Out-of-school factors can significantly impact students' readiness to learn and thrive in school. Research confirms that larger social structures and contexts beyond the school are critical, accounting for up to two-thirds of the variance in student achievement (Coleman et al., 1966; Rothstein, 2010; Phillips, Brooks-Gunn, Duncan, Klebanov, & Crane, 1998; Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). These out-of-school factors can be particularly pernicious in the context of poverty. For children living in poverty, limited resources and chronic stressors can result in poor attendance, high mobility, social-emotional dysfunction, and lack of readiness for school (Dearing, 2008). Even in the face of significant family strengths (Strauss, 2013), poverty can limit families' abilities to invest money, time and energy in children's growth and expose children to chaos and environmental contagions (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997; Evans, 2004). Many have argued that schools cannot hope to close the achievement gap without addressing out-of-school factors (Berliner 2013; Bryk, et al., 2010). Historically, schools have addressed some of these factors through the work of school nurses, counselors, social workers, and psychologists, but student support has varied widely, without a standardized set of practices (Lean & Colucci, 2010). The research described here was conducted as part of the evaluation of City Connects, a theoretically-guided, evidence-based approach to addressing out-of-school barriers to achievement and thriving in high-poverty urban elementary schools. This study extends prior research by examining the mechanisms that lead to the positive impact of City Connects on later academic achievement. The research question is: Are the positive effects of City Connects on student academic achievement (standardized test scores) mediated by students' early academic and non-cognitive skills (effort, behavior, work habits)? Although the mediation hypothesis was not confirmed by the data at hand, the study provides evidence that with high-quality elementary school student support, early academic and noncognitive skills lead to later achievement. Tables and figures are appended.

This book provides an overview of recent research on the relationship between noncognitive attributes (motivation, self efficacy, resilience) and academic outcomes (such as grades or test scores). We focus primarily on how these sets of attributes are measured and how they relate to important academic outcomes. Noncognitive attributes are those academically and occupationally relevant skills and traits that are not “cognitive”—that is, not specifically intellectual or analytical in nature. We examine seven attributes in depth and critique the measurement approaches used by researchers and talk about how they can be improved.

This volume addresses questions that lie at the core of research into education. It examines the way in which the institutional embeddedness and the social and ethnic composition of students affect educational performance, skill formation, and behavioral outcomes. It discusses the manner in which educational institutions accomplish social integration. It poses the question of whether they can reduce social inequality, – or whether they even facilitate the transformation of heterogeneity into social inequality. Divided into five parts, the volume offers new insights into the many factors, processes and policies that affect performance levels and social inequality in educational institutions. It presents current empirical work on social processes in educational institutions and their outcomes. While its main focus is on the primary and secondary level of education and on occupational training, the book also presents analyses of institutional effects on transitions from vocational training into tertiary educational institutions in an interdisciplinary and internationally comparative approach.

While randomized experimental designs are the gold standard in education research concerned with causal inference, non-experimental designs are ubiquitous. For researchers who work with non-experimental data and are no less concerned for causal inference, the major problem is potential omitted variable bias. In this presentation, the authors provide an overview of a multi-year effort for the evaluation of a large-scale, school-based intervention for which a randomized design has not yet been possible to implement, but for which there are rich, longitudinal data and many opportunities to exploit design features to ask: does the intervention promote the achievement of children in high-poverty, urban schools? City Connects is a student support intervention that has demonstrated positive outcomes for elementary and middle school students. It is designed to address the out-of-school needs that can impact success in school for low-income, urban students. Having observed positive outcomes on academic achievement for students attending City Connects schools via quasi-experimental methods the authors sought to assess whether the findings can be considered a result of the intervention. In conclusion, the authors recommended that other school-based interventions that cannot feasibly use a randomized control design instead employ a range of methods aimed at reducing endogeneity and getting closer to understanding whether a causal relationship might exist between the intervention and its outcomes. Tables and Figures are appended.

Now in its third edition, this classic text remains the seminal resource for in-depth information about major concepts and principles of the cultural-historical theory developed by Lev Vygotsky, his students, and colleagues, as well as three generations of neo-Vygotskian scholars in Russia and the West. Featuring two new chapters on brain development and scaffolding in the zone of proximal development, as well as additional content on technology, dual language learners, and students with disabilities, this new edition provides the latest research evidence supporting the basics of the cultural-historical approach alongside Vygotskian-based practical implications. With concrete explanations and strategies on how to scaffold young children’s learning and development, this book is essential reading for students of early childhood theory and development.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Physical inactivity is a key determinant of health across the lifespan. A lack of activity increases the risk of heart disease, colon and breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression and others diseases. Emerging literature has suggested that in terms of mortality, the global population health burden of physical inactivity approaches that of cigarette smoking. The prevalence and substantial disease risk associated with physical inactivity has been described as a pandemic. The prevalence, health impact, and evidence of changeability all have resulted in calls for action to increase physical activity across the lifespan. In response to the need to find ways to make physical activity a health priority for youth, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment was formed. Its purpose was to review the current status of physical activity and physical education in the school environment, including before, during, and after school, and examine the influences of physical activity and physical education on the short and long term physical, cognitive and brain, and psychosocial health and development of children and adolescents. Educating the Student Body makes recommendations about approaches for strengthening and improving programs and policies for physical activity and physical education in the school environment. This report lays out a set of guiding principles to guide its work on these tasks. These included: recognizing the benefits of instilling life-long physical activity habits in children; the value of using systems thinking in improving physical activity and physical education in the school environment; the recognition of current disparities in opportunities and the need to achieve equity in physical activity and physical education; the importance of considering all types of school environments; the need to take into consideration the diversity of students as recommendations are developed. This report will be of interest to local and national policymakers, school officials, teachers, and the education community, researchers, professional organizations, and parents interested in physical activity, physical education, and health for school-aged children and adolescents.