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Poverty and academic performance 2014
The impact of poverty on students
Factors affecting students academic success
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The study of child and adolescent psychology in terms of educational achievement is a complex one. This is because students’ educational achievements depend on a complex and interwoven set of factors that include their intrinsic characteristics like physical and genetic makeup, the environment they are brought up in, the emotional status of their parents, the outlook of their teachers and peers, and their cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic factors.
Influence of cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic factors on student achievement:
Student achievement is largely affected by the socio-demographic variables of their families, with socioeconomic factors being the largest predictor of student achievement (Casanova et al., 2005). Poverty and a low socioeconomic status affect children’s confidence, subjecting them to inferiority complexes that hinder their school life and education. It may also lead to developmental challenges because of the lack of basic amenities. Cultural factors and different ethnicities predispose children to cultural bias and discrimination from their peers and teachers, which becomes a hindrance in their educational development even if the child is totally competent (Bowman, 1994). Differences in mother tongue and the medium of instruction at school also pose a challenge to students’ learning. A child learns best when taught in its mother tongue. Therefore, if a subject is taught in a language other than what the child has grown up listening to, the child faces difficulty in processing what is being taught, as its mind does the dual task of translating the language and assessing its meaning. Another factor that influences students’ achievement is the pressurization they face from parents and teachers to reach a ce...
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...conceived notions about the abilities of a student, based on his ethnicity and cultural background. Teachers and parents should be able to identify the fine line between “motivation” and “pressurization” while encouraging children to accomplish a certain level of achievement in education.
Works Cited
Bowman, B.T. (1994). Cultural Diversity and Academic Achievement. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/leadrshp/le0bow.htm
Casanova, P.F., Garcia, M.C., de la Torre, M.J., and de la Villa Carpio, M. (2005). Influence of Family and SocioDemographic Variables on Students with Low Academic Achievement. Educational Psychology, 25(4), 423-435. Retrieved from http://www.viriya.net/jabref/resilience/Influence_of_family_and_socio-demographic_variables_on_students_with_low_academic_achievement.pdf
Lisa Delpit’s book, “The Skin We Speak”, talked about language and culture, and how it relates to the classroom. How we speak gives people hits as to where we are from and what culture we are a part of. Unfortunately there are also negative stereotypes that come with certain language variations. There is an “unfounded belief that the language of low income groups in rural or urban industrial areas is somehow structurally “impoverished” or “simpler” than Standard English” (Delpit 71). The United States is made of people from various cultures and speak many different variations of languages. As teachers we must be aware of some of the prejudices we may have about language and culture.
...h identification and then through the implementation of a program such as the Intergroup Relations Program expanded on a larger scale such as the Michigan Student Study, can we decrease bias and promote cultural acceptance by implementing programs that cultivate cultural diversity and discussion in the classroom. The study proposes that the although implicit biases may exist in the DoDEA facilities, the classroom environment fosters a cultural experiential dynamic that allows minorities to flourish academically without bias for racial or ethnic differences in learning outcomes. Furthermore, implementation of diversifying programs like the IRP in a public high school can determine if greater SAT scores can be achieved by minorities who have participated in the program. Elevating the academic performance of SAT’s in minorities can provide lasting educational benefits.
Spring, Joel H. “Chapter 6: Student Diversity.” American Education. Sixth ed. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 145. Print.
Ugbu, J., U. (1992). Understanding cultural diversity and learning. EDUC 160 Urban Education (Spring 2014, pp. 213-228)
In recent research studies have shown that there are several factors of a child’s academic performance, such as parental time commitment and family economic status. I want to understand whether family economic status impacts a child’s academic performance. My hypothesis is that there is a correlation between children academic outcomes and family economic status. It is significant to research because the correlation between family economic status and a child’s academic performance demonstrate the detrimental impact on children from low economic families. Children are important because they are the future leaders. Many children will become nation leaders or lawyers while others may become doctors who will nurture the next generation. The most apparent issue concerning children form low income families today is low academic performance. Every aspect of a child’s life determines whether or not they will succeed. Therefore, we should be very concern and involved. The correlation of both aspects hinders children from low economic families. The importance of answering the research question allows us to determine whether or not there is a difference between children from low income families and children from high income families.
