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The COVID-19 pandemic has both widened and exacerbated student equity issues in Australian higher education, just as it has increased economic and social disadvantage in the general population. This article identifies the immediate impacts of the pandemic on existing equity structures, mapping potential areas for research analysis and policy responses. Given the pervasive nature of COVID-19, it is proposed that a whole-of-system approach be used, and in addition to focusing on existing student equity categorisations, a holistic approach to understanding disadvantage over the university student life cycle is undertaken to ensure the response to this health crisis is both targeted and timely. The article identifies emerging repercussions of the pandemic that will drive long-term structural changes in Australian higher education, as well as the community and labour market. Based on these observations, the key challenges facing the student equity sector are identified and possible responses provided.

This study addresses criminal convictions, social disadvantage and problem gambling as an interwoven set of problems. It makes use of data from a population-based gambling survey (n = 7,186) conducted in three Finnish regions. The survey data are combined with national registers to examine associations between sociodemographic factors and gambling severity, comparing persons with and without a criminal record. Gambling behavior included past-year (2016) gambling severity and perceived life-time problem gambling. Social disadvantage was assessed using sociodemographic factors such as education, employment status, level of income and receipt of basic social assistance. Logistic regression analysis showed that both past-year problem or pathological gambling (OR: 2.725) and perceived life-time gambling problems (OR: 2.363) were associated with having a conviction, compared to recreational gambling. Low education, unemployment, low income and receipt of basic social assistance were associated with receiving a conviction. When gender, age and sociodemographic factors were controlled for, odds ratios for both past-year gambling problems (OR: 1.223) and perceived life-time gambling problems (OR: 1.586) did not remain statistically significant. The current study suggests that preventive efforts against problem gambling and interventions in criminal justice systems should be expanded to incorporate the aim of reducing social disadvantage.

In recent years South Africa has had to deal with the problem of multiple disease burdens. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are rising and emerging as the leading causes of death in the country. Ex...

This article aims to examine alternative explanations of social disadvantage on the university-to-work transition experiences of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students. ‘Becoming employable’ during the university-to-work transition is reflected in three ways: students’ cognition/patterns of thinking (i.e., perceived employability); affect/emotion (i.e., anxiety); and career-related behaviour (i.e., job search and networking). To understand how social disadvantage affects ‘becoming employable’, we examine three potential explanations: students’ social background, type of higher education institution attended and individual financial strain. A cross-sectional survey design targeted at final year students in two UK Higher Education Institutions provided 288 survey responses. Findings show support for an institutional explanation to ‘becoming employable’. The study contributes to our understanding of social disadvantage during preparation for labour market entry and the ‘employable graduate’ identity construction process. Practical recommendations focus on alleviating some of the pressures on socially disadvantaged students.

Previous research has documented substantial overqualification and an association with social disadvantage and fields of study. Overqualification persistence has been less studied. Persiste...

This article uses an innovative rural-urban migrant survey to assess how social disadvantage is associated with children’s nutritional status in migrant households. Measures of social disadvantage ...

Natural disaster impacts on populations already experiencing significant health, income, and social disadvantage, are both more intense and longer lasting than for the general population. The inter...

Social mediation constitutes an alternative method to legal proceedings, providing effective support for the management and resolution of the most common types of conflicts between individuals, within families and among neighbours, as well as other types of disputes that can arise from interactions between people. Over the last 20 years, urban areas in Italy with high concentrations of public housing have gradually become zones of social disadvantage in which conflict is widespread, due to a number of different factors. On the local level, some municipalities have started promoting innovative initiatives, thanks in part to the sharing of successful practices, both nationally and internationally. This paper presents the methodology and results of an innovative intervention of social mediation in public housing contexts, carried out in a number of municipalities in the Marche Region with financing provided under two projects of the European Fund for the Integration of non-EU Immigrants. Particular a...

