This paper presents the first evidence of how students make career technical education (CTE) course-taking decisions. Among the universe of Michigan high-schoolers we find large disparities in CTE access and participation by gender, race, and income. We decompose participation gaps between supply (access) and demand (preferences) with a simple…

The decisions that students make about their educational attainment have profound impacts on their future economic, demographic, and social outcomes. These decisions, however, do not happen in a vacuum. There is a long tradition of research in sociology, education, and behavioral economics that has studied inequality in educational decision making…

Bullying is a problem that has been studied in schools worldwide, but there is little research on bullying within Christian schools, a dearth which may stem from the assumption that Christian schools teach character traits that are inimical to bullying. Yet understanding the extent and nature of bullying in Christian schools may lead to a better…

This article isolates and observes the impact of peer readership on low-stakes reflective writing assignments in two large Introduction to Sociology classes. Through a comparative content analysis of over 2,000 private reflective journal entries and semipublic reflective blog posts, I find that both practices produce distinct forms of reflection.…

The present study investigated to what extent teachers' beliefs about children's achievement contribute to the development of children's math interest. In addition, the extent to which other possible predictors, such as performance in math, gender, and race/ethnicity would contribute to the development of children's math interest was examined.…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether college athletes perceived that their exposure to racial diversity from within intercollegiate athletics was an important part of their education. Two NCAA Division I and one NCAA Division II institution in Michigan were surveyed, with 188 athletes participating. Athletes were asked to respond…

The deleterious effects of early substance use have been well documented. Past research has produced mixed results regarding the extent to which the profile of risk differs for urban African American and suburban Caucasian youth. Sixth graders from urban (n = 420; 92% African American) and suburban (n = 391; 89% Caucasian) schools in metropolitan…

THE RESPONSES OF FIRST GRADERS TO THREE QUESTIONS ABOUT READING ARE REPORTED. SUBJECTS, 111 PUPILS IN FIVE 1ST-GRADE CLASSROOMS IN THREE SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN INDIANA AND MICHIGAN, WERE INTERVIEWED AND THEIR RESPONSES WERE ANALYZED AND CLASSIFIED INTO LOGICAL CATEGORIES. WHEN ASKED IF THEY WANTED TO LEARN TO READ, A NEGATIVE ANSWER WAS GIVEN BY FOUR…

The political behavior and orientations of 1027 fifth-grade students in 18 inner-city, racially segregated, low socioeconomic status elementary schools were examined in two Michigan cities in 1970. The political effects of racial composition were different for each race. As elementary schools became increasingly black, average student political…

As part of the investigation into the achievement differentials between white and black students in Michigan, a study was done of the nature of sense of futility (SOF) at the individual student level and the relationship between the SOF correlates and self-concept ability. The sample included 2 groups of fourth and fifth graders in a random sample…