Urban Public School Children Research Articles

Segmented assimilation of migrant children in urban public schools of China: Impact of family resources and school segregation on their educational aspirations

Rural–urban migrant children are a rapidly growing population in Chinese cities. There is emerging literature on the educational inequality faced by migrant children, but most studies focus on their educational performance or attainments and use non-migrant children with non-agricultural hukou in urban areas as one single reference group. This paper argues that Chinese society is segmented by both hukou type and location, and examines the educational aspirations of migrant children from the perspective of segmented assimilation theory. On the basis of the 2013–2014 wave of the China Education Panel Survey, the results show a segmented assimilation pattern: migrant children with non-agricultural hukou had a similar likelihood of aspiring to tertiary education or above; whereas migrant children with agricultural hukou showed higher aspirations of completing at least tertiary education, and the disparity remained significant after considering family resources and school segregation. In family resources, social capital, in form of social communication with parents, benefited migrant children’s aspirations more than it did for their non-migrant counterparts, regardless of their hukou type. In school segregation indicators, academic segregation channeled migrant children with agricultural hukou to a less desirable condition. These findings carry practical and policy implications for understandings of migrant children’s educational aspirations.

Parental migration, children and family reunification in China

AbstractIn this paper, we focus on migrant parents' decision to either bring children to the cities (family reunification) or leave them behind in China. We develop a framework to understand this decision, which takes into account child characteristics, characteristics of migrant parents and characteristics of migrant‐receiving communities. Our research design allows us to conduct comparison of rural‐origin children and urban‐origin children. The rural–urban differences are reflected in lowered probability of bringing children to cities, more hurdles for housing and access to public school education for rural migrant parents and their children. For rural‐origin school‐age children, gender inequality is persistent, that is, girls of school age are less likely to be brought to cities than boys. Finally, a piece of promising news is that migrant parents with more social interactions with local residents are more likely to bring children to destinations. The results suggest that years after China's official policy of ‘no extra fees’ for migrant children in urban public schools, migrant children, especially from rural areas, continue to face a variety of challenges in moving to cities and having access to local urban public schools.

Implementing a School-Based, Trauma-Informed Resilience Curriculum for Parents

ABSTRACT “Families OverComing Under Stress” (FOCUS) Resilience Curriculum for Parents (FRC-P) is a trauma-informed group parenting program adapted for school social workers to deliver to parents of racial/ethnic minority urban public schoolchildren, an under-researched group of parents in the literature. The objective was to describe implementation of the pilot FRC-P in terms of possible effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability. Social workers delivered FRC-P to parents at 16 schools. We analyzed (1) changes in parent well-being; (2) parent satisfaction; and (3) a focus group of participating social workers. Ninety-six of 261 parents (37%) who attended FRC-P completed pre and post surveys. Parents reported significant improvements (p < .01) in family functioning (Cohen’s d = 0.41), parent connectedness (d = 0.71), and social support (d = 0.66). Social workers linked parents to needed services. Parents and social workers found FRC-P feasible and acceptable. With refinement, FRC-P could help schools foster resilience in under-resourced parents.

Parental support in education and social integration of migrant children in urban public schools in China

This study investigates the impacts of rural-urban migrant parents' support in education on their children's social integration in urban public schools in China. The data come from a nationally representative sample of 1615 rural-urban migrant children collected in 2014. We identified great variations in migrant children's social integration in schools. Migrant children with a good study environment and strict parental supervision at home have a stronger sense of belonging to the school and heightened socialisation with urban peers. The impacts remain highly significant after student, family and school-level confounders and class and school-level unobserved heterogeneity are all controlled for in the analysis. However, there is no evidence to suggest that communication with teachers leads to better integration. Social integration of migrant children also varies by gender, academic competence and school composition. These findings inform the design of policy interventions.

Cultural capital in migration: Academic achievements of Chinese migrant children in urban public schools

The educational inequality faced by migrant children is a great social problem in China. The government has gradually reformed the hukou system, allowing migrant children to attend urban public schools. However, their academic achievements continue to lag behind those of urban non-migrant children. The classic explanation would point to a lack of social capital; this article argues for the importance of cultural capital in children’s migration. Drawing upon 10,417 middle school children (14–16 years old), this article examines cultural and social capital as mechanisms through which migration affects education. Results show that the lower academic achievements of Chinese migrant children is mainly due to the mediating effect of objectified cultural capital. Family social capital is also a significant mediator, but the indirect effect is relatively small. Most surprising is the contradictory effects of embodied and objectified cultural capital on academic achievements. Theoretical contributions and policy implications are discussed.

Improving Community Stroke Preparedness in the HHS (Hip-Hop Stroke) Randomized Clinical Trial.

