Search Results (61)

For the majority of human history, humans lived in sustenance hunter–gatherer tribes. Due to rapid cultural evolution in the past few thousand years, our biological evolution has not kept up, and many of the adaptations are, as a result, better suited to ancestral conditions than they are to modern conditions. This is known as evolutionary mismatch. While evolutionary mismatches can be seen across many facets of contemporary human life (e.g., diet, exercise, online communication), evolutionary mismatches are particularly pervasive in our elementary schools. Due to the critical nature of social learning and cultural transmission, there is a long history of learning that has shaped the evolved learning mechanisms of children. Rather than learning from hands-on, collaborative experiences as was typical for our ancestors, children today often learn in age-segregated classrooms through passive instruction and standardized curricula. In this entry, eight common school-related issues are identified and the associated evolutionary mismatch is outlined. The goal is to provide educators with a model of how an evolutionary lens can be used to better understand, and potentially improve, modern schooling systems. Full article

This study investigates how differing educational frameworks across Lebanon, Turkey, and Australia influence the perceived educational performance of Syrian refugee children. The legal status granted to refugees in each country fundamentally shapes their respective education systems’ responses. In Lebanon, refugees are generally classified as temporarily displaced persons, resulting in an emergency-based approach to education for the approximately 500,000 Syrian children present. By contrast, Australia has offered permanent resettlement opportunities to selected Syrian refugees, integrating them directly into mainstream schools. Turkey, meanwhile, has progressively shifted from emergency-based measures to policies oriented toward long-term integration. This research is based on survey data from 1298 Syrian refugee children across the three contexts. Findings from ordered probit regression analyses indicate that, beyond the legal duration of residency and the prevailing educational policy model (emergency versus long-term integration), variables such as the extent of educational segregation, the availability of preparatory and language support programmes, and the socioeconomic status of families are also pivotal in shaping students’ self-perceived academic performance. Full article

Children’s safety, well-being and inclusion in the school environment can be severely impacted by social isolation and bullying. This study examined these threats in a sample of 14 group-classes (291 students) from four different primary education schools. A total of 44 special educational needs (SEN) students and 44 students without SEN were selected. The social network structure of each group-class was analysed, as well as the number of friendship ties, the degree of emotional well-being and social participation (both inside and outside of the school), and the possible cases of bullying. The results show a significantly greater rate of social rejection, emotional distress and risk of exclusion in SEN students with respect to their peers, as well as a considerably higher perception of bullying (38.6% vs. 4.8%). The SEN students who reported bullying were mostly schooled in social networks with a more segregated and fragmented structure. Moreover, the mean value obtained in these groups was lower for all the analysed indicators, although the differences were not statistically significant. These data support the idea that the social capital of the group class could influence the prevention of violence and bullying towards SEN students. However, further studies with larger samples are needed to confirm this. Lastly, strategies to promote the social inclusion of SEN students in primary education schools are discussed. Full article

It is well established that women’s representation in scientific and technical fields decreases with societal affluence, but the mechanisms underlying this so-called paradox remain contested. This study leverages distinctive features of the Israeli educational system to identify social psychological and organizational mechanisms driving contextual variability in the gendering of physics and computing subjects. Using in-depth interviews and original surveys, we compare gender gaps in ninth graders’ attitudes and aspirations across two highly segregated yet centrally administered state school sectors: one serving the socioeconomically marginalized Arab Palestinian minority, and one serving the Jewish secular majority. Results reveal curricular affinities, discourses, and course-taking patterns that are differentially gendered across school sectors. While boys and girls in Arab Palestinian schools report more instrumentalist motivations and more positive attitudes toward mathematically intensive fields, students in Jewish schools engage in highly gendered, self-reflexive discourses that support gendered course-taking. Findings support arguments positing gender-specific effects of postmaterialist, individualistic value systems, and suggest that the cultural and organizational processes that generate larger gender gaps in more affluent countries may also play out within countries. Full article

This study examines the integration of disadvantaged Roma ethnic minority students in Hungarian-language vocational schools in Central European countries with highly segregated education systems. It focuses on Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary, where Roma students face significant segregation. This research investigates two Romanian, two Slovak, and four Hungarian vocational schools, selected based on their proportion of Roma students aligning with national averages. Surveys and interviews were conducted with teachers to assess their attitudes, commitment, and preparedness in educating Roma students. The main findings of this research are that schools with Roma student proportions matching national averages do not face significant challenges in co-education, teachers generally believe Roma students should complete lower secondary education, and teachers are committed to supporting Roma students but often feel unprepared to teach them. This study’s results suggest that governments should implement policies to eliminate educational segregation in vocational schools and promote inclusive education. Teacher training programs should focus on equipping educators with better tools to support Roma students. Possible directions for further research include a comparative analysis of vocational and grammar secondary schools in the integration of Roma students, longitudinal studies on the long-term educational and career outcomes of Roma students in vocational schools, and an examination of best practices in inclusive vocational education across different European countries. Full article

