This article reflects on the difficulty that many students have in appreciating that religions change over time. It describes an assignment that can be used to teach this important religious literacy skill. The assignment focuses on changing norms on courtship, marriage, and family formation in Jewish communities at two different times and two…

Notwithstanding a large body of literature on log-linear models and odds ratios, no general marginal-free index of the association in a contingency table has gained a wide acceptance. Building on a framework developed by L. A. Goodman, we put into light the direct links between odds ratios, the Altham index, the intrinsic association coefficient,…

Despite significant progress in improving primary enrollment and attainment for girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in recent years, gender disparities in education persist and hinder opportunities for girls. Educational attainment for girls has plateaued in numerous countries, with only a few making significant strides in narrowing…

Despite significant progress in improving primary enrollment and attainment for girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in recent years, gender disparities in education persist and hinder opportunities for girls. Educational attainment for girls has plateaued in numerous countries, with only a few making significant strides in narrowing…

Recent descriptive work suggests the type of college education (field or institution) is an important but neglected pathway through which individuals sort into homogeneous marriages. These descriptive studies raise the question of why college graduates are so likely to marry someone within their own institution or field of study. One possible…

The authors discuss assortative mating, the tendency--important for increased genetic variation--of individuals to mate with the phenotypically similar at rates greater than chance. Influenced by many factors--physical characteristics like height and weight and demographic elements like behavior and attitudes, economic status and education, church…

This brief summarizes key findings from five papers that examine child marriage and interventions to address it. While the findings from each of the papers are briefly noted, the brief focuses on the importance of context in understanding the drivers and impact on child marriage. Based on key findings, the brief offers cross-cutting…

Statutory requirements for compulsory Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in the UK is generating concern among many religious communities and reigniting debates about the purpose of School Based Sexuality Education (SBSE). Among the communities voicing their dissent are members of the British Islamic community. Quranic scripture deems…

This note discusses a class activity that was developed for first-year bachelor students in sociology to understand homogamy theory. Taught in a "classical" deductive way, this theory proved to be difficult to remember and describe on the examination. Starting from inductive learning, and more specifically, (structured) inquiry-guided…

This brief presents a simplified framework to provide key entry points for understanding which drivers of child marriage may be most important in particular contexts. Decision-makers such as researchers, donors, and program practitioners can use the framework to help design programs and policies tailored to these contexts.

Role-playing games offer powerful opportunities for players to engage with history, such as allowing players to fictionally situate themselves in a historical period. When it comes to the Holocaust, however, games face serious issues such as the potential trivialization of the Holocaust or players learning to blame the victims. In this design…

Research on parental involvement has traditionally focused on social class differences in parenting behavior throughout early childhood and K-12 schooling. Yet there is mounting evidence that similar class divides persist as children exit high school and progress through young adulthood. This review examines parents' roles in young adults' lives,…

On 20 November 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a landmark achievement that has since become the world's most widely ratified human rights treaty. The Convention sets strict standards for signatory governments to protect the rights of every child. Published in connection with the 30th…

The year 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of one of the Supreme Court's most important decisions on race, justice, and equality. In 1967, the Court in "Loving v. Virginia" held that states could no longer prevent people of different races from falling in love and building a family together. The decision had been a long time coming. For…

Biology teachers consider basic Mendelian genetics to be value-free, objective science, immune to misinterpretation and misuse. It may thus come as a surprise to learn that in the early days of genetics a cornerstone of genetics education, the dihybrid cross, was employed to support claims of the racial superiority of whites over blacks and to…