Education Essay Sample: Academic Achievement and Low-income Students

The correlation that is existing between achievements and income level has at one point made some educators to perceive that students with low-income are not in a position of learning at the same level when the comparison is done by involving the rich peers and the middle-class level (Artiles at el 2006). Technically this challenge is fundamental because as more groups of the family find themselves to be impoverished, the students that are affected found themselves in a risky situation that leads to failure. The whole topic of academic achievement and low-income student can be broken down into one subtopic which will talk more about how we can be able to improve academic achievements for low-income students (Kraft, 2015)

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I. The purpose of this study is offering improvement that promotes academic achievement for low-income students.

A. Obstacles and struggles faced by low-income students.

Children who are generally from low-income areas are faced with different obstacles and negative factors that they go through and faces upon their struggle in achieving their education, mostly this type of situation takes place in public school where the price of pursuing education is subsidized (Sheldon 2003). Some of the existing challenges include lack of adequate parental guidance and support, inadequate of school resources, exposure to gang influence and early drug abuse, no proper supervision by the teachers on school work, social set up and environmental development, culture based perception and social-economic disadvantage( McCormick at el, 2013).Taking consideration of some of the existing low-income households, generally the two parents are so committed to their work and to pursuing their carriers and dont create time or sometimes, provides no time in offering assistance to their kids when it comes to their studies, and research has also discovered evidence that familys income status is able to influence a kids general academic achievement and cognitive ability (Berzin ,2010).

B.Theory of motivation

In reference to Stoll (2014), most researchers have in most cases offer application of different aspects of the theory of motivation, most notably expectancy value and self-regulation theory in offering the solution for academic achievement when it comes to low-income students. For example, in reference to Zimmerman and Kitsantas (2005), the theories are well explained through the explanation made that, the self-regulatory advantages of homework in the context of the normal course undertaken in high school, in which students are given like two hours of homework that is done per every night. Students are able to adhere to homework routines and maintaining personal responsibility(Springer at el 2013). Giving them the ability to cope up with the difficult situations, this makes them able to demonstrate self-reliance and efficiency when it comes to learning and giving them the responsibility which is more than the teachers (Vogel 2012).

II. Influence of traditional public schools to low-income students

As reported by Heckman (2006), traditional public schools provide an example of an open system and demand an organized institutional reaction when it comes to offering the solution to the different uncertainty expressed by their environments. Unorganized individual efforts alone are not enough in meeting the requirement of students in poverty affected urban families and communities (Peters, 1997). Additionally, one of the recent researches explains better whether tutor- to kid closeness and grievances brought moderation to the association between temperamental negative reactivity and growth in disruptive behaviors in low-income Black and Hispanic kindergarten and 1st-grade children (McCormick, Turbeville, Barnes, & McClowery, 2014).for success to be achieved in low-income communities, and important effects when it comes to high-quality teacherchild relationships in kindergarten when it comes academic performance should be considered (Cooper at el 2014).

A. Positive climate to be considered by low-income students in public school.

Additionally, as reported by Winnie (2009) institutions in low-income communities should consider a positive school climate which involves four major components: physical and emotional safety at school, positive relationships with peers and adults support for learning, and organizational environment that encourages school engagement and connectedness. Positive school climate facilitates positive development results as per the youths (London 2015).For kindergarten students, recess shows good opportunities to nurture and allow for positive social relationships development when it comes to peers and to practice skills such as problem-solving, sharing, and resolving conflicts. According to Phillips (2012), the process of adopting a high functioning recess can contribute to a positive general school climate in low-income kindergarten schools.

B. Academic gap between low-income students and their affluent peers in the United States.

In reference to the United States of America, the low academic achievement of students who come from low socioeconomic households is a problem that school districts across the United States have examined for many years (Rose, 2009). Many states and school districts have implemented programs such as Head Start for preschool students, Free and Reduced breakfast and lunch for low-income students, and an after-school tutoring program with free bus transportation. Regardless of these interventions, there is still a significant gap in terms of academic success between low-income students and their more affluent peers (DeMarco, 2007).

III. Summary and conclusion

Under the topic academic achievement and low income students we have discussed the importance of offering improvement that promotes academic achievement for low-income students, theory of motivation that encourage modes of survival when it comes to surviving in difficult situation, influence of traditional public schools to low-income students, positive climate to be considered by low-income students in public school and academic gap between low-income students and their affluent peers in the United States.

Low income students are normally faced by different challenges when it comes level of learning and the whole process of achieving their educational goals, the government should consider and ensure the burden is reduced.

Reference

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