Socioeconomic status, schooling, and the developmental trajectories of adolescents.

The socioeconomic stratification of American society profoundly influences how the life course unfolds by shaping various developmental pathways as well as the connections among these pathways. Drawing on a nationally representative sample of American adolescents, this study charted trajectories of personal control and parental consultation from middle school to the end of high school and then examined how various combinations of these trajectories were associated with math/science course taking in high school across socioeconomic strata. Results indicated that low and/or decreasing levels of personal control were associated with the accumulation of fewer math/science credits, as were declining levels of parental consultation no matter what the initial level. Mismatches between control and consultation trajectories (e.g., high, stable control with low, stable consultation) were also associated with fewer math/science credits. These patterns tended to be less predictive of math/science credit accumulation at the highest and lowest ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instruction, teacher–student relations, and math achievement trajectories in elementary school.

Children enter elementary school with widely different skill levels in core subjects. Whether because of differences in aptitude or in preparedness, these initial skill differences often translate into systematic disparities in achievement over time. How can teachers reduce these disparities? Three possibilities are to offer basic skills training, to expose students to higher order instruction, or to provide socioemotional support. Repeated measures analyses of longitudinal data from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development revealed that children with low, average, or high math skills prior to elementary school followed different but parallel trajectories of math achievement up through fifth grade. When enrolled in classes with inference-based instruction, however, the initially least skilled children narrowed the achievement gap as long as they did not have conflictual relations with their teachers. They did not make this kind of progress if they were in classes focused exclusively on basic skills instruction or if they were in inference-focused classes but had conflictual relations with teachers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family–school connections and the transitions of low-income youths and english language learners from middle school to high school.

The theoretical and policy focus on parental involvement in education has evolved into a consideration of 2-way connections between families and schools. Working from a social capital perspective emphasizing the importance of information in periods and domains of uncertainty, the author tested a specific application of this reconceptualization in this study. Multilevel models of the National Education Longitudinal Study (n = 17,899) revealed that youths started high school in higher level math when parents, middle school personnel, and high school personnel were in contact with each other and when middle school personnel bridged middle school and high school. The observed effects of other family–school patterns on math and of all family–school patterns on science were driven by selection, including the personal characteristics that select adolescents into different family–school configurations. Multiple forms of family–school communication were related to reduced income and language disparities in math and science coursework, regardless of their associations with coursework in the general population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding the positive role of neighborhood socioeconomic advantage in achievement: The contribution of the home, child care, and school environments.

The goal of this study was to examine the mechanisms underlying associations between neighborhood socioeconomic advantage and children's achievement trajectories between ages 54 months and 15 years. Results of hierarchical linear growth models based on a diverse sample of 1,364 children indicate that neighborhood socioeconomic advantage was nonlinearly associated with youths' initial vocabulary and reading scores, such that the presence of educated, affluent professionals in the neighborhood had a favorable association with children's achievement among those in less advantaged neighborhoods until it leveled off at moderate levels of advantage. A similar tendency was observed for math achievement. The quality of the home and child care environments as well as school advantage partially explained these associations. The findings suggest that multiple environments need to be considered simultaneously for understanding neighborhood–achievement links. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)