Sara Anderson

Exposure to Neighborhood Affluence and Poverty in Childhood and Adolescence and Academic Achievement and Behavior

Evidence points to associations between the socioeconomic composition of neighborhoods and childrens and adolescents’ development. A minimal amount of research, however, examines how timing of exposure to neighborhood socioeconomic conditions matters. This study used longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,364) to explore if timing of exposure (early childhood, adolescence, and cumulative) to neighborhood affluence and poverty had differential associations with childrens achievement and behavior problems concurrently and in adolescence. Results indicate that children in neighborhoods with more affluent residents during early childhood had higher achievement and fewer internalizing behaviors contemporaneously and that these associations endured until adolescence for reading achievement. Long-term exposure to affluent neighborhoods was associated with childrens math and reading achievement in adolescence. Findings are discussed in terms of research and policy implications.

The Effects of Tulsa's CAP Head Start Program on Middle-School Academic Outcomes and Progress.

This study presents evidence pertinent to current debates about the lasting impacts of early childhood educational interventions and, specifically, Head Start. A group of students who were first studied to examine the immediate impacts of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, Community Action Project (CAP) Head Start program were followed-up in middle school, primarily as 8th graders. Using ordinary least squares and logistic regressions with a rich set of controls and propensity score weighting models to account for differential selection into Head Start, we compared students who had attended the CAP Head Start program and enrolled in the Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) as kindergarteners with children who also attended TPS kindergarten but had attended neither CAP Head Start nor the TPS pre-K program as 4-year-olds. CAP Head Start produced significant positive effects on achievement test scores in math and on both grade retention and chronic absenteeism for middle-school students as a whole; positive effects for girls on grade retention and chronic absenteeism; for white students on math test scores; for Hispanic students on math test scores and chronic absenteeism, and for students eligible for free lunches on math test scores, grade retention, and chronic absenteeism. We conclude that the Tulsa CAP Head Start program produced significant and consequential effects into the middle school years. (PsycINFO Database Record

Ecology matters: Neighborhood differences in the protective role of self-control and social support for adolescent antisocial behavior.

Adolescence can be characterized as a time when aggression, delinquency, and violence (taken together as antisocial behavior) increase. Adolescents who engage in antisocial behavior increase local crime and can create unsafe conditions for families. Understanding the protective factors that mitigate antisocial behavior can help to inform prevention practices. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (n = 1,072, 51.40% female, 39.18% Hispanic, 32.28% Black), we examined how self-control, social support, and neighborhood characteristics were associated with these behaviors. Using latent profile analyses, we categorized neighborhoods based on several dimensions, including violence, disadvantage, and collective efficacy. Then, we examined how self-control and social support were associated with antisocial behavior within and across neighborhoods. Results suggested that self-control was a protective feature in only some types of disadvantaged and dangerous neighborhoods. We discuss findings in terms of implications for programs and policies to mitigate youth violence and delinquency. (PsycINFO Database Record

The Project Adventure RESPECT Program: implementing an experientially-based intervention as an agent for whole school social and academic change in the era of evidence-based practice

As experiential education attempts to achieve more prominent influence in school reform efforts, organisations often bring adventure into the classroom. This paper will use the Project Adventure RESPECT Program as a means to explore the challenge of implementing a system-wide experientially-based programme as an agent for whole school social and academic change. Developed to address the current requirements of evidence-based research in United States education, this programme provides valuable insights into the use of experiential methods in traditional school settings. Initial results and conclusions will be discussed from the first two years of this three-year research project.

A Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Tulsa Universal Pre-K Program

In this paper, benefits and costs are estimated for a universal pre-K program, provided by Tulsa Public Schools. Benefits are derived from estimated effects of Tulsa pre-K on retention by grade 9. Retention effects are projected to dollar benefits from future earnings increases and crime reductions. Based on these estimates, Tulsa pre-K has benefits that exceed costs by about 2-to-1. This benefit cost ratio is far less than the much higher benefit-cost ratios (ranging from 8-to-1 to 16-to-1) for more targeted and intensive pre-K programs, such as Perry Preschool and the Chicago Child-Parent Center (CPC) program. Comparing benefit-cost results from different studies suggests that our more modest estimates are due to two factors: 1) smaller percentage effects of pre-K on future earnings and crime in Tulsa than in Perry and CPC, and 2) smaller baseline crime rates in Tulsa than in the Perry and CPC comparison groups.

