We present results from a meta-analysis of 37 experimental and quasi-experimental studies of summer programs in mathematics for children in Grades pre-K-12, examining what resources and characteristics predict stronger student achievement. Children who participated in summer programs that included mathematics activities experienced significantly…

The purpose of this study was to examine the college enrollment and persistence rates of rural high schools in Pennsylvania; the types of postsecondary institutions in which students from such schools enroll; and the student, school, and college characteristics associated with enrollment and persistence outcomes. The study used extant data from…

Prior research suggests that poverty can be detrimental to low-income children's development. Is this relation capturing the effects of poverty or the effects of other characteristics of low-income families associated with poverty? An instrumental variables estimation strategy is used with data from a pilot welfare reform program to answer these…

South Africa's education system is still deep in the throes of reform under its third Minister of Education since 1994. Poor communities, in particular those of rural Africans, bear the brunt of the past inequalities. The challenge was to explore the extent of the "gap" in students' scores by comparing the advantaged and disadvantaged…

This paper is an empirical analysis of the determinants of crime in Virginia. Over a dozen explanatory variables that current literature suggests as important determinants of crime are collected. The data is from 1970 to 2000. These include economic, fiscal, demographic, political, and social variables. The regression results indicate that crime…

The Chinese Perceived Causes of Poverty Scale (CPCPS), constructed to assess how Chinese people explain poverty, covers four areas of explanations: personal problems, lack of opportunities, exploitation, and bad fate. Chinese secondary school students were administered the CPCPS. Four subscales were abstracted from their responses and found to be…

Surveys inner-city adolescents, asking questions about hopelessness, violent and aggressive behavior, substance use, sexual behavior, and accidental injury. Nearly 50% of males and 25% of females had moderate or severe feelings of hopelessness. Moreover, hopelessness predicted of each of the risk behaviors considered. Suggestions are made for…

Previous research has suggested that increased use of school suspension and expulsion may be associated with increased risk of dropout and lower achievement. Part of the purpose of school discipline is to maintain school climates conducive to learning. This paper describes analyses exploring the relationship between school use of out of- …

Evaluates 64 children and their primary caregivers who are living in poverty. Social support was not found to moderate the relationship between stress and child outcome. However, social support was found to be one possible mediator of the child's reported stress on their self-esteem. According to the mediating model, enhancing children's social…

Examines cross-metropolitan variation in Puerto Rican poverty rates using an instrumental variables regression model. The analysis highlights the roles of residential segregation and economic restructuring on Puerto Rican poverty rates in 1970 and 1980. During the 1970s, the contributory effects of segregation grew stronger, whereas the…

The study identified independent individual, family, and neighborhood correlates of children's physical aggression and prosocial behavior. Participants were 2,745-11-year olds nested in 1,982 families, which were themselves nested in 96 Canadian neighborhoods. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that the total variation explained by the…

This introductory article discusses a study that investigated how at-risk students are defined in each of the Canadian provinces and Northern Territories and similarities in the definitions in the policy-making and policy implementation arenas. Different types of students that may be at-risk are described. (Contains references.) (CR)

In this report, employment retention and advancement under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was examined by reviewing research findings regarding labor market development since 1996. According to the research, most of those moving from welfare to work have found employment in low-wage jobs and experienced frequent job losses and…