Thomas; Collier. ( 2002). A national study of school effectiveness for Language Minority Students' Long-Term Academic Achievement. Escholarship.org. Retrieved April 10, 2014 from http://escholarship.org/uc/item/65j213pt#page-312
Roychaudhury, P., & Basu, J. (1998). Parent–child relationship, school achievement and adjustment of adolescent boys. Journal of Personality and Clinical Studies, 14(1-2), 53-58. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=1999-05028-010&site=ehost-live
The variety of languages that revolves around our nation makes it a very diverse place to live in and a comforting one as well. There are hundreds of languages being spoken at this very moment and it is the sole factor that keeps a culture alive. Although many children are raised to embrace who they are and where they come from, attending school in the United States of America can contradict their pride since English is used as the dominant way of communicating. This encounter forced these children to know and fluently speak two languages: the language of their homeland and the language being spoken in school. Coming from a culture in which two languages, Chamorro and English, are spoken, many Chamorro children are forced to become bilingual. In spite of their gifted ability to speak different languages, the two languages often contradict with each other. This results in miscommunication and academic deficiencies. Nevertheless, speaking two languages fluently does not affect children’s learning capabilities within the American Education System because of the over diagnosis of learning disabilities among bilingual children and the rewarding effects of being bilingual.
Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students to gain a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably from a judgmental and prejudiced view. Diversity has a broad range of spectrums. Students from all across the continent; students from political refugees, indigenous Americans, and immigrants bring their cultural and linguistic skills to American classrooms. Students not only bring their cultural and linguistic skills, but they bring their ethnicity, talents, and skills.
In this diagnosis, I have to consider a number psychological and sociological factors that may contribute to John Doe’s low academic achievement. This Diagnosis will consider personal, family and school related factors, which will inform the school of the reasons why John Doe fails to meet his academic potential and help to develop an appropriate intervention plan, that will reverse the students underachieving pattern.
When one pursues academics, they must start in child hood. Good academic development during adolescence is important for one to have a life time of achievements in academics and work related fields. The transitionary period between primary and secondary school, a period of time where a child’s academic works often declines is the time when one needs to devote themselves to academics. In their article Academic Success Across the Transition from Primary to Secondary Schooling among Lower-Income Adolescents: Understanding the Effects of Family Resources and Gender, Lisa Serbin, Dale Stack, and Daniel Kingdon conducted a study on school age kids and the need of academic success, in the article they exaplian, “Successful academic performance during adolescence is a key predictor of lifetime achievement, including occupational and social success.” (Serbin, Stack and Daniel, 3).
Naumann, L. P., Guillaume, E. M., & Funder, D. C. (2012). The Correlates of High Parental Academic Expectations: An Asian-Latino Comparison. ournal of Cross-Cultural Psychology , 43, 515-520. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from the Sage Journals database.
Habits conducts, values, virtues, customs and beliefs are all shaped through the mother tongue. Needless to say, weakness in the mother tongue means a paralysis of all thought and power of expression. Role of Mother tongue in child’s education, Early Childhood Care, and Education UNESCO (2007) points out the overlooked advantages of multilingual education in the early years. When children are offered opportunities to learn in their mother tongue, they are more likely to enroll and succeed in school and their parents are more likely to communicate with teachers and participate in their children's learning. Mother tongue-based education, especially benefits disadvantaged groups, including children from rural communities and girls who tend to have less exposure to an official language. They tend to stay in school longer, achieve better and repeat grades less often when they are taught in their mother tongue. Most children speak a home language that differs from the language of instruction in education programs. Research also confirms that children learn best in their mother tongue as a prelude to and complement of bilingual and multilingual education. Whether children successfully retain their mother tongue while acquiring additional languages depends on several interacting factors. Mother tongue's influence on second language influence in L2 learning Studies show that six to eight years of education in a language are necessary to develop the level of literacy and verbal proficiency required for academic achievement in secondary school. To retain their mother tongue, children whose first language is not the medium of instruction must have: Continued interaction with their family and community in their first language on increasingly complex topics that go beyond household matters. Ongoing formal instruction in their first language to develop reading and writing
Murray, A. (2012). The relationship of parenting style to academic achievement in middle childhood. The Irish Journal of Psychology, 33(4), 137-152. doi: 10.1080/03033910.2012.724645.
The number of students all over the world attending international schools has increased. Since English is the language of education at these schools, some schools offer ESL classes for those whose English is not their first language. Other schools did not provide additional classes in English. They overlooked the importance of student's mother tongue in their cognitive development. However, few international schools have applied specific systems to deal with differences among students in languages and cultures (Maurice 2007).