Residential segregation refers to the spatial separation between two or more social groups in urban areas. Originating from scholars of the Chicago School, this topic has since consolidated over time within the fields of urban and sociological studies. In the European context, the growing social disparities and levels of segregation experienced by cities in recent years have renewed interest in the study of the spatial distribution of groups and urban inequalities at both macro and local levels. While not inherently negative, segregation can lead to the formation of urban areas with distinct social compositions and unequal distribution of resources and services. These factors can shape the opportunity/constraint structure of individuals, perpetuating and transmitting social inequalities. Therefore, based on their social position, population groups can experience varying access to urban resources. Some benefit from a range of services like mobility, health, and education, while others face challenges in accessing resources and opportunities, with consequences in terms of exclusion and social cohesion. Building on these premises, this work aimed to delve into urban inequalities by combining residential segregation analysis with spatial accessibility analysis to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how and to what extent the social composition of urban areas intersects with differentiated access to urban resources. To achieve this goal, the study relied on quantitative and spatial methods of analysis applied to the Italian municipality of Naples. Full article

A burgeoning amount of research has recently been published to foster equitable disciplinary literacy practices in secondary schools. The literature review included in this paper examined this recent scholarship with a multistep qualitative analysis of 31 studies published between 2019 and 2024 to explore how these studies conceptualized and actualized attention to equity in discipline literacy instruction. The analysis revealed three overlapping themes reflecting the studies’ conceptualizations of how to address equity with disciplinary literacy. These included equity as access to disciplinary instruction, equity as scaffolding literacy for disciplinary learning, and equity as engaging in locally and culturally relevant inquiry. The Results Section summarizes how the studies reviewed addressed these themes. Studies situated disciplinary literacy in many types of instructional contexts, including subject-area classrooms and segregated settings for students with learning differences, suggesting a notion of equity as making disciplinary literacy instruction available to all students. Most disciplinary literacy instruction supported students’ reading, discussion, writing, and argumentation to report on results of disciplinary study, suggesting that equitable disciplinary literacy instruction was provided as needed support with a focus on students engaging in disciplinary studies. A few studies addressed, instead, school and classroom literacy culture or a focus on achievement that seemed to inhibit students’ ability to benefit from disciplinary literacy efforts. More than half of the studies reviewed focused on teachers’ orchestration of compelling, culturally relevant student inquiry, suggesting equitable disciplinary literacy instruction as needing to be relevant to students. Only a few studies delineated what such instruction would need to look like to build student independence over time and to include inquiry into multiple perspectives toward key disciplinary ideas. The paper ends with a summary, critique, and conclusion that encourages further long-term studies involving the schoolwide use of equitable disciplinary literacy approaches. Full article

In recent decades, research on Haredi society has expanded significantly, emphasizing its distinctive characteristics in contrast with the broader Israeli social fabric. Commonly described as “separatist”, “secessionist”, “isolated”, and “an enclave”, Haredi society is often perceived as segregated from the rest of Israel’s population. However, recent studies suggest that this reclusiveness is a relatively recent development. Until the 1980s, most Haredim coexisted in mixed residential areas with secular, traditional, and national-religious populations. The employment rate among Haredi men was comparable to that of other Israelis, and secular subjects were part of the curriculum in Haredi schools. Moreover, many Haredi men served in the Israeli army and held a positive view of the state, celebrating its accomplishments. The contemporary concept of a “society of learners”, where many married men engage in yeshiva study while their wives serve as the main breadwinners, was once largely unacceptable within the community. Unlike earlier qualitative studies that documented the transformation of Haredi society, this article employs a quantitative approach to detail these changes. Through an analysis of residential patterns, education, military service, political influence, and the rise of the “society of learners”, this study provides a deeper understanding of the forces shaping contemporary Haredi society and explores potential future trajectories. Full article