Research into the political economy of gambling, arising particularly from the fields of sociology and geography, has made many much-needed contributions to gambling studies. It has highlighted the association between gambling and social disadvantage and also highlighted the conflict of interest that arises when governments who liberalize gambling also benefit from the resultant taxation revenue. This has led a number of authors to argue that the global gambling industry, as well as many governments and academics, are party to a modern capitalist conspiracy that (a) redistributes wealth and subjugates the disadvantaged and (b) pathologizes problem gamblers to deflect blame from the industry. This article provides a critical appraisal of these arguments with reference to papers from some of the leading authors in this area. It argues that the important contributions of this area have been tarnished by the overuse of politicized and polemical language in academic/scientific contexts, by the use of c...

This article examines John Newsom’s contributions to non-fiction BBC radio and television coverage of education, poverty, and social disadvantage from 1934 to 1971. The correspondence and scripts concerning his BBC broadcasts for a domestic UK-based audience and an overseas audience are used as source material. Newsom is well known among educational historians as Chief Education Officer for Hertfordshire (1940−1957) and the chair of the Central Advisory Council for Education, which compiled the Newsom Report in 1963. He is associated with the aesthetic and cultural experience of pupils in the physical environment of their schools, rather than with the use of words and sound broadcast to encourage reflection amongst adult listeners on the experience of an educated nation. Newsom’s role in shaping the discussion of education on the airwaves and on screen has been excluded as a significant sphere for researchers. Broadcasting was the space in which Newsom and many other education officers and head te...

Recent neo-liberal policy frameworks in Australia advocate economic development opportunities for Aboriginal Australians as a viable strategy to redress the marginalisation and social disadvantage that appear to characterise many Aboriginal communities. In New South Wales (NSW), Aboriginal peoples are currently negotiating with industry for the chance to participate in coal seam gas (CSG) development opportunities. Based upon research focusing on CSG development in the Northern NSW region, this paper argues that certain constructions of Aboriginality inhibit successful Aboriginal engagement with the economic opportunities provided by CSG. This paper illuminates the role of the media in facilitating dominant discourse about Aboriginality and the implications of those constructions for Aboriginal engagement with the mainstream economy. Findings demonstrate that the media are complicit in constructing Aboriginal peoples in a way that could prejudice their attempts to engage in economic opportunities ...

Few studies have examined the effects of social disadvantage and economic hardship on addiction severity after treatment, and no known studies have examined these relationships in participants referred to treatment by the criminal justice system. This study used multiple regression analysis to examine the role of social disadvantage, economic hardship, and perceived stress on follow-up addiction severity among a group of substance abuse treatment participants referred by the criminal justice system and a comparison group. The hypothesized model was partially supported in both groups. Implications for treatment providers working with clients referred by the criminal justice system are discussed.

This article focuses on different ways in which socially disadvantaged parents engage with their children’s educational experiences, and provides evidence of the role they play in opening or narrowing their children’s access to education. Disadvantaged parents are usually associated with weak or difficult educational trajectories for their children, because of their lower level of economic, cultural, and social capital. Nevertheless, this association does not operate as an automatic mechanism. Indeed, against a backdrop of persisting inequalities, research data show a plurality of intraclass and intragroup dynamics, with disadvantaged parents having diverse ways of avoiding blaming processes, saving dignity, and acting as proactive agents for their children’s educational career.

Environmental third-sector organisations (EOs) aim to bring about social change by influencing not only policy making but also citizens’ attitudes and behaviours directly. While there is some evidence that direct involvement in environmental initiatives can encourage carbon-reducing behaviours, it is often believed that less direct forms of engagement are less effective in supporting behaviour change. This article provides a first direct comparison of associations between direct and indirect involvement with EOs and carbon-reducing behaviours, based on a representative UK survey. Results show that while direct involvement is more strongly associated with carbon-reducing behaviours than indirect involvement, both associations remain significant in the combined model. However, this only applies to more affluent respondents and not to those who, due to social disadvantage, do not participate in high-carbon activities. This suggests that EOs may further behaviour change through broader outreach work, especial...

