The impact of poverty on the learning of students globally and in the United States is tremendous because of a variety of factors. In poverty-stricken areas, there is a virtual revolving door of teachers, exacerbating inferior education and discouraging the pursuit of higher education (Capra, 2009.) In addition, the tremendous gap between the wealthy and the poor in the United States has been increasing steadily over the past 70 years; the number of African-Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities who live under the poverty line has made the ability to provide a quality education to people of color elusive. This paper will discuss the impact of poverty on learning, and will present some possible solutions to address these challenges.
The poverty of children is both hidden as well as visible, and is not exclusively limited to any one specific racial or ethnic group although as stated, it is certainly more prevalent among people of color.. The negative impacts of poverty on learning include not being able to concentrate because of lack of food or adequate sleep, or not having warm enough clothing during cold weather. In addition, it may further complicate life for these children by their being teased for not having things, or being treated differently (White, 2010.). As a result, poverty-stricken children tends to come to school worried or anxious, making it harder to learn.
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"The Impact of Poverty on Learning".
There are numerous factors involved in the underachievement of poor students in the educational systems. Many children from low socioeconomic status families are confronted with emotional and social instability; typically, the weak or anxious attachments that are established by poor infants become the foundation for full-blown insecurity during the early childhood years (Jensen, 2009.) Differences in learning between poor and non-poor children begin in infancy, as indicated by research that demonstrates that poor families experienced more risk factors regarding infant health and development than more affluent families (Brooks-Gunn, 1995.) When children are young, it is necessary for them to have healthy learning and exploration in order for their brains to develop optimally. In poor families, there tends to be higher incidence of detrimental factors including teen motherhood, depression, and insufficient healthcare; all of these issues result in a decline in sensitivity towards infants, and later on, results in substandard school performance and behavior for the child.
There is ample evidence that the complicated nature of social relationships experienced by students with peers, adults in school, and family members, plays a much more crucial role on directing their behavior than previously believed. The early part of this process begins with the relationship with parents or primary caregivers, but later on once students enter school, socialization and social status are major contributors to behavior. Typically, the socialization process in school puts pressure on students to conform to their peers’ behavior or else risk social rejection, but in high school, the search for status causes students to try to distinguish themselves in certain areas such as sports, physical style, or comic behavior. The socioeconomic status of students plays a huge part in this phenomena; children who are raised in poor households infrequently decide to behave differently, but they are daily confronted with overwhelming challenges that affluent children never have to confront; their brains have adapted to suboptimal conditions in ways that sabotage good school performance (Jensen, 2008.) There are significant risk factors confronting children who are raised in poverty, including emotional and social challenges, acute and chronic stressors, lags in cognition, and issues regarding health and safety. In combination, these variables create tremendous challenges to success in academics and social situations. When educators are sensitive to these challenges, they can take measures to help their at- risk students to become successful.
Further research has demonstrated that persistent socioeconomic disadvantage negatively impacts the life outcomes of many children; studies demonstrate that there have been significant links between lower income and psychiatric disorders, social and academic functioning, and chronic physical health problems (Ferguson, 2007.) Educational outcomes are significantly affected by family income. There is also a link between poor households and substandard readiness for school. Various studies have concluded that children from households with less income score significantly lower on surveys of vocabulary as well as communication skills, command of numbers, copying and use of symbols, capacity to concentrate and collaborative play with other children as compared with children from households that were more affluent. Clearly, poverty is a critical factor in impacting the ability of students to learn and to realize success in their future activities.
There are several strategies to address the problem of poverty and its impact on learning. These include: advocating for and supporting schools that are striving to achieve equity of outcomes; supporting intervention programs providing academic, social, and community support to improve the success of poverty-stricken children and youth; educating the public about the short-term as well as long-term financial and social costs of permitting such children to either fail or drop out of school; taking advantage of every chance to promote the future educational success of children and youth that educators encounter; advocating for changes within the school systems to optimize educational achievement by supporting programs such as longer school days and shorter summer vacations; and advocating for excellent early education programs and care that will reduce differences between school readiness for lower income and more affluent children (Ferguson, 2007.)
For many reasons, poverty has a tremendous impact on children’s ability to learn and to succeed in academic settings. As a result, future success for these children becomes compromised, and their potential for adequate jobs, relationships, and role in their communities when they mature is significantly reduced. There are a variety of strategies available for educators, policymakers, and citizens to utilize as strategies to minimize or eliminate the detrimental effects of poverty on learning.
