Tag » economic

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  America’s perfect storm: Three forces changing our nation’s future

  1/3/09 - Kirsch, I., Braun, H., Yamamoto, K., Sum, A.

  This report “looks at the convergence of three powerful sociological and economical forces that are changing our nation's future: (a) substantial disparities in skill levels (reading and math); (b) seismic economic changes (widening wage gaps); and (c) sweeping demographic changes (less education, lower skills). (The authors show that) there is little chance that economic opportunities will improve among key segments of our population if we follow our current path. To date, educational...

• The knowledge gap: Implications of leveling the playing field for low-income and middle-income children

  1/1/06 - Neuman, Susan B., Celano, Donna

  This study examines children's uses of reading resources in neighborhood public libraries that have been transformed to "level the playing field." Through foundation funding (US$20 million), the public library system of Philadelphia converted neighborhood branch libraries into a technologized modern urban library system, hoping to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and their families by closing the achievement gap. Using a mosaic of ethnographic methodologies, four studies examined...

• A Closer Look at Black-White Mathematics Gaps: Intersections of Race and SES in NAEP Achievement and Instructional Practices Data

  1/1/02 - Lubienski, Sarah Theule

  A study investigated the disparities between white and African-American students' mathematics performance, with attention to interactions between race and socioeconomic status (SES). Data were obtained from the 1990, 1996, and 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Although the results revealed substantial achievement gaps between African-American students and their white counterparts--such as 12th grade African-American students scoring below 8th grade white students--an analysis...

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  A collective responsibility, a collective work: Supporting the path to positive life outcomes for youth in economically distressed communities

  1/14/09 - Tsoi-A-Fatt, R.

  This paper presents a picture of risk and challenge for youth in distressed communities and outlines how these communities can band together to create a continuum of supportive activities to bolster youth’s success in school and life.

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  A Look at Community Schools

  1/30/09 - Saba Bireda

  "Children living in poverty face many obstacles outside the classroom that can hinder their success in the classroom. Unaddressed health care needs interfere with learning and cause low attendance. Inadequate and inconsistent housing may deprive students of a safe and quiet place to study. A lack of affordable and accessible child care forces many young adults to sacrifice learning opportunities to care for younger family members. And poverty’s economic stress may cause students to be less...

• A New Year's Resolution for 2006: Closing the Achievement Gap

  1/1/06 - Donlevy, Jim

  There are still far too many poor and minority children being educated in schools with inadequate resources and poorly trained and uncertified staff. Sadly, educational results for children in such schools are significantly below those of children in better-funded schools and districts. This article reviews recent New Year's resolutions made in the Journal and calls for "Closing the Achievement Gap" as the New Year's resolution for 2006. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

• Access to Higher Education: The Hope for Democratic Schooling in America

  1/1/04 - Burke, J. Bruce, Johnstone, Michelle

  The American aspiration for higher education as a road to a better life for everyone is threatened. As the economic and social gap between the upper third of the population and the bottom third widens, so access to better education, especially to higher education, becomes increasingly difficult to achieve. The traditional role of hope in the American Democratic Dream of a just and fair society is being eroded, as increasing numbers of Americans are marginalized, jailed, recruited into...

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  Achievement Gaps Between Female and Male Latino Students

  1/16/09 - Julio Cammarota

  Throughout the 1990’s, I documented the education, work and family experiences of Latino youth in California (see my book, Suenos Americanos). My intention was to understand how young Latinos might achieve some success (i.e. educational achievement or decent employment) in a hostile political and economic environment. The most surprising finding of my research was that Latina females fared much better than Latino males, sometimes within the same family.

• AFRICAN AMERICAN PARENTS IN THE SEARCH STAGE OF COLLEGE CHOICE

  1/1/06 - Smith, Michael J., Fleming, Michael K.

  A serious imbalance exists in today's African American undergraduate student population in which the number of women far outnumber the number of men. Although at the macro level, political, sociological, and economic forces frame this gender enrollment gap, scant research has explored microlevel influences such as parents and parenting. This study uses a qualitative methodology and Hossler's model of college choice to examine African American parent involvement during the search stage. The...

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  All our children? The health and education of children of immigrants: 2007 annual report

  1/5/09 - Foundation for Child Development,

  "The centerpiece of the Foundation for Child Development's 2007 Annual Report, All Our Children? The Health and Education of Children of Immigrants is an essay by Alexandra Fuenmayor Starr. Ms. Starr writes about U.S. immigration policy for Slate, The New Republic, and The American Scholar. Her essay, "The Dividends of Investing Early: Why We Need to Help the Youngest Children of Immigrants," argues that young children of immigrants, over 90 percent of whom are citizens, will have a large...

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  America's children in brief: Key national indicators of well-being, 2008

  1/14/09 - The Federal Intreragency Forum on Child and Family Statistics,

  Statistical data on children and families collected through the coordination and integration of 22 federal agencies. Indicators are organized into seven sections: Family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health.

• An Approach to Eradicating the Achievement Gap: Making Instruction Meaningful

  1/1/08 - Campos, David

  The article discusses how lessons taught to white and Asian students may eliminate the achievement gap. According to the author, social factors affect children of color including African American and Latino school children making them not as proficient as their white and Asian-American counterparts. An overview of the lesson plan reflecting questions on the students' personal experience that relate to social, political, and economic conditions is offered. The author suggests that teachers...

• An Early Gap in Black-White Mathematics Achievement: Holding School and Home Accountable in an Affluent City School District

  1/1/03 - Hughes, Sherick A.

  A study investigated the effect of ethnicity and socioeconomic status on the mathematics scores of third-grade students. Data were obtained from 687 students in an affluent city school district in North Carolina. Findings suggested that ethnicity and socioeconomic status had a significant effect on third-grade students' mathematics scores. Moreover, findings indicated that strong social forces sustained the achievement gap between African-American and white students, even when affluent...

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  An early look at the Economic Stimulus Package and the public schools: Perspectives from state leaders

  1/7/09 - Center on Education Policy,

  "This report looks at the early efforts of states to implement the elementary and secondary education provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The findings are drawn from a survey of officials in state education agencies and governors’ offices in 44 states and the District of Columbia. Key findings concern the financial condition of state education budgets, progress toward meeting the reform assurances, interest in national content standards and the Race to the Top...

• Attributed for academic achievement: A comparative study in tribal and non-tribal settings

  1/1/08 - Rath, Muralidhar

  The failure or poor performance of tribal students in their academic tests has initiated deep debates and grave discussions now-a-days. It is worthwhile to note that tribal students in India are not only they who reside in ashrams or hostels of different urban schools and colleges, and are mostly compared by researchers with non-tribal students. Rather, a major portion of tribals dwell in rural and tribal settings and some of them pursue their education in poorly maintained schools and...

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  Basic facts about low-income children: Birth to age 18

  1/5/09 - Douglas-Hall, A., Chau, M.

  Estimates in this data display are “based on the U.S. Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, March 2008, representing information for calendar year 2007.” Details include (a) numbers and percentages in low-income families; (b) changes over time; (c) federal poverty level figures; (d) family characteristics; (e) variation’s by children’s age; (f) variations by race/ethnicity; (g) variations by parents’ country of birth; and (g) variations by region of...