Joanna Bracegirdle

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EDFD268

Assessment task 1

Sociological Report: Socioeconomic status

Definition of the issue:

Socioeconomic status [SES] refers to ones financial and social status within

the society to which they belong (Foreman, 2014). It is accepted that high SES is

linked more to accomplished professions and low SES is often ascribed to semi-

skilled or unskilled occupations. As educators, we are not to ignore that SES will be a

factor that will impact upon many aspects of our students lives. We must be aware

that it has the potential to quite vastly affect their learning. Many studies that have

highlighted a strong relationship between parents socioeconomic status and their

childrens academic achievement in school; students from a low SES background

have lower rates of academic success than their peers from higher SES backgrounds

(Sharma, 2015). We will delve into reasons for this; as well as looking at how it

impacts upon student learning, student achievement as well as how it affects schools

and the way we teach.

Possible effects on learning and achievement:

Kim, Gong-Soog and Rowe (2000) found that during family economic hardship,

children are less likely to have access to high quality educational materials within

their home settings than children in financially secure or more prosperous families. As

we understand, financial struggles are often seen in low SES families. As such, it

would be reasonable to predict that many children of a low SES are experiencing

inequality in regards to access to these resources within their homes, as their families

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simply cannot afford luxuries such as this. From discussions with relevant

professionals in the field, the link between home and school life is vital for supporting

a childs learning. Quality resources at home would help to maintain this positive and

smooth transition between learning at home and school. This lack of connectedness in

a childs life will likely affect their learning; it is probable that this will be reflected in

their poorer academic results.

Fan and Chen (2001) worked to synthesise much quantitative literature concerning

the connection between parental involvement and their childrens academic

achievement. Within this compilation of research, they found that parental

aspiration/expectation was the strongest relationship in terms of supporting learning

and consequently achievement within school. Returning to our earlier definition of

SES, we understand that children coming from a low SES background will have

parents that may be employed in un-skilled or only semi-skilled labour. Parental

academic expectation for their dependants is often linked to their personal schooling

achievement and/or experiences. Often preconceived parental notions, such as

unpleasant experiences about school are passed on inadvertently through to children

who pick up these attitudes and habits in their own studies. Sometimes because

parents struggled in school they may not expect a high standard from their children.

These assumed lower expectations on children from lower SES groups may have a

detrimental affect on their learning.

Within low SES families, even when the parents recognise the value and

importance of education, they may not be equipped to fully support their childs

educational growth and learning. Ashman & Elkins (2012) highlight issues related to

this, namely; lack of parental literacy and numeracy skills, unfamiliarity with

assessment demands/school curriculum expectations, issues of communication with

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formal educators and relationships that are unhelpful to education and social

progression. This is another factor that may further disadvantage students, as parents

can be an invaluable resource in terms of assistance if they do in fact understand the

content or what is even expected at particular levels. For example, in low SES

families, experiences such as reading books together is far more rare than the

frequency of this occurrence in middle SES. This has been shown to link to a direct

disadvantage in literacy skills (MacNaughton & Hughes, 2011). This has the potential

to impact upon childrens literacy and numeracy skills, as they might not receive the

same broad level of support that those from more privileged backgrounds tend to.

A trend noted by Ashman & Elkins was that of where students from advantaged

backgrounds accrue benefits, as they tend to keep company with similarly advantaged

peers. Juxtaposed to this are the students from low SES groups keeping company

primarily with each other, tending to become fixed in cycles of disadvantage (2012,

p.11). The implication of this is a more defined class system within society; the rich

are getting richer and for the poor it becomes increasingly difficult to rise above their

station. As educators who hope to teach in an equitable manner and see all of our

students, regardless of SES, succeed in life and education, strategies are important to

help us combat this particularly tough sociological issue.

Implications for schools and teaching:

Aforementioned was the issue with low SES students and a lack of quality

educational resources in home. One of the things this may impact upon is homework

or projects that have been set for students. It is important to consider when setting

tasks, whether all the students in the class have the resources to complete this to a

high standard. In this instance, differentiated instruction (Ashman & Elkins, 2012)

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may become imperative to the smooth running of a class that combines students from

varying SES backgrounds. Changes that an educator could make to the learning

environment could be providing materials that students can use to work on

assignments as opposed to simply relying on them to gather these outside of school

with the support of their family. This simple action would provide a more equitable

field where students do not have to rely on their familys wealth, as resources are

provided within the classroom. To reinforce access to a broad range of books, perhaps

the library as a resource should be encouraged. Access to the library is thankfully not

determined by SES, so children and parents should be made aware of this treasure

trove of information and resources. Consideration should also be given as to whether

the well-being coordinator/officer within the school may be able to provide funding

for access to enriching extracurricular activities such as excursions, that these students

may not be able to afford otherwise. Being able to participate in extracurricular

activities is of such value to students educational journey as it reinforces ideas and

themes that are being explored in class in an engaging and memorable way.

It is important, as MacNaughton & Hughes highlight, to avoid looking at low

SES parents from a deficit viewpoint (p.136). Though many families of a low SES

lack resources and knowledge to assist in their childrens success in the classroom,

they argue that linguistic diversity and difference is an asset within the classroom and

teachers should be careful not to discourage parental involvement due to low SES

(2011). It is important to help these parents understand how valued their contributions

are to their childs learning and to assist them in discovering different ways in which

they can contribute to their education. An implication of this for teachers is that we

need to be very aware of the language that we use when talking to parents, students or

even other teachers. It is counterproductive to make degrading assumptions about

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families and we should approach lower SES families with an appreciation for the

unique skills that they bring to our classroom. It would be far more appropriate to

highlight strengths as opposed to pointing out weaknesses, which could potentially

isolate these families.

As we recognise that studies show middle-class families tend to maintain more

positive home to school relationships as opposed to less socially advantaged or low

SES families (Ashman & Elkins, 2012), teachers can make an extra effort to develop

and strengthen the relationships with low SES parents. From within these

strengthened relationships, opportunities may arise to help connect these parents with

services that may help them. These services may be access to tutoring that their

children may benefit from, encouragement to understand their value as a parent and

how they can support their child to succeed, English language classes if appropriate or

knowledge of local libraries where students can use the computers for school work or

to do research and read. This also links into the idea of empowering families, helping

them to see that their current circumstances do not necessarily define their future nor

does it define their childrens future. Though often difficult, these patterns of

disadvantage are able to be broken.

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References:

Ashman, A, & Elkins, J. (eds) (2012). Education for Inclusion and Diversity.

(4th ed.) Frenchs Forest, NSW; Pearson Australia. 6 - 25

Fan, X. T., & Chen,M. (2001). Parental involvement and students academic

achievement: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 1-22.

Foreman, P. (2008). Social behaviour and schooling. In Inclusion in action

(4th ed.) South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning Australia Pty Limited.

Kim, S. Y., Gong-Soog, H., & Rowe, B. R. (2000). The Impact of family

economic hardship and parental commitment on childrens outcomes. Consumer

Interests Annual, 46, 17-24.

MacNaughton, G., & Hughes, P. (2011). Parents and professionals in early

childhood settings. Open University Press: Berkshire, England.

Polidano, C., Hanel, B., & Buddelmeyer, H. (2013). Explaining the socio-

economic status school completion gap. Education Economics, 21(3), 230-247.

Sharma, V. (2015). Effect of socio-economic status on academic achievement

of school going children. Indian Streams Research Journal, 5(3). Retrieved from

www.isrj.org