Socioeconomic Status Students Research Articles

‘It’s not something that I should be ashamed of’ understanding the challenges and lived experiences of disadvantaged students during the Covid-19 pandemic

The pervasive socioeconomic inequalities that exist in relation to higher education participation within the UK are notably prominent amongst the most selective, ‘elite’ universities, and could become wider still following the Covid-19 pandemic. This case study privileges the accounts of 11 young people from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds who were directly affected by the pandemic during their final year at school (Year 13) and who had all taken in part in outreach programmes that specifically aimed to improve access to such top universities in England. Through in-depth phenomenological interviews, this provides insight into the educational and life journeys of these individuals, including their experiences of the pandemic and their interactions with outreach programmes, helping to understand the influence they perceived these to have on their choices, aspirations and trajectories. Findings highlight barriers and challenges that could influence the demand for higher education, some which were amplified by the pandemic. These included issues related to individuals’ personal/home circumstances, finance, the schools they attended, but also issues associated with fit and belonging that have been shown to deter many low SES students from applying to top universities.

Low socioeconomic status students transitioning from Vocational Education and Training (VET) to university: examining definitions of success

ABSTRACT Within Australia, Vocational Education and Training (VET) is promoted as a pathway for low socioeconomic status (LSES) students to enter Higher Education (HE). However, greater equity will only occur if these students achieve successful university outcomes. But how should such success be defined? This paper examined two data sources (i.e., nine years of archival achievement data from one multi-campus Australian university, 18 qualitative interviews with LSES VET students who had transitioned to HE) to consider varying measures of this group’s success. Quantitative achievement measures indicated that although VET-entry students performed as well as or better than those entering based on secondary school results, LSES students had systematically lower academic achievement across both groups, suggesting equity goals are yet to be realised. While interviewed students frequently mentioned grades, they also described seeing improvement, making connections, experiencing satisfaction and growing confidence as markers of success. Data highlighted the negative consequences some LSES VET students experienced when grades were viewed as the sole metric of success. Findings suggest it is important for universities to continue to promote VET pathways and normalise diverse conceptions of success to encourage persistence when academic achievement goals are not immediately reached.

Students' SES status and Test anxiety of the Undergraduate University Students

This paper was to study the relationship between socio economic status and test anxiety of undergraduate students. All the undergraduate students of all the departments of Sargodha University were the population. A sample pertaining 550 students were selected through multistage random including 181 male and 369 female students, selecting 50 students from 11 departments. Instruments were adapted socioeconomic status survey for students and Test Anxiety Scale (WTAS). After pilot testing both the instruments on 100 students, Cronbach Alpha value for WTAS was 0.79, and SACQ was 0.90. The study was descriptive and survey. Analysis of data was done through frequencies, means, percentages t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson r. The majority of students showed a moderate level of SES as well text anxiety, female undergraduate students are of higher SES level and text anxiety than males, and no relationship between SES and test anxiety of the undergraduate students was found. A recommendation is that students may be exposed to group projects, seminars and guidance, and counseling sessions regarding test anxiety.

Localised learning: mobilising belonging among mature-aged students in low socio-economic status regional and remote areas

The higher education participation and success rates of students in low socio-economic status (SES), regional, rural, remote, and isolated areas – who often attend university later in life – is a persistent concern in Australia and beyond. This article focuses on mature-aged students in low SES, regional and remote areas in Tasmania, Australia, proposing that universities harness local belonging when providing learning opportunities. It draws on a thematic analysis of 19 semi-structured interviews with current and prospective university students, and community stakeholders. The study identifies time and place-based barriers to studying on campus: students’ commitments outside of university; and geographical, cultural, and financial challenges. However, existing local infrastructure, such as libraries, create opportunities for face-to-face interactions and learning support for students who study online in their regional or remote communities, provided by staff and local volunteers. These barriers and solutions are discussed using the concept of ‘belonging’, framed spatially and culturally. Current literature on regional and remote higher education students tends to emphasise ‘not belonging’ in relation to distant urban or metropolitan spaces. We argue that ‘belonging’ can be fostered in local spaces with local people. Utilising ‘untapped’ local learning support and existing physical spaces mitigates geographical, cultural, and financial challenges, and provides academic and emotional support. We propose a coordinated network of physical study places and local people, including: regional ‘satellite’ campuses; regional study hubs; local public libraries; and schools, where online students can be supported, connected, and engaged in their studies whilst located in regional and remote communities.