This article reports on the collaboration between teachers and occupational therapists in a program for students with challenging behaviors. The National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) adapted and trialed Williams and Shellenberger’s Alert Program (1996) in four mainstream partner post-primary schools in areas of social disadvantage in the academic year 2011–2012. Eighty-five students (aged 12 to 13 years) participated. Teachers, students, and occupational therapists reported that both content and approach engaged students who learned self-management strategies for the classroom (Mac Cobb, Fitzgerald, & Lanigan-O’Keeffe,2014). A whole school approach was recommended involving all teachers of the class group requiring collaborative consultation between therapists, teachers, and school management.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to the CRPD were signed by South Africa on 30 March 2007 and ratified on 30 November 2007. The CRPD is intended to 'promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities' in order to 'redress ... the profound social disadvantage of persons with disabilities and promote their participation in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural spheres with equal opportunities, in both developing and developed countries' and the Optional Protocol is aimed at facilitating the submission of individual complaints against State Parties relating to the CRPD.

It is not news to social workers that Indigenous Australians face some of the most extreme and entrenched social disadvantage in our society. Social workers are often at the front line, dealing wit...

Concepts of gender equity are changing and the necessity of actively developing a fairer gender balance is now enshrined in the Gender Equality Legislation implemented in 2007 that required public bodies to positively promote equality. This study examines, from the perspectives of educators, their understandings of gendered inequalities in teaching and the issues that they raise for the profession. Overall, respondents did not see the numerical domination of women as a problem but instead they saw the benefits of maintaining the diversity of the teaching profession, since all pupils could benefit from the range of interests and attributes offered by both women and men. Respondents were both embracing and disputing popular discourses about the gender balance in teaching but argued strongly that there should be no discriminatory barriers to the profession. It is concluded that a policy approach to gender equality should address the material and social disadvantage experienced by those working in female‐domi...

This paper draws on research into teachers' and pupils' perceptions of talk in school. Drawing on sociocultural perspectives, it shows that expectations of talk are grounded in particular sociocultural values that represent hegemonic interpretations of the quality of talk and classroom discourse. Although much has been written about classroom talk, the pupils' voice is often absent from discussion. The children in this study revealed very different views of the expectations of talk from that of their teachers'. In particular, they appeared uncertain about whether their teachers liked them to talk but they seemed very clear that the teacher was in control of the talk. Despite pupils' enthusiasm for talk, their teachers held negative views of certain pupils' performance. It is argued that both pupils' and teachers' expectations are guided more by their own perceptions of an ideal state than by pedagogic or heuristic motives.

The role that crime, policing and disadvantage play in generating outbreaks of social disorder is discussed by focusing on the riots that occurred in Macquarie Fields in 2005 and in Redfern in 2004. It is found that there is no easy formulaic solution to this kind of problem but using three commonsense guidelines helps in reducing the risk of police-citizen confrontation. These guidelines are: treating the residents of crime-prone neighbourhoods with civility and respect, a determination to respond promptly and courteously to calls for police assistance, and engaging the community wherever possible in the solution of specific problems.

This paper examines the debate about possible relationships between problem gambling and accessibility to electronic gaming machines (EGMs), in the context of the Victorian Government's policy that imposed a ‘cap’ on EGMs in disadvantaged communities. Using GIS (Geographical Information Systems), the spatial distribution of social disadvantage in three ‘capped’ localities was compared with the spatial distribution of gaming venues and patterns of concentrated EGM expenditure during 2001–2005, including seasonal trends. Research revealed different relationships between spatial and social categories in the study localities, indicating the need for more systematic local area analysis. This research raises questions about the limitations of conventional methodologies and regulatory strategies based on simple measures such as gaming machine density. We propose improvements to the methodology to better measure the changing level of local supply and demand for machine gaming.

Previous criminological studies comparing institutional youth populations with community samples have for the most part focused on youths institutionalized primarily as a result of involvements in delinquency. The present study compares levels of social disadvantage and criminal involvement within a nationally representative sample of Swedish schoolboys with those of a national population of institutionalized males that includes both serious young offenders and youths institutionalized for other reasons. Whilst at the aggregate level, mean levels of offending are higher within the institutional sample, the institutional population includes youths from across the entire range of levels of offending. Levels of social disadvantage are substantially elevated among the institutionalized males by comparison with the school sample. The study notes that institutionalized samples, where these include both young offenders and youths institutionalized for other reasons, may provide a fruitful ground for life‐course ...

