Social Class and Education
1. How may a student's social class origin and related factors impact on her/his learning outcomes and how can teachers intervene to effectively address any resulting disadvantages and injustices for students?
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 Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, a student’s chances of academic success are greatly influenced by factors such as ‘ parental wealth, occupational status, education and aspirations’ (Argy, 2007:para3, Braddock, 2005:para19). The OECD identifies Australia and New Zealand educational systems as being inequitable. (Argy, 2007:para 13, Braddock, 2005, para 19). This essay will identify some of the ways in which socio-economic status has been shown to be related to academic performance and engagement. It will also consider pedagogical techniques which have been proven to assist students to succeed despite somewhat deterministic realities. Finally, it will examine in detail a counter-hegemonic educational initiatives in New Zealand, which have been created by Māori educators to address ongoing social and educational inequities for Māori students.
Socio-economic status and educational outcomes
Researchers have overwhelmingly proved that students from middle-class families achieve greater academic success than students from working-class families (Marjoribanks, 2005:110, Reay, 2006:294, Thrupp, 2007:78). Jo Sparks provides compelling evidence about the trajectory for those from poor or working-class backgrounds: those who live in council housing are ‘less likely to attain qualifications and are more likely to report playing truant than those living in other forms of accommodation’ (1999:16); those who leave school with low
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 Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, a student’s chances of academic success are greatly influenced by factors such as ‘ parental wealth, occupational status, education and aspirations’ (Argy, 2007:para3, Braddock, 2005:para19). The OECD identifies Australia and New Zealand educational systems as being inequitable. (Argy, 2007:para 13, Braddock, 2005, para 19). This essay will identify some of the ways in which socio-economic status has been shown to be related to academic performance and engagement. It will also consider pedagogical techniques which have been proven to assist students to succeed despite somewhat deterministic realities. Finally, it will examine in detail a counter-hegemonic educational initiatives in New Zealand, which have been created by Māori educators to address ongoing social and educational inequities for Māori students.
Socio-economic status and educational outcomes
Researchers have overwhelmingly proved that students from middle-class families achieve greater academic success than students from working-class families (Marjoribanks, 2005:110, Reay, 2006:294, Thrupp, 2007:78). Jo Sparks provides compelling evidence about the trajectory for those from poor or working-class backgrounds: those who live in council housing are ‘less likely to attain qualifications and are more likely to report playing truant than those living in other forms of accommodation’ (1999:16); those who leave school with low
References: Adams, M., Bell, L., and Griffin, P. (1997). Appendix 6C: Action Continuum. In Teaching for diversity and social justice: a sourcebook. By Adams, M., Bell, L., and Griffin, P. (Eds.). New York: Routledge. P109 | Argy, F Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T. & Teddy, L. (2007). Te Kōtahitanga Phase 3 Whānaungatanga: Establishing a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy of Relations in Mainstream Secondary School Classrooms. Wellington:Ministry of Education. | Braddock, J Connell, R.W. (1993). Schools and Social Justice. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. pp43-54. | Cunha, F Marjoribanks, K. (2005). Family background, adolescents’ educational aspirations, and Australian young adults’ educational attainment. In International Education Journal, 6(1), 104-112. | Reay, D Seddon, T. 1983. The hidden curriculum:an overview. In Curriculum Perspectives, 3(1) pp 1-6 | Smith, G.H Snook, I. & O’Neill (2010). Social class and educational achievement: beyond ideology. In NZ Journal of Educational Studies. 45 (2). | Sparkes, Jo [ 5 ]. Collaborative response to a commonly held vision (Bishop et al, 2007:30) [ 6 ]