Children, Schools, and Inequality

by Entwisle, Doris R.; Alexander, Karl L.; Olson, Linda Steffel

• ISBN13: 9780813308319
• ISBN10: 0813308313
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-06-19
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

Educational sociologists have paid relatively little attention to children in middle childhood (ages 6 to 12), whereas developmental psychologists have emphasized factors internal to the child much more than the social contexts in explaining children's development. Children, Schools, and Inequalityredresses that imbalance. It examines elementary school outcomes (e.g., test scores, grades, retention rates) in light of the socioeconomic variation in schools and neighborhoods, the organizational patterns across elementary schools, and the ways in which family structure intersects with children's school performance. Adding data from the Baltimore Beginning School Study to information culled from the fields of sociology, child development, and education, this book suggests why the gap between the school achievement of poor children and those who are better off has been so difficult to close. Doris Enwistle, Karl Alexander, and Linda Olson show why the first-grade transition--how children negotiate entry into full-time schooling--is a crucial period. They also show that events over that time have repercussions that echo throughout children's entire school careers. Currently the only study of this life transition to cover a comprehensive sample and to suggest straightforward remedies for urban schools, Children, Schools, and Inequalitycan inform educators, practitioners, and policymakers, as well as researchers in the sociology of education and child development.

Author Biography

Doris R. Entwisle and Karl L. Alexander are professors of sociology, both at Johns Hopkins University. Linda Steffel Olson is senior research assistant in the Department of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University. Doris R. Entwisle and Karl L. Alexander are professors of sociology, both at Johns Hopkins University. Linda Steffel Olson is senior research assistant in the Department of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University.

Table of Contents

List of Tables, Figures, and Charts	vii
Preface	x
Children and Inequality	1	(16)
Social Stratification	4	(3)
Schooling and Inequality	7	(1)
The Critical Period	8	(7)
Plan of the Book	15	(1)
Notes	16	(1)
The Nature of Schooling	17	(14)
Headstart	17	(3)
Secondary Schools	20	(1)
Seasonal Learning	21	(3)
Dimensions of Inequality	24	(3)
Life Course Perspective	27	(3)
Social Inequality and Early Schooling in Perspective	30	(1)
Notes	30	(1)
Low Socioeconomic Status	31	(32)
Poverty and Schooling	32	(1)
Seasonal Learning	33	(4)
The Faucet Theory	37	(3)
Family Socioeconomic Status and Children's Schooling	40	(12)
Other Hypotheses and the Faucet Theory	52	(2)
Overview	54	(7)
Notes	61	(2)
Elementary School Organization	63	(36)
Socioeconomic Status and Tracks Between Schools	64	(10)
Socioeconomic Stratification and School Organization	74	(6)
Tracks Within Schools	80	(10)
Elementary School Organization Reconsidered	90	(4)
Implications	94	(3)
Notes	97	(2)
Family Configuration	99	(22)
School Outcomes for Children in One- and Two-Parent Families	100	(2)
Differences Among Single Parents	102	(4)
Possible Mediators of Single Parenting Effects	106	(7)
Resources for Parenting	113	(4)
Overview	117	(2)
Notes	119	(2)
The Pluses and Minuses of Being Male	121	(24)
Boys' Poorer Performance	122	(1)
The Role of Marks	123	(2)
Gender Differences in Marks	125	(4)
Teacher Favoritism	129	(5)
Gender Differences in Retention	134	(2)
Early Schooling and Gender	136	(1)
Family Socialization	137	(6)
Overview	143	(1)
Notes	144	(1)
The Overall Picture	145	(26)
Schooling and Human Development	147	(2)
Resolution of Some Paradoxes	149	(2)
Schooling Models Re-Specified	151	(4)
Elementary Schools as Institutions	155	(7)
Schools and Childhood	162	(2)
Policy Implications	164	(3)
Schooling and Social Equity	167	(2)
Notes	169	(2)
Appendixes: The Beginning School Study	171	(40)
Appendix A: Study Design	172	(11)
Appendix B: Indicators of Social Structure	183	(5)
Appendix C: Measures of Student Performance and Psychological Characteristics	188	(10)
Appendix D: School Record Information	198	(4)
Appendix E: Parent Characteristics, Family Structure, and Home Environment	202	(6)
Appendix F: Teacher Measures	208	(3)
References	211	(24)
Index	235	(4)
About the Book and Authors	239