This volume looks at the study of successful pathways through middle childhood. The chapters look at how diverse environmental contexts (economic, culture, history, politics) influence child and family development.

Contents: W.A. Collins, Foreword: Contextualizing Middle Childhood: Beyond 1984. C.R. Cooper, C.T. García Coll, W.T. Bartko, H. Davis, C. Chatman, Editors' Introduction. Part I:How Adults and Children, Through Their Perceptions and Actions, Connect Resources Across Family, School, and Community Contexts.H.B. Weiss, E. Dearing, E. Mayer, H. Kreider, K. McCartney, Family Educational Involvement: Who Can Afford It and What Does It Afford? J.A. Fredricks, S. Simpkins, J.S. Eccles, Family Socialization, Gender, and Participation in Sports and Instrumental Music. B. Thorne, Unpacking School Lunchtime: Structure, Practice, and the Negotiation of Differences. W.T. Bartko, The Contexts and Significance of Children's Everyday Experiences and Activities: A Commentary. Part II:How Low-Income Families and Children and Their Teachers Interpret and Use Contexts as Resources for Creating Pathways Through Childhood.D. Stipek, Children as Unwitting Agents in Their Developmental Pathways. E.D. Lowe, T.S. Weisner, S. Geis, A.C. Huston, Child-Care Instability and the Effort to Sustain a Working Daily Routine: Evidence From the New Hope Ethnographic Study of Low-Income Families. P. Blumenfeld, J. Modell, W.T. Bartko, W.G. Secada, J.A. Fredricks, J. Friedel, A. Paris, School Engagement of Inner-City Students During Middle Childhood. W.G. Secada, The Mediation of Contextual Resources. Part III:How Immigration Affects Children's Emerging Identities in Their Family, School, and Community Contexts.C.R. Cooper, C.T. García Coll, B. Thorne, M.F. Orellana, Beyond Demographic Categories: How Immigration, Ethnicity, and "Race" Matter for Children's Emerging Identities and Pathways Through School. C.T. García Coll, L.A. Szalacha, N. Palacios, Children of Dominican, Portuguese, and Cambodian Immigrant Families: Academic Attitudes and Pathways During Middle Childhood. C.R. Cooper, E. Domínguez, S. Rosas, Soledad's Dream: How Immigrant Children Bridge Their Multiple Worlds and Build Pathways to College. A.J. Fuligni, J. Alvarez, M. Bachman, D.N. Ruble, Family Obligation and the Academic Motivation of Young Children From Immigrant Families. V.C. McLoyd, Pathways to Academic Achievement Among Children From Immigrant Families: A Commentary. J.J. Goodnow, Contexts, Diversity, Pathways: Advances and Next Steps. A. Prout, Reflections on Childhood, Diversity, Pathways, and Context. C.R. Cooper, H. Davis, Epilogue: Mapping Concepts of Contexts, Diversity, and Pathways Across Disciplines.

Catherine R. Cooper (Edited by) , Cynthia T. Garc!a Coll (Edited by) , W. Todd Bartko (Edited by) , Helen M. Davis (Edited by) , Celina Chatman (Edited by)