This study finds substantial reductions to criminal activity from the introduction of a comprehensive high school support program for disadvantaged youth living in the largest public housing project in Toronto. The program, called Pathways to Education, bundles supports such as regular coaching, tutoring, group activities, free public…

Childhood disadvantage is associated with psychological distress throughout the lifespan. Poor children are alleged to give up more often than their more privileged peers when facing challenges. Yet little research has examined the role of task persistence in poverty and mental health. We test whether poverty-related deficits in persistence…

Challenges associated with poverty, limited resources, and cultural norms affect both educational and life outcomes for learners in Zambia and other African countries. Many families cannot afford school fees, uniforms, or other educational expenses or requirements. Girls often face greater barriers to education than boys, as cultural norms…

Academic underachievement of students from disadvantaged backgrounds is an ongoing and unresolved problem. Schools serving vulnerable communities often fail to meaningfully engage their students who are often exposed to significant family and environmental adversities. However, where the educational landscape is overwhelmed with neoliberal…

For decades, schools nationwide have collected household income data to identify those eligible for free and reduced-price lunch programs. State leaders have long used this information as a proxy for student economic disadvantage--yet this data is insufficient to understand and address students' needs. Measures based on FRL data lack critical…

Higher education increases the likelihood of a healthy and successful life. This study investigated the association between relative deprivation and aspiration for college education in adolescents in Japan. The data of the 2016 survey of the Longitudinal Survey of Newborns in the twenty-first Century, a nationwide birth cohort study following…

Children from low-income families face many social and economic disadvantages, and high-quality preschool can help to alleviate some of them. Is "preschool for all" the best way to extend preschool subsidies to unserved disadvantaged children? Fully funding such a policy would be costly, and it is likely that a significant minority of…

Michigan policymakers and advocates are calling on the state to adopt a new school funding formula that provides additional funding to students with greater educational need, such as students with greater economic need. For Michigan students who have been identified as economically disadvantaged, at least a 35 percent weight is necessary for…

Each year, millions of high school students consider whether to continue their schooling and attend and complete college. Despite strong evidence that a college degree yields far-reaching benefits, some critics of higher education increasingly argue that college "does not pay off" and that some students--namely, disadvantaged prospective…

State school finance systems can play an essential role in directing additional resources to schools serving economically disadvantaged students, and research suggests that these resources can make a measurable difference in student outcomes. The vast majority of states (45) allocate some funding to districts based on their enrollment of…

Health equity research has identified fundamental social causes of health, many of which disproportionately affect Black Americans, such as early life socioeconomic conditions, neighborhood disadvantage, and racial discrimination. However, the role of life course factors in premature mortality among Black Americans has not been tested extensively…

During the 2017 General Session, the Legislature passed House Bill 212, "Incentive for Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools," which provides an annual salary bonus to eligible teachers in high poverty schools. This report is provided to the Education Interim Committee to evaluate the extent to which a salary bonus improves…

We examine the transition to adulthood in a poor, white, rural community in Appalachia. Young adults come of age in a context of persistent poverty, economic decline, an ongoing opioid and addiction crisis, and strong community norms about family and work bolstered by religious institutions. For low- income young adults in this community, this…

It is widely agreed that the relationship between poverty and education is bi-directional: poor people lack access to a decent education, and without the latter people are often constrained to a life of poverty (Van der Berg, 2008). Poverty as a "lifetime, and life-wide status" thus develops into a self-fulfilling prophecy that is…

This article examines heterogeneity in adverse events and conditions and how low-income African American young adults respond. Although nearly all individuals in the sample report at least one instance of adversity, the nature and frequency of adversity varies, as do the responses. Some individuals see their lives and plans derailed; others engage…