The article explored the characteristics of principals as leaders in schools in deprived socio-economic contexts in South Africa. The qualitative research was conducted in four provinces; four schools per province were purposefully sampled, and in each school, individual interviews were conducted with the principal, one member of the school…

I analyze the longer-run effects of a college-preparatory program implemented in inner-city schools that included payments to eleventh- and twelfth- grade students and their teachers for passing scores on Advanced Placement exams. Affected students attended college in greater numbers, were more likely to remain in college beyond their first year,…

By the end of fourth grade, African American and Latino students, are two years behind their wealthier, predominantly white peers in reading and math. By eighth grade, they have slipped three years behind, and by 12th grade, the gap is full four years. These are just two examples of the most alarming figures that threaten the educational equity of…

To many, it seems obvious which schools are failing--schools whose students perform poorly on achievement tests. But since evaluating schools on achievement mixes the effects of school and nonschool influences, achievement-based evaluation likely underestimates the effectiveness of schools that serve disadvantaged populations. In this article, the…

This study examines the cultural deprivation theory of scholastic performance among black children. The hypothesis of the study focuses upon family based determinants to explain variation in academic performance. The report also discusses arguments which indicate that the cultural deprivation theory is responsible for the lack of black children's…

International comparisons of American education have become so popular and widespread in the reform debates of the last several decades that many of the current centerpieces of the American reform movement were shaped through evidence and speculation on what other more educationally successful nations were doing that the U.S. was not. The current…