Addressing school dropout has been one of the most controversial elements of policy since the introduction of free compulsory universal basic education (FCUBE) in Ghana. However, research that utilises qualitative biographical detail surrounding irregular attendance and the critical events in the process that lead to dropout in Ghana is limited. I…

The focus of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Legislation is to close the achievement gaps due to disadvantages based on minority status, socio-economic status, special education (SPED) or Limited English Proficiency (LEP). Poverty and culture have been consistently reported to have an impact on academic achievement. However, there have been few…

Though the poverty encountered by many rural youth encompasses numerous developmental challenges and substantially increases the chances for educational problems, the school context is central to promoting and constraining their development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of school characteristics and…

Housing is an important aspect of living standards and quality of life for older persons, but the housing-related problems they may face encompass rather different circumstances, relating to the condition of the dwelling, how well equipped it is, whether housing costs represent a serious burden, and whether the neighbourhood environment is…

Students who attend Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, have elected to spend their university years in one of America's most distinguished small cosmopolitan cities. Over the last two decades as the world has become rapidly urbanized, Hartford has become a critically contested site where economic poverty, environmental degradation,…

Popular media is a social phenomenon, especially for young audiences. This qualitative study examined how eleven Latino/a high school students and a Latino teacher understood the impact of media messages in an animated children's film. Findings suggest participants identified negative cultural messages embedded throughout the film regarding…

This research was a qualitative study of 10 elementary school teachers working with predominantly African American students in a large urban school district. The primary focus of this study was to analyze the teachers' perceptions of their African American students. The hope is that the data presented in this study will initiate trends that assist…

This article focuses on the impact on schools and schooling of the ten-year "People's War" in Nepal between 1997 and 2007. It draws on research conducted in schools under a British Council funded Higher Education link from 2000 to 2006. In particular, we examine the role that education played in creating and sustaining the conflict in…

Learner pregnancy has recently become a thorn in the flesh for most schools in South Africa, and documentary evidence shows that its prevalence is greater amongst Black public schools than White schools. Within its discourse, more often than not, the Child Support Grant (CSG) has featured prominently in the perceived increase in the pregnancy rate…

This article is part 2 of a 4-part series on "Health Promotion and Wellness" from the American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 54 million people--one in five Americans--have a disability, and these Americans are more likely to report: (1) Being in poorer overall health; (2) Having less…

The authors consider Ladson-Billings' (2006) charge to reframe the way the "achievement gap" is viewed, and put forth the metaphor of "bankruptcy" as a way to acknowledge the educational debt and educational inequity and move towards debt forgiveness in public education. Specifically, the bankruptcy metaphor is used to examine…

On the basis of a secondary analysis of survey data collected from 1,872 secondary school principals in the 2005-2006 School Survey on Crime and Safety, we examined the frequency of and reasons for severe disciplinary actions and the relationship between school characteristics and severe disciplinary actions. We found that severe disciplinary…

Although primary care practices and schools are major venues for the delivery of mental health services to children, these systems are disconnected, contributing to fragmentation in service delivery. This paper describes barriers to collaboration across the primary care and school systems, including administrative and fiscal pressures, conceptual…

Rural and suburban children account for the majority of poor children in the United States. Yet, most research examining poverty's associations with child development is focused on urban samples. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (N ˜ 6,600), this study examines whether the form and…

Rural schools in high-poverty areas are often understaffed. This descriptive phenomenological study examined fourth-grade state research projects in high-poverty rural Iowa schools to reveal the influence of school librarians' staffing levels on student learning of research skills. To determine evidence of students' critical literacy, ethical use…