In South Africa, differential performance in school mathematics with respect to social class remains an enduring concern as reflected in national and international large-scale assessments. The article examines the implications of evaluation for orientations to mathematics in a school populated by learners from upper-middle-class or elite…

Reading skills are foundational for daily lives, academic achievement, and careers. In this study, we systematically reviewed literacy interventions in low- and middle-income countries, and estimated their effects on children's reading skills using a meta-analytic approach. A total of 67 studies (N = 213,464) from 32 countries found in various…

This article analyzes a 'critical race moment' in an ethnographic study to examine intragroup advocacy in a diverse Latinx community. In this moment, a Spanish-language TV newscast used an image of the first author and her young son to report on local Latinx leaders' advocacy to address disparities impacting the broader Latinx community. Informed…

Objective: To identify, appraise, and synthesize studies of interventions to improve labor market outcomes of adults in developing countries with physical and/or sensory disabilities. Method: Systematic review methods, following Campbell Collaboration guidelines, were utilized. A comprehensive search was used to identify relevant studies published…

In this paper, we explore the methodological implications of conducting qualitative interviews when researchers and participants come from different social classes. Singling out class on its own terms, rather than considering it as an auxiliary structural factor, we examine the unique challenges that arise during cross-class interviews. Such…

Over the past two decades, educational debt has quickly transformed US colleges and universities into spaces of cruel optimism: the higher education that students desire is all too often an obstacle to their flourishing. This study maps the contours of the white, middle-class attachment to the college dream, paying particular attention to the…

Mental health problems among young people have increased in recent decades, particularly among middle-class youth, a development often related to increasing achievement pressure. This paper explores how young people from the financial and cultural middle classes in Norway experience school stress and their parents' values and practices concerning…

In Italy, the National Evaluation System (SNV), encompassing both internal and external accountability components, is designed not only to hold school actors accountable but also to stimulate innovation and change in pedagogical practices. Nevertheless, existing literature presents inconclusive and contradictory findings regarding the effects and…

Students attain cultural knowledge to navigate college admissions, yet few studies investigate when and how students activate this knowledge in a relatively transparent system. Drawing upon 26 Taiwanese student interviews, this study unveils how students strategically use available information to illuminate each step of the admission process. I…

For the 'global middle classes', cultural reproduction increasingly involves the international school as they promise considerable distinction [Bourdieu, P. 1984. "Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste." Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press] granting University passage past Anglo gate-keepers. This paper draws on…

This article makes an empirical contribution to the study of the global middle class (GMC), and sheds light on the complex relationships that are constructed and sustained by these families with their 'home nation' through their educational strategies. Drawing on an inductive analysis of 20 in-depth interviews with Israeli migrant mothers in the…

Much of the literature on social class and language study in schools argues that for middle-class parents and their children, languages are chosen for their capacity to offer forms of distinction that provide an edge in the global labour market. In this paper, we draw on data collected from interviews with parents and children in middle-class…

Against an expanded sector of higher education, inadequate empirical effort has been made to examine the experiences of middle-class students who fail to get straight into university rectify their situation. Such experiences, as well as their psychic/emotional aspects, are of increasing relevance to understanding the operation of class against a…

Based on an ethnographic study, this article presents the class-based disparities of Chinese parents' usage of "WeChat," the dominating social networking mobile application in China, in their educational involvement. We find that middle-class parents are the privileged ones who have exploited the use of "WeChat" not only as a…

In response to goals of expanding access as well as public pressure to leverage substantial endowment resources toward increasing affordability, numerous elite colleges have enacted policies aimed at improving access and affordability by replacing student loans with grants in financial aid packages. No-loan policies, however, differ in the extent…