Educational Achievement in Relation to Different Socio-Economic Classes - Case Study Example

Gender Issues in Early years of Foundation Stage Introduction Since time immemorial, education has been widely affected and influenced by gender bias in various societies. This has, however, not been an uniform occurrence among all peoples owing to the fact that different people belong to different socio-economic classes. Social class can be defined as how the members of society have stratified themselves along an array of issues such as power, wealth, influence, affluence and importance. It is, however, quite a controversial issue in many parts of the world. Most definitions of social class structure are mainly based on wealth, education, income and occupation. Many other researchers who have proposed different societal stratification models, however, have challenged this. For example, sociologists Dennis Gilbert, Joseph Hickey, William Thompson and James Hensil proposed six different social classes class systems. (REF) These models mainly feature the rich, upper middle class, middle class made up of college graduates employed in white-collar jobs. In the United Kingdom, for example, social class can be generally described or classified in three main classes namely the rich, the middle class, and the poor (Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968, p 120). Each social class has its own bias either positive or negative towards gender and the role it plays in education. Potential impact of socio-cultural and environmental influences upon educational achievement in relation to different socio-economic ‘classes’ According to Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968, p 120), the way people are bought up influences the standpoint in which they view education and the value attached to it. The cultural differences between peoples of this world are manifested in the approach in which they see things and process information. To get a better understanding, attention was put in the performance of various school children drawn from different backgrounds in terms of culture, socio-economic class, conditions and even race. The dissimilarity in performance was then put into perspective by the application of three outstanding theories that seek to explain and reconcile the difference. These are; the social deficit theory, the expectation theory and the cultural difference theory (Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968, p 120). This situation was attributed to the fact that some children lack ample time to read books that would help in the linguistic development or that the child lacks enough reading material, as opposed to other kids. This again stands to hamper their linguistic development leading to a decline in school performance. Some students perform poorly in school because the social nature of the home environment does not allow for linguistic development. This occurs due to the background of the loads of work that the student is required to grasp and comprehend. According to cultural discrepancy theory, that deficiencies in the home environment lead to shortcomings in skills and knowledge possessed by the child (ROSENTHAL & JACOBSON, 1968, P 120). Based on the theory, research was focused on the way teachers and children relate and how teachers treat schoolchildren. It was noted that in many, in institutions more often than not, teachers have bias towards students from certain socio-cultural and racial backgrounds. In these cases, it was found that there is a certain group of students who tend to perform low in class and tend to get good grades in tests. I was also found that teachers expect lower results from certain groups of children this manifest in their performance as it has been scientifically proven over time. As a result, the teacher expects poor performance from his/her students then the students naturally feel that they are not required to perform exemplarily and end up posting relatively poor results. The test was conducted in order to verify the Rosenthal and Jacobson theory of Pygmalion effect study. A group of teachers was told that their students were due for an intellectual growth spurt during the year. The teachers interacted with these students based on this expectation even though the students were of their average performance. It was realised that all the students’ performance in this exercise improved tremendously. The outcomes proved that a positive approach of teachers during interaction with the same student can lead to the student performing to achieve the high expectations of their teachers (ROSENTHAL & JACOBSON, 1968, P 120) Hence, based on the results it was concluded that teachers need to understand the difference between the students’ home environment and the school environment. Children in early year’s concept of learning, for example, have been used to being taught by other children as opposed to adults as in the mainstream system. Teachers ought to put into consideration the different teaching methods based on such cultural differences so as to ensure that the children are being targeted as individuals. Out of the research, it was noted that cultural difference theory is based on the fact that differences in cultural upbringing affect the way in which students view education. (ROSENTHAL & JACOBSON, 1968, P 120). During that study, it was also found that the effects of result of socio-economic and environmental factors are, however, experienced differently for the different socio-economic classes. It was noted that in cases where parents and carers are powerful, wealthy or affluent in society and happen to be from a culture that upholds education then it is more likely that they will invest more in their children’s education. They provide the best of learning environment for the child research which in turn has a high probability of better performance (MORGAN, FARKAS, HILLEMEIER & MACZUGA 2009, P 401-413). Low socio-economic status and its complimentary namely diseases, poverty, unemployment, lower levels of education, crime are some of the factors that were found to have diverse affects our society as a whole. The research established that most children from households that have low socio-economic status in society have slower academic skills development as compared to their other counterparts from high socio-economic status (MORGAN, FARKAS, HILLEMEIER & MACZUGA 2009, P 401-413). It was also discovered that academic