This paper presents comparative information on the strength of the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and literacy skills at ages 6-8, drawing on data from France, Germany, Japan, Rotterdam (Netherlands), the United Kingdom, and the United States. We investigate whether the strength of the association between SES and literacy skills in…

Supporters of free college in the US often point to countries that do not charge tuition to argue for the policy. However, international examples often illustrate that free-college policies entail unintended consequences. Ireland offers a particularly apt case study on that point. In the mid-1990s, Ireland abolished tuition for full-time…

In this paper, we develop an information distortion model (IDM) of social class differences in self-beliefs and values. The IDM combines psychological biases on frame-of-reference effects with sociological foci on ability stratification. This combination is hypothesized to lead to working-class children having more positive math self-beliefs and…

This piece of research project has demonstrated that there is a gap in educational achievement between parents' access to social capital and children's educational outcomes in a global context by examining England, United States and China specifically. Through examining educational resources, from in-school factors, such as facilities, teacher…

In the past decades, income inequality has risen in most developed countries. There is growing interest among economists in international comparisons of economic and educational mobility. This is aided by the availability of internationally comparable, large-scale data. The present paper aims to make three contributions. First, we introduce the…

A review of American charter schools and Swedish free-school research is outlined, providing strong evidence that both free-market models are flawed in their claims of enhancing young people's educational experience. A substantial body of work is included that strongly indicates charter and free schools increase social segregation and lower…

This essay outlines several ways in which educators might better prepare young people of all backgrounds to understand, enter, and eventually act upon the changing economic landscape. The contributors to this article, which presents perspectives on social class and education in the United States, suggest that one might learn some lessons from the…

Research has established that those with higher social status have better health. Less is known about whether this relationship differs cross-nationally and whether it operates similarly across different institutional arrangements. To examine the relationship between stratification and health, two Western, industrialized societies at opposite ends…

Noting that the great majority of Americans will become parents at some point in their lives, this report uses data from 13 federal or privately-collected nationally-representative studies or other data sources to present a comprehensive statistical picture of how mothers and fathers in America feel about parenting, how they parent, and how they…