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A person's socioeconomic status (SES) is determined by their education level, income, and job. It is loosely defined as a person's social standing, or class. A child of low socioeconomic status is at greater risk of falling behind in school, especially with regards to reading and writing. In fact, poverty level is a stronger predictor of school achievement than maternal education.
A person's socioeconomic status (SES) is determined by their education level, income, and job. It is loosely defined as a person's social standing, or class. A child of low socioeconomic status is at greater risk of falling behind in school, especially with regards to reading and writing. In fact, poverty level is a stronger predictor of school achievement than maternal education.
The General Knowledge Gap
The General Knowledge Gap
There are general knowledge differences seen early on in the development of low and higher SES children, which affect literacy and knowledge development. These differences have been found to emerge in early infancy. Specifically:
- Children in lower SES homes are significantly more at risk of language deficits in the first two years of life.
- Children in higher SES homes tend to have a larger vocabulary size than children in lower SES homes.
- A child’s SES is a significant predictor of early language proficiency, where higher SES correlates with greater language proficiency even at 18 months old.
It's important to note that there are many more factors influencing this disparity. Detailed below are some other key factors.
Factors Contributing to the Increasing Knowledge Gap
Factors Contributing to the Increasing Knowledge Gap
How Does SES Relate to Family Reading?
How Does SES Relate to Family Reading?
Percentages of Families That Read to Their Children Daily
Percentages of Families That Read to Their Children Daily
Proportionally more families at or above the poverty line than below it read to their children daily. **
Proportionally more White than Asian, African American, or Hispanic families read to their children daily.
*Significantly above poverty level designates families whose income is at 200 percent above the poverty level. Above poverty level describes families whose income is at 100-199 percent above the poverty line.
**According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in 2012 the poverty guideline for an average household of 4 was $23,050.
**According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in 2012 the poverty guideline for an average household of 4 was $23,050.
Benefits of School-Based Interventions
Benefits of School-Based Interventions
Parents under financial pressure often have difficulty finding the time to create a rich pre-literacy environment, especially if juggling multiple jobs and responsibilities. School-based interventions can help to mitigate these disparities.
Parents under financial pressure often have difficulty finding the time to create a rich pre-literacy environment, especially if juggling multiple jobs and responsibilities. School-based interventions can help to mitigate these disparities.
Preschool Education for Low-income Families
Preschool Education for Low-income Families
A preschool education can have large benefits for children from low-income families:
A preschool education can have large benefits for children from low-income families:
Signs To Look Out For
Signs To Look Out For
SES and Learning Obstacles
SES and Learning Obstacles
Deficits in contextual knowledge for low-SES children impede vocabulary learning.
Deficits in contextual knowledge for low-SES children impede vocabulary learning.
- Limited knowledge about the world, and the vocabulary for that knowledge in particular, hinders reading comprehension in low-SES children.
- Word meanings can be difficult to decipher without textbooks; context is not always helpful.
- Example: A child seeing the word "crustacean" might understand what "lobster" or "crab" means and that both are crustaceans, but have difficulty making visual comparisons and grasping the full definition if they have never seen a crab or lobster.
- Word reading on its own is not sufficient without being supported by enriched discussion of new vocabulary.
- Low-SES children in particular will benefit from a focus on vocabulary learning to overcome their disadvantages in word learning.
- It's important to focus on including planned instruction about words in storybooks.
Language delays affect early academic and emotional skills.
Language delays affect early academic and emotional skills.
- As severity of language delay increases in children, the severity of deficits in academic and socioemotional skills also increases.
- Low-SES children are at risk for greater language delays.
- No significant differences were found based on gender or ethnicity.
- Language delays in young children negatively affect the following skills:
- Emotion recognition skills
- Basic mathematics
- Print knowledge
- Phonological elision
- Children are asked to deconstruct the different parts of a word and point to the correct picture.
- "Point to snowshoe without snow" and shoe is the correct picture.
- Children are asked to deconstruct the different parts of a word and point to the correct picture.
- Phonological blending
- Children put together parts of words ("hot" and "dog") and then point at the corresponding picture.
What Does This Mean For Me?
What Does This Mean For Me?
While SES is a strong predictor for a child's future literacy skills, it is not the only influencer.
While SES is a strong predictor for a child's future literacy skills, it is not the only influencer.
- Parents and teachers can work together to provide a child with a rich learning environment to help reduce the general knowledge gap.
- Research suggests the following are helpful:
- Quality and content of discussion
- Using age-appropriate materials
- Repetition
For information on interventions for low-SES children, click here.
For information on interventions for low-SES children, click here.
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