Psychosocial factors have a direct impact on the academic achievement of university students, especially when they belong to diverse human groups. This article shows the results of a project developed in a Colombian university with the aim of finding out the identity traits, situations of discrimination, and risk factors faced by students…

This article draws attention to contemporary research and theorizing that counters and resolutely dispels biological determinism laden with a plethora of mythic racial, gender, dis/ability and other types of unproven assumptions, conjectures, and biases. Based on a wide range of emerging conceptual breakthroughs and a growing body of evidence…

This study compared the effects of being in different tracks during the first 3 years of secondary education on student academic performance. A sample of a longitudinal cohort study in Flanders (3,205 students in 46 schools) was used to describe the learning gains for mathematics and reading comprehension. Four tracks were distinguished, with a…

Today, women across race and class categories graduate high school and college at higher rates than men (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). According to Marxist reproduction theories, schools maintain social hierarchies by academically rewarding the elite. Yet, despite educational gains, women remain materially and symbolically unequal, proving to be…

Numerous studies have examined international students' adjustment problems, yet, these studies have not explored the mechanisms through which social support operates in the context of stressful events in predicting cross-cultural adjustment among international students. Using Barrera's (1988) models of social support, the present study…

This article takes as its premise the idea that an "a priori" acknowledgment gap exists relative to other kinds of gaps described in the literature on educational disparities between racial and ethnic groups. The authors define the acknowledgment gap as a disparity between some educational leaders and the communities they serve in…

Ethnic and generational differences in motivation and achievement have been well-established. However, minimal research has examined the role of social factors on educational outcomes among individuals from diverse backgrounds. With a longitudinal sample of 408 Latino, Asian, and European-American students, we examine family, discrimination, and…

Poorer outcomes for youth labeled with learning disabilities (LDs) are often attributed to the student's own deficiencies or cumulative disadvantage; but the more troubling possibility is that special education placement limits rather than expands these students' opportunities. Labeling theory partially attributes the poorer outcomes of…

In the United States, racial-ethnic differences on tests of school readiness and academic achievement continue. A complete understanding of the origins of racial-ethnic achievement gaps is still lacking. This article describes social equity theory (SET), which proposes that racial-ethnic achievement gaps originate from two kinds of social process,…

Achievement gaps may reflect the cognitive impairment thought to occur in evaluative settings (e.g., classrooms) where a stereotyped identity is salient (i.e., stereotype threat). This study presents an economic model of stereotype threat that reconciles prior evidence on how student effort and performance are influenced by this social-identity…

Although academics and safety continue to rank as high-priority issues in public schools, educators and administrators are beginning to recognize the importance of student health on school success. This move toward a holistic approach suggests that efforts to improve a student's physical, social, and emotional well-being are as important as…

This article reports on a pilot study that investigated the beliefs, values, and pedagogies of experienced high school teachers who worked with student populations of non-English speaking and economically disadvantaged immigrants or refugees in Australia. Qualitative research methods, including focus groups and in-depth individual interviews with…

One explanation for the widening achievement gap in America and throughout Europe between ethnic minorities/immigrants, and Whites is the influence of cultural stereotypes on attributions made by both educators and students. This paper explores some factors that increase the likelihood that educators will consciously or unconsciously rely on…

This article uses the metaphor of the achievement gap to make transparent, discuss, and critique the analytical frame/lens used in the articles to analyze urban education. Doing such an analysis is essential to producing an additional lens that has utility in theory and practice. It facilitates a historical analysis of urban education and leads to…

Examines the classroom environment, describing various social forces embedded in the classroom climate, student-faculty interactions, and student-to-student interactions that either foster or impede student learning. The article highlights ways in which these classroom social forces perpetuate social inequalities that exist within society at large…