The Impact Of Low Socioeconomic Status On Student Success And Failure

Certain parental practices can hinder a child’s academic and behavioral growth. Parents residing in poverty are less likely to participate in in academically supportive *events with their children. From my personal experience, children of lower class parents are not given many choices and are often not offered many chances to be creative or think critically, due to their parents asserting more direct authority over them. I believe this aspect draws a direct line to and serves as the reason for child’s academic dysfunctions or behavior incapacities. There are programs such as education centers and summer programs, but these are utilized by middle class youth and do little for lower class youth.

Social class is a large faction of people who have similar positions in an economic system. In an exemplary world, all students would have an equal shot at success, excellent schools, and educators that dedicate themselves and their time to achieving this goal. However, social class can significantly affect a student's success, highlighting the correlation between low socioeconomic statuses and academic problems. In all social groups, class plays a significant role in the attainment of children in education. Unfortunately, this has always been the case and the effects are just more evident today. Families from high social classes are more likely to obtain a greater level of education than those in low social classes. Members of upper social classes tend to be better educated and have higher incomes; therefore, they are better able to supply educational advantages to their children as well. Being in a financially disadvantaged can also affect a child’s performance during school.  It is important, therefore, to examine the way in which education is distributed through social class. Between societal pressures, expectations and parental negligence, children can be negatively impacted in their pursuit for future success through their education as exemplified through “College Pressures” and “The Sanctuary of School”.

In the article “Who Gets to Graduate” by Paul Tough examines a problem about low income students are less likely to graduate from college than students from middle class or wealthier families. In the United States, school systems are not created equally. Middle and upper class students have access to safe and modern schools equipped with everything they possibly need to stay in that high rank because they came from a family who has the money to support their studies. Students from low-income families don’t have a lot of the support, stability, and money from home that higher-income students can take for granted.

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.

Although in the past the biggest cause for unequal opportunities in education has been the gap between different races, recently the gap between income percentiles has affected students substantially. Students go to schools in districts that correlate to the income percentile they are in. Because of this, many students in high-poverty neighborhoods are not given the same amount of time and money as students in upper-class neighborhoods are (Cordes and Miller). This can be seen in a study, conducted in

Australian higher education establishments aim to enhance the learning experiences of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The goal is to increase access to and participation of all groups in the community.

Education does not just take place in schools. Classrooms are places where many forms of discourses come together. Students and teachers with various forms of knowledge and ways of communicating interact together and unfortunately some ways of knowing and communicating hold more value than others. Sometimes researcher should stop looking at the bigger picture; capitalist economies and the true nature of society should become more of a focus in education research. You cannot hope to understand why students from lower socio economic areas do poorly compared to students whose parents are more affluent unless more is done to understand the prior.

Alexis, I do agree with you that students in poverty are less likely to be successful then students in higher income. There is a chance for these students to succeed if they have the right teacher even if there parents are not involved in their children education. With the right help and guidance these students can have a chance to break the cycle but if they are put in the back and not getting the right help that they need they will continue following their parents foot

Children from low-income households are more likely to encounter an increased number of risk factors that encumber their academic successes; these factors are inclusive of (a) low levels of maternal education; (b) high levels of maternal depression; (c) inconsistent and harsh disciplinary practices; (d) and exposure to drug abuse, domestic violence, and child abuse. (p. 11)

The book Unequal Childhoods explains a study conducted to prove the significance of social class. Annette Lareau presents the study highlighting two primary ways of parenting that ultimately affect how successful the child becomes as they transition into adulthood. These styles of parenting include Concerted Cultivation which is where parents put through kids through structured activities, and Accomplishment of Natural Growth which is emphasized through freedom and directives. While both styles of parenting have their benefits and their weaknesses, the educational system of the United States is built predominantly on Concerted Cultivation and middle class values, which in turn may negatively affect how children prepare for their transitions into adulthood. This imbalance in education can put students farther ahead and at the same time neglect children who don’t have the resources they need to keep up with the other students. There are a multitude of variables involved with helping students reach their full potential and become successful. Some of the big factors to a student’s success include the student 's socioeconomic background, how they “fit” into the educational system, how strong their relationships are with other people, and their ability to access resources. Creating an education that can accommodate students from all different backgrounds will empower students to reach their full potential.

Social class also brings other resources to children besides extracurricular activities. One being a higher quality in education. In the article, “Before a Test, Poverty of Words”, Ginia Bellafante discusses the correlation of class to education. Bellafante interviewed Steven F. Wilson, who states that these children in his institutions were “word deficit” (Bellafante, 34). Meanwhile, Bellafante supports Wilson 's comment with her own previous experience when she witnessed a boy around the age of three who was being immersed into a “continuous receipt of dictation” (Bellafante, 34) by his “affluent, ambitious parent” (Bellafante, 34). This experience also proved accurate as Bellfante 's article comments that “children of professionals were, on average, exposed to approximately 1,500 more words hourly than children growing up in poverty” (Bellfante, 34). Being deficient in vocabulary can affect a child 's ability to attend a top tier educational institution as they will be less prepared for

Statistical information concerning the achievement of students in families above and below the poverty line.

A family’s class background can have a huge effect on child-rearing. The way a family raises a child can be dependent on the class background that they have. Often families with a substantial amount of money are able to provide their children with more opportunities than families with lower income. This can have a tremendous effect on how the child is raised and how much help/support a child can get from their families to become successful and educated. Families with different financial backgrounds tend to raise their children differently and have different values in regards to schooling. In Annette Lareau’s book “Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life” she discusses the impact that economical class and family upbringings can have on a child and society. Throughout this analysis I will discuss the different approaches Lareau mentions, which approach prepares children for more effective school success, and the implications of these discoveries for teachers and schools.

Through this week learning resources, I have learned that there are evidences that demonstrate that when a child has limited experiences he or she is more likely to have difficult comprehending what is read. It is why early childhood professionals affirm that oral language is the foundation for literacy development. Everything that children learn about speaking and listening they use for writing and reading and what they learn from writing and reading they use in listening and speaking. In other words, oral language and literacy develop simultaneously. When parents provide rich language and literacy reinforcement at home, children do better in school than those who do not. It is also known for early childhood professionals that for a child with limited experiences is more difficult comprehending what is read. For example, a child who has being exposed to many environments like a farm or like a museum will have more mentally engagement in classrooms activities about things he or she already know that children who have not had experience in those environments. Many researches showed that children that have not have a literacy development or an oral language development years before formal schooling, are less likely to be successful beginning readers, opening an achievement lag that might last through the primary grades. Some of the reasons why parents are not actively involved into their children’s educations are their socioeconomic or legal status. For example, in an immigrant family sometimes both parents have to work and sometimes they have to work two shifts. I have known families where children are the whole day in school and with nannies. Those children do not develop any skills that help them to succeed at the time of attending forming school.

The Department of Education and Training and TISC have produced research that has indicated that children from low socio economic areas on average have far fewer students that enter university. The reason for this is that these parents have no previous experience with higher education and often don’t value this education in the same way parents from affluent areas do, hence the children do not have the role models to follow. Many of these families also do not have the finances to access school of choice and provide resources within the home that may enhance their development. Many of these parents also lack their own educational knowledge that allows them an understanding of how a child’s development processes. A simple example of this may be the fact that these parents may not understand the value of early intervention with developmental processes such as reading (How Kids Develop, 2008) i.e. simply reading to them each night.