Socioeconomic Factors, Self-Moticy And Academic Achievement And Attainment

Howard, T.G. (2010). Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap in

This paper includes a reference list of literature relating to the impact socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity has on academic achievement and what can be done to combat the achievement gap. In general, the literature seems to indicate that socioeconomic status has a greater impact then race or ethnicity on achievement. However, these constructs are often intertwined. The greatest source for combatting the achievement gap are teachers high in self-efficacy, strong and well directed principal leadership, having a positive and accepting racial climate, smaller class sizes, less harsh discipline with more support

A school setting provides opportunities where issues of social justice, oppression, and discrimination can be addressed. According to Bemak and Chung (2009), students of color and economically disadvantaged students are likely to have low academic achievement, in comparison to their White middle class counterparts. These disparities in academic

Research suggests that students of color and economically disadvantaged students are likely to have low academic achievement, in comparison to their White middle class counterparts. Studies show that these disparities are a result of environmental, historical, sociopolitical, sociocultural, and institutional factors, and not necessarily students’ capabilities (Bemak & Chung, 2008). These environmental, sociocultural and sociopolitical factors can result to depression, low self-esteem, and a lack of educational and career opportunities. Thus, counseling professionals in the school settings need to develop advocacy plans to cater for these environmental factors that are barriers to academic, career and personal development (Ratts & Hutchins,

Cultural differences pose several barriers for students and may impair their opportunity to learn. These barriers are created by differences in language expression, communication style, preferred learning style, gender-role customs and behaviors, and limited parental involvement due to these cultural or socioeconomic barriers

A substantial amount of educational and psychological research has consistently demonstrated that African American students underperform academically relative to White students. For example, they tend to receive lower grades in school (e.g., Demo & Parker, 1987; Simmons, Brown, Bush, & Blyth, 1978), score lower on standardized tests of intellectual ability (e.g., Bachman, 1970; Herring, 1989; Reyes & Stanic, 1988; Simmons et al., 1978), drop out at higher rates (e.g., American Council on Education, 1990; Steele, 1992), and graduate from college with substantially lower grades than White students (e.g., Nettles, 1988). Such performance gaps can be attributed to

Throughout American history, the United States has been a cauldron where different diversities mix and mingle. In this hot pot of diversity, all of the ingredients (ethnicities) will not always conform to one and other; this could possibly lead to discrimination. This paper will be primarily focus on the discrimination towards Asian American youth of the 21st century and how it affects their academics. The research question guiding this investigation is “To what extent does the stereotyping of Asian American high school students as the model minority impact their performance on standardized tests such as ACT?” The focus will lead towards the stereotyping of Asian American students such as smart, math geniuses, or good at

Over the course of several months, I had the opportunity to observe several support groups in my local community. I inquired information regarding how each group benefits its members, characteristics in which contribute to its success, and therapeutic factors found in its structure. Each group varied in its target demographic, agenda of sessions, and overall beliefs and philosophy. Below is an overview of my experiences at each group, including my observations incorporating support from scholarly research.

In my last paper, I discussed the achievement gaps within the low-income African American community at Steele School in Galesburg, IL. Now that I have looked into the history of low-income African American students, I am now going to research even more by exploring trends, issues, evidence-based remediation practices, the preferred learning styles and the identified achievement gap of low-income African American students. Through the chart I am going to display, this will show various ways that low-income African American students are struggling at Steele School. However, I am hoping with the information below I can use this to display to others how certain multicultural education, learning styles, and culturally responsive teaching can enhance learning environments for all underachieving students.

The United States of America is known for being a country filled with people of many different ethnic backgrounds. Likewise, the student population in schools is just as diverse as it continues to grow. Lynch (2015) notes that schools are expected to teach their students “how to synthesize cultural differences into their knowledge base” as this will help “facilitate students’ personal and professional success in a diverse world” (para. 8). Educators must be able to provide for the diverse needs of students and are expected to equip students with skills that can lead to healthy development as it can affect higher levels of student achievement and students have more opportunities of success in their future. Providing students with tools and skills requires an awareness and acceptance of their ethnic identity. Once students have developed self-acceptance about their ethnic identity, they can begin to feel empowered and motivated to do well. Through cultural empowerment, students of color can develop intrinsic motivation and achieve academic success.

The concept of interest is self-efficacy. This began in 1977 with Bandura’s social learning theory that was renamed social cognitive theory in 1986, of which self-efficacy was one of the major concepts of his theory. Self-efficacy makes a difference in how people will feel, think, behave, and motivate themselves. A low sense of self-efficacy can be associated with stress, anxiety, depression, and feelings of helplessness. Such individuals also have low self-esteem and become pessimistic about their accomplishments and personal development. In thinking terms, a strong sense of efficacy facilitates cognitive processes and performance in a variety of settings, including the quality of decision-making and academic achievement. When it comes to behavior, self-efficacy can be said to influence people’s choice of activities as self-efficacy levels can foster or decrease a person’s motivation. People with high self-efficacy approach difficult tasks as challenges and do not try to avoid them. People’s self-efficacy beliefs determine their level of motivation, as reflected in how much effort they will

After reading chapter 10 in my educational psychology book and learning about Albert Bandura and his Social Cognitive Theory, I knew that I had to report on self-efficacy, but I also wanted to make sure to touch on the effects of poverty that has been discussed throughout the book as well. Poverty is an issue that more and more of our nation’s children are coming face to face with. The price that children of poverty must pay is unbelievably high. Each year, increasing numbers of children are entering schools with needs from circumstances, such as poverty, that schools are not prepared to meet.

Born in the 19th century, the Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh has left a prominent mark in the world of art. Van Gogh’s work influenced the Expressionism era and many of the popular artists we revere today, Pablo Picasso being one of them (pablopicasso.org). However, despite his current roaring fame, Van Gogh gained little recognition in his time (bbc.co.uk). Initially, the art he created had seemed unappealing to the public due the dark colors and depressing nature; also, Van Gogh was mentally unstable, which lead people to consider him an anti-social maniac stroking the canvas with no solid vision.

That a student’s social class origin impacts on their learning outcomes is self-evident across much of the developed world, with entrenched disparities in academic achievement that are inversely correlated with family income (Snook, 2009:3, Argy, 2007:para 3, Reay, 2006:289, Nash, 2003:179-180).

In the article, Perception About Organ Donation Among African American, Hispanic, and White High School Students, was focused on a study which used the Health Belief Model to better understand how aware African Americans, Hispanic, and White high school students are about organ donation. The main population of the study conducted was 18-year-old students.