Sloan, Tyler. “Supporting Students Living in Poverty.” BU Journal of Graduate Studies in Education, Volume 11, Issue 1, 2019, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1230335.pdf 

Link:  

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1230335.pdf 

Summary: 

This article discusses the support educators can provide students inside the classroom who come from low socioeconomic status (SES). Students who come from low SES have low language, vocabulary, social, and literacy levels due to the lack of funding and lack of support from resources. They are more likely to experience financial stress which can negatively affect their ability to interact with their classmates as well as negatively affect their academic achievement. Students and/or families of low SES need proper funding in programs in the community to help bridge the poverty gap and offer students the opportunity to succeed academically. As educators we can solve this problem by making sure that learning spaces are encouraging to students while also increasing the proper resources necessary. Educators can help solve this issue by increasing the number of afterschool programs that aid in language, vocabulary, social, and literacy available for students at no cost. Poverty is an issue that negatively affects academic success but, with the proper resources available and the right directions, we can bridge this gap. 

 

Analysis: 

Effects of low socioeconomic status (SES) on academic achievement 

 

How educators can support students who comes from low SES 

 

 

Sawyer, W., Callow, J., Munns, G., & Zammit, K. (2013). What exemplary teachers do. In G. 

Munns, W. Sawyer, & B. Cole (Eds.), Exemplary Teachers of Students in Poverty (pp. 

90-108). Taylor & Francis Group.

Summary: The purpose of the “What Exemplary Teachers Do” chapter of this book is to inform the audience of important steps teachers can take and ideas they should consider in order to create a successful learning environment for students with low socioeconomic status. This chapter breaks down into different sections to highlight the key components; learning experiences, insider classroom, individual support strategies, and engaging messages. Learning experiences show strategies that teachers can use to keep their classroom on target with learning and to build a community within students. Insider classroom focuses on specific tools in the classroom that teachers should have to drive learning itself, as well as steps needed to be taken to ensure student learning. This includes having the opportunity for peer discussion, teacher conversations, assessments for the students, and reflecting feedback from the teacher. Individual support strategies encourage and motivate students to give them confidence in themselves, as well as keeping them persistent with their learning. Teachers should also show students how what they are learning is useful and relevant to them to keep them engaged. Lastly, engaging messages means to keep students engaged in receiving meaningful and positive messages from what is being taught in the classroom. Rather than each singular lesson having its own message separately, the messages in the classroom should all connect to each other and there should be a greater message relating to all of the time spent in the classroom.

Analysis:  

• This resource relates to creating an equal environment for students with different socioeconomic backgrounds because it shows different ways a teacher can set his or her students up for success in the classroom while creating a safe community within the classroom. This is relevant to our driving question because the guidelines presented in my resource helps to create equity and a safe learning environment for students of different socioeconomic backgrounds.

• From the resource, creating a sense of community within the classroom consists of building relationships between the students, as well as the students with the teacher. Offering lots of resources allows for the sense of community too. The teacher should provide students of all socioeconomic backgrounds with equal opportunities to be included in the class. This helps students to feel safe and comfortable when in school.

• Potential bias that needs to be considered is that some of the tips given in this book could be opinions of the authors on what makes a successful and equal classroom. Some of the information presented may not work perfectly in every single classroom.

• Teachers encouraging students and making them feel confident helps a lot with their learning. Students who come from backgrounds of low socioeconomic status may feel less confident than other students because it’s possible that other students may make them feel bad about their background. By having teachers who encourage all student learning the same for everyone really helps for each student to feel equally capable of doing what everyone else can.

• Offering multiple support systems allows students to have the access they need to be successful in school, despite their background. It is especially important for the students to be aware of all of their resources in the classroom.

• All of the tips and strategies listed in this chapter of the book go into making a classroom with students who may have a low socioeconomic status feel very equal and comfortable. If a teacher were to do everything listed in the chapter, there is a really good chance that students will feel that they are being treated fairly in the classroom. 

