Use of pre-school daycare and education 1979–86

SUMMARY. Using General Household Survey data, this paper considers attendance by children under five at public and private services providing non-parental daycare and education in 1986 and compares it with 1979. Attendance of children under five rose from 32 per cent in 1979 to 42 per cent in 1986. The services included are primary schools, nursery schools and classes, playgroups, day nurseries and child minders. Playgroups are most used for two and three year olds and schools for four year olds with the majority of children attending on apart time basis. Children from higher social class backgrounds are more likely to receive care and/or education with 50 per cent of such children using pre-school services, as compared to 3 7 per cent of children with fathers in manual occupations     

Jamaican Children with Special Needs: concerns, realities and possibilities

Official documentation on Jamaican children with special needs attending mainstream schools is limited. Consequently, the extent to which 'education for all' is a reality cannot be assessed. The absence of a national special education policy adds to the concern. To ascertain the presence and status of children with special needs attending mainstream secondary schools, individual interviews were conducted with guidance counsellors from 24 secondary schools and 102 children attending those schools. Information was also obtained from the national census data-base. There was evidence that children with a variety of special needs were present in these schools. Concerns of both students and teachers including inappropriate teaching methods and large classes were highlighted, and suggestions for improvement made. The researchers made recommendations including the better utilisation of existing services.     

Academic Performance of Subsequent Schools and Impacts of Early Interventions: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Head Start Settings

The role of subsequent school contexts in the long-term effects of early childhood interventions has received increasing attention, but has been understudied in the literature. Using data from the Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP), a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in Head Start programs, we investigate whether the intervention had differential effects on academic and behavioral outcomes in kindergarten if children attended high- or low-performing schools subsequent to the preschool intervention year. To address the issue of selection bias, we adopt an innovative method, principal score matching, and control for a set of child, mother, and classroom covariates. We find that exposure to the CSRP intervention in the Head Start year had significant effects on academic and behavioral outcomes in kindergarten for children who subsequently attended high-performing schools, but no significant effects on children attending low-performing schools. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

Teachers’ unions, productivity, and minority student achievement

I estimate the unionlnonunion productivity differential for minority students attending public high schools. Education production functions are estimated for minority students attending union schools and for minority students attending nonunion schools using achievement scores as the measure of output and the individual student as the unit of observation. The union/nonunion productivity differential for average minority students is positive. However, the productivity differential is negative for minority students attending schools where the majority of students are nonminority, but the productivity differential is positive for minority students attending schools where the majority of students are minorities.     

Polish complementary schools in Iceland and England

Since 2004, the opening of labour markets has spurred a considerable number of Poles to emigrate e.g. to Iceland and England. Families with school age children have had the challenge of adapting to foreign environments and school systems. Polish complementary schools have played an important, albeit ambivalent, role in this process. Through focus group interviews with students in Polish complementary schools in one city in Iceland and one city in England, we gathered information showing common threads between both schools as well as differences in their structure, role, origin and the student motivation to participate. Saturday schools abroad are considered to be less demanding by students than regular schools back in Poland, but more so than regular Icelandic/English schools, which many rate as unsatisfactory in terms of their academic development. The tension between the need for freedom and high expectations for the academic outcome of education influences student opinions, not only about schooling, but also about the host society.     

Safeguarding disabled children in residential settings: what we know and what we don't know

Research in America, Canada, Australia and Britain has revealed that disabled children are particularly vulnerable to abuse. Their likelihood of attending residential institutions, their dependency on others for personal care and the lack of opportunities for them to alert others to maltreatment or comprehend the nature of abusive acts all increase levels of risk. Over the last decade, there has been increasing public and professional concern about the abuse of children in residential establishments, resulting in a number of inquiries. However, the abuse of disabled children in residential settings has received little attention. Despite residential schools, care homes and respite care being widely used by disabled children, there is a paucity of knowledge regarding the standards of child protection in these establishments. This article explores the research literature revealing the vulnerability of disabled children to abuse when living away from home, what measures can be taken to help protect them and the limitations of available data as a basis for planning child protection measures. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The education problems of migrant children in Shanghai.

Due to social discrimination and economic reasons, migrant children in Shanghai often are excluded from local school systems. Resident migrants have established schools for their children but suffer from a lack of supplies, poor conditions, and untrained teachers. Thus far, government attempts at improving the education of migrant children have been less than successful. Suggestions for improving the educational outlook are offered.     