Is Pre-K Classroom Quality Associated with Kindergarten and Middle-School Academic Skills?.

We employed data from a longitudinal investigation of over 1,000 children who participated in Tulsa’s universal school-based pre-K program in 2005, and path modeling techniques, to examine the contribution of pre-K classroom quality to both kindergarten- and middle-school academic skills. We also examined gender and income-related differences in quality-outcome associations. Both Instructional and Emotional Support in pre-K classrooms, but not Classroom Management, assessed with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), were associated with kindergarten academic skills and, modestly indirectly associated through these immediate impacts, to middle-school test scores. Linear associations were found for Instructional Support whereas nonlinear patterns of association were evident for Emotional Support. Gender and income differences characterized Instructional Support-outcome associations. Results are discussed in terms of implications for improving pre-K quality as one avenue for supporting the ongoing development of academic skills.

The Dog That Didn't Bark: Preschool Education and Middle-School Attitudes in Tulsa.

ABSTRACT To examine associations between participation in Tulsa’s preschool programs and a set of middle-school attitudes, we used propensity score weighting to compare the Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) pre-K participants and, separately, the Community Action Project (CAP) Head Start participants to students who had attended neither TPS pre-K nor Head Start as 4-year olds. In the context of very few significant findings, positive associations were found between pre-K participation (in both the TPS pre-K and CAP Head Start programs) and the students’ attitudes about grit as assessed with the goal-setting subscale. Head Start participation was also associated with more cautionary views of risky sexual behavior. The results are discussed with regard to prevailing hypotheses guiding research on long-term pre-K impacts, measurement challenges, and expectations of pre-K education.

Dropout typologies: Relating profiles of risk and support to later educational re-engagement

ABSTRACT A large body of work has examined factors that push and pull youth to drop out. However, a relatively minimal amount of work has examined whether and how these factors cluster in individuals’ lives preceding or concurrent to leaving school. This study used Latent Class Analysis with a national sample (N = 1,942) to examine how push, pull, and protective experiences clustered in the lives of individuals who left high school without graduating. Then, we asked how the resultant classes differentially predicted youth re-engagement in educational endeavors. We identified three classes: youth with the presence of protective factors and absence of push/pull factors (Quiet Dropouts), youth with the presence of protective factors and an abundance of push/pull factors (High Adversity), and youth with the presence of instability in factors related to social relationships and school or housing (Instability). Results indicated each profile differentially predicted youths’ re-engagement in education and achievement of educational outcomes.

Child care type, access, and quality in rural areas of the United States: a review

ABSTRACT Millions of children in the United States live in rural areas and often start school with fewer school readiness skills than counterparts in urban areas. Access to high-quality child care could be a mechanism to improve school readiness; however, it is unclear what, if anything, distinguishes child care in rural and urban areas. Focusing specifically on three aspects of child care pertinent to children’s school readiness, including type, access, and quality, we review the extant literature on characteristics of child care in rural areas of the United States and identified seventeen studies. Parents in rural (vs. urban) areas more commonly select and can access family- or home-based child care vs. centre-based care. Child care quality bears similar relations with children’s outcomes in rural and urban areas. This descriptive review suggests the need for additional research focused on child care in rural areas to better inform child care policy.

Youth-Serving Institutional Resources and Neighborhood Safety: Ties With Positive Youth Development

Neighborhoods are critical contexts for adolescent development, but little attention has been paid to how neighborhood characteristics play a role in positive youth development (PYD), notably among predominantly African American youth. This study examined distinct features of the neighborhood, including youth-serving institutional resources (YSI) and safety, as they relate to PYD among adolescents from low-income neighborhoods in an urban setting (n = 491, 68.6% African American). Because neighborhood experiences during adolescence often differ based on gender, we also examined moderation by gender. Results from cross-sectional, multilevel data suggest that neighborhood safety, YSIs, and gender are differentially associated with indicators of PYD (i.e., hope, mastery, friend support). The pattern of results suggested that when associated with mastery, YSIs may compensate for low-safety neighborhoods for adolescent females but not males. In terms of associations with friend support, YSIs may foster the development of PYD in low-safety neighborhoods for males but not females. Limitations of the current study and implications for future research are discussed.