skills are directly related to the home environment. It was found that students in environments that had high stress levels, and or chronic stress performed poorly in academics. According to AIKENS AND BARBARIN (2008, p 235-251), high stress levels have negative impacts to a child’s academic skills development. It was noted that schools in low socio-economic communities more often than not under resource children research. This was found to negatively affect the children’s academic performance. According to the results, the situation coupled with high rates of school dropout. Academic deficiency, as a result, was found to be the key factors that contributed greatly to the high rates of school dropout in low socio-economic status. It was found to be the key propeller of many dropout that are witnessed every time Based on the research, children’s primary reading competence is mainly affected by factors in the home environment. It was found that factors such as the number of books at home, the parents distress affected childrens primary reading competence. It was found that Parents in the low socio-economic bracket were unable for educational supplements such as monitor, support and encourage their children in terms of providing reading material, tutors, computers and related study aids. For some parents in the high socio-economic status, however, the study outcomes showed that providing their children with reading material and the supporting environment was very much within their limits. According to a nationwide study of children in different early age settings, it was found that 36% of the parents in the lowest income quintile read to their children on a daily basis compared to 62% of parents from the highest income quintile (COLEY 2002, P, 301). Analysis of the potential impact of gender influences upon educational performance Gender and its effect on education have been one of the most debated and disputed topics as researchers seek to establish whether there is a real connection between the two. Varied societies in modern day have gone a step further and enacted laws that prohibit the discrimination of either gender in the field of academia. The real question, however, still remains as to whether there is a difference between men and women as pertains to education. Several sociologists have attempted to unravel this mystery. According to a case study in the meta-analysis conducted by HYDE, JANET, FENNEMA, ELIZABETH, LAMON, SUSAN J IN “PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETING” (Vol 107(2), March 1990, 139-155), it was noted that when all the overall effects are averaged, females outperformed their male counterparts by a small margin. The result was 254 independent of the effect sizes representing the testing of 3,175,188 Ss. (Ted, 2011, p.57). An examination of the age trends revealed that girls showed a slight superiority in computation in elementary and middle school. But, there were no differences based on gender in problem solving in elementary or middle school. The situation changed in high school and college where differences were favoring men emerged. Gender differences were small and actually favored females in the general population. Despite such revealing results about the minor differences in performance between either genders, society over the years has had a different approach towards the same subject. Generally, women in most societies have been on the receiving end as far as gender bias is concerned, with punitive and retrogressive standards been in place for a woman. The freedoms that are being enjoyed by women in modern day democracies were unheard of years ago. In the 1960’s and 1970’s feminism was a quickly growing movement that was concerned with women empowerment in the arts, giving women freedom, and equal opportunity and control over their lives in all areas including education. The mid-20th century myth of the middle-class housewife, though downplayed the education of women. Feminists advanced the theory that for girls to be fully independent and equal they needed to have education as their male counterparts. This was coming against a backdrop of civil rights movement in the 1970s that were advocating for equal rights such as racial equality the feminist movement only gained an opportunity to further drive their agenda. For example in Australia where its troops were fighting the Vietnam War ta the time when its perspective on sexuality, it was noted that the role of women in society and the environment were undergoing radical changes. According to the study, it was noted that during the changes the White Australia policy was scraped during and women won the right to equal pay and maternity leave. After many protests and public dissatisfaction the Australian troops were recalled in 1972 and the then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed. Women throughout this period continued to challenge their role as traditionally set and accepted by society. They were no longer willing to be seen and treated as housewives and child bearers and other low status positions. In the early 1970s, women constituted a third of the workforce but were still being paid lower than their male counterparts. In 1972, however, the Whitlam government ruled that women doing the same job as men be paid in equal measure the same wages. In 1979 women won the right to maternity leave. During the research, it was found that there was a situation where women were admitted into the U.S military academies for the first time in 1976. It was noted that years later the Women’s Army Corps was dismantled as women were integrated into the U.S Army. Women achievements in both commerce and industry continued to develop and grow into what they are today. Over time, the educational achievement of women has risen substantially. In 2010, 36 percent of those who held college degrees were women compared to 11 percent in 1970. Furthermore, in 2010,7 percent of the women aged 25 to 64 in the labor force were high school dropouts down from 34 percent in 1970.Among these women ,30 percent attended some college with no degree or held an associates degree in 2010 up from 11 percent in 1970 (Ted,2011,p.57) Explanation of the potential impact of social influences upon educational performance in relation to academic performance Human beings the world over belong to their respective cultural backgrounds.It has long been proven that cultural differences impact either negatively or