Poverty, Race, and the Contexts of Achievement: Examining Educational Experiences of Children in the U.S. South

Abstract

This article considers issues of educational inequality in the U.S. South from a social work/ social justice perspective. After a review of existing literature and discussion of cultural versus structural explanations for race and socioeconomic status gaps in academic achievement, findings are presented from a study examining child-, classroom-, and school-level factors that influence academic achievement among public school children in the South. Although a sizeable minority of southern children attend schools that are segregated along racial and socioeconomic lines, and although these schools are different in various aspects of educational environment, once family structure, parental characteristics, the use of ability grouping, and rural school location were taken into account, no influence of race on achievement remained. Implications for social work policy and practice are discussed.

Supporting Students Living Below the Poverty Line

“…Most of these environmental situations extend far beyond the control of students and their families. Fram, Miller-Cribbs, and Van Horn (2007) conducted a study in the field of social work that examined factors that shaped the student achievement of 3,501 kindergarteners in the southern region of the United States by studying the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study data. Similar to Tate (2008), much of the conceptualization of their study emphasized the importance of understanding geography of opportunity.…”

Effective Educational Practice: A Crucial First Step in Addressing the Needs of Traditionally Overlooked Students

“…Funding in public school districts often reflects social and racial stratification (Biddle & Berliner, 2002;Condron & Roscigno, 2003), and poor and racially diverse students encounter inequities in the schooling experiences themselves (Fram, Miller-Cribbs, & Van Horn, 2007;Giroux & Schmidt, 2004;Kozol, 1991). In EFFECTIVE EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE 13 addition, the standardized tests that are common measures of student learning are often ineffective measures of culturally or racially diverse students' capabilities (Baker, 2005;Garcia & Guerra, 2004;Sternberg, 2007) and subsequently promote misguided responses, especially heavy remediation (Armstrong, 2010;Bomer, Dworin, May, & Semingson, 2008;Boykin, 1985;Gorski, 2007Gorski, & 2008Lundy, 2003;Rogalsky, 2009).…”

“…Students from poor and racially diverse populations are not likely to have educational experiences that reflect equity in access to excellence in education (Fram, Miller-Cribbs, & Van Horn, 2007;Giroux & Schmidt, 2004;Kozol, 1991;Rubin, 2008;Worthy, 2010). These students regularly encounter a poor educational fit and their key needs are often overlooked in traditional school settings.…”

“…These challenges include background factors such as poverty (Arnold & Doctoroff, 2003; Case, Fertigl, & Paxson, 2006;Rouse & Fantuzzo, 2009) and cultural differences (Bourdieu, 2008;Delpit, 2006;Garcia & Guerra, 2004;Jaeger, 2011;Lareau, 2003;Morrison, Robbins, & Rose, 2008;Rothstein-Fisch & Greenfield, 2000;Sternberg, 2004Sternberg, & 2007, as well as greater systemic inequalities such as funding (Biddle & Berliner, 2002;Condron & Roscigno, 2003), inequitable schooling experiences (Fram, Miller-Cribbs, & Van Horn, 2007;Giroux & Schmidt, 2004;Kozol, 1991), low teacher perspectives and expectations (Armstrong, 2010;Delpit, 2006;Garcia & Guerra, 2004), and low-quality curriculum (Baker, 2005;Freire, 2009;Garcia & Guerra, 2004) that lacks cultural relevance & responsiveness (Banks, 2006;.Despite these challenges, classrooms can support equity in access to excellence in education for traditionally overlooked students by (1) holding high expectations of all students while simultaneously providing high levels of support (e.g. Delpit, 2006;Howard, 2001;Ladson-Billings, 1992;Morrison, Robbins, & Rose, 2008;Swartz, 2009), (2) affirming and capitalizing on student culture and strengths, and (3) developing student efficacy and sense of empowerment (e.g.…”

“…Bourdieu, 2008;Delpit, 2006;Garcia & Guerra, 2004;Jaeger, 2011;Lareau, 2003;Morrison, Robbins, & Rose, 2008; RothsteinFisch & Greenfield, 2000), in addition to inequities in schooling experiences (e.g. Biddle & Berliner, 2002;Condron & Roscigno, 2003;Fram, Miller-Cribbs, & Van Horn, 2007;Kozol, 1991). …”