The Effects Of Poverty And Student Achievement : Does Poverty Affect The Culture Of A School?

When relating poverty to the achievement gap, one can see the correlation. The achievement gap is the discrepancy in academic performance between groups of students, it is more often used to describe the troubling performance gaps between African-American and Hispanic students at the lower end of the performance scale. Many students who are living in poverty fall within these backgrounds and it is understandable why their grades and school performances are suffering. Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of hierarchy needs show that before a child is able to learn or perform any kind of activity, the basic needs must be met, food, shelter, and water (Shaffer, 2014, pp 158).

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

Poverty is everywhere in this world especially in education. Poverty in education could come from the location of the school, the child’s home life, how the students feel about school and in many other ways. Poverty comes in all shapes and forms, “An appalling number of American Children live in poverty. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 14.7 million, or nearly 20 percent of children under age 18, live below the poverty line” (When Poverty…). The kids/students bring those debilitating effect with them to school every day.

Many kids in the United States have been affected by poverty at some point in their lives. In fact, one in five children have been affected by poverty. A survey was done within the last year by the Scholastic company that interviewed a group of the State Teachers of the Year and asked them what they thought were some of the effects of poverty. Some popular answers were that it affects the way you perform in school greatly and that we need more anti-poverty programs to help out with these children. Poverty affects the success of students in many ways. These include not having the academic achievement that more advantaged kids did, not having experiences other kids did, and not having the early development they needed.

Poverty has a great impact on children school lives because they usually face with the overwhelming challenge in their families that is a factor impact on children’s school behaviors and performance. Girls will tend to abuse, while boys may damage in other aspects such as curiosity, learning, and memory. When I read the chapter two of the book, Teaching with Poverty in Mind written by Eric Jensen, I completely agree with him that “A child who comes from a stressful home environment tends to channel that stress into disruptive behavior at school and be less able to develop a healthy social and academic life” (Jensen, 2009, n.p.). In this book, he reported, low-income children “are linked to over 50 percent of all

As Connell, White and Johnston (1990,p.9) state, 'There is not a “culture of poverty”, nor any key “deficit” that makes poor people different from everybody else and therefore and educational problem'. Teachers and Education Assistants need to adapt into the culture of poverty and be sensitive and understandable to the extensive bar of needs that children of poverty bring to the classroom and they need to consider the cultural values of these children as they arrange their learning. The basis of Groundwater-Smith, Ewing and Le Cornu's opinions in the article is they position readers to view that the teachers dispositions low income students and that rarely the educators offer the same level or enough aid and attention than the other students and they are less likely to succeed in school when compared with the more advantaged children. According to Groundwater-Smith, Ewing and Le Cornu's and Geoffrey D. Borman and Laura T. Rachuba they both state that students from lower income families may not have as high expectations from their parents, teachers or their peers within the school. The students may also not be confident in their own abilities and

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, over 16 million children (22%) in the United States live below the federal poverty level, which is $23,550 per year for a family of four. Research has shown that a family requires an income of about twice that amount just to cover basic needs and expenses. Using these statistics, 45% of children in the US live in low-income households. Most parents of low-income children are employed, but unsteady employment accompanied with low wages leave families struggling to make ends meet. The effects of poverty on children are numerous and long lasting, such as impaired learning ability as well as social, behavioral, and emotional difficulties. Childhood poverty can also contribute to poor physical and mental health. Research has shown that poverty is the greatest threat to s child’s well-being, but public policies can make a difference when they are implemented effectively.

Fifty years after the declaration of war on poverty, an increasing number of children still grow up in poverty in this country. Poverty is now more determinative than race as a predictor of student educational success (Reardon, 2013). The achievement gap between the poor and the more economically advantaged child has actually widened over the last three decades (Reardon, 2013). If we are to provide all children with equal and excellent educational opportunities, it is imperative that we utilize the most effective strategies and enhancements to overcome the educational disadvantages that poor children experience.

Unlike other countries such as China, socio-economic background in the US directly impacts the quality of education students receive. Therefore, students living urban poverty not only demonstrate minimal academic progress but also less participation and motivation towards education compared to advantaged students. According to the US Census Bureau, over 22% of students live in poverty and many

In this time and age the United States contains a high number of students in the public schools who are under the poverty line. Poverty is defined as the state of being really poor financially. Poverty in the United States has become a complicated problem that causes a variety of diverse challenges for children and their families. Although the economy of the United States is showing great signs of improvement, poverty remains a serious issue. While examining poverty and children education in several articles all authors seem to agree with the fact that poverty does have an affect in the academic development of a child. However, there are several disagreements in other areas. The authors that this essay will be

Poverty is on the rise all around the world especially across the United States. This is a problem that is affecting many aspects of life for both the victim and the people around them. Students living in poverty have to tolerate many unfortunate circumstances on a daily basis which can have a significant effect on their growth, development, and educational experience. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds can still have the same success as the average student, but it takes a little extra effort and a leap of faith. Although it may be challenging for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds to achieve success in school and the real world, it is not impossible.

Payne’s (2008) poverty contends that management of low-income families tends to focus on the natural development of their children with little of no regard to cognitive intervention. The poverty theory developed by Payne (1998) focuses on remediation of the economically disadvantaged to remediate their deficits. A latent effect of such miseducation of teachers and school leaders is that students will internalize the views of educational leadership within their schools, consequently resulting ion additional negative outcomes. It is arguable that individuals living in impoverished settings may hold mainstream values and ideas, but lack the resources to enact the values into their lives.

Poverty within neighborhoods throughout the United States has increased immensely throughout the past 50 years. In 2011, nearly 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty compared to the 353,000 Americans who lived in poverty in 1959. (Dosomething 1) Poverty is hardly just defined as a lack of financial resources, it is defined as a condition that results in an absence of the freedom to choose arising from a lack of the capability to function effectively in society. (Poverty and Education 1)  For a person to be impoverished or to be living in a state of poverty is to live where they do not have the economic means to provide a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their family.  A majority of public school students across the country are considered “low-income”, according to a new study by the Southern Education Foundation.  Areas of concentrated impoverishment are often characterised by crime, unemployment, and lack of resources.  Children represent 24 percent of the population, but they comprise 34 percent of all people in poverty.  The shift to a majority-poor student population implies that a growing range of students who attend public schools are less likely to possess support at home, are less often exposed to enriching activities outside of school, and are more likely to drop out and never attend higher education.  Children living in poverty have a higher number of absenteeism or leave school altogether because they are likely to have to work or care for family

Our country has many low performing high poverty schools however we do have several high performing high poverty schools. It is important that we look at how these high performing high poverty schools are doing to educate all students especially those students at risk. Barr takes an in-depth look at how teachers in these low performing high poverty schools are doing to achieve radical improvements in learning for the most viable students.

During my inquiry, I considered theories when planning, taking action, reflecting, evaluating and finally documenting. Sometimes we can feel pressure to handle disruptive behaviours immediately. Taking the time to understand the behaviour and to consider various options often results in a more constructive resolution. After an event is past, taking the time to evaluate the effectiveness of our response can help to improve our reaction in the next situation (Kuhlenschmidt & Layne, 1999). During my inquiry, I made questions about student behaviour and made assumptions. As an example student behaviour during Friday, last period was really disruptive. I assumed, that may be their energy supply is low or excitement about the weekend (mood). Discussion with teachers proved me this was a very common experience. Research showed that It’s natural for student attention levels to vary according to motivation, mood, perceived relevance of the material, and other factors (Briggs, 2014). Based on my understandings, knowledge, readings and other experts’ ideas, I developed an action plan for behaviour management in year 8