Deficiencies in stroke preparedness cause major delays to stroke thrombolysis, particularly among economically disadvantaged minorities. We evaluated the effectiveness of a stroke preparedness intervention delivered to preadolescent urban public school children on the stroke knowledge/preparedness of their parents. We recruited 3070 fourth through sixth graders and 1144 parents from 22 schools into a cluster randomized trial with schools randomized to the HHS (Hip-Hop Stroke) intervention or attentional control (nutrition classes). HHS is a 3-hour culturally tailored, theory-based, multimedia stroke literacy intervention targeting school children, which systematically empowers children to share stroke information with parents. Our main outcome measures were stroke knowledge/preparedness of children and parents using validated surrogates. Among children, it was estimated that 1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0%-1%) of controls and 2% (95% CI, 1%-4%; P=0.09) of the intervention group demonstrated optimal stroke preparedness (perfect scores on the knowledge/preparedness test) at baseline, increasing to 57% (95% CI, 44%-69%) immediately after the program in the intervention group compared with 1% (95% CI, 0%-1%; P<0.001) among controls. At 3-month follow-up, 24% (95% CI, 15%-33%) of the intervention group retained optimal preparedness, compared with 2% (95% CI, 0%-3%; P<0.001) of controls. Only 3% (95% CI, 2%-4%) of parents in the intervention group could identify all 4 letters of the stroke FAST (Facial droop, Arm weakness, Speech disturbance, Time to call 911) acronym at baseline, increasing to 20% at immediate post-test (95% CI, 16%-24%) and 17% at 3-month delayed post-test (95% CI, 13%-21%; P=0.0062), with no significant changes (3% identification) among controls. Four children, all in the intervention group, called 911 for real-life stroke symptoms, in 1 case overruling a parent's wait-and-see approach. HHS is an effective, intergenerational model for increasing stroke preparedness among economically disadvantaged minorities. URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01497886.

Prevalence of gingivitis and calculus in 12-year-old Puerto Ricans: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundGingivitis is a common oral health problem. Untreated gingivitis may progress to periodontitis, a common cause of tooth loss. The prevalence of gingivitis and calculus among Puerto Rican children is unknown. Understanding this prevalence can support early public health preventative strategies. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of gingivitis and calculus among 12-year-old Puerto Ricans by health region and to explore differences in distribution by school type (proxy for socio-economic status) and gender.MethodsA probability-based sample of 113 schools was selected proportional to enrollment size and stratified by health region, school type, and gender. Two trained examiners evaluated the presence of gingivitis and both supragingival and subgingival dental calculus. Gingivitis was defined as the presence of gingival bleeding upon gentle probing (BOP) in at least one site, and the extent of the problem was classified according to the percentage of teeth whose gingiva presented BOP (limited: 25–49% of the teeth tested; extensive: >50% of teeth tested). Logistic and linear regression models, adjusted for health regions, were used to compare gingivitis and calculus prevalence and extent between genders and school types.ResultsGingivitis was found in 80.41% of the 1586 children evaluated. Urban-public schoolchildren had a slightly higher prevalence (83.24%) compared to private (79.15%, p = 0.16); those in rural-public (77.59%) and private schools had similar prevalence (p = 0.15). Extensive gingivitis was present in 60.81% of all children. The mean percentage of sites presenting BOP (BOP%) was 17.79%. Rural and urban public schoolchildren presented significantly higher BOP% compared to children from private schools (p = 0.0005, p = 0.002, respectively). Dental calculus was detected in 61.59% of the sample, boys presenting significantly higher (p = 0.005) total and supragingival calculus. Rural-public schoolchildren had a significantly higher prevalence of subgingival calculus compared to private schoolchildren (p = 0.02).ConclusionsGingivitis prevalence is higher among 12-year-old Puerto Ricans compared to data reported for U.S. adolescents. Public schoolchildren presented significantly higher BOP% sites compared to private schoolchildren. Boys presented a significantly higher total and supragingival calculus prevalence than girls. Oral health disparities related to gender and school type were identified by this study. Studies exploring the reasons for these disparities are recommended.

A pilot randomized trial of school-based administration of inhaled corticosteroids for at-risk children with asthma

ABSTRACTObjective: To investigate whether high adherence to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) among disadvantaged urban public school children on public insurance with persistent asthma is achievable by having school nurses administer morning doses on each day that school is in session. Design/methods: This was a pilot prospective randomized clinical trial of home versus school nurse-administered ICS among children on Medicaid enrolled in grades K-8. The primary outcome was the proportion of expected morning doses of ICS given to the intervention group in school over the 60-day treatment period. Secondary outcomes included the relative proportions of expected doses (morning, evening, and total), asthma-related morbidity, quality of life, and health-care utilization. Results: A total of 46 patients were enrolled (mean age 8.21 ± 2.45; 56.5% male; 91.3% non-Hispanic, African-Americans), and follow-up data were available for 44/46 (95.7%) patients. The groups did not differ in age, gender, race/ethnicity, or asthma severity. The intervention group received 91.7% of expected morning doses of ICS at school over the 60-day treatment period (95% CI [87.7, 95.5]). Intervention patients reported significantly less functional limitation (42.9% vs. 73.9%, p = 0.04), adjustment to family life (23.8% vs. 56.5%, p = 0.03), and sleep loss (1.7 vs. 4.1 nights in last 2 weeks, p = 0.035) than control patients at the end of the 60-days study period. There were no differences in unscheduled health-care utilization by group. Conclusions: These pilot data suggest that school-based administration of ICS has the potential to achieve high adherence to morning doses of ICS on school days among urban, disadvantaged, and largely minority children with asthma.

