Children spend more time in school than in any social institution outside the home. And schools probably exert more influence on children's development and life chances than any environment beyond the home and neighbourhood. The purpose of this book is to document some important ways schools influence children's development and to describe various models and methods for studying schooling effects. Key features include:

• Comprehensive Coverage ? this is the first book to provide a comprehensive review of what is known about schools as a context for human development. Topical coverage ranges from theoretical foundations to investigative methodologies and from classroom-level influences such as teacher-student relations to broader influences such as school organization and educational policies.
• Cross-Disciplinary ? this volume brings together the divergent perspectives, methods and findings of scholars from a variety of disciplines, among them educational psychology, developmental psychology, school psychology, social psychology, psychiatry, sociology, and educational policy.
• Chapter Structure ? to ensure continuity, chapter authors describe 1) how schooling influences are conceptualized 2) identify their theoretical and methodological approaches 3) discuss the strengths and weaknesses of existing research and 4) highlight implications for future research, practice, and policy.
• Methodologies ? chapters included in the text feature various methodologies including longitudinal studies, hierarchical linear models, experimental and quasi-experimental designs, and mixed methods.

Children spend more time in school than in any social institution outside the home. And schools probably exert more influence on children s development and life chances than any environment beyond the home and neighbourhood. The purpose of this book is to document some important ways schools influence children s development and to describe various models and methods for studying schooling effects. Key features include:

• Comprehensive Coverage this is the first book to provide a comprehensive review of what is known about schools as a context for human development. Topical coverage ranges from theoretical foundations to investigative methodologies and from classroom-level influences such as teacher-student relations to broader influences such as school organization and educational policies.
• Cross-Disciplinary this volume brings together the divergent perspectives, methods and findings of scholars from a variety of disciplines, among them educational psychology, developmental psychology, school psychology, social psychology, psychiatry, sociology, and educational policy.
• Chapter Structure to ensure continuity, chapter authors describe 1) how schooling influences are conceptualized 2) identify their theoretical and methodological approaches 3) discuss the strengths and weaknesses of existing research and 4) highlight implications for future research, practice, and policy.
• Methodologies chapters included in the text feature various methodologies including longitudinal studies, hierarchical linear models, experimental and quasi-experimental designs, and mixed methods.

A discussion of the schooling of ethnic minority children and youth. The issues covered include: identity and school adjustment - revisiting the acting white assumption; a triarchic model of minority children's school achievement; analyzing cultural models and settings; and more.

This book's two primary objectives are to present theory and research on the role of learners' achievement-related perceptions in educational contexts and to discuss the implications of this research for educational practices. Although contributors share the view that students' perceptions exert important effects in achievement settings, they differ in diverse ways including their theoretical orientation, their choice of research methodology, the perceptions they believe are of primary importance, and the antecedents and consequences of these perceptions. They discuss the current status of their ideas and provide a forward look at research and practice.