are there important considerations that should be made when implementing the option in order to ensure that inequities are reduced, if possible, and that they are not increased?

Ethnic disadvantage and schizophrenia.

Abstract: Objective: To review and interpret epidemiologic research on ethnic disadvantage and schizophrenia. Method: A search of the research literature was conducted. Results: Seventeen population-based studies were reported in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands from 1967 to 1997. The studies report high incidence rates for immigrants whose position in society is disadvantaged, than majority-group native-born, with a range of relative incidence from 1.7 to 13.2. It is proposed that the developmental task for formulating the life plan challenges the young adult's executive function abilities, which may be weaker in individuals vulnerable to schizophrenia. Formulating the life plan may be made more difficult by the position in society of disadvantaged ethnic minorities, raising the risk for schizophrenia. Conclusion: Further research on executive function, and the developmental challenge of formulating the life plan, might provide insights into the etiology of schizophrenia, as well as suggest avenues for prevention.