There are two tendencies in the literature regarding the relationship between income and subjective well-being. The first tendency maintains that there is a strong relationship between these two variables, and that the poorer the population, the more pronounced this relationship. The second tendency downplays this relationship, arguing that a…

This paper draws upon work conducted as part of a research project into food and nutrition in the early years, and looks very specifically at the way in which practitioners in the field are both aware of current debates around such issues and how they put good policy into their practice. In drawing out such debates with practitioners, it also…

Analyses of data from the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) show how strongly associated the socioeconomic characteristics of schools are with school outcomes. Factors such as the percentage of students who are poor, percentage black, and the property values within a district explain over 70% of the variance in school outcomes. However,…

The well-being of the children is intricately tied to the well-being of the system. So, as the system goes, so goes the child. The parents and grandparents of these children simply want what all loving parents want for their children. They know the role education plays in the child's future. The more and better education a person has, the more and…

Jerry Paquette, in his article "Public Funding for "Private" Education: The Equity Challenge of Enhanced Choice" (in this issue, 568), properly urges everyone to ponder, then to reject, various hypothetical schemes for school choice whose design might worsen the plight of the poor. Among these devices, his chief bugbear is a largely unregulated…

During the late 19th century, universities subtly shifted their efforts from admitting poor students to conducting research on poverty. This transition occurred within a complex historical, sociological, and economic milieu of three national forces: universities' quest for prestige; the relationship of expertise and professionalism to the…

The first in a series of long-awaited studies indicates that nationally certified teachers are more effective at raising their students' reading and math scores than are teachers who apply for the credential but do not receive it. Although critics have questioned the expenditure of state and district money on National Board for Professional…

A comprehensive update of the classic study that delivers both a passionate plea and strategies for teachers, parents, and community organizers to give working-class children the same type of empowering education and powerful literacy skills that the children of upper- and middle-class people receive. The classic, indispensable guide for teachers,…

The contact between Dominicans and Puerto Ricans is targeted for study as much for its linguistic import as for its social context. Dominican and Puerto Rican Spanish are considered varieties of Caribbean Spanish that differ only by a few phonological and syntactic patterns and a small number of lexical items. Although both varieties are heavily…

Childhood obesity is epidemic in the United States and other industrialized countries across the globe. This trend is alarming, because childhood obesity is associated with the early onset of serious health problems, including Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, orthopedic problems, behavioral disorders, and asthma. Mounting evidence also…

Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between self-reported mental health and binge drinking, as well as health status, sociodemographic, social support, economic resource, and health care access indicators to antihypertension medication adherence. Method: Analysis of 2003 California Health Interview Survey data. Results: Having poor mental…

How sensitive is long-run individual well-being to environmental conditions early in life? This paper examines the effect of weather conditions around the time of birth on the health, education, and socioeconomic outcomes of Indonesian adults born between 1953 and 1974. We link historical rainfall for each individual's birth-year and…

This study of teacher staffing issues in the School District of Philadelphia explores the degree to which the district has succeeded in upgrading teachers' professional credentials, recruiting and retaining them, and equitably distributing experienced and credentialed teachers across all types of schools. Since the passage of "No Child Left…

Small schools are a significant feature of the educational landscape in India, with approximately 78% of primary schools having three or fewer teachers to attend to all grade levels, and more than 55% with 100 or fewer students in 2005. These schools are commonly found in impoverished rural communities, where they are often characterised by the…

Public universities in Virginia, as in many states, have generally not paid much attention to diversity among their suppliers. For years, state expenditures for outside contracts went to the usual suspects--White contractors from well-established companies. Four years ago, former Governor Mark Warner, a progressive Democrat from the high…