There is growing evidence that investment in school facilities, and new school construction in particular, can improve K-12 student outcomes, particularly for low-income students. Funding for school infrastructure, however, is inequitably distributed. Moreover, given a lack of national data on school facilities, researchers have focused on…

Higher education initiatives to support students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are widespread. However, there is pervasive concern within public discourse that such widening participation efforts have contributed to a 'dumbing down' of higher education. There are classed dimensions to evaluations of (dis)advantaged students' university…

Mathematical literacy is becoming increasingly important and needs to be developed. However, various factors can affect students with different mathematical literacy patterns. This study aims to investigate the effects of students' backgrounds, attitudes toward mathematics, and information and communication technology (ICT) familiarity on the…

Background: Mental health care is critical to improving mental health but factors associated with student utilization are poorly understood. Methods: Data were from high school students (N = 2933; mean age = 15.7 ± 0.6) enrolled in a California cohort. We examined associations of sociodemographic factors, substance use, and mental health symptoms…

Purpose: A rich body of evidence has illuminated the importance of caregivers' use of prosody in facilitating young children's language development. Although caregiver-child shared reading has been repeatedly linked to children's language skills, caregiver prosody during shared reading interactions (i.e., oral reading expressiveness) has been…

Recent research on vocational training in the global South suggests training may have the effect of unrealistically inflating trainee expectations of remunerative employment and upward social mobility. These studies, however, have focused almost exclusively on training for formal sector employment. The present paper, by contrast, explores how…

In this study, we examined demographic patterns of participation and persistence in high school elective music ensembles. We extend prior research that has only compared music and non-music students by explicitly modeling persistence across multiple years of ensemble enrollment. The research draws on data from the High School Longitudinal Study of…

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) prevalence has risen globally, with regional variation and sociodemographic disparities affecting diagnosis and intervention. This study examines ASD trends from 1990 to 2018 in California (CA), focusing on sociodemographic factors that may inform policy/interventions. Using CA Department of Public Health birth…

This mixed-methods research aimed to understand the extent to which staff of six schools in rural England, share, recognise and draw upon, their pupils' experience within the household and community. Starting from the critical concepts of 'funds of knowledge' and 'culturally relevant pedagogy', the research focused on the life experiences of…

In this study, we investigated the impact of socio-demographic factors on the manifestation of botho/ubuntu philosophy in online education. We used Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory to understand how botho/ubuntu influences stakeholders' attitudes and actions. We employed a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional design and gathered…

Schools are often seen primarily as places of education and learning. However, in addition to providing pupils with knowledge and skills needed in life, schools have a central role in forming and structuring life in their neighbourhoods. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework for understanding the role and potential of schools in…

Happiness is being in an emotional state that can reflect a high level of mental and emotional well-being. We examined and explored the factors influencing happiness such as culture, socio-economic status (SES) and religious coping. It also identified the foremost and major factors influencing happiness. In this study the cultural indicators are…

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated "lockdown" measures spurred adverse employment changes and economic insecurity in U.S. families. Paradoxically, there was a surge in prosocial behavior. Chronically lower socioeconomic status has been associated with adults' greater prosociality, a counterintuitive phenomenon attributed to heightened…

This study investigated the long-term impact of the science writing heuristic (SWH) approach on students' science achievement, focusing on differences between low and high socioeconomic status (SES) groups. Through a longitudinal design, students were divided into control and treatment (at least 1 year of SWH) groups. Polynomial growth mixed…

Admissions essays submitted by applicants to undergraduate institutions are typically evaluated by admissions professionals to gain a better understanding of an applicant's likely fit for the institution. These essays are becoming increasingly important because many colleges are likely to strengthen the role that non-test-based application…