RESOURCES ON HOW POVERTY CAN AFFECT STUDENT BEHAVIOR AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Sat Scores and Income Inequality: How Wealthier Kids Rank Higher, The Wall Street Journal, Josh Zumbrun, image below from article:

How Growing Up in Poverty Rewires a Child's Developing Brain, by Kayt Sukel

How Poverty Affects Behavior and Academic Performance, Eric Jensen, ASCD (Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development)

"Socioeconomic status forms a huge part of this equation. Children raised in poverty rarely choose to behave differently, but they are faced daily with overwhelming challenges that affluent children never have to confront, and their brains have adapted to suboptimal conditions in ways that undermine good school performance. Let's revisit the most significant risk factors affecting children raised in poverty, which I discussed in Chapter 1 (the word EACH is a handy mnemonic):

• Emotional and Social Challenges.
• Acute and Chronic Stressors.
• Cognitive Lags.
• Health and Safety Issues."

How Poverty Affects Classroom Engagement, Eric Jensen, ASCD

" In one study of 81,000 students across the United States, the students not in Title I programs consistently reported higher levels of engagement than students who were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (Yazzie-Mintz, 2007). Are children from poverty more likely to struggle with engagement in school? The answer is yes. Seven differences between middle-class and low-income students show up at school."

Best Practices in Classroom Management, by Christopher Dunbar

 "In support of this conclusion, a study conducted for the U.S. Department of Education (1996) indicated several important factors which adversely impact student behavior. These factors include: • Urban schools had larger enrollments, on average, than suburban schools at both the elementary and secondary levels; • Student behavior problems were more common in urban schools than in other schools, particularly in absenteeism, classroom discipline, weapons possession, and student pregnancy; • Teacher absenteeism, an indicator of morale, was more of a problem in urban schools than in rural or suburban schools; • Students in high poverty schools, regardless of location, were less likely to feel safe in school and spent less time on homework than those in low poverty schools; and • Young adults who had attended urban and urban high-poverty schools had much higher poverty and unemployment rates later in life than those who had attended other schools."

American Psychological Association; What are the Effects of Child Poverty?  "Poorer children and teens are also at greater risk for several negative outcomes such as poor academic achievement, school dropout, abuse and neglect, behavioral and socioemotional problems, physical health problems, and developmental delays."

The Effects of Poverty on Children, by Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Greg J. Duncan, Princeton Publications
"By and large, this research supports the conclusion that family income has selective but, in some instances, quite substantial effects on child and adolescent well-being. Family income appears to be more strongly related to children’s ability and achievement than to their emotional outcomes. Children who live in extreme poverty or who live below the poverty line for multiple years appear, all other things being equal, to suffer the worst outcomes. The timing of poverty also seems to be important for certain child outcomes. Children who experience poverty during their preschool and early school years have lower rates of school completion than children and adolescents who experience poverty only in later years."

The Impact of Poverty on Educational Outcomes for Children, by H.B. Ferguson, PhD, S. Bovaird, MPH, M.P. Mueller, PhD,  Pediatric Child Health, United States National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health
"Educational outcomes are one of the key areas influenced by family incomes. Children from low-income families often start school already behind their peers who come from more affluent families, as shown in measures of school readiness. The incidence, depth, duration and timing of poverty all influence a child’s educational attainment, along with community characteristics and social networks."

The following resources were located by Mrs. Steph Brooks - thank you!

Social Class Makes a Difference In How Children Tackle Classroom Problems, Indiana University, Science Daily

Affordable Housing Linked to Children's Test Scores, John Hopkins University, Science Daily

Working Memory Differs By Parents' Education; Effects Persist Into Adolescence, Society for Research In Child Development, Science Daily

Teaching To Optimize Learning or Control Misbehavior? Scale of Disruptive Behavior In Schools Seriously Underestimated, University of East Anglia, Science Daily


Study links brain anatomy, academic achievement, and family income, Science Daily