Environmental justice arguments focused on improving the quality of life of the poor contend that environmental ‘bads’ are more often located in areas of social disadvantage. In relation to waste facilities such claims of distributional outcomes have been enhanced by epidemiological analyses of apparent disease clusters in the vicinity. While politically engaging these arguments have been supported rarely by robust evidence. However, if repositioned in more structural issues related to the unequal societal distribution of power, resources and environmental burdens, they do prompt questions about the processes by which equitable decisions are made in a sustainable waste management context. The paper discusses the scientific and institutional barriers affecting the effective balancing of equity issues, arguing that while deliberative processes potentially challenge ‘expert black-boxing’ they also challenge current political and regulatory structures for waste management.

This article focuses on the role that housing markets play in structuring patterns of social disadvantage in Australian cities, specifically Sydney and Melbourne. It explores the relationship between housing tenure and social disadvantage at the local scale (Census collector districts) for the two cities, following a discussion of the various stands of literature on housing tenure and socio-spatial polarisation in Australian cities. It analyses the relationship between areas of high social disadvantage and housing tenure. The analysis, which uses the ABS Index of Disadvantage, distinguishes locations where comparable levels of social disadvantage are associated with very different housing markets, one where public housing is prominent and others which are primarily areas of private sector housing. The social profiles of both types of area are described, drawing out differences between the two cities, as are changes in the extent of these areas over time. The policy implications for the areas of private se...

West Wales and the Valleys is approaching the mid‐way point of its European funded Objective 1 programme—the highest form of Structural Fund aid for the Union's economically and socially ‘lagging’ regions. Objective 1 has afforded Wales the tools to develop an economic regeneration strategy aimed at improving the performance of the western part of the Welsh economy, and combating the country's entrenched pockets of economic and social disadvantage. However, after three years there are some important structural and implementation problems facing those managing Objective 1 in Wales, specifically in terms of the governance of the programme and resource allocation. This paper draws out these key issues by tracing the main fault lines in the design and delivery of the programme, and also offers some critical assessment of the initial economic impact of Objective 1. In short, this paper argues that Wales has shown little evidence of learning the lessons from other Objective 1 regions, but has been rather more a...

The objective of this study was to examine whether social risk factors adjusted for gender and some well-known perinatal risk factors were related to parental descriptions of deviant behaviour in 3(1/2)-year-old children. The study was a prospective cohort study of 1345 mothers enrolled during early pregnancy. Parents answered a questionnaire and children's behavioural difficulties were categorized into the following groups; "hyperactive-distractible", "hostile-aggressive" and "anxious-fearful" following a modified Behar scale. The male gender was found to be related to a description of all kinds of deviant behaviour. Having a family member experiencing employment difficulties was the factor most closely related to "hyperactive-distractible" behaviour. Familial stress due to lack of time, experience of divorce and mothers in excess of 35 years at childbirth were found to be related to "hostile-aggressive" behaviour, but male gender was the most closely related. Social disadvantage was not found to be related to "anxious-fearful" behaviour.

This paper considers the notion of schools in a spiral of decline, in which less popular schools within a market system lose numbers and increase their proportion of socially disadvantaged pupils over time. In an era of raw-score performance indicators such a decline could quickly become a spiral, with disadvantage leading to poorer aggregated results, leading to less popularity and so on. Using data derived all secondary schools in England from 1989 to 1999, we find little evidence for any increase in the existence of such schools. Whether we consider falling rolls, closing schools, or special measures we find only one school, among 30 LEAs considered in detail, that has both consistently falling rolls and increased social disadvantage. This one example may be due to market pressure, but we also present the suggestion that such irregular events happened prior to 1998 anyway. It is the case that the greatest increase in relative disadvantage in this school was from 1998 to 1999 (i.e. ten years after the E...

(2002). Social Disadvantage and Planning in the Sydney Context. Urban Policy and Research: Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 101-107.

In the face of below replacement and still declining national fertility rates in most Western societies, the proportion of reproductively aged women having a third or higher order birth has particular demographic significance. This paper seeks to complement previous survey-based studies of the socio-economic, behavioural and motivational characteristics of individuals progressing or intending to progress from a second to a third or higher order birth by examining the spatial patterning and ecological context of such births in NSW during 1996 and, in particular, the extent to which such births are especially characteristic of socially disadvantaged regions and localities in the state. The results suggest that while there is a clear, though not overwhelming, tendency towards such a concentration there is an equally clear tendency for older women living in some of the most socially advantaged areas of the metropolitan zone to engage in higher order childbearing, thereby suggesting the operation of multiple c...

