A typical U.S. high school student today might be able to recite some milestones of civil rights history--the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-56; the Freedom Rides of 1961; and (some would add) the election of the first African American president in 2008. But how many students understand that these events, which historians call out as milestones,…

Some Hispanic students are making it through the Eurocentric, United Statesian education pipeline, but exponentially more are failing. Meanwhile, poor Chican@ communities are disproportionately suffering from unemployment, low levels of education, chronic illness, pollution, and myriad social ills. At this historical crossroads, it behooves…

The extent to which teachers and school directors are held to account may play a central role in determining education outcomes, particularly in developing and transition countries where institutional deficiencies can distort incentives. This paper investigates the relationship between an expanded set of school inputs, including proxies for the…

Objective: The primary purpose of this study was to determine if perceived neighborhood disorder affected dietary quality within a multiethnic sample of children. Design: Children were recruited through the use of fliers, wide-distribution mailers, parent magazines, and school presentations from June 2005 to December 2008. Setting:…

Ethnic differences in violent behavior can be found in official crime statistics, as well as in surveys on juvenile delinquency. To explain these differences, research mainly focuses on factors like parental violence, violence legitimizing norms of masculinity, or socio-economic status. Little research has examined the role of friendship network's…

The representation of women in educational administration fluctuated throughout history from the 1900's to present day. Presently, women represent over 53% of all elementary school principals in Iowa, but documentation of their specific stories and perspectives is infrequent. I conducted this research with the intent to build upon the qualitative…

This paper presents the results of a study of three long-term rural superintendents and their districts. The districts were selected due to the academic successes of their students as indicated by high school graduation rate, percent of students receiving advanced designation diplomas, and percentage of graduates planning to attend college.…

The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative operationalization of amenities that does not privilege certain kinds of natural resources and climatic conditions and that can be used for assessing the quality of life in small towns. The amenity inventory presented here extends previous literature by including a broad range of amenities…

Using data of 775 nonresident father families and 1,407 resident father families from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study examined whether neighborhood disorder was associated with fathers' supportive involvement in child care. Bivariate analysis indicated that mothers and children of nonresident father families were more…

In France, as in many other countries, there is an ongoing debate on how residence-based assignment to schools affects both educational and residential segregation. Theoretical models (including Benabou, 1993; Fernandez and Rogerson, 1996; Epple and Romano, 2003; Rothstein, 2006) have shown that the existence of peer effects in education yields…

Ambiguity remains as to whether contemporary levels of racial segregation in and outside of the U.S. South are a serious problem. This article subsequently examines the math and science test-scores of 3rd-graders that participated in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. Test-score performances are estimated using multilevel statistical methods…

Can the U.S. keep its dominant economic position in the world economy with only 30% of its population holding bachelor's degrees? If the majority of U.S. citizens lack a higher education, can the U.S. live up to its democratic principles and preserve its political institutions? These questions raise the critical issue of access to higher…

Objectives: To test the pathways between perceptions of built environment factors and physical activity in urban youth. Methods: Three hundred fifty high school students' perceptions of neighborhood, and barrier self efficacy were measured by a Web survey. Physical activities were assessed using a one-week diary and accelerometers. Results:…

This article presents an in-depth case study of the Healthy Options for Prevention and Education Coalition's Teens Tackle Tobacco initiative, a 3-year community-based participatory research (CBPR) project about the distribution of tobacco vendors and tobacco advertising in Worcester, Massachusetts. Using two theoretical frameworks, positive youth…

This article explores effective approaches against racism in work with young people, and the relevance of new policy agendas in the UK. Since the 2001 disturbances, the UK has controversially prioritised "Community Cohesion", with the accusation that this new direction represents the "death of multiculturalism". Drawing on…