The effects of single-sex versus coeducational schools on adolescent peer victimization and perpetration.

Bullying is a growing public health concern for South Korean adolescents. In our quantitative investigation, we analyze the frequency with which Korean adolescents in single-sex versus coeducational schools are targets of or engage in three peer aggressive behaviors (verbal, relational (social exclusion), and physical (including theft)). We use two nationally representative datasets, the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the 2005 Korea Education Longitudinal Study (KELS), and rely on propensity score matching (PSM). For adolescent girls, we find that being in all-girls schools mitigates both their exposure to and engagement in peer victimization. For adolescent boys, we find that boys in all-boys schools have significantly higher odds of experiencing more frequent verbal and physical attacks versus their counterparts in coeducational schools. Our findings strongly suggest that interventions to mitigate peer victimization and aggression in Korea should consider the gendered schooling contexts in which they are implemented.

Does Prison-Based Adult Basic Education Improve Postrelease Outcomes for Male Prisoners in Florida?

The authors use administrative data from Florida to determine the extent to which prison-based adult basic education (ABE) improves inmate's postrelease labor market outcomes, such as earnings and employment. Using two nonexperimental comparison groups, the authors find evidence that ABE participation is associated with higher postrelease earnings and employment rates, especially for minorities. The authors find that the relationship is the largest for ABE participants who had uninterrupted ABE instruction and for those who received other education services. However, the results do not find any positive effects of ABE participation on reducing recidivism.