A multilingual approach to analysing standardized test results: immigrant primary school children and the role of languages spoken in a bi-/multilingual community

The present study adopts a multilingual approach to analysing the standardized test results of primary school immigrant children living in the bi-/multilingual context of South Tyrol, Italy. The standardized test results are from the Invalsi test administered across Italy in 2009/2010. In South Tyrol, several languages are spoken on a daily basis and the long-established ethnic groups are speakers of German (69%), Italian (26%) and Ladin (4%). While the language of instruction for immigrant children attending Italian language schools is Italian, these children live in Italian- or German-speaking environments. I argue that standardized testing data should be analysed in conjunction with local language information to better serve the educational needs of bi-/multilingual children. The Italian test results of I and II Generation immigrant children (n?=?225) are re-examined in light of the languages spoken in their living environment. Results show that the approach used is useful in identifying information that would have otherwise remained undetected. The additional data provide valuable input for school administrators, educators and policy-makers and can be used to devise suitable remedial measures for immigrant children attending school in bi-/multilingual environments.     

Do magnet and charter schools exacerbate or ameliorate inequality?

School choice typically refers to opportunities to enroll youth in public and/or private educational alternatives to traditional neighborhood public schools. While these options continue to grow in the United States under the umbrella of school choice, magnet and charter schools are the most common forms of public school choice. In this article, we review the development of school choice and the differing historical and philosophical origins of magnet and charter schools. We then summarize what we know about the extent to which these public choice options exacerbate or ameliorate two forms of inequality—academic achievement and school segregation by race and class. Research suggests that magnet schools often encourage racial and class diversity, while charters contribute to racial and socioeconomic isolation. While low‐income minority students may benefit academically from attending magnet schools, it is unclear whether charter schools have any effect on achievement when comparing charter school students to their counterparts in traditional public school. We expect that continued growth of magnet schools will likely promote school diversity both within and between districts, though some types of magnets may also inadvertently promote segregation. However, expansion of the charter school sector will heighten school segregation and exacerbate racial and socioeconomic isolation.     

Making the ordinary school special

SUMMARY. In recent years there has been considerable debate about how the education service should provide for children with special educational needs. In arguing for keeping such children in mainstream schools the author begins by focusing upon some of the myths which have developed in the field of special education and which may themselves act as barriers to change. Then a number of critical issues are outlined along with some indications of the kinds of changes in policy and practice which might be required if ‘ordinary schools are to become special’. Particular emphasis is placed upon the important, but neglected, area of policy and directions at the LEA level. This article is based upon the book Making the Ordinary School Special by Tony Dessent (Falmer Press, 1987).     

Fallen apples

Children today often have to cope with living in fractured family systems in which multigenerational dysfunction and abuse is passed on to them. As a result, they often make decisions that lead them into unsafe, and possibly disastrous situations. Some children and adolescents cannot see beyond today. They are prone to giving up because they feel nothing can change. Growing up in physically violent homes can create children who are unable to control their own violent rages. While hospitalized, they often seek the struggle and emotional release that accompanies physical management. Physical management allows the children to be out of control and safe at the same time.     

Applied behavioral intervention in rural school settings: Problems in research design,implementation, and evaluation

This article discusses a number of theoretical, practical, and methodological difficulties encountered in the design, implementation, and evaluation of treatment programs conducted in the natural environment. In order to illustrate how these difficulties might be overcome, a case example is provided. Contingency contracts were used to modify the assaultive and disruptive behaviors of a 6-year-old child attending a preschool program for emotionally and physically handicapped children. Treatment effectiveness was evaluated through the use of a multiple baseline design and maintenance of behavior change was assessed in periodic follow ups of the child for 1 year after his admittance to public school. The importance of, planning for the generalization of newly acquired behaviors to different environments is stressed and suggestions for facilitating this process are discussed.     

Are there children to educate for peace in conflict‐ridden areas? A critical essay on peace and coexistence education

In this paper, I reflect on the education that is being conducted in two Israeli schools, often held up as exemplary, that have the declared educational aim of cultivating tolerance and recognition of otherness. What is ‘going on’ with those presumed to be the primary beneficiaries (the children studying at these schools) of an integrated educational enterprise? Should the focus for future peace be on these children at all. I take a critical look at the way we are attempting to forge a peaceful future through our young.     

