Everyone knows about the various stereotypes and social stigmas that come with socioeconomic status whether they will choose to admit it or not. Society has come to assume that a child who comes from a family of low socioeconomic status, that they will not do as well as a child who comes from a family of a greater socioeconomic status. Unfortunately these assumptions are so ingrained in our brains that we start to follow the self-fulfilling prophecy. When a child from a noticeably low socioeconomic status walks into a classroom, it is not uncommon for the teacher to automatically assume that the child will not perform well in class, and in turn either grades the child more harshly or does not give the child as much attention as the other children from high socioeconomic status families. Do these children not perform well in class because of the self-fulfilling prophecy or is there something that happens during the critical period that causes the child to fall behind? These assumptions are not ingrained in us when we are born, rather they are developed over our lives. When children first start preschool, they tend to pick their friends based on their physical appearance (Baydik, Berrin, Bakkaloğlu, Hatice, 2002, p. 436). It is not surprising that children from low or even middle socioeconomic environments are not able to afford the high end clothing that publicly displays their status. As much as society preaches against stereotyping, we often categorize someone the first time we meet them simply by how they are dressed. This causes children from low socioeconomic status to be friends with other children from the same class, and the same goes for middle and high socioeconomic status. This period in a child’s life is cr... ... middle of paper ... ...2, pages 435-445. Stull, Judith C. (2013). Family socioeconomic status, parent expectations, and a child's achievement, Research in Education. Volume 90, pages 53-67. Mathur, Charu, Erickson, Darin J., Stigler, Melissa H., Forster, Jean L., Finnegan Jr, John R. (2013). Individual and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status Effects on Adolescent Smoking: A Multilevel Cohort-Sequential Latent Growth Analysis, American Journal of Public Health. Volume 103, pages 543-548. Schmitt-Wilson, Sarah (2013). Social Class and Expectations of Rural Adolescents: The Role of Parental Expectations, Career Development Quarterly. Volume 61, pages 226-239. Letourneau, Nicole Lyn, Duffett-Leger, Linda, Levac, Leah, Watson, Barry, Young-Morris, Catherine (2013). Socioeconomic Status and Child Development: A Meta-Analysis, Journal of Behavioral and Emotional Disorders. Volume 3, pages 211-224.
Children who are deemed poor, do not receive nearly as many educational opportunities as children who are deemed rich. Kozol acknowledges that poor children barely have any social skills, which will help them in Kindergarten. In contrast, children who have been in preschool like programs since their toddler years, are more likely to develop social skills and have early-learning skills, like knowing how to hold a crayon. Children in all social classes, in the United States have to take the same standardized tests and are measured on the same grading scale. Kozol questions, “Which of these children will receive the highest scores?”(Kozol 413) Sadly, poor children will not be the ones with the highest score, and they will be held accountable for their test scores, as Kozol points out “There is something deeply hypocritical about a society that holds an eight year old inner city child “accountable” for robbing her of what they gave their own kids six or seven years earlier” (Kozol 413). It is unfair to expect a child to perform on a test equally with other children who started their education earlier. Kozol mentions that some people, who are well-educated, feel that money is not a problem with education inequality, and that other factors such as, “The values of the parents and the kids themselves must have a role in this as well-you know, housing, health conditions,
In Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau discusses the extensive amount of research she conducted employing observational and interview techniques. She collected data on the middle class, working class, and poor families. She was trying to understand the impact of a child’s early parental guidance on the child’s life. She was able to conduct this research with 12 families, all of whom had fourth graders. She gathered enough information to conclude the major differences in the parenting styles of each type of family, which was directly correlated to socioeconomic status.
In her book, Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau argues out that the influences of social class, as well as, race result in unequal childhoods (Lareau 1). However, one could query the inequality of childhood. To understand this, it is necessary to infer from the book and assess the manner in which race and social class tend to shape the life of a family. As the scholar demonstrates, each race and social class usually has its own unique way of child upbringing based on circumstances. To affirm this, the different examples that the scholar presents in the book could be used. Foremost, citing the case of both the White and the African American families, the scholar advances that the broader economics of racial inequality has continued to hamper the educational advancement and blocks access to high-paying jobs with regard to the Blacks as opposed to the Whites. Other researchers have affirmed this where they indicate that the rate of unemployment among the African Americans is twice that of the White Americans. Research further advances that, in contrast to the Whites, for those African Americans who are employed, there is usually a greater chance that they have been underemployed, receive lower wages, as well as, inconsistent employment. This is how the case of unequal childhood based on race comes about; children from the Black families will continue residing in poverty as opposed to those from the white families.
