Because service-learning challenges participants to widen perspectives on social issues, we designed and assessed a multi-semester, multidisciplinary project with both academic and service objectives. In this project, undergraduate students developed a script and video centered on a board game designed to educate high-school students about their…

This action research project is designed as a music-based intervention to address and overcome some of the risk factors for low achievement in mathematics that research has linked to poverty level. The National Assessment of Educational Progress found that children who are eligible for school lunch programs in 4th grade score on average 13 points…

Studies of race and crime have emphasized the effects of social disadvantage and discrimination on increasing crime among African Americans. The authors extend this literature by examining various beliefs and institutions that have developed within African American communities that, in contrast, decrease criminal behavior. A model of…

This brief presents the findings of a study that examined the effects of "allostatic load" on children in poverty at age 9 and 13. "Allostatic load" refers to the measurement of the cumulative wear and tear on the body that results from experiencing stress. Research shows that high allostatic load in childhood is associated with long-term…

Closing or substantially narrowing achievement gaps requires combining school improvement with reforms to narrow the vast socioeconomic inequalities in the United States. Recognizing the effects of socioeconomic disparities on student learning is not "making excuses" for poor instruction or "letting schools off the hook" for raising student…

This paper focuses on the long established diversity in the English education system--independent schools, grammar schools and religious schools--and in so doing explores tensions between education policy, politics and social justice. It explores the differential access to these different types of school, their social composition and implications…

This article examines differences in young adults' intimate relationships by social class. Lower-class adolescents are more likely to engage in intimate-relationship practices such as cohabitation, early marriage, and sexual activity that may lead to further economic and educational deprivation. Such adolescents have limited access to the special…

Four myths that underlie persistent, but ineffective, practices in early literacy education are analyzed in this article. Such analysis is essential because literacy disadvantage ultimately is an issue of equity--a matter of social justice. Research shows that these practices can be refuted and that optimal early literacy outcomes are possible for…

The purpose of this study was to examine the social participation of young children with disabilities in inclusive preschool programs. One hundred forty-three preschool-aged children with disabilities were observed in classrooms representing four organizational contexts: community-based, Head Start, public school, and blended. Children's and…

Int his essay, the authors identify and problematize the claims and activities of four think tanks supported by contributions from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Kovacs and Christie attempt to show that these contributions support scholars and research of dubious quality, engage in political science abuse, and perpetuate discourses and…

Supplemental Educational Services (SES), a component of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, provides free tutoring to economically disadvantaged children who are attending Title I schools in their 2nd or more years of school improvement. This research evaluated SES in Tennessee to determine the: (a) impacts on student achievement, and (b)…

Research indicates that a socioeconomic status-related gap in mathematical knowledge appears early and widens during early childhood. Young children from economically disadvantaged families receive less support for mathematical development both at home and in preschool. Consequently, children from different socioeconomic backgrounds enter…

The Early Head Start evaluation included 17 sites drawn from the first two waves of programs started more than a decade ago. By design, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) selected programs that would reflect the range of service options and context of all extant program rather than choosing a representative sample. The sites…

This study examines the implementation and organization of the state mandated curriculum in the 4-hour SEI block in 18 K-12 classrooms in 5 different districts. We focus on the effects of grouping by language proficiency, the delivery of the structure-based ESL curriculum, the provision of resources and limiting of access to grade-level…

Latinos now constitute the largest minority group in the United States and the fastest growing segment of its school-age population. Yet they are the least educated of all major ethnic groups. Poverty, lack of access to high-quality preschool, low levels of parental education attainment, and hypersegregated schools all play a crucial role. The…