Intersecting Inequalities: Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Differences in Math Achievement and School Contexts in California

Abstract Past research extensively documents inequalities in educational opportunity and achievement by students’ race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status (SES). Less scholarship focuses on how race/ethnicity and SES interact and jointly contribute to educational inequalities. We advance this burgeoning line of scholarship by charting math achievement trajectories and school socioeconomic composition by both student race/ethnicity and SES in California from 2014–15 through 2017–18. Linked administrative data allow us to operationalize student SES more richly than point-in-time free meal eligibility, a measure commonly used in education research. We find evidence of considerable racial/ethnic disparities in math achievement and school socioeconomic composition among same-SES students. White and Asian students score substantially higher on math achievement tests and attend higher-SES schools than same-SES Hispanic and Black students. Achievement and contextual inequalities are related: differential exposure to school SES by student race/ethnicity is associated with racial/ethnic achievement disparities within SES groups. Our findings show that SES does not translate into the same contextual or achievement advantages for students of all racial/ethnic groups, demonstrating the importance of jointly considering student race/ethnicity and SES in future research and policy development.

School climate and academic performance of Italian students: the role of disciplinary behaviour and parental involvement

Educational researchers have increasingly recognised the importance of school climate as a malleable factor for improving academic performance. In this perspective, we exploit the data collected by the Italian Institute for the Evaluation of the Education System (INVALSI) to assess the effect of some school climate related factors on academic performance of tenth-grade Italian students. A Multilevel Bayesian Structural Equation Model (MBSEM) is adopted to highlight the effect of some relevant dimensions of school climate (students’ disciplinary behaviour and parents’ involvement) on academic performance and their role on the relationships between student socioeconomic status and achievement. The main findings show that disciplinary behaviour, on the one hand, directly influences the level of competence of the students, and, on the other hand, it partly mediates the effect of socioeconomic background whereas parents’ involvement does not appear to exert any significant effect on students’ performance.

The Relationship of National, School, and Student Socioeconomic Status With Academic Achievement: A Model for Programme for International Student Assessment Reading and Mathematics Scores

Prior research has demonstrated links between academic achievement and family socioeconomic status SES, such that students from wealthier families generally exhibit higher academic performance. Recent work has also shown that students who attend schools with greater SES inequality and lower average family income also tend to have lower achievement test scores. Additional research has found that students from poorer nations have lower average achievement test scores. Despite the presence of this evidence supporting individual relationships between SES and achievement test performance, there is less extant information positing a mechanism for how these relationships at different levels interact with one another and are related to achievement test performance. The purpose of the current study was to propose and test two multilevel mediation models of the relationships between national funding for public services such as education, and economic inequality with shortages for educational resources and trained staff, as well as aggregated and individual family SES with academic achievement. Results demonstrated that a partially mediated model yielded good fit to the data with both direct and indirect relationships among national funding for public services and academic achievement, as mediated through school level resource shortages and family SES. Implications of these results are discussed.

Reading skills intervention during the Covid-19 pandemic

This paper diagnoses the reading skills at the onset of second grade after one (final) trimester of first grade, with online schooling as a result of COVID-19. It also describes and assesses the impact of a Reading Skills Consolidating Program conducted with second graders during the first weeks of the school year. This intervention program focuses on the promotion of letter-sound, phonemic awareness, decoding and spelling. The intervention was implemented with 446-second graders (224 boys and 208 girls), preceded and followed by a reading assessment. Results were analyzed with an intra (pre- and post-test) group design. A paired sample t-test indicated the presence of statistically significant differences between the two assessment moments, with higher values at the post-test. At the pre-test, there was a significantly higher than the normally expected percentage of students with a reading level on or below the 10th percentile along with a significantly worse performance among low Socioeconomic Status (SES) students. The post-test revealed a positive impact of the training program, as indicated by (i) a decrease to about half of the number of students at or below the 10th percentile, (ii) an increase of 20% of students with reading skills at or above the 30th percentile and (iii) the difference decrease in reading skills in a result of SES.

College integration and social class.

