The authors of this chapter present the Socio-Ecological Outcomes Model as a means of predicting student success for community college men of color.

Urban learning environments pose distinct instructional challenges for teachers and administrators, and can lead to lower achievement compared to suburban or rural schools. Today's educational climate increasingly emphasises a need for positive academic outcomes, often measured by standardised tests, on which student educational opportunities,…

Researchers focusing on parent involvement continue to concentrate their efforts on the relationship between involvement and student performance in isolation of the school context in which involvement occurs. This research outlines an ecology of involvement and how this social context affects parent involvement and student performance. Relying on…

Higher rates of school switching by students contribute to achievement disparities and are typically theorized as driven by attributes of individual pupils or families. In contrast the neoclassical-economic account postulates that switching is necessary for competition among schools. We argue that both frames fail to capture social-referential and…

Addresses the influence of cultural and ecological backgrounds, as mediated by the family, on children's achievement. Contrasts models used to explain academic successes and failures of African-American and Asian-American children. (PCB)

This study comparing three theoretical orientations of educational failure found that predictors based on child deficit assumptions were least able to discriminate among low, average, and high teacher recommendations; those based on environment deficit assumptions were more able; and those based on ecological assumptions were most able. All…

This paper is a critique of the utility of Bidwell and Kasarda's "socio-ecological" model of school district-level academic achievement. The paper is considered to show that this model is seriously misspecified due to its omission of aggregate levels of academic ability. Based on achievement test data from the 24 school district of the…

Uses survey data from Texas and North Dakota to examine characteristics of farmers experiencing financial stress and to assess relative utility of adoption/diffusion, structural, and ecological frameworks for explaining levels of farm financial stress. Finds theoretical frameworks inadequate to explain differences in financial conditions.…