Assignment: Positive Aspects
Discussion, Week 6: Socioeconomic Status
Socioeconomic status has implications that reach beyond aspects of economic status impacting upon learning and the development of children and adolescents. Societal affects may be found through language development, educational attainment, poverty, and poor health. Low socioeconomic status is often associated with lower educational outcomes and poorer health. The opposite association that higher socioeconomic status yields better educational and health outcomes are often made as well. Thus, understood are the inequitable privileges, opportunities, and life experiences based upon society’s portrayal of economic class which can deeply impact upon the life of a child and/or adolescent (Derma-Sparks & Edwards, 2017). For this discussion, a brief explanation of the potential positive and negative consequences that socioeconomic status might have on children and adolescents was provided. Two specific examples from different socioeconomic groups were also included.
Positive Aspects
The association is often made that a higher socioeconomic status yields better educational and health outcomes. Children living above the poverty line (upper class and upper middle class) live in families with greater income and therefore have greater access to resources (Derma-Sparks et al., 2017). Thus, having a higher socioeconomic status correlates with student achievement (Herrnstein & Murray, 1994) and better educational outcomes compared to students living in lower level socioeconomic level (Perry & McConnery, 2010). Such higher academic achievements may be attributed to school funding, teacher expectations, and academic climate and may therefore exhibit a consistent relationship with higher socioeconomic status (Carlisle & Murray, 2015). Higher income also correlates to better healthcare and better health outcomes thus permitting the development of academic skills faster than lower income children and adolescents (American Psychological Association, 2019) due to readily available resources and better educational options. Thus, the positive yield from those children and adolescents falling within the range of high socioeconomic status equate to better education and better health outcomes.
Negative Aspects
Low socioeconomic status is often associated with lower educational outcomes and poorer health. Children falling within the range of poverty are disproportionately likely to live in poverty with 64% African-American, 63% Latino, and 30% White children under the age of 6 living in low income families (Derma-Sparks et al., 2017). Despite such significant numbers, children living in this classism are the most overlooked thus presenting the dynamics of inequality and are thereby underserved leading to deficits in educational outcome and poorer health (Derma-Sparks et al., 2017). Consequently, such outcomes are often directly related to many people within this classism work numerous jobs to maintain their households but still fall below the poverty line (Wolpert, 2005) expounding upon less options for affordable healthcare which leads to poorer health. Additionally, such circumstances may also present the parents as being unavailable or unwilling participants comparatively to actively present participants within their child’s education (Laureate Education, 2014). Consequently, children and adolescents understand the experiences of economic class and unfairness as well as the associated social messages.
Conclusion
Conclusively, socioeconomic status exhibits implications which reache beyond the aspects of economic status, impacting upon the learning and development of children and adolescents. Consequently, societal affects may be found in language development, educational attainment, poverty, and poor health. Low socioeconomic status is often associated with lower educational outcomes and poorer health. The opposite association of higher socioeconomic status yields better educational and health outcomes are often made as well. Thus, understood are the inequitable privileges, opportunities, and life experiences based upon society’s portrayal of economic class which can deeply impact upon the life of a child and/or adolescent.
References
American Psychological Association (2019). APA privacy policy. Retrieved from
Carlisle, B. L., & Murray, C. B. (2015). Academic performance, effects of socioeconomic
status on. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 1, 43-48.
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and
ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Herrnstein, R., & Murray, C. A. (1994). The bell curve: Intelligence and class structure in
American life. New York, NY: Free Press.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2014k). Socioeconomics status, cultural capital, and
resilience [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
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