What is the impact of social class on college integration? Higher education institutions are becoming more diverse, yet the integration of underprivileged students remains a challenge. Using a social network approach, we analyze the general integration of low socioeconomic status (SES) students, as well as how segregated by class these friends are. The object of analysis is the extreme case of an elite university that, based on a government loan program (Ser Pilo Paga), opened its doors to many low-SES students in a very unequal country, Colombia. Using a mixed methods perspective, including a survey, 61 in depth interviews, and ethnographic observation, we analyze friendship networks and their meanings, barriers, and facilitators. Contrary to the literature, we find that low-SES students had, on average, the same number of connections and were no more isolated than students from upper social classes. Also, low-SES students’ networks were not more segregated, even if relations with the upper classes were less likely and required more relational work than with middle or lower class friends. This high level of social integration stemmed from the intense relational work that low-SES students engage in, so as to fit in. Middle class friends act as a catalyst that can enable cross-class friendships.

Pilot Evaluation of the Impact of Lottery-Based Incentives on Engagement Levels of Male Low SES Vocational Students With an mHealth App.

In general, individuals with lower socioeconomic status (SES) are less physically active and adhere to poorer diets than higher SES individuals. To promote healthier lifestyles in lower SES populations, we hosted a digital health promotion program among male vocational students at a school in The Netherlands. In a pilot study, we evaluated whether this target audience could be engaged with an mHealth app using lottery-based incentives that trigger feelings of anticipated regret. Especially, we studied the social and interpersonal aspects of regret lotteries in a within-subject experimental design. In this design, subjects either participated in a social variant (i.e., with students competing against their peers for a chance at a regret lottery), or an individual variant (i.e., with subjects solely individually engaged in a lottery). Additionally, we studied the impact of different payout schedules in a between-subject experimental design. In this design, participants were assigned to either a short-term, low-value payout schedule, or a long-term, high-value payout schedule. From a population of 72 male students, only half voluntarily participated in our 10-week program. From interviews, we learned that the main reason for neglecting the program was not related to the lottery-based incentives, nor to the prizes that were awarded. Instead, non-enrolled subjects did not join the program, because their peers were not joining. Paradoxically, it was suggested that students withheld their active participation until a larger portion of the sample was actively participating. From the subjects that enrolled in the program (N = 36, males, between 15 and 25 years of age), we found that a large proportion stopped interacting with the program over time (e.g., after roughly 4 weeks). Our results also indicated that students performed significantly more health-related activities when assigned to the social regret lottery, as opposed to the individual variant. This result was supported by interview responses from active participants: They mainly participated to compete against their peers, and not so much for the prizes. Hence, from this study, we obtained initial evidence on the impact of social and competitive aspects in lottery-based incentives to stimulate engagement levels in lower SES students with an mHealth app.

An assessment of nutritional status and its association with school performance among school-age children (8–14 years) in Gauripalya, Bengaluru

Abstract Background: Children are the most vulnerable group that suffers from malnutrition. Nutritional status can affect the overall development of children. It may also affect the school performance of children. The present study is an attempt to assess the nutritional status of school-going children and its association with their school performance. Materials and Methods: A total of 430 students from classes 3 to 7 standard from two schools in rural Bangalore, India, were included in the study. Information on the age and socioeconomic status of students were collected from school records. Height and weight measurements were taken. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Children were clinically examined for pallor. World Health Organization ‘Z’ score charts were used to categorize weight for age, height for age, and BMI for age. The annual scholastic performance has been correlated with the poor nutrition of children. Student’s t-test (two-tailed, independent) and Chi-square/Fisher exact test have been used to evaluate the relationship between nutritional status and annual scholastic performance. Results: A total of 430 students participated in this study. The prevalence of underweight in boys was 25.21% (119) and in girls was 19.82% (111). The prevalence of stunting in boys was 12.60% (119), while in girls, it was 9% (111). The prevalence of wasting in the boys was 32.77% (119) and was 29.73% (111) in the girl, respectively. Among them, A + grade results were in 10 (2.30%), B grade results were in 70 (35.0%), and B + grade results were in 81 (35.22%). Conclusion: Hence, we conclude that the prevalence of malnutrition is higher among males than in females and children with lower socioeconomic status are more affected. Moreover, the nutritional status of the children is closely associated with their academic performances.