Large-scale administrative datasets show disproportionate figures for attainment outcomes and school exclusions for pupils in some ethnic groups in England. This surface gap in attainment and school exclusion is concerning, and we consider whether ethnicity is really the driver here. In this paper, we present the findings on KS2 and KS4 attainment and exclusion outcomes for the cohorts in 2019, which are available from the National Pupil Database in England (with around 600,000 pupils per cohort). We present the outcomes and other characteristics for each ethnic category available. The analyses then modelled the attainment and exclusion outcomes via multivariate regression, in terms of individual pupil characteristics and school-level figures including school segregation by pupil ethnicity and disability. The predictors were entered in batches from pupil background, through prior attainment, and school-level measures, to individual ethnicity. The findings show that prior attainment and special needs/disability status are the main drivers of attainment at both KS2 and KS4. Individual pupil ethnicity did not help to explain either attainment or exclusions, over and above these other factors, and this finding largely corroborates the descriptive results. However, the factors related to school-level segregation by ethnicity, free school meal eligibility (FSM), and having English as an additional language (EAL) are somewhat relevant in predicting pupils’ permanent school exclusion at KS4. These findings have implications for admission policies that can reduce school segregation and interventions that can support disadvantaged pupils’ wider learning experiences. Full article

Increases in the human population and economic development have led to a rise in waste production, which poses significant environmental risks and presents a pressing global issue in waste management. Among other countries, this situation affects the United Arab Emirates (UAE). On the other hand, poor waste segregation practices can result in failed waste recycling efforts, leading to the excessive use of resources and worsening issues (such as energy consumption, global warming, and sustainable development). Waste segregation is a crucial step in waste management, which involves dividing waste according to its characteristics and type. By following this procedure, recycling effectiveness is increased, the environmental impact is decreased, and hazardous material disposal is ensured. Beneficial waste segregation reduces contamination, making it possible to recover valuable materials and thus use fewer landfills. Even though the failings in waste segregation are a severe issue, insufficient research has been carried out. This includes research on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of people living in the UAE regarding waste segregation, information which is crucial to developing a successful intervention to address this problem. The current study evaluated the KAP concerning waste segregation among UAE citizens and identified correlations between KAP variables, with the primary aim of filling a research gap, while analyzing the correlations between sociodemographic characteristics and KAP levels, which was the secondary aim. This was accomplished by a cross-sectional study conducted all over the UAE. Data were collected from 391 participants using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire that was developed from previous research and investigated sociodemographic characteristics, waste segregation practices (5), attitudes (5), and knowledge (5). UAE University’s ethical committees approved this study (ERSC_2024_4360) for research, and the results were confirmed through statistical analyses and Cronbach’s alpha testing. The inclusion criteria targeted residents of the UAE who were 18 years of age or above, and the survey was distributed via an online platform (Google Forms) with non-probability sampling. G*Power statistical power analysis estimated a minimum sample size of 385 participants. To identify correlations in the results, a structural equation model (SEM) and SPSS, such as Chi-square tests and Spearman correlation coefficients, were used to assess the associations between KAP variables. These tests were chosen for their robustness in handling categorical and continuous data, respectively. A notable majority (84.1%) of the participants were female, and 15.9% were male; the gender difference was highly significant, as revealed by the Chi-square test. Most participants (67.0%) fell into the 18–24 age group. The highest level of education reported was a bachelor’s degree (47.3%). The parents’ educational levels showed a relatively high level of education, with more than half having at least a high school degree or higher: father’s education level (67.2%) and mother’s education level (73.1%). Most participants were students (58.8%), but a significant portion of the sample was employed (25.1%). Unemployment was reported at 12.3%. The parents’ employment statuses showed a higher percentage of unemployed mothers (49.4%) compared to fathers (6.9%). The average scores suggested a favorable inclination toward sustainability (mean ± standard deviation (SD) for knowledge, 3.59 ± 0.78; poor knowledge, 3.6%; and excellent knowledge, 16.9%), attitudes (3.73 ± 0.77; poor attitudes, 2.8%; and excellent attitudes, 22.5%), and practices (3.62 ± 0.76; poor practices, 2.3%; and excellent practices, 16.4%), with all the means surpassing the midpoint. In the correlation test, the current study demonstrated positive correlations between knowledge and attitudes (r = 0.666, p < 0.001) and between knowledge and practices (r = 0.682, p < 0.001). Also, a positive correlation (r = 0.159, p < 0.001) was found between general waste segregation KAP and sociodemographic variables, with a significant correlation (r = 0.110) between attitudes and gender. These findings emphasize the possibility of using focused educational and policy interventions to improve waste segregation behaviors. An additional investigation is advised to delve into the fundamental mechanisms behind these correlations and devise customized approaches to encourage sustainable waste management practices among various demographic groups in the UAE. Full article

