Location Determines Health Outcomes for Families With Children With Special Needs

Families living in poverty often do not have a choice but to live in impoverished neighborhoods. Low-income neighborhoods are typically characterized by poor-quality housing; ineffective schools; and a higher prevalence of crimes, drugs, and violence. For low-income families with children with special needs, living in areas of concentrated poverty is especially challenging. Owing to the isolation of such neighborhoods, residents often do not have access to quality supportive services and developmental opportunities for children with special needs. This lack of support predetermines the health outcome of a vulnerable child.

Nonrobustness of the Carryover Effects of Small Classes in Project STAR

Background Class size reduction (CSR) is an enduring school reform undertaken in an effort to improve academic achievement and has been widely encouraged in the United States. Supporters of CSR often cite the positive contemporaneous and carryover effects of Project STAR. Much has been discussed regarding the robustness of the contemporaneous effects but not regarding that of the carryover effects. Purpose This article checks the robustness of the carryover effects of STAR's small classes. Setting STAR was undertaken in 75–79 schools in Tennessee. Participants: Each year in the experimental period, 6,000–7,000 students in grades K–3 participated in the experiment, for a total of 12,000 students during the entire period. Intervention As students initially entered STAR schools, they were (arguably) randomly assigned to small classes with 13–17 students, regular classes with 22–25 students without teacher aides, and regular classes with 22–25 students with teacher aides. The experiment was performed from 1985 through 1989, but information on STAR students continued to be collected thereafter. Research Design STAR is a randomized controlled field experiment. Data Analysis In this article, STAR schools are divided into “effective” schools and “ineffective” schools. Effective schools are defined as schools where the test scores of students in small classes were statistically significantly higher than those of students in regular classes at the 5% level in both math and reading. By contrast, ineffective schools are defined as schools where the test scores of students in small classes were not statistically significantly higher than those of students in regular classes at the 5% level in either math or reading. Separately for effective schools, schools other than effective schools, and ineffective schools, the academic achievement of students is regressed on variables indicating small class assignment, along with student characteristics and school-by-entry wave fixed effects. Findings The carryover effects of CSR are not robust; they are driven mostly by effective schools, which account for at most a quarter of STAR schools. During this investigation, it is revealed that, in contrast to the protocol of randomization, observable student characteristics in these schools are not randomly distributed between small and regular classes. They are instead distributed in such a way as to increase the academic achievement of students in small classes and decrease that of students in regular classes. Recommendations Caution is recommended when citing the positive carryover effects of S TAR.

"From The Worst To The Best": An Exploratory Qualitative Study Of The Process Of Social Change At A South African Secondary School

The primary aim of the study is to describe an initiative to effect organisational change at a previously disadvantaged school in South Africa’s Gauteng Province. Qualitative methods were used to collect and analyse data on the social process of change in the school. Essays of role players in the change process on their experiences led to important insights. This exploratory study points to a process that was effective in bringing about change at a school and holds promise for constructing a theoretical model of how change could be effected in ineffective schools. OpsommingDie primêre doel van die studie is die beskrywing van ’n organisatoriese verandering by ’n voorheen benadeelde skool in Suid-Afrika se Gauteng Provinsie. Kwalitatiewe metodes is gebruik om data oor die sosiale proses te genereer en te analiseer. Opstelle van betrokkenes by die veranderingsproses oor hulle ervarings het tot belangrike insigte gelei. Hierdie verkennende studie dui op ’n proses wat suksesvol gewerk het om verandering te weeg te bring en hou belofte in vir die ontwikkeling van ’n teoretiese model van hoe verandering in oneffektiewe skole bewerkstellig kan word.

High School Reform And Black Male Students

An infusion of federal funding and philanthropic support for high schools has sparked an unprecedented number of educational reforms. Still, few initiatives confront the unique conditions facing Black male students. Despite efforts to reform ineffective schools and foster academic achievement for all students, there continues to be a lingering gap between affluent and poor as well as White and Black subgroups. This article explores the complexities of these issues. The authors examine the negative effects of intractable social barriers such as poverty and ineffective schooling. They suggest that currents trends reflect responsible approaches to reform but that the potential role of Black teachers has not been fully explored.