STUDENTS’ PREDISPOSITION TO BEING A VICTIM OF INTERNET CRIME IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS OF NIGERIA

The intensive and pervasive use of the use of the internet among the youth is an incontrovertible fact. Electronic or cybercrime among the youth has figuratively become endemic beating most security preventive networks and putting online users at the risk of becoming unsuspecting victims. This paper examines students’ Students’ Predisposition to Being a Victim of Internet Crime in Tertiary Institutions of Nigeria. The study employs quantitative research methods, 150 students were selected using multistage sampling procedure. Data were gathered on User’s purpose of using Internet and predisposition to internet Victimization; and Student Socio-economic status and Victimization Experience. Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentage and correlation analysis. information from the respondents revealed that, students who engaged in online banking had been victimized at least in which their accounts was debited by unknown person without their knowledge/ consent and also, those who engaged in chatting and performing e-business transaction with high social economic status are more susceptible to e-victimization experience, more so, users’ motives of surfing internet are directly related to their vulnerability to victimization experience. Finally, from the study, it was observed that there is positive relationship between individual socio-economic status and their victimization experienced. The study concludes that students who engaged in online banking transaction, both via app, point of sales POS or e-transfer is exposed to fraudsters and more vulnerable to internet fraud experiences therefore recommended that student should try as much as possible not to display wealth or any of their socio-economic information on social media.

Influence of socioeconomic status on academic performance in virtual classroom settings

As the children of immigrant parents, we understand the significant extent to which education is a tool for becoming contributing global citizens. During the COVID-19 pandemic, witnessing first-hand how socioeconomic inequalities were affecting education, we were determined to make a difference. We conducted an online survey to evaluate the impact of household socioeconomic status (SES) on student participation and performance in distance learning at the height of the COVID-19 in communities along the Monterey Bay Peninsula. SES is defined as the combined measure of gross income, educational attainment, and occupation. We hypothesized that students from low-socioeconomic households lacking resources and safe and supportive learning atmospheres would seldom participate during distance learning; therefore, earn lower grade point averages (GPAs) than students from higher SES households. We surveyed students from neighboring high schools whose student bodies are separated by a vast wealth gap, and utilized a novel scoring system to quantify the responses specifically for SES and direct participation factors (e.g., unmuting to participate in a class discussion and typing answers into the chat). The results suggested that high SES for Carmel High School and low SES for Monterey High School had a substantial impact on student achievement during distance learning. The average participation score for Carmel students was statistically significantly greater than Monterey students. Furthermore, students from the upper SES range attained higher weighted GPAs. This work ultimately reveals the inequality present in our current education system and the negative implications for low SES students in the online learning environment.

Designing enhanced pedagogy based on Basil Bernstein's code theory

Drawing on Bernstein's code theory, this article sets out to formulate a logical model of enhanced pedagogy addressing the logic of acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes to learning required to improve lower socio-economic status (SES) students’ learning outcomes in academic subjects. In order to achieve this goal, constructive suggestions from related studies are analyzed and incorporated into a model that consists of a circle of six stages, comprised of core concept, explanation, information infusion, presentation, evaluation, and lexical expansion. Ultimately, this model aims to advance students’ reasoning ability by transforming their coding orientation to school knowledge from condensed to elaborated.

Disparities in Access to Well-Qualified, Well-Supported Special Educators Across Higher- Versus Lower-Poverty Schools Over Time

Scholars have documented long-standing disparities in access to well-qualified, well-supported teachers, including disparities in access to special education teachers (SETs), based on student socioeconomic status. In response, policy initiatives have aimed to incentivize teaching in higher-poverty schools. Thus, we examined changes over time in disparities between SETs’ demands and resources (including internal resources, such as qualifications, and school-based resources, such as adequate materials), using multiple waves of the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey. We found that, by one metric, disparities in certification have closed since 2000. However, SETs in higher poverty schools are significantly more likely to work in self-contained settings than those in lower-poverty schools, and disparities in school-based resources continue to be significant, such that SETs in higher-poverty schools were significantly more likely to teach in self-contained classes, rated teacher cooperation significantly lower, and reported having significantly weaker access to material resources.

