Education Commons^™

Using Sociological Images To Develop The Sociological Imagination, Georgiana Bostean, Lisa A. Leitz

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

We present a two-assignment series that developed students’ sociological imaginations and that could be done in a face-to-face or online course. The series used the Sociological Images blog and students’ own visual images (e.g., photographs) to meet course learning goals: (1) link sociological theories and concepts to social events/trends, (2) apply these ideas to real life by identifying sociologically relevant images in daily life, and (3) communicate sociological analysis in academic and popular written forms. The use of a blog encourages students to embrace public sociology. We present faculty and student assessment data (pretest from nonequivalent comparisons group) from six …

Child Obesity Moderates The Association Between Poverty And Academic Achievement, Ashley W. Kranjac, Dinko Kranjac

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Childhood overweight and obesity are major public health problems in the United States. Children who experience poverty are 1.5 times more likely to suffer with overweight and 1.6 times more likely to have obesity. The extent to which overweight or obesity exacerbates the negative influence of socioeconomic inequality on child academic outcomes has not yet been examined. We estimated the effect of poverty on math and reading achievement trajectories using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) Kindergarten class of 1998−1999 survey data and multilevel growth curve modeling techniques. Our findings indicate that the impact of obesity status is more pronounced …

School‐Level Body Mass Index Shapes Children's Weight Trajectories, Ashley W. Kranjac

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

BACKGROUND

Embedded within children's weight trajectories are complex environmental contexts that influence obesity risk. As such, the normative environment of body mass index (BMI) within schools may influence children's weight trajectories as they age from kindergarten to fifth grade.

METHODS

I use 5 waves of the ECLS‐K—Kindergarten Class 1998‐1999 data and a series of multilevel growth models to examine whether attending schools with higher overall BMI influences children's weight status over time.

RESULTS

Results show that, net of child, family, and school sociodemographic characteristics, children who attend schools with higher rates of obesity have increased weight compared to children who …

E-Cigarette Use Among Students And E-Cigarette Specialty Retailer Presence Near Schools, Georgiana Bostean, Catherine M. Crespi, Patsornkarn Vorapharuek, William J. Mccarthy

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective. This study examined the association between presence of e-cigarette specialty retailers near schools and e-cigarette use among middle and high school students in Orange County (OC), CA.

Methods. The OC subsample of the 2013-2014 California Healthy Kids Survey (N=67,701) was combined with geocoded e-cigarette retailers to determine whether a retailer was present within one-quarter mile of each public school in OC. Multilevel logistic regression models evaluated individual-level and school-level e-cigarette use correlates among middle and high school students.

Results. Among middle school students, the presence of an e-cigarette retailer within one-quarter mile of their school predicted …