Thriving in community

In the final part of this series on student thriving, Laurie Schreiner describes how students who thrive turn outward and engage with the world through healthy interpersonal relationships and service to their communities.     

Early Emotion Knowledge and Later Academic Achievement Among Children of Color in Historically Disinvested Neighborhoods

This study examined longitudinal relations between emotion knowledge (EK) in pre-kindergarten (pre-K; M_age = 4.8 years) and math and reading achievement 1 and 3 years later in a sample of 1,050 primarily Black children (over half from immigrant families) living in historically disinvested neighborhoods. Participants were part of a follow-up study of a cluster randomized controlled trial. Controlling for pre-academic skills, other social–emotional skills, sociodemographic characteristics, and school intervention status, higher EK at the end of pre-K predicted higher math and reading achievement test scores in kindergarten and second grade. Moderation analyses suggest that relations were attenuated among children from immigrant families. Findings suggest the importance of enriching pre-K programs for children of color with EK-promotive interventions and strategies.     

In practice: Community service scholarship programs provide meaningful engagement for low‐income students

The University of Wisconsin‐Milwaukee offers financial incentives to low‐income students to perform community service. Laurie Marks explains why.     

Novel Approaches to Examine Passage,Student, and Question Effects on Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is influenced by sources of variance associated with the reader and the task. To gain insight into the complex interplay of multiple sources of influence, we employed crossed random‐effects item response models. These models allowed us to simultaneously examine the degree to which variables related to the type of passage and student characteristics influenced students’ (n = 94; mean age = 11.97 years) performance on two indicators of reading comprehension: different types of comprehension questions and passage fluency. We found that variables related to word recognition, language, and executive function were influential across various types of passages and comprehension questions and also predicted a reader's passage fluency. Further, an exploratory analysis of two‐way interaction effects was conducted. Results suggest that understanding the relative influence of passage, question, and student variables has implications for identifying struggling readers and designing interventions to address their individual needs.     

Measuring the economic impact of the British library

Assessing the British Library's contribution to the national economy is a complex matter, requiring consideration of a number of different dimensions. First, the value added by the Library takes many forms—economic, cultural, social and intellectual. Second, the British Library adds value both to those who use our products and services directly, and to the wider UK population who benefit indirectly from the Library's existence and the services it provides. Traditionally, attempts to assess these benefits have taken the form of qualitative case studies—telling good stories, but failing to provide a comprehensive evaluation. But now a technique supported by the Nobel Prize winning economists, Kenneth Arrow and Robert Solow, permits a coherent quantitative evaluation of the total benefit to the nation of publicly funded institutions and programmes. Recognising the value of this technique, the British Library commissioned a groundbreaking research study to estimate the impact of the Library on the UK economy. The study demonstrates that the Library generates value of around 4.4 times the level of its annual public funding of £83m. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first time the ‘Contingent Valuation’ technique has been used to derive a figure for the overall economic impact of a national or major research library.