Conceptions of poverty and wealth among schoolchildren

Abstract

This research attempts to explore conceptions of poverty and wealth typical for Belgrade schoolchildren in two different ages: 13,5 years and 17,5 years (total N=222). We identified the content and the structure of conceptions, as well as the age differences for every conception element. The criteria for identification that younger children used were: possessing, appearance, psychical characteristic and specific social group affiliation, while older children demonstrated social schemes of larger complexity and stated: general needs, evaluation of life, different ways of becoming rich or poor, describing life-styles. Relations between various explanations of poverty and wealth revealed the existence of one homogeneous structural component (blaming the system) as well as the presence of conditional non homogeneous individualistic one. Schoolchildren with higher socioeconomic status prefered individualistic (positive) explanations of wealth in comparison with children that had lower socioeconomic status. At the same time, we found no difference in using structuralistic explanations of poverty between schoolchildren who had different socioeconomic status. Parental level of education turned out to be irrelevant for social criticism.