This paper seeks to show how, using a reflexive approach, it is possible to develop a better understanding of the experiences of mothers subject to child and family social work intervention. Drawing upon the author's own experience of motherhood she draws attention to the ideological assumptions behind the professionals' responses to the problems and challenges of parenting. This is explored through a critical analysis of dominant assumptions underlying some psychological literature and child care policies, focusing particularly on their failure to focus on the issue of social disadvantage as a factor in parenting. An illustrative example from social work practice is presented in the light of this analysis. The paper concludes with an examination of how the reflexive consideration of personal experience, dominant ideas and practice can help to provide a deeper understanding of the dilemmas of parenthood for families subject to child and family care intervention.

The extent of social disadvantage in local neighbourhoods has come to the fore in recent years, partly as a result of the problems that State Housing Authorities have faced in managing the concentrations of socially marginalised populations on larger public housing estates. However, a wider understanding of the processes at play in these neighbourhoods is needed to inform policy development. We consider the evolution of local renewal policy in New South Wales at the present time and suggest potential policy options for the future.

The idea of 'social exclusion' has emerged over a relatively short space of time to take centre stage in political and popular debates about social disadvantage in many European states. In Britain it now dominates policy discourse on strategies to combat disadvantage.This paper explores the origins of the concept of social exclusion and the meanings that have been ascribed to it. The paper poses questions which remain outstanding in the debate over social exclusion. It then considers the relationship between housing and social exclusion and introduces each of the papers in the special issue. It finishes by noting that the papers in this issue make a significant contribution to enhancing our understanding of processes of disadvantage,but that there is much that remains to be done.

HIGGS G., BELLIN W., FARRELL S. and WHITE S. (1997) Educational attainment and social disadvantage: contextualizing school league tables, Reg. Studies 31, 775-789. The Education Reform Act of 1988 has had major implications for educational provision in England and Wales and subsequent legislation in 1993 has reinforced weak forms of parental choice which began with legislation in the 1980s. The legislative changes of the 1980s have given a prominent role for publishing non-adjusted tables of examination performance at school level both for accountability purposes and to aid parental choices. The present paper draws on previous research and case studies for school catchments in South Wales to bring census data much closer to school level data, producing a much closer fit of performance results to social indicators at aggregate scales. The results at these levels point to the need to bring together those agencies holding pupil-level data and agencies which hold school level data to allow multi-level approac...

Summary Multiple referrals of children with serious behaviour problems were being made to the psychological service by a Scottish primary school in an area of multiple social disadvantage. Since analysis showed that aggressive behaviour in the playground was the main concern, the school was asked to select 12 of the most aggressive pupils as subjects for a structured intervention. Small groups were run weekly by a class teacher working with an experienced groupworker. The intervention led to significant changes not only for the children selected but in overall school ethos and in the school's view of the role of the educational psychologist.

There are usually good arguments to permit abortion at maternal request, and prenatal screening programmes that lead to abortion need no extra justification insofar as they increase parental choice. However, in practice, state funded programmes arc often also driven by a desire to reduce handicap. Such eugenic programmes discriminate against the handicapped, and have no failsafe mechanism to prevent their extension to include minor disabilities, or social disadvantage. Health policy makers should seek decision-making guides, such as die free market, that have such safeguards. New prenatal screening programmes should not be introduced by state providers until they have first demonstrated demand in the market.

Summary Previous research has indicated that strong links exist between social disadvantage and the prevalence of various types of learning and behavioural difficulties in school. This study reports findings from an analysis of social disadvantage levels and the prevalence of special educational needs in 13 secondary school catchment zones in Aberdeen. Two measures of special educational needs were used: first, the number of pupils for whom records of needs had been opened as a result of major difficulties or disabilities in the intellectual/cognitive, physical or sensory domains; and secondly, the number of pupils placed in specialist provision for pupils with social, emotional or behavioural difficulties. Strong correlations were found between both of these measures and social disadvantage, whereas only weak correlations were found with the overall numbers of pupils in the zones. It is argued that social disadvantage data should be used more widely as a reliable basis for the allocation of special needs...