positively on childrens education. Students can, for example, be from individualistic or collectivist cultural backgrounds. Teachers need to understand and attempt to grasp their students culture so as to efficiently help in their studies otherwise a must in the same could cause reprimanding and inaccurate judgement coupled with a lack of understanding on the students part. For example, children from individualistic cultural backgrounds learn to be independent and mostly understand that any job given must be completed single-handedly. These children are taught to believe that property belongs to individuals and in case one needs or has use of it they must borrow. Conversely, children from collectivist backgrounds believe that efforts can be concerted and people can pull together in order to achieve a task. Property can easily be shared and is considered for the use of the whole group. (M.S ROSENBERG, D.L WESTLING, MCLESKEY 2010, P. 189). Social influence on education cannot be overemphasized as a look at the differences between Asian and American children reveals that Asian children consider looking at their teacher’s eyes as being inappropriate. They also tend to be quieter in class (BENNET 2003, p. 21).European and American children in contrast tend to engage more in eye contact as a sign of respect to their teachers and have more class discussion (BENNET 2003, P. 21). This situation once again plays out when we consider Hispanic parents and their European and American parents. Hispanic parents on one hand believe that teachers are experts who do their perfect job of educating their children. They will, therefore, not interfere with the teachers work in as far as the children’s education is concerned. On the other hand, European and American parents are more often involved with their childrens education. They will be seen taking part as a volunteer or support teachers and even get involved directly in making sure their children grasp all what they would want them to (COLEY, 2002). In cultures where women are considered to be of much less value than their male counterparts, parents tend to focus and invest more in their male children’s education as opposed to their investment in their female children. Poverty, unemployment, low levels of education and early marriages in peoples backgrounds undermine the part that is left for women to play and take part in society. This has been extended to the formation of laws, policies and practices that further entrench these biases against women. Women, therefore, have been left to carry out roles such as childbearing and housekeeping, as opposed to being in the same fields of professional service as their male counterparts (ROSENTHAL& JACOBSON, 1968). In cultures where there are relatively high levels of education though, women are given a much bigger space to develop and take part in society building. Such cultures are fast gaining ground in the modern day world as they are seen to be promoting more human rights and are generally more acceptable and reasonable. Unions such as UNESCO have been in the forefront in advocating for what is now popularly known as women rights. Challenges have been encountered in achieving this mandate as breaking cultural beliefs proves to be tougher than it sounds. Conclusion It is widely accepted that gender issues are one of the most pertinent issues in early year’s foundation stage affecting both boys and girls. At this stage, all the gender biases and stereotypes are learned and inculcated into both genders through socialization. Early gender socialization starts right from birth as the society views the children differently in terms of their gender. The children are taught their roles in society and grow up in this setting getting different toys specific to their gender and they grow to accept this as the way it should be (ROSENTHAL & JACOBSON, 1968). There are numerous examples that go a long way in showing that gender issues are affected by cultural and religious differences, coupled with societal beliefs and values. Teachers in school, family members, religious leaders and even political leaders all play a part in defining the gender parity that society associates itself with. Boys are taught that being weak emotionally by crying, or asking for too much assistance is wrong while girls are taught that they should stay at home more and learn to listen to their male counterparts. Recommendations Gender parity in society should be addressed as a wide and complex issue that deserves open-mindedness and positive approach especially when concerned with early year’s development. Both girls and boys should be taught and given the same opportunities both in school and at home. (REF) This will go a long way in improving the society as a whole. Further research on the issues pertaining to gender in foundation years could be carried out but with a new focus on specific age groups in the early years as this may show the stratified effect of societal beliefs and biases as the children grow in their various cultural backgrounds. This will go a long way in assisting sociologists in determining the best practice and approach towards this problem. References/Bibliography AIKENS & BARBARIN. 2008. Socioeconomic differences in reading trajectories: The contribution of family, neighbourhood, and school contexts. Journal of Education Psychology. London: UK BENNET. 2003. The rules of Culture: Exhibition and the Politics of Knowledge in Furuichi, Y(ed), Asia in Transition: Representation and identity, Tokyo: Japan Foundation Asia Centre.[Republished in Journal of the leisure Studies Association] Coley R. J. 2002. An uneven start: Indicators of inequality in school readiness. Education was Testing Service. Princeton, NJ: US HYDE, JANET, FENNEMA, ELIZABETH, LAMON, SUSAN J. 1990. Psychological. Calcutta: India M.S ROSENBERG, D.L WESTLING, J. & MCLESKEY. 2010. Pearson Allayn Bacon Prentice Hall [online]. Available from: www.education.com MORGAN, FARKAS, HILLEMEIER & MACZUGA. 2009. Risk factors for learning-related behaviour problems at 24 months of age: Population-based estimates. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. New Jersey: US ROSENTHAL, R, & JACOBSON, L.1968. Pygmalion in the classroom. Holt,Rinehart & Winston. New York: US Ted. 2011. Education attainment of women in the labor force, 1970-2010. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Current Population Survey)[online]Available from: www.bls.gov Read More