Torff B, Sessions D. Teachers’ attitudes about professional development in high-SES and low-SES communities. Learning inquiry. 2009;3(2):67-77. doi:10.1007/s11519-009-0040-1 

https://www.proquest.com/docview/232664238/fulltextPDF/6CB5DD8110F74BA4PQ/1?accountid=13626 

This article conducted a study of practicing teachers who completed a survey in classrooms in low socioeconomic status (SES) and high SES areas and their support for professional development. The results stated that professional development was higher in high-SES communities compared to low-SES communities. This is due to the lack of resources and funding within the community to enhance professional development for students. The results also stated that professional development was higher among elementary teachers rather than secondary teachers regardless of their socioeconomic status. The article states that elementary and secondary teachers bring different opinions to professional development because of subject differences. Elementary teachers are focusing on multiple subjects whereas secondary teachers have more of a single focus subject matter. Teachers in low SES communities do not have access to professional development interventions to know to engage students to want to learn. Having educators that take on leadership roles in professional development is a way for teachers to feel confident in their students being able to learn and achieve academic success. Without the proper resources for teachers to become aware on their own of the importance of PD and academic success, it becomes hard for their students to practice the same belief.  

 

Citation: Punjab Colleges. (n.d.). How does socioeconomic status affect education? Punjab Colleges. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://pgc.edu/socioeconomic-status-affect-education/ 

 

Summary: This resource offers information on the comparison between socioeconomic status and their education. According to the article, economic status is “the position that a person occupies in society” (Punjab Colleges). For students, this would include the income and finances of their parents or guardians. It has been proven that students who come from a higher socioeconomic background tend to perform better in school than students who come from a lower socioeconomic background. Each year, there are more students with low SES who enter the school system. Many schools and educators are not prepared to educate these students. This means that these children are likely to not do as well in school as they should. With students with low SES, there may be other factors going on in the student’s life at home that may make it even more difficult for them to be successful in school. It is important for teachers to be able to understand children who are in these situations in order to provide the support that they need. “Warm and caring relationships need to be developed between teachers and children” (Punjab Colleges). This helps teachers to be able to offer the care and support that the students need in the classroom. With students with low SES, teachers tend to have more difficulty getting in contact with the student’s parents. Teachers may also find that students with low SES may not complete assignments or homework due to their at home environment. Students with low SES may also show little to no interest in interacting and working with peers, which may affect other student’s learning in the classroom. It is important for teachers to have the ability to use what they know about their students and the student’s background in order to plan effective lessons that allows all students to succeed. Motivating the students is important towards their success.

 

Analysis:

·  This resource relates to our driving question because it shows many factors that teachers need to consider with students with low SES. There are some suggestions offered to help make learning for students with low SES a lot more successful.

·  Since there are many schools who are not prepared to educate the growing number of students with a low SES, it may be beneficial for administrators to go to conferences or seminars in order to stay up date with new findings and strategies to be able to educate students with low SES.

·  Many teachers may look at a student with low SES and not realize other factors caused by their low SES going on at home that can contribute to their performance in the classroom. For example, the students “may be unable to concentrate” when trying to study or complete their work at home due to their home environment (Punjab Colleges). It is important for a teacher to consider factors in a student’s at-home environment when looking at the student’s performance in class.

·  Building warm and caring relationships between the teacher and his or her students is really important to the student’s success. A student may not have the opportunity at home to experience these types of relationships, so by feeling cared for at school it will help them to achieve success. This also helps students to feel more comfortable with their teachers so they can approach them and talk about any issues they may have going on at home, which can help the teachers to understand why a student is performing the way that they are in school. This also helps students to feel comfortable approaching their teachers when asking for help on an assignment or for any needed accommodations. This will also set them up for success in the classroom.

·  The teacher not being able to get in contact with parents may make it more difficult for the student to be successful. Especially at a younger age, parents are involved in checking to make sure that students get their work done and are staying on track to be able to be ready to move on to the next grade level by the end of the school year. If teachers are not able to have that contact with the parents, the teacher should try to come up with a plan on how the student can still be successful in the classroom as it is not the student’s fault if their parents are difficult to get in contact with.

·  The teacher should also take into consideration that if the parent is difficult to get in contact with, it could be due to lack of technology on the parent’s end. Maybe the parent does not have a phone or computer. The teacher should find different methods in attempt to get in contact with the parents in case the reason why they aren’t able to reach the parent is due to a technology barrier. A note could be sent home with the student instead of a phone call or email.

·  If a student with low SES is not interested in working with their peers, the teacher could make a fun activity to encourage this student to build relationships in the classroom. This may make it easier for the student to participate in group work academically.

·  Potential bias would be many issues listed with low SES students, such as having other issues at home other than their SES status that may cause them to do poorly in school may not apply to all SES students. It is important as an educator to keep these things in mind so the student can be set up for success in the classroom, but it should not be assumed that all students with low SES are facing these issues.