Roots of Tomorrow's Digital Divide: Documenting Computer Use and Internet Access in China's Elementary Schools Today

AbstractThis paper explores China's digital divide, with a focus on differences in access to computers, learning software, and the Internet at school and at home among different groups of elementary school children in China. The digital divide is examined in four different dimensions: (i) between students in urban public schools and students in rural public schools; (ii) between students in rural public schools and students in private migrant schools; (iii) between migrant students in urban public schools and migrant students in private migrant schools; and (iv) between students in Han‐dominated rural areas and students in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities. Using data from a set of large‐scale surveys in schools in different parts of the country, we find a wide gap between computer and Internet access of students in rural areas and those in urban public schools. The gap widens further when comparing urban students to students from minority areas. The divide is also large between urban and rural schools when examining the quality of computer instruction and access to learning software. Migration does not appear to eliminate the digital divide, unless migrant families are able to enroll their children in urban public schools. The digital divide in elementary schools may have implications for future employment, education and income inequality in China.

Asthma Prevalence in Low-Income Urban Elementary School Students in St. Louis, 1992 and 2004

We reexamined asthma prevalence in urban public elementary school children after 12 years, during which time poverty had worsened. We surveyed 152 children in 1992 and 331 in 2004 attending fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms in a low-income area of St. Louis, Missouri. Prevalences of phenotypes (current asthma, previous diagnosis without current asthma, and frequent wheezing without diagnosis) were based on standard published questions. We assessed age, sex, percentage below poverty level, and asthma experience (household member with asthma; friend, relative, or neighbor with asthma; or ever having seen someone have an attack). Prevalences were similar in 1992 and 2004 for current asthma (18% and 20%) and frequent wheezing without diagnosis (24% and 26%), despite higher 2004 percentage below poverty level (40% vs 18%). Prevalences of phenotypes were not associated with demographics or percentage below poverty level but were associated with asthma experience. In multivariate analysis, current asthma was associated with household member with asthma and ever having seen someone have an attack, and previous diagnosis was associated with household member with asthma. For these fourth- and fifth-grade urban public school children, self-reported asthma prevalence was similar after 12 years despite worsening poverty.

Home and School Density Effects on Elementary School Children

School or classroom density is most often studied as social density, namely, the number of people in a space. The current study investigates classroom spatial density effects on elementary school children. Outcomes included a measure of academic achievement, social behavior/disturbance, and a self-reported measure of psychological stress. Second- and fourth-grade children in urban public schools were the participants. Findings indicate amount of space per child in the classroom may be just as important as the number of children in a classroom. Girls' academic achievement was negatively affected by less space per student; boys' classroom behavior was negatively affected by spatial density conditions. There was no interaction of school and home density on the outcome measures; however, children in crowded homes were more likely to report more psychological stress than their less crowded peers. Home density also negatively affected academic performance.

The Devil is in the Details: Or, Why I Haven't Yet Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Vouchers

The one good thing about having Zelman v. Simmons-Harris behind us (and the fact that the Blaine Amendment questions have yet to catch the public's attention) is that now we can talk about the issues that are central in the minds of the principal stakeholders in the school voucher debate: the parents of children in urban public schools. They want to talk about the circumstances under which vouchers have the potential to provide good educational choices, and they want to discuss whether voucher plans are being set up so that they are likely to produce those benefits. In the first section of this essay, I discuss the seemingly inconsistent data on African American attitudes towards school vouchers and offer an explanation that reconciles those results. In the second and third sections I review the systemic reasons that urban public schools in the United States too often fail to improve the life chances of their students and explain what school voucher programs can and cannot do to address those systemic issues. I conclude that although private and parochial school vouchers may improve our education system in marginal ways, the truly revolutionary potential of vouchers lies in public school voucher plans that open predominantly middle class suburban public schools to urban children of color.

The Development of Smoking Behavior: Conceptualization and Supportive Cross‐Sectional Survey Data1

To describe the steps and process of becoming a smoker, we interviewed 386 urban public school children in grades two through ten and found the following: 47% of the sample tried a cigarette, and they tended to be in higher grades, score high on risk‐taking, and have best friends who smoke; 32% of triers progressed to a second cigarette, with quick progressors characterized by life stress variables and slow progressors characterized by having peers who smoke; 77% of second‐cigarette triers progressed to a third cigarette, and tended to be characterized by a brief, if any, delay between the first two cigarettes, having a best friend who smokes, and helplessness. Different sub‐samples appear to be learning to smoke to cope with social pressures or to control their emotional state. Descriptions of the first cigarette experience suggest its potential for deterring continued smoking. Suggestions are made for smoking prevention programs to consider the entire process of becoming a smoker and to add intervention components that take into account the different variables which move separate sub‐samples of individuals from stage to stage.