Previous studies have paid considerable attention to the impact on a child's primary education of attending pre-primary school. Researchers have asserted that early educational intervention can compensate for the effects of poverty and inadequate learning environments on child development and school success. This study analyzes the relationship…

Background: Early language delay is exacerbated by social disadvantage. Factors such as parents' low levels of literacy, confidence and self-perception can affect the capacity to act on advice received, critical to empowerment. Methods used to achieve successful health outcomes in socially disadvantaged clinical populations may need enhancing.…

Background/Context: Both correlational and experimental evidence suggests that having access to books can be a key resource for accelerating the literacy outcomes for children. Results from a 20-year study across 27 nations by Evans, Kelley, Sikora, and Treiman (2010), suggest that children growing up in homes with many books obtain 3 years more…

Students' physical and digital lives are increasingly entangled. It is difficult to separate students' "digital" well-being from their offline well-being given that artificial intelligence increasingly shapes both. Within the context of education's fiduciary and moral duty to ensure safe, appropriate and effective digital learning spaces…

For some youth, thinking about the future -- let alone expressing aspirations for the future -- is a daunting task. This incapacity to aspire is problematic in itself, but particularly as neoliberal societies widely expect young people from adolescence onwards to "have a plan" for their own future. In our research among disadvantaged…

Purpose: This qualitative study interrogates the barriers that historically disadvantaged higher education students in South Africa face when it comes to access and success. It specifically explores the challenges black students encounter in gaining epistemic access within the South African higher education system. Design/methodology/approach:…

Integrating drone and geospatial technologies with participatory techniques offers a promising approach to culturally responsive STEM education. However, these areas are rarely combined in existing literature. Drone and geospatial education for youth generally focuses on technical skills, while participatory methods in youth-led initiatives often…

Over the last few decades global attention on and access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) has surged. In England, successive governments have expanded funded ECEC based on evidence of its positive effects on children's development. The Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) is a longitudinal survey which tracked nearly 6,000…

Scholarship on critical consciousness frames how people who are more marginalized deeply analyze, feel empowered to change, and take collective action to redress perceived inequities. These three dimensions correspond to critical reflection, motivation, and action, respectively. In this article, we aim to recenter action in scholarship on critical…

Strong oral language skills are foundational for literacy development and begin before a child enters formal schooling. Oral language development has been related to pretend play abilities in children. Children, particularly those from disadvantaged areas, who enter school with low pretend play levels and oral language abilities, are at risk for…

This brief shares learnings from the community of Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) organizations and partners as they continue to deepen their practices to enhance the positive impact and durability of programming while also scaling to reach greater numbers of young people in similar situations. After a brief description of the national…

This study evaluates Momentum Bicycle Clubs (MBC) through the empowerment-based positive youth development framework (EMPYD). Data were collected through eight cross-sectional focus groups of MBC youth participants (ages 10-17). Sessions included three topics: the MBC program, the mentors, and the bicycle, all of which elucidated elements of an…

A prominent factor contributing to the success of Hong Kong as one of the high-performing learning systems around the world throughout the decades is its responsive and innovative as well as resilient and sustainable learning ecosystem. Hong Kong's learning ecosystem has long been remaining tripartite, which involves the conventional top-down and…

By the end of 2021, more than 168 million students across the globe had missed a year of face-to-face schooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In NSW, Australia, most students engaged in learning from home for eight weeks during 2020 and a further 14 weeks during 2021. This study provides robust empirical evidence on how two years of disruptions to…

It has long been known that children who grow up in situations of economic and social disadvantage tend to have more difficulties when they enter school, and that these are often perpetuated, leading to underachievement and disaffection. The role of the family and home environment in stimulating children's language acquisition and pre-literacy…