The United States criminal justice and welfare systems are two important government institutions in the lives of the poor. Despite many theoretical discussions about their relationship, their operation at the level of offenders and families remains poorly understood. This paper utilizes Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing data to examine how…

The issues facing Travellers, including those associated with education are often linked to social exclusion, widespread disadvantage and discrimination (Reynolds, McCartan, and Knipe 2003). The Office for Standards in Education (Office for Standards in Education 1999) referred to Gypsy Traveller pupils as "the most at risk in the education…

The majority of studies investigate the effect of income on life satisfaction at either individual or country level. This study contributes with analysis at the (sub-national) province level across West European countries. I use a unique dataset Eurobarometer 44.2 Bis that is representative of province populations in a multilevel model. Provinces…

For several decades researchers have raised questions regarding factors that enable undergraduate students, particularly those from ethnic minority groups living in low socio-economic areas, to persist with their studies to degree completion. Seeking answers to these questions becomes more urgent as universities around the world enrol increasingly…

In this article the author presents an analysis of the hidden curriculum of school sports in mediating the achievement of Mexican immigrant girls in middle schools in the southwestern United States. Using Bourdieu's theory of taste, the author shows how symbolic boundaries expressed by students and teachers legitimize cultural practices that…

The "underclass" concept pervades social science research on poverty, racial relations, and more recently, immigration. In this article, we elaborate and extend Massey's critique of the underclass concept by briefly reviewing the history of this concept and emphasizing its contemporary application to immigrants and undocumented workers. We also…

There are few more widely applied terms in common parlance than "capability". It is used (inaccurately) to represent everything from the aspiration to provide opportunity to notions of innate academic ability, with everything in between claiming apostolic succession to Amartya Sen, who (with apologies to Aristotle) first developed the…

This exploratory study examined (a) Integrated Systems Model (ISM) implementation levels, and (b) the effect of implementation of the academic and behavioral components of ISM on student academic outcomes. Participants included 2,660 students attending six suburban elementary schools. Hierarchical linear regression was conducted using a control…

In this article the authors discuss how the perspectives of Paulo Freire were instructive in addressing the challenges of HIV-AIDS education in Guatemalan Maya immigrant communities with minimal formal education and literacy. The forging of a community-based, collaborative, educational program offers several implications for effective teaching and…

This article examines the experiences homeless youth face and the influence of social networks on their education. Using a social capital framework, we analyze the experiences that are different for poor youth in general and those homeless. Data used include interviews with 123 homeless youth and more than 40 policymakers, school counselors, and…

Fathers' absence is a pattern that shows intergenerational continuity, most notably within disadvantaged populations. The process whereby this pattern is repeated across generations is not well understood. Using data from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, the authors investigated pathways between fathers' absence in 1 generation and the…

The communities in the Black Belt South and Central Appalachian regions in the United States share long histories of persistent subjugation. Both regions also have strong traditions of partnerships between grassroots activists and scholars--partnerships that have, at times, lent resilient responses to political, economic and cultural challenges,…

This paper reports on a mid-point evaluation of the Gauteng Primary Language and Mathematics Strategy (GPLMS), an innovative large-scale reform designed to improve learning outcomes. Using data from universal testing of all learners in 2008 on a provincial systemic evaluation, and data from the 2011 and 2012 Annual National Assessment (ANA) test,…

Professional Development Schools (PDS) were intended to be a comprehensive approach to total-school reform targeted toward the effects of poverty and educational disadvantage. This paper examines the processes and contexts found in PDSs and tests how they might be logically and empirically linked to measurable improvements in achievement. The…

To support national policy initiatives in early childhood education and to determine reasons for low enrolment in services from families in disadvantaged areas, the authors investigated the views and practices of 101 families from disadvantaged communities. Families with a child aged 3-5 years were recruited from urban, rural and remote areas of…