Instructors teaching students about social inequality, especially sexism and racism, often face some degree of student resistance. Opposition is particularly strong when students are from a white, middle to upper class background. As Haddad and Lieberman (2002) remark, "Students from privileged backgrounds lack personal experience with structures…

This essay is a response to Barbara Applebaum's essay, "Engaging Student Disengagement: Resistance or Disagreement?" in which Applebaum explores privileged university students' "disengagement" when asked to confront institutionalized oppression. Applebaum analyzes and recommends Lynn Weber Cannon's rules for classroom discourse…

College is increasingly essential for economic and social mobility. Current research devotes significant attention to race and socioeconomic factors in college access. Yet wealth's role, as differentiated from income, is largely unexplored. Utilizing a nationally representative dataset, this study analyzes the role of wealth among students who…

Children are exploring elements of literacy and numeracy. Such explorations begin in the earliest days of life and are a natural outgrowth of children's curiosity and interest in how the world works. Based on experiences, children build a reservoir of knowledge about language, reading, and mathematics that they take with them to kindergarten,…

This study examines the influences of social and cultural capital on persistence from 1st to 2nd year and how these effects differ between community colleges and 4-year institutions. Results show that social and cultural capital have a positive association with student persistence overall but matter less when students begin at a community college.…

This qualitative study investigated the psychological experience of poverty among 2 groups of Filipinos who were interviewed about the effects of being raised poor, 12 who became rich, and 13 who remained poor. Using constructivist and critical theories as research paradigms and grounded theory as methodology, the results of the study illustrated…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differential rates of accumulating net worth among low- and high-income households. To achieve this objective, the authors, using a sample drawn from the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances, investigated the degree of elasticity of household net worth (or wealth) to household income among five income…

This paper presents responses from Richard J. McGrath, O.S.A., and Nan Tulchinsky to an article by John James entitled "How Much Does a Private School Student Count? A Critical Analysis of the Athletic Multiplier." McGrath shares that their principal heads the group of Catholic school leaders who fought the multiplier in Illinois by…

Disorganization theories postulate that black men have largely abandoned their familial roles. Using the NSFH data, this article refutes the hypothesis of black men's familial disengagement by focusing on extended family integration. Black men are more likely than white men to live with or near extended kin, as well as to frequently see kin in…

As evidence of the growing ecological crisis mounts, it is imperative that sociologists speak to this social problem and incorporate a sociological perspective on environmental issues into the curriculum. Central to understanding how social issues relate to environmental problems is an examination of the ties between consumption and its ecological…

The "Closing the Achievement Gap" series explores the Casey Foundation's education investments and presents stories, results, and lessons learned. This publication presents an in-depth look at the Foundation's multi-year investment in a school district feeder pattern in Atlanta, and stories about Casey contributions to district…

Little is known about the benefits of short-term international programs that concentrate specifically on the subject matter found in the fields of art and music. This article investigates a short-term international program that focuses on the culture, music, and art of Brazil. Findings show that students studying abroad enhance their world view…

Can online communities contribute to a student's sense of belonging? Does the use of new Internet technologies enhance an individual's sense of self? Is one's racial identity relevant in cyberspace? For multiracial students, the answer to these questions is increasingly yes. Whether mixed-race students are more tech savvy than their monoracial…