Family Environments, School Resources, and Educational Outcomes

Grace Kao, Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USAHyunjoon Park, Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Sociologists and education researchers offer new insights into the enduring question of how families and schools shape the experiences of students and teachers and influence the educational outcomes of students. They cover how schools matter: the need for a contextual perspective; preschool enrollment, classroom instruction, elementary school context, and the reading achievement of children from low-income families; the consequences of principal and teacher turnover for school social resources; the effect of mothers' educational credentials on children's outcomes: whether being a first-generation or continuing-generation college graduate matters; children's highbrow cultural activities and academic achievements in Hong Kong; and the hopes carry them on: early educational expectations and later educational outcomes in rural Gansu, China.

• Introduction: Family Environments, School Resources, and Educational Outcomes; Hyunjoon Park and Grace Kao Xi1. How Schools Matter: The Need for a Contextual Perspective; Douglas B. Downey;2. Preschool Enrollment, Classroom Instruction, Elementary School Context, and the Reading Achievement of Children from Low-Income Families; Robert Crosnoe, Aprile D. Benner and Pamela Davis-Kean3. The Consequences of Principal and Teacher Turnover for School Social Resources; Paul Hanselman, Jeffrey Grigg, Sarah K. Bruch and Adam Gamoran4. The Effect of Mothers' Educational Credentials on Children's Outcomes: Does Being a First-Generation or Continuing-Generation College Graduate Matter?; Susan A. Dumais and Laura Nichols5. Children's Highbrow Cultural Activities and Academic Achievement in Hong Kong; Soo-Yong Byun and Suet-Ling Pong6. The Hopes Carry Them On: Early Educational Expectations and Later Educational Outcomes in Rural Gansu, China; Yuping Zhang