Allhusen, V., Belsky, J., Booth-LaForce, C., Bradley, R., Brownell, C. A., Burchinal, M., & ... Weinraub, M. (2005). Duration and Developmental Timing of Poverty and Children's Cognitive and Social Development from Birth Through Third Grade. Child Development, 76(4), 795-810. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00878.x
Gennetian, Lisa A . “One or Two Parents? Half or Step Siblings? The Effect of Family Structure on Young Children 's Achievement”. Journal of Population Economics , Vol. 18, No. 3 (Sep., 2005), pp. 415-436. Published by: Springer . Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20007969. Web. November 10, 2014
parents For example; in the article “From Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” by
Louie, Vivian. 2001. “Parents’ Aspirations and Investment: The Role of Social Class in the Educational
Family functions as a very important social institution, and the primary agent of socialization (Snedker, 10/19/2016). To expand, parents and other family members are the first exposure to the world children have, and therefore leave a lasting impact on kids in terms of how they see themselves and the people around them. However, this impact isn’t always positive. This especially shows in the differences between upper and lower income families. For example, In Lareau’s piece Invisible Inequality, two boys in families with different SESs, are studied. On one hand, the boy in the higher SES family had less freedom and spent more time in extracurricular activities. Due to this, he acquired more cultural capital than the other boy. This boy’s mother also encouraged him to to be more assertive and confident with authority figures, so he was able to learn various life skills, such as speaking to a doctor, that the other boy wasn’t able to. The boy from the lower SES family however, spent much more time with other children and watching television. These factors play out to make the lower SES boy less confident and more confined than the other boy (Lareau,
Social class, group of people who rank similarly in term of property, power, and prestige, separate people into different lifestyles and provide them with distinctive ways of looking at the world. It gives each individual 's different roles to perform and allow them onto different stages. Social class set people onto different path; it open opportunities to some, but close it from others. In the article, “Class Differences in Child-Rearing Are on the Rise” by Claire Cain Miller describes the impact of parents’ social class on raising a child. This article argues that families of different social classes supervise their child differently.
The youngest child born in America has the highest income and level of education. These measures only measure one aspect of success but nonetheless these differences in income and levels of education do have real life implications. The table allows the reader to get a simple and cohesive look at the differences between each sibling. After reading this book I can clearly observe the factors that have led to such differences.
Ream, Robert K., and Gregory J. Palardy. "Reexamining Social Class Differences in the Availability and the Educational Utility of Parental Social Capital." American Educational Research Journal 45.2 (2008): 238-273. JSTOR. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
As stated before, a neighborhood plays an important factor in the upbringing of children and youths. Living in a poverty stricken neighborhood has negative consequences such as a lower educational achievement and a higher chance of committing crimes. The wealth concentrated in affluent neighborhoods stays in the neighborhood and are rarely spreaded to areas in poverty. Children growing up in poorer neighborhoods are not given the same opportunities as children growing up in well-of neighborthoods to gain a higher education because of the resources that are offered. As a result, poor socioeconomic areas remain the same over time because of the lack of resources introduced into the area.
Childhood development is both a biological and psychological period that occurs to every human from birth to adolescence. The transition from dependency to autonomy characterizes this period. The crucial factors that affect this period include parental life, prenatal development and genetics among others. Childhood period is immensely significant for the child’s future health and development. Efforts in ensuring proper child development are normally seen through parents, health professional and educators who work collectively. Such efforts are essential in making sure that children grow to reach their full potential. However, it is not extremely easy to raise a child in modern times because certain factors emerge to ruin this pivotal stage in life. Poverty is a serious problem that can immensely affect childhood development (Horgan, 2007). Children are susceptible developmentally to problems in their earliest period of their life. Poverty is not a selective issue and it can affect all ages in any place, but its
Socioeconomic status (SES) is a major topic of interest within the study of language development in children. It has been indicated as one of the most widely studied constructs in the social sciences (Bradley & Corwyn, 2002). Even with the wide variety of studies involving SES, there has never been a complete consensus on what SES actually represents. Beyond the development of language, SES also affects the overall development of a child. These developmental differences then further lead to differences in language acquisition. When looking at SES, there are many factors to consider. The concept of capital seems to best embody the current meaning psychologists hold of SES, according to Bradley and Corwyn (2002). Capital is favored because of its inclusion of access to financial (material resources), human (nonmaterial resources such as education) and social capital (social connections). The current working definition of SES involves family income, education level, and occupations, which influence the theories and characteristics that children develop (Hill, 2006). The effects of socioeconomic status on children are shown through many factors that affect language development through the child’s overall growth, their cognitive development, as well as their stress management and the parenting styles that they are exposed to.
As I started out researching for the paper, I realized that most importantly, data would need to be collected comparing the educational opportunities and achievement of the rural youth and those of urban youth. For instance, high school grades and SAT scores could be compared, as well as college applications and attendance. Beyond this, the actual school systems of rural and urban areas would be compared - the differences in funding, ideology, resources, etc., would grant insight into the students’ experiences and goals there.