Refugees and Educational Outcomes

The researchers of this study examine the effects of a large refugee influx into Florida public schools following the Haitian earthquake of 2010 using unique matched birth and schooling records. They find precise zero estimated effects of refugees on the educational outcomes of incumbent students in the year of the earthquake or in the two years that follow, regardless of the socioeconomic status, grade level, ethnicity, or birthplace of incumbent students.

Figlio, D., & Özek, U. (2017). Unwelcome guests? The effects of refugees on the educational outcomes of incumbent students. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University and Institute for Policy Research. https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/publications/docs/workingpapers/2017/wp-17-12.pdf

Online Gaming Behavior and Teens

The Pew Internet & American Life Project released the results of the first large-scale study examining the relationship among specific aspects of gaming and teen civic activities and commitments. The research found that playing games with others in person was related to civic and political outcomes, but playing with others online had no relationship to these outcomes. Teens who participated in social interaction related to a game-such as commenting on websites or contributing to discussion boards-were more engaged civically and politically. The study found that 97% of teens ages 12-17 play computer, web, portable, or console games and that 99% of boys and 94% of girls play video games. Most teens (76%) play the games with others; 65% play with people in the room with them, and 27% play with people they connect with on the internet. Nearly half of the teens playing online games do so with people they know in their offline lives.

Lenhart, A., Kahne, J., Middaugh, E., Macgill, A. R., Evans, C., & Vitak, J. (2008). Teens, video games, and civics: Teens’ gaming experiences are diverse and include significant social interaction and civic engagement. Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED525058.pdf

Benefits of the Arts for Young Adults

This report examines the academic and civic behavior outcomes of teenagers and young adults who have engaged deeply with the arts in or out of school. In several small-group studies, children and teenagers who participated in arts education programs have shown more positive academic and social outcomes in comparison to students who did not participate in those programs. Such studies have proved essential to the current research literature on the types of instrumental benefits associated with an arts education.

Catterall, J. S., Dumais, S. A., & Hampden-Thompson, G. (2012). The arts and achievement in at-risk youth: Findings from four longitudinal studies. Washington, D.C.: National Endowment for the Arts. https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf