This paper proposes a new theory of Conditional Social Equality (CSE) which in some ways challenges the theory of cumulative advantage/disadvantage (CAD), which postulates that inequalities and social divisions necessarily increase over time. Using evidence from informal learning groups in Men's Sheds in three countries, we conclude that some…

An achievement gap exists in mathematics between low-income African American male students and their European American counterparts. Although this problem has been approached using different interventions with minimal results, the impact of homogenous grouping is not well understood in spite of its use. As a result, this study was conducted to…

In response to the mandates of No Child Left Behind, (NCLB), educators across the country struggle to close the gaps between males and females. Some of the physiological differences existing between the male and female brain suggest support for single-gender instruction, which is on the rise within this country as well as other parts of the world.…

The current debate about boys' education risks taking us back decades in terms of understanding the significance of gender in relation to education. Of particular concern here is the tendency within such debates to rely on dichotomous understandings of gender which reinscribe essentialist understandings of both "girls" and…

Two studies explored the experience and performance of students at Williams College in three-person groups that were homogeneous or heterogeneous in rated academic ability. In accord with hypotheses from Festinger's (1954) social comparison theory, students in academically homogeneous groups had more positive experiences and performed better on…