Santiago, Chile is a very segregated city, with higher childhood obesity rates observed in vulnerable areas. We compared the counts and proximity of unhealthy food outlets (UFOs) around a 400 m buffer of 443 public schools (municipal and subsidized) located in socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods in 14 municipalities of Santiago. This was a cross-sectional study in which the socioeconomic status (SES) of the population living inside the buffer was classified as middle-high, middle, and low. We used the Kruskal–Wallis test for comparisons of density and proximity between type of school, SES, and population density. We used a negative binomial model (unadjusted and adjusted by population density) to determine the expected change in counts of UFOs by SES, which was compared to the reference (middle-high). Low SES neighborhoods had significantly more counts of UFOs, and these were located much closer to schools. Low and middle SES neighborhoods had an 88% and 48% higher relative risk of having UFOs compared to middle-high SES areas; (IRR = 1.88; 95% CI 1.59–2.23) and (IRR = 1.48; 95% CI 1.20–1.82), respectively. A socio-spatial segregation of UFOs associated with childhood obesity across public schools was observed in Santiago. Full article

In the context of rising interest in Alternative Provisions (APs) amongst policymakers and researchers in England, this article examines social capital and accountability in this ‘new’ field of enquiry. APs stress the value of supportive relationships for the generation of trust, belonging, reciprocities, and a broadening of these aspects of social capital through close networks, but how are these to be portrayed through emerging accountability measures? We focus on the potential and limitations of social capital for encompassing more than measurable outcomes. The article will revisit social capital by analysing the original sites of the production of this theory and its significance to emerging policy processes and relationship-based practices in APs. We argue that as a metaphor for the positive consequences of relationships, social capital has a place in the knowledge and processes that underpin APs, but its significance rests in its ability to overcome the issues related to social segregation, power, and (school) exclusion. Full article

The language used by teachers, school staff, and parents to talk about autistic students can send either positive or negative messages to other school staff, parents, and all students—with or without autism—about autistic students. Ultimately, these messages also extend to autistic people. Using qualitative focus group methods, we talked to parents, teachers, administrators, and other school staff to better understand how people speak about the inclusion of autistic students in general education classrooms in public schools. Overall, we found that many of our participants thought (1) autistic students need to earn their way into general education classrooms, unlike their peers without disabilities, (2) segregating students with disabilities away from their peers without disabilities is acceptable, and sometimes preferable, in school settings, and (3) there is power in inclusive education opportunities for students with and without disabilities in school settings. The findings from this study suggest that inclusive opportunities for autistic students were largely driven by stakeholder mindsets. These results should encourage school staff to think about and reflect on how they talk about autistic students in inclusive settings with the ultimate goal of creating more welcoming inclusive environments for autistic students. Full article

This study investigates the impact of capitalizing educational resources on housing prices. As housing has gradually transitioned from a basic social right to a means of accumulating individual and familial wealth, it has emerged as a significant indicator of social stratification and has increasingly become a crucial tool for the intergenerational reproduction of social class. This paper takes Nanjing, China, as a case study and uses the geographically weighted regression model (GWR) and the hedonic pricing model (HPM) to investigate the impact of high-quality primary schools on housing prices. The results show that high-quality educational resources have become the most significant influencing factor on residential prices in Nanjing. The analysis in the mechanism section further indicates that the uneven distribution of educational resources in China is a continuation of the “danwei” system. Moreover, during the urbanization process, these high-quality educational resources are often leveraged by the government and developers, who see them as essential tools to attract investment and inflate housing prices. Therefore, the current overlap of the school district system and the marketization of housing in China not only intensifies residential segregation within the city, leading to severe residential inequality but also rebuilds social segregation within “danwei” and facilitates its reproduction. Full article

In Catalonia, the largest group of immigrants is that of Moroccan origin. Some Moroccan women are conditioned by a traditional family model that is concretised by the spatial separation between men and women in all spheres of society, a fact that influences the socialisation of these women and that, in a migratory context, may have an impact on their early abandonment of formal second language courses. Accordingly, this study aims to analyse the importance of accounting for the culture and gender factors in language teaching in a migratory context. We conducted semi-structured interviews with eight teachers of Catalan and Spanish as a second language, as they are the link between the institution and the students. The results suggest that providing instruction to segregated groups might grant women who are unable to participate in mixed-gender language classes the opportunity to increase their second language proficiency and thus facilitate their integration into the corresponding host territory. Offering gender-specific courses is a particular challenge for public L2 schools, where groups are organised according to the learners’ levels and not according to characteristics linked to origin and gender, as the latter practice may be at odds with the criteria of equality that guide public education in the host territory. Full article