title: Impacts of household credit on education and healthcare spending by the poor in peri-urban areas in Vietnam

authors: Doan, Tinh Thanh

subjects: Matching

abstract: There is debate about whether microfinance has positive impacts on education and health for borrowing households in developing countries. To provide evidence for this debate we use a new survey designed to meet the conditions for propensity score matching (PSM) and examine the impact of household credit on education and healthcare spending by the poor in peri-urban areas of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In addition to matching statistically identical non-borrowers with borrowers, our estimates also control for household pre-treatment income and assets, which may be associated with unobservable factors affecting both credit participation and the outcomes of interest. The PSM estimates of binary treatment effect show significant and positive impacts of borrowing on education and healthcare spending. However, multiple ordered treatment effect estimates reveal that only formal credit has significant and positive impacts on education and healthcare spending, while informal credit has insignificant impacts on the spending.

text: Impacts of household credit on education and healthcare spending by the poor in peri-urban areas in Vietnam There is debate about whether microfinance has positive impacts on education and health for borrowing households in developing countries. To provide evidence for this debate we use a new survey designed to meet the conditions for propensity score matching (PSM) and examine the impact of household credit on education and healthcare spending by the poor in peri-urban areas of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In addition to matching statistically identical non-borrowers with borrowers, our estimates also control for household pre-treatment income and assets, which may be associated with unobservable factors affecting both credit participation and the outcomes of interest. The PSM estimates of binary treatment effect show significant and positive impacts of borrowing on education and healthcare spending. However, multiple ordered treatment effect estimates reveal that only formal credit has significant and positive impacts on education and healthcare spending, while informal credit has insignificant impacts on the spending.

year: 2011-06

title: Insights About Resilience in Emerging Adulthood From a Small Longitudinal Study in New Zealand

authors: Stanley, Peter

subjects: risk

abstract: In 1998, 12 elementary school students aged 11–12 years, who were living in a disadvantaged suburb in a New Zealand city, were comprehensively assessed and determinations were made regarding their risk statuses. Ten years later, nine of the participants were located and interviewed and the data were examined using interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith & Osborn, 2008). Three resilience themes were discerned at Time 2: relationships, contexts of development, and personhood and identity. The combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies at the two assessment points promoted the derivation of a resilience model that connects relational contexts to executive functioning and purposeful action. The investigation also prompted observations about the contribution of qualitative research to the study of resilience.

text: Insights About Resilience in Emerging Adulthood From a Small Longitudinal Study in New Zealand In 1998, 12 elementary school students aged 11–12 years, who were living in a disadvantaged suburb in a New Zealand city, were comprehensively assessed and determinations were made regarding their risk statuses. Ten years later, nine of the participants were located and interviewed and the data were examined using interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith & Osborn, 2008). Three resilience themes were discerned at Time 2: relationships, contexts of development, and personhood and identity. The combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies at the two assessment points promoted the derivation of a resilience model that connects relational contexts to executive functioning and purposeful action. The investigation also prompted observations about the contribution of qualitative research to the study of resilience.

year: 2011-07

title: Developing restorative practices in schools: Some reflections

authors: Drewery, Wendy

subjects: Counselling

abstract: The use of disciplinary practices derived from restorative justice have recently been gaining popularity and inciting keen interest in the education community. Practices that have so far been introduced have tended to centre on conferencing, although there is a broadening range of other practices in schools that are being brought under the heading “restorative”. This paper offers some reflections on these developments, building on the experiences of a team at the University of Waikato, which completed two projects on restorative conferencing in schools for the Ministry of Education under the rubric of the Suspension Reduction Initiative, and continues to develop understanding of the practices. The projects included developing and trialling processes for suspension hearings using restorative conferencing and principles from restorative justice. Objectives of both projects were related to the desire to reduce numbers of suspensions and exclusions, particularly of Māori children. We argue that the introduction of restorative practices invites schools into some tectonic shifts in thinking about offending behaviour, about community, and ultimately about the purposes of education.

text: Developing restorative practices in schools: Some reflections The use of disciplinary practices derived from restorative justice have recently been gaining popularity and inciting keen interest in the education community. Practices that have so far been introduced have tended to centre on conferencing, although there is a broadening range of other practices in schools that are being brought under the heading “restorative”. This paper offers some reflections on these developments, building on the experiences of a team at the University of Waikato, which completed two projects on restorative conferencing in schools for the Ministry of Education under the rubric of the Suspension Reduction Initiative, and continues to develop understanding of the practices. The projects included developing and trialling processes for suspension hearings using restorative conferencing and principles from restorative justice. Objectives of both projects were related to the desire to reduce numbers of suspensions and exclusions, particularly of Māori children. We argue that the introduction of restorative practices invites schools into some tectonic shifts in thinking about offending behaviour, about community, and ultimately about the purposes of education.

year: 2005