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.

Parent Engagement and School Readiness: Effects of the Getting Ready Intervention on Preschool Children’s Social–Emotional Competencies

Abstract: Research Findings: Parental engagement with children has been linked to a number of adaptive characteristics in preschool children, and relationships between families and professionals are an important contributor to school readiness. Furthermore, social-emotional competence is a key component of young children’s school readiness. This study reports the results of a randomized trial of a parent engagement intervention (Getting Ready) designed to facilitate school readiness among disadvantaged preschool children, with a particular focus on social-emotional outcomes. Two hundred and twenty children were involved over the 4-year study period. Statistically significant differences were observed between treatment and control participants in the rate of change over a 2-year period on teacher reports for certain interpersonal competencies (i.e., attachment, initiative, and anxiety/withdrawal). In contrast, no statistically significant differences between groups over a 2-year period were noted for behavioral concerns (anger/aggression, self-control, or behavioral problems) as a function of the Getting Ready intervention. Practice or Policy: The intervention appears to be particularly effective at building social-emotional competencies beyond the effects experienced as a function of participation in Head Start programming alone. Limitations and implications for future research are reviewed.

Lessons from Teachers

Abstract: This article argues that with changes in attitudes and actions in classrooms, teachers can alter what happens in urban schools and transform the lives of students. Ten precepts are offered to assist them in that role: teach more, not less, content to poor, urban children; ensure all children gain access to conventions/strategies essential to success in American society; whatever methodology/instructional program used, demand critical thinking; provide the emotional ego strength to challenge racist societal views of the competence and worthiness of children and their families; recognize and build on children’s strengths; use familiar metaphors, analogies, and experiences from the children’s world to connect what children already know to school knowledge; create a sense of family and caring in the service of academic achievement; monitor/assess children’s needs and address them with a wealth of diverse strategies; honor and respect children’s home culture; and foster a sense of children’s connection to comm...

Faith in Action: Religion, Race, and Democratic Organizing in America

Abstract: Over the past 15 years, associations throughout the US have organized citizens around issues of equality and social justice, often through local churches. But in contrast to President Bush's vision of faith-based activism, in which groups deliver social services to the needy, these associations do something greater. Drawing on institutions of faith, they reshape public policies that neglect the disadvantaged. To find out how this faith-based form of community organizing succeeds, Richard L. Wood spent several years working with two local groups in Oakland, California - the Pacific Institute for Community Organization and the race-based Centre for Third World Organization. Comparing their activist techniques and achievements, Wood argues that the alternative culture and strategies of these two groups give them radically different access to community ties and social capital. Creative and insightful "Faith in Action" shows how community activism and religious organizations can help build a more just and democratic future for all Americans.