Mathematical problems that make links to the everyday and to disciplines other than mathematics--variously referred to as practical, realistic, real-world or applied problems in the literature--feature in school and undergraduate mathematics reforms aimed at increasing mathematics participation in contexts of inequity and diversity. In this…

This article draws on oral history testimonies to examine the experiences of participants in the inaugural 1990 cohort of Teach For America (TFA)--a group of young people dubbed the "best and brightest" of their generation and tasked with "saving" urban education. For 25 years, TFA has operated according to the principle of the…

The preschool years are a critical time for math development. Unfortunately, children from low-income backgrounds often enter kindergarten with lower math skills than middle-income peers, perhaps due to less math exposure at home. Few home-based math interventions are available for preschool age children; those that do exist are costly and…

The purpose of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and Head Start Collaborative programs is to share the responsibility for closing the achievement gap between economically-disadvantaged children and their more affluent peers. HISD collaborates with the following four Head Start agencies: AVANCE-Houston, Inc. (AVANCE), Gulf Coast…

The purpose of this cluster randomized group study was to investigate the effect of multitiered, dual-language instruction on children's oral language skills, including vocabulary, narrative retell, receptive and expressive language, and listening comprehension. The participants were 3- to 5-year-old children (n = 81) who were learning English and…

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact on all areas of society, including education. On 20 March 2020, schools closed their gates to all pupils apart from vulnerable pupils and children of keyworkers. In June, primary schools opened to selected year groups (Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6) and secondary schools invited pupils in Years 10…

What does development of language awareness among very young world language learners look like, especially when they have relatively infrequent exposure to the language they are learning? Adopting an "engagement with language" (EWL) perspective and attending closely to classroom discourse, our research analyses interactional data drawn…

This study examined the differences between children with a low socioeconomic status [socially disadvantaged children (SDC)] and children without this disadvantage (non-SDC) on physical fitness and academic performance. In addition, this study determined the association between physical fitness and academic performance, and investigated the…

In this article, the author presents a review of his extended research engagement with disadvantaged young people and their education. He challenges the dominant neoliberal model of school reform based on business values and the "managerial school" as alien to educational values. He introduces various stages of research he and his…

Children's life experiences can position their exploration of global cultural communities within early childhood classrooms. Some early childhood educators, however, are concerned that many young children do not have direct experience of global cultures and thus believe that differences between cultural practices will be confusing to young…

This study examined the concurrent relations of English (EL) and heritage language (HL) proficiency to executive functions (EF) among low-income dual language learners (DLLs) from immigrant families. In a sample of 90 children (age = 38-70 months) from Chinese-speaking Chinese American and Spanish-speaking Mexican American families recruited from…

Neoliberal market logic positions youth as either commodities produced and marketed by private institutions or consumers for whose business those institutions are competing, a paradigm that narrows pathways for youth participation in civic and political institutions by restricting youth agency to participation in markets. However, youth organizing…

Since the new millennium, the issue of financial inclusion of young people has increasingly gained recognition, especially in relation to those living in deprived circumstances. Financial inclusion can be promoted through education that specifically aims for the strengthening of young persons' financial capabilities. In 2013, a participatory…

In this article, preProgress in Reading Literacy Study (prePIRLS) 2011 data is used to compare the performance of different language of instruction groupings (English, Afrikaans and African languages) in primary schools on the more complex, higher-order reading comprehension items tested in a large-scale international test. PrePIRLS 2011…

Head Start is a national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services to enrolled children and families. The Head Start program provides comprehensive child development services to economically disadvantaged…