Assessment of the Nutritional, Health and Socioeconomic status of female students at Faculty of Science and Arts in Northern Border University, Saudi Arabia By

Assessment of the Nutritional, Health and Socioeconomic status of female students at Faculty of Science and Arts in Northern Border University, Saudi Arabia By

Relationships Among Band Festival Ratings, Director Gender, and Other Selected Factors

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among high school band festival ratings and director gender as well as school locale, school size, student socioeconomic status (SES), student race, repertoire difficulty, and ensemble name. Data included overall ratings of bands ( N = 257) that performed at District Concert Assessments held across the state of Virginia during 2019 as well as demographic information from the National Center for Education Statistics. Statistical analysis of a subset of these performances ( n = 151) revealed a statistically significant association between ratings and director gender, with male-directed ensembles more likely to receive a “I” rating than female-directed ensembles. However, hierarchical logistic regression revealed that repertoire difficulty and ensemble name were the best predictors of whether an ensemble would receive a “I” rating. Implications include the need to examine why female band directors may choose less difficult repertoire than male directors and to explore strategies for making the secondary band teaching profession more equitable and inclusive.

Breakfast Consumption and Academic Achievement Among Chinese Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model.

The studies have shown that a healthy lifestyle has a significant impact on the academic achievement of adolescents. Behavior of breakfast eating is considered a hallmark of dietary patterns and an important component of a healthy lifestyle. The prior study explained that students had a lower level of achievement motivation at school because they were exposed to some militating factors in their families such as absenteeism, ill health, malnutrition, and hunger. This study examined the mediating role of achievement motivation and moderating role of socioeconomic status (SES) in the association between breakfast consumption and academic achievement. This study used a sample of 15-year-old Chinese students who participated in Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015. In terms of gender, female students accounted for 47.2% and male students accounted for 52.8%. The results showed that (1) breakfast consumption had a positive predictive effect on academic achievement; (2) achievement motivation played a partial mediating role in the relationship between breakfast consumption and academic achievement; and (3) the direct and indirect effects were moderated by the SES of students, which meant that the effect of breakfast consumption on achievement motivation can differ depending on the SES of students. Besides, both the effects were stronger for individuals with higher SES. The conclusion of this study has an important theoretical value and reference value to guide the Chinese parents and Chinese adolescents to pay more attention to breakfast consumption and healthy lifestyles.

Prevalence of Childhood Short Stature, Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity Among Primary School Children.

BackgroundThis study, the first of its kind in Morocco, was conducted to compare the prevalence of growth disorders among children enrolled in public, private, urban, and rural schools in Oujda-Angad Province.MethodsA cross-sectional observational study was conducted among primary schools in Oujda-Angad Province from November 2017 to April 2018, with a stratified random cluster sampling of public, private, urban, and rural primary schools.ResultsA representative sample of 1582 students aged from five to 15 years old was selected. The sample included 779 females (49.2%) and 803 males (50.8%), with an average age of 9.3 ± 1.96 years. The average weight of the students was 29.3 ± 9.6 kg (range: 12-130 kg), the average height was 133.7 ± 12.16 cm (range: 104.5-175.5 cm), and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 16.05 ± 3.31 kg/m2 (range: 8.33-76.9 kg/m2). Overall, short stature (SS) and underweight were significantly more prevalent in the public and rural schools, while obesity was highest in the urban private schools that ranked as the schools with the highest socioeconomic status (SES) students (p < 0.01). Female students were more likely to be overweight and obese, while male students were more likely to be underweight.ConclusionOur study provides an estimate of the prevalence of excess weight, underweight, and short stature in a primary school population. Our results reflect the importance of the problem, the need to monitor the nutritional status at both the individual and the community level, and the need to put in place preventive, diagnostic, and early management strategies before the problem worsens.

A Study of The Relationship Between Physical Bullying Behaviour and Socio Economic Status of Secondary School Students

The present study aimed to find out the relationship of Physical Bullying Behaviour(PBB) with SES (age, family type and family income) among Government–aided and Private Secondary School Students(GASSS and PSSS) belonging to Varanasi city. 400 samples (200 GASSS and 200 PSSS) were selected randomly studying in class 9th to 12th of Secondary Schools of Varanasi city. Self-made tool named Bullying Behaviour Assessment Questionnaire (BBAQ) was used for data collection. Karl Pearson correlation coefficient value was used for the analysis of the data. The major findings were as among GASSS PBB was found to be negatively correlated with age and positively correlated with family type and family income. Among PSSS PBB was found to be negatively correlated with the family type and positively correlated with age and family income. For Secondary school students (SSS) PBB was found to be negatively correlated with age and family type whereas positively correlated with the family income.