Social science can be instrumental in illuminating responses to persistent social problems like racial or economic inequality. And a powerful starting point for studies that pursue this goal is a nuanced understanding of the problem at hand. That is, with a well-developed conceptualization of the contours, causes, and consequences of a given…

Alleviating disadvantage in low-income environments predicts higher cognitive abilities during early childhood. It is less established whether family income continues to predict cognitive growth in later childhood or whether there may even be bidirectional dynamics. Notably, living in poverty may moderate income-cognition dynamics. In this study,…

Practice and Policy: The preschool years represent a critical time to foster family engagement in education for children growing up in poverty. Yet the ways in which Latino families with lower levels of income engage with their children's education at home and at school might look different from how middle-income parents from the dominant U.S.…

Current literature has identified a growing achievement gap experienced by students raised in poverty. However, some students from poverty can defeat the odds and succeed academically with advanced degrees. Nine graduate students self-identified as being raised in poverty participated in this study. The home-related experiences that led to their…

Early career teachers working in high poverty schools face of overwhelming challenges navigating disruptive behaviors with studies highlighting behavior problems as one of the strongest predictors of turnover (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). Simulation-based technology leverages important pedagogical strengths (e.g., realistic training context,…

Shonda L. Goward argues that conflating first-generation and low-income status elides the specific and significant barriers poor students experience. They may share the experience of not being familiar with the university system, but the challenges of food insecurity, jobs, and family responsibilities, along with a lack of a safety net, make it…

To investigate food insecurity in community college students, our research team developed a mixed methods study. For the first phase, we interviewed 16 Maryland community college administrators to determine which community colleges had food banks or food pantries. The second phase involved gathering in-depth information from 6 community college…

Superintendents leading school districts, particularly in hard-to-staff areas, face immense challenges in recruiting and retaining high-quality, well-trained teachers, principals, and district leaders. Many large urban areas as well as their rural counterparts have high concentrations of intergenerational poverty and unemployment. Rural areas are…

School safety is important in enhancing children's learning. It is defined as measures put in place by staff, parents, learners and other stakeholders. The measures are meant to minimise risk conditions that may cause accidents, bodily injury as well as emotional and psychological distress. Accidents, if not prevented, can cause disability or…

The immigration process for undocumented youth often results in multiple academic, personal, and career stressors including experiences of trauma, loss, language barriers, and limited postsecondary schooling or work options. Further, the ongoing political debate regarding immigration may exacerbate these stressors for undocumented youth living in…

The Office of Shared Accountability (OSA) in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) conducted a study to examine the impact of student poverty on student achievement. This is the first study in MCPS to examine student poverty longitudinally. Using longitudinal data, students enrolled in Free and Reduced-priced Meals System (FARMS) services every…

Little to no professional research exists regarding the challenges that juvenile justice school administrators encounter in leading their respective schools. This study sought to identify the challenges juvenile justice school administrators experience and whether they are similar to those experienced by their K-12 counterparts. This study…

Children's relationships with their teachers are critical for classroom-based learning, but children growing up in poverty may be at risk for lower-quality relationships with teachers. Little is known about how changing schools, one poverty-related risk, affects teacher-child relationships. Using growth curve models that control for a host of…

Incarcerated men and women in state and federal prisons face multiple educational and economic challenges. Disabilities and health concerns of incarcerated adults exceed that of the general population. Despite widespread availability of correctional education programs in prisons, only a small proportion of prisoners completes them. Employing…

This brief summarizes a 2019 study of educator supply, demand, and quality in North Carolina conducted by the Learning Policy Institute in collaboration with the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina and WestEd. That study supported the state's ongoing efforts to meet the standard set in the North Carolina Supreme Court's decision in…