Underlid, K. (1993). Causal attribution of unemployment as phenomenon and perception of guilt in own unemployment. Nordisk Psykologi, 45, 241–254. The main purpose of this study was to investigate differences in causal attribution of unemployment and guilt among different subgroups of unemployed individuals. In their causal attribution of unemployment, women gave greater weight to social disadvantage variables (low education/training and discrimination) than men. Young unemployed men favoured internal explanations to a greater extent than older men in the sample. Young unemployed men as well as women perceived themselves as more responsible for own unemployment than the older subgroups. A tendency to deemphasize internal explanations as a function of length of unemployment was identified. These findings are discussed in the light of unemployed as a heterogeneous vs. homogeneous group and the unique life experiences and life situations of different subgroups. The role of age as an important variable in une...

James Coleman's 1966 Equality of Educational Opportunity in the USA cast doubt on the ability of schools to overcome family influence and affect children's attainment. An American ‘effective schools’ movement, beginning in the late 1970s, sought to refocus attention on school differences and the characteristics of more or less ‘effective’ schools. A parallel British research interest developed in the 1970s and an international movement for effective schools and school improvement took shape in the 1980s. The early American effective schools research was directed towards school strategies that would overcome social disadvantage. This paper discusses the development of the research in new economic and political conditions, the policies of individual American states, Congressional legislation, and elements of a late 1980s re‐emergence of policies ‐including educational policies ‐‐ against poverty.

In this paper average domestic rate levels per adult for 1989/90 are correlated with standard measures of the socio‐economic status of English local authority districts, derived from the 1981 Census. These correlations show that rate levels tend to be higher in areas of social disadvantage and lower in more socially advantaged areas. When introducing the provisional figures for the new Community Charge for 1990/91 the Secretary of State stressed that this new charge would be fairer than the system of domestic rates. If the community charge were fairer than rates, this paper argues, the charge would not depend upon the socio‐economic status of the area in the same way. However, it is shown that, quite to the contrary, the community charge is even more strongly related to the socio‐economic status of the local authority than are rates. By using alternative cost assumptions, from consultative documents submitted to the Government by the Local Authority Associations, it is shown that community charge...

Summary In the past 20 years a substantial literature has accumulated on intervention with deprived preschool children. The unrealistically high hopes of the 1960s have largely been replaced by a more sober analysis of the relevant factors in social disadvantage. One of the more recent developments has been an approach through the skills and attitudes of those adults most concerned with under‐fives, including the staff of pre‐school centres and parents. In Britain the available research has been focussed almost exclusively on nursery schools, neglecting the situation of day nurseries, many of whom cater to deprived inner‐city areas. The present research was an attempt to explore the possibilities and monitor the problems of working with the trained staff of six London day nurseries. Three programmes were introduced ‐‐ a developmental assessment form, a series of workshops on coping with behaviour problems and workshops on language development. The project is discussed in terms of the particular difficulti...

The study was designed to examine the relationship between measures of social handicap and educational brightness, and to identify the characteristics of those schools where brightness was greater ...

To argue that anything as complex as human behaviour has multifactorial origins demanding a systems analysis is today almost a statement of the obvious. This does not, however, mean that a search for significant main effects in populations is unwarranted, provided that these can be shown in replicated studies across place and time. In this article two such effects will be examined. In both cases there is a massive amount of data available, much of it recent, and some of it based on sophisticated research designs.

The relationships between educational attainment and social disadvantage for different ethnic groups, presented by Brewer & Haslum (1986), are reconsidered. Their assertion that indicators of social disadvantage are not associated with attainment for black children is shown to be based on a number of unsound statistical and methodological procedures. Data from a study of younger children in Inner London are presented which do show an association which is the same for both black and white children. But more data are needed for a more complete understanding of these associations.

Numerous authors have commented on the observed correlation between social disadvantage and the identification of adolescents as delinquents (Cohen, 1955, Cloward and Ohlin, 1960). However, a precise definition of what social disadvantage means is difficult to find, and its relationship to delinquency often appears to be purely theoretical (Schrag, 1971).