Most epidemiological studies agree that economically disadvantaged populations are the groups most vulnerable to mental health problems and report lower quality of life among these populations. However, it appears that access to social support plays a role in protecting against the chronic stress resulting from conditions such as poverty. This…

This paper describes the design and methodology used to assess the impact of free primary education (FPE) policy in Nairobi, Kenya. The key outcome of the study was to assess the impact of FPE on schooling outcomes among the urban poor. The study assesses the impact of FPE by examining how two non-comparable groups responded to the introduction of…

Individual differences in temperament can be protective or risk factors that may enhance or interfere with children's healthy development and educational success. This study examined the concurrent and predictive relationships between temperament, school adjustment, and academic achievement in children at-risk. Seventy-seven children at-risk, ages…

The School of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science (SEMS) at Robert Morris University (RMU) was awarded a five-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund scholarships to 21 academically talented but financially challenged students majoring in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Each…

Seventy-six fifth-year students from low-socioeconomic status backgrounds participated in three different instructional conditions in an intervention study. The first combined strategy training in top-level structuring and interrelated motivational support; the second implemented the strategy training only; and the third was a control condition…

This paper analyses poverty reduction in Bhutan between two points in time--2003 and 2007--from a multidimensional perspective. The measures estimated include consumption expenditure as well as other indicators which are directly (when possible) or indirectly associated to valuable functionings, namely, health, education, access to electricity,…

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese Cultural Beliefs about Adversity scale (CBA). Methods: The CBA was administered in a sample of 275 Chinese parents experiencing economic disadvantage. Results: The CBA was found to be internally consistent. Consistent with the conceptual framework, factor…

Research Findings: Given the growing literature pertaining to the importance of fine motor skills for later academic achievement (D. W. Grissmer, K. J. Grimm, S. M. Aiyer, W. M. Murrah, & J. S. Steele, 2010), the current study examines whether the fine motor skills of economically disadvantaged preschool students predict later academic…

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the prior experiences, perceived challenges, and support systems of Grade 12 students at an ECHS. An in-depth investigation corroborated the importance of the social capital the participants generated to overcome the obstacles they encountered. Methodology: Utilizing Moustakas's…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the current school computer access rates of elementary school students and to determine the extent to which school computer access relates to academic achievement among Grade 5 students in the state of Texas. Specifically, the relationship of school computer access to student passing rates on the…

This qualitative case study examined the self-efficacy beliefs of three high school principals in economically disadvantaged high schools with consistently high graduation rates for African American males. With the demand on school systems to perform in a politically driven, assessment-based paradigm, there is a need to describe and analyze the…

This study sought to provide a preliminary examination of the relationship between the implementation of Guided Math and student achievement in Title I schools as measured by the percentage of students who met or exceeded the standard for the Georgia Mathematics CRCT. The study examined data from thirty Title I elementary schools in one suburban…

Claiborne Pell lived in a waterfront house in Newport, Rhode Island. The Princeton-educated senator came from such old money that his people once owned much of New York's Westchester County and the Bronx. Having grown up in a roach-ridden house, it didn't seem to the author that she and Pell inhabited the same universe. Even so, when she learned…

How do proficiency-based accountability systems affect inequality in academic achievement? This article reconciles mixed findings in the literature by demonstrating that three factors jointly determine accountability's impact. First, by analyzing student-level data from a large urban school district, we find that when educators face accountability…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the numbers of children identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continues to rise. In North Dakota, the percentage of students identified with an ASD has increased from 1.9% of the total population of students with disabilities in 2004 to 6.2% of that same group in 2013-14.…