Friendships that bridge across social class – “cross-class friendships” – can minimize middle school academic achievement differences that are based on the level of parents’ education, according to research from the UCLA School Diversity Project. As scholars of adolescent development, we examined academic achievement differences among 4,288 middle school students in California based on their parents’ education level. […] … learn more→
Tag Archives: friends

Why it’s good for kids to have friends from different socioeconomic backgrounds

Why children need to play with their friends as soon as they can
Approximately 1.4 billion children worldwide are currently living under partial or full lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the UK, and in many other countries across the world, it has been six weeks or longer since children last played, in person, with a friend. Initial data collected as part of my ongoing research […] … learn more→
What I learned from my friend Flick
Last month one of my dearest friends had a fatal heart attack while sitting at her computer at home. She was only 54. Flick (whom I never once called by her actual name, Felicity Jones) was 12 years older than me and, although I never thought about it this way when she was alive, she […] … learn more→
Above all else, your personal brand is a story
People love stories. Humans learn most effectively through stories. Friends are made by sharing stories. Sales are closed through stories. You are missing out on the value of your personal brand if it isn’t a story. Stories are one of the most effective forms of social currency. They build powerful connections between ideas, people and […] … learn more→
Girls feel more anger, sadness than boys when friends offend
Duke University researchers have found that pre-teen girls may not be any better at friendships than boys, despite previous research suggesting otherwise. The findings suggest that when more serious violations of a friendship occur, girls struggle just as much and, in some ways, even more than boys. The girls in this study were just as […] … learn more→