Soziale Ungleichheiten beim Schulstart

Although there is a regular age of school entry in Germany, some children start school later than usual and some children start ahead of schedule. While there has been some decrease in delayed school entries in the last years, the rate of premature school entry has increased substantially. Paradoxically, while the delayed entry is primarily because professionals rate a child as not ready for school, the premature entry is mainly based on parents’ choice. The first aim of the paper is to discover whether kindergarten attendance can reduce the risk of a delayed entry. The arguments and hypotheses are mainly based on the theory on the ecology of human development of Bronfenbrenner. The empirical analyses demonstrate that low educated families profit most by kindergarten attendance, but only if the child begins attending the care institution before reaching age four. The second aim concerns considerations in regard to the decision of prematurely entering school. Socio-economic conditions are not as important at this point as compared with a delay in school entry. However, there are some effects indicating that higher educated parents foster a premature entry to elementary schools. The analyses are based on over 1.400 children in the relevant age group and their parents taking part in the large nationwide German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP).     

The subtle–blatant distinction of ethnic prejudice among ethnic majority chidren

Research on ethnic prejudice among children is important for contemporary multicultural schools seeking to enhance communication among students from different ethnic groups and provide effective intercultural education. Current scientific discourse points to the appearance of new implicit forms of prejudice, witnessed in modern multicultural societies, while traditional explicit prejudice tends to decline. However, empirical studies concerning the blatant–subtle distinction of prejudice in children are scarce. This paper examines ethnic prejudice in 329 ethnic majority preadolescents (aged 10–13?years) attending 10 urban and rural schools in central Greece. Data were collected using questionnaires constructed on the basis of focus group discussions with children, in addition to sociometric tests. Findings support the subtle–blatant distinction of prejudice in children and indicate that although blatant prejudice expressed as personal rejection is indeed low, perceptions of ethnic minority groups as a ‘problem’ for school life, as well as subtle prejudice, are substantial. Ethnic minority children are less popular and stigmatizing behaviour is common. Intimacy with an ethnic minority classmate is associated with lower levels of blatant prejudice at the individual level but the other forms of prejudice are not affected.     

‘A Hidden Group of Children’: Support in Schools for Children who Experience Parental Imprisonment

Schools have been identified as playing a key role in supporting the children of prisoners. This paper reports on a study, which explored the support provision offered in schools to children who experience parental imprisonment. By interviewing school representatives, stakeholders, parents and children, we illustrate the support available in schools, the issues that arise and ways in which support provision can be strengthened. Our findings indicate that children of prisoners often constitute a ‘forgotten’ group in schools, and we suggest that an awareness of these children and the challenges they face needs to be raised amongst education practitioners and policy‐makers.     

Children with epilepsy who have special needs

SUMMARY. About five percent of children with epilepsy are severely or multiply handicapped. Many of these probably did not go to school before the 1970 Education Act, although epilepsy had been a named category for special education from the earliest provision. This paper describes two studies of the characteristics of children attending the residential special schools for epilepsy in England and Wales before the 1981 Education Act, and discusses the provision of local services for severely handicapped children with epilepsy as a consequence of the Act and the possible continuing role for residential schools for this group.     

The Father as an Idea: A Challenge to Kinship Boundaries by Single Mothers

In separating parenthood from partnership, women have created new family forms in which men may be involved but not as traditional fathers. Through in‐depth interviews with single middle‐class women, I compare families created with anonymous donors to those created with known donors. In the former cases, mothers craft imagined fathers as their children become “looking glasses” into the men they will probably never meet. These children must rely on the mothers’ imagination to create a sense of the fathers’ view of them. While known donors are not “dads” either, the mothers help these children imagine positive fathers, often through more concrete, personal knowledge, and these fathers often know the children from a distance. In an interesting manner, although children may be created without men as physically present “dads,” women contextualize the donors that allowed them to become mothers through acknowledging the social ways that blood kinship creates families. They ultimately reaffirm certain kinds of kinship rather than challenge them.     

Primary Age Children Excluded from School: A Multi Agency Focus for Concern

SUMMARY: Exclusion from school is only one of a number of sometimes complicated and often inter-related reasons why children are not attending school Much of the focus of research and debate about exclusions has been about secondary age pupils. This paper begins to raise some of the issues that may make primary age exclusions a particular focus of concern and one that should reach and be addressed by a variety of agencies. The paper draws on research recently completed at the SSRIU (Social Services Research and Information Unit), University of Portsmouth, and is informed by an ESRC funded project in progress, which is investigating primary age exclusions at a national level.