With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by much of the United States, local school districts are encouraged to develop CCSS-aligned curricula that are culturally relevant for an area's students. However, addressing cultural relevancy within communities where rural and urban cultures intersect requires a conceptualization of a…

This study uses a mixed-method sequential exploratory design to examine influences on urban adolescents' engagement and disengagement in school. First, we interviewed 22 middle and high school students who varied in their level of engagement and disengagement. Support from adults and peers, opportunities to make choices, and external incentives…

Based on 135 ethnic afterschool programs and language schools, this descriptive study (Part 2 of 2 in this issue) revealed differences in the types of programs housed within East, South, and Southeast Asian coethnic communities (strong, weak, or dispersed) in the U.S. The article applies a combined cultural-structural framework to understand…

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' conceptions of and feelings about land use. Specifically: (1) What are students' conceptions of and feelings about land use? And (2) in what ways might students' conceptions and feelings vary by community setting and grade level? This study was qualitative and descriptive in nature and…

Cognitive performance is characterized by at least two distinct life course trajectories. Many cognitive abilities (e.g., "effortful processing" abilities, including fluid reasoning and processing speed) improve throughout early adolescence and start declining in early adulthood, whereas other abilities (e.g., "crystallized"…

Given that one's place of residence plays a crucial role in accessing quality public services and facilities, unequal access to education has been a substantial problem besetting American education for decades. Various school policies since the economic recession of 2008-2009 have challenged equitable opportunities to schooling in metropolitan…

Background: Despite the benefits of social participation, children and adolescents with developmental disabilities (DD) are often excluded from taking part in social activities. There is a gap in the literature about the factors that contribute to adequate participation of children with severe DD in particular and the barriers to their…

When students choose where to attend college, they often stay in close proximity to home and work. Much of the college choice literature, however, does not engage with the importance of geography in shaping educational destinations. Using county and commuting zone data from various federal sources, this study finds that the number of local…

By focusing on critical geographies, landscape, and spatial literacy, this article evaluates a semester-long spatial justice project conducted in a preservice teacher education program. The analysis recognizes the limitations of reading the products literally as a means of comprehending spatial representation. It expands the analysis by hacking…

Background: We assessed the associations of 5 school and 7 neighborhood variables with fifth-grade students achieving Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) or Needs Improvement-Health Risk (NI-HR) on aerobic capacity (AC) and body composition (BC) physical fitness components of the state-mandated FITNESSGRAM® physical fitness test. Methods: Data for outcome…

School communities in both urban and rural settings need trauma-informed (TI) supports; however, the adversities experienced and access to student supports may be unique to rural school communities. In addition, the contextual challenges experienced by rural schools and communities, as well as the strengths that can be drawn from them, will…

In South Africa, the educational attainment of African children has been a focal point of policy and research since the end of apartheid in 1994. Individual and policy-level determinants of child development and educational outcomes have been exhaustively investigated. A less researched perspective is the role of community and household…

Lidia and Josephina, although living vastly different lives, both represent Hispanic teen mothers. Pregnancies like theirs have been an issue of central concern in the U.S. for decades, with Hispanic teens considered most at risk. Despite vast recent declines in teen childbearing across all racial and ethnic groups, the U.S. continues to have the…

In this article, we playfully revisit the same data scene, but from three different perspectives. We call these revisits "re-turns" to data. These "re-turns" draw upon moments with young boys playing at a makerspace located in a multiracial, working-class community. This idea of "re-turn" is not simply about…

The US population is becoming more educated, but large gaps in postsecondary attainment based on race or ethnicity remain, particularly at more selective colleges. As a growing number of jobs require a college degree, it is imperative to increase college access among all racial and ethnic groups. In this report, we examined whether different…