·  I feel that the article could have mentioned a potential language barrier for students with low SES. One of the factors contributed to students with low SES is having uneducated parents. This could mean that a student may not have learned proper language and grammar skills at home. It is important for the teacher, as well as the school to offer support and resources for these students to get on track.

Summary: 

This video explains how educators can create a safe, healthy, and sustaining learning environment. 

Analysis: 

Summary: This video expresses the ideas of how funding and socioeconomic status relates to social aspects and success of students in the education system. Schools that have students with lower socioeconomic backgrounds tend to have less funding than schools with higher socioeconomic backgrounds. Students with a lower socioeconomic background tend to have less overall success in education than those with higher socioeconomic status. This begins from a young age because students who come from a family with higher income tend to have parents who spend more time with them at a young age. An example presented in the video is that parents tend to read books to their children more if they are from a higher socioeconomic background. Students who are minorities or come from a lower socioeconomic background may have a more difficult time applying for college and winning awards and scholarships. The video goes into talking about how race, gender, and disabilities can play a factor in disadvantages that students may have in the classroom.

Analysis:

 

Citation:

Cromer, A. (n.d.). 10 facts about SES [Clip art]. https://i.pinimg.com/474x/a8/8f/29/a88f29b706daeefe0907f1e639f85a03.jpg 

 

Summary: This is an image of the poverty cycle. It shows how students who come from a low socioeconomic background may be affected in terms of their education and future. The cycle starts with having a poor family, then results to having a poor child, then poor education, then poor or no jobs, which ultimately results into having a poor income.

 

Analysis:

·      This image relates to my driving question because it shows the result of many students who have low SES. It is important for our audience, teachers, to be aware of this because if the teachers know the outcome of lots of students with SES, it may teach them how important it is to create an equal and safe environment in the classroom for students with low SES so they can be successful.

·      The low SES child coming from a poor family is the first step in the poverty cycle. The result of having a poor family is the child also being poor, aka a student with low SES. Depending on the area where the family lives, this may result in poor education for the student. This could also result in a student being in an education system where they are a minority for coming from a low SES family. If the teacher does not know how to set up a student with low SES for success, they may not be successful in their life ahead of them.

·      If the low SES student does not receive their proper education needs, they will likely not have a job or a job that pays enough. This will result in them having a poor income. If the student was able to receive the education that was needed from their teachers, then they could have had a better chance of getting a better job since they would have had the education skills for a higher paying job.

·      If teachers do not help their students get what they need in order to have equal opportunities to learn, they will not have an equal opportunity when they get into the real world of achieving the same success as other students who had the education that they needed to be successful.

·      There are many factors that go into the poverty cycle, but a teacher can individually have a huge impact on the outcome of the low SES students, so it is important for all teachers to be educated on creating the best classroom environment for students of all SES backgrounds.

·      Though the cycle and steps may vary from resource to resource, the idea is the same across all poverty cycles that it is difficult for a child who’s born into low SES to break the cycle. 

·      Potential bias in my resource is that the image is from Pinterest. This is biased because anyone can make a Pinterest account and post whatever they want to, despite it being factual or not. The reason why I still chose to use this image even though it was found on Pinterest is because I have looked at many poverty cycles before in my other classes and I can confirm that the information presented on this image is reliable because all poverty cycles relay the same message. The reason why I chose this image of the poverty cycle over other images was because I feel that it connected to our driving question the most, really focusing on education and poverty.

 

http://michaellamarr.com/LaMarr/classroomenvironment.html

Summary:
I chose this picture to represent the driving question (how can teachers create a safe and equitable environment for students who come from low SES?) because in order for students to want to learn and engage in the classroom, they need to feel welcome. These students already come to school feeling a way because they are different from their peers. For instance, most students on their first day, they have brand new clothes. A student who comes from low SES may not have the money to afford new clothes. Therefore, the first day of school they may feel sad or feel they do not fit in because others may judge them for wearing old clothes. This now becomes teacher's job to make sure those children do not continue to feel like they do not belong. All students should be held to the same standard no matter where they come from or what they may look like. It is important for students to feel comfortable therefore they are more willing to take risks and more willing to interact with others. Academic success is in all the cards for every student and it starts with being their biggest support system and building a bond with them so they have a place to call home when their actual home may be falling apart. Teachers are not around to just teach material and go home. They are to make a difference in these children's lives and pave the way for them to create a future for themselves.