Schools in disadvantaged areas: recognising context and raising quality (original) (raw)
Related papers
2011
Vitriolic arguments about school funding are not surprising in light of the current practical and political quagmire fuelled by concerns about NAPLAN (National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy), the publication of school funding data on the My School website, and the release of the Review of Funding for Schooling Emerging Issues Paper in Dec 2010 (AG 2010). This article provides an overview of the current private and public government funding debate, and discusses the under achievement of disadvantaged students highlighting the situation of refugee young people in government schools. The deeply fl awed socioeconomic status (SES) model of educational funding has served to polarise discussion around funding government and non-government schools. Funding is certainly critical, and guaranteed minimum funding to meet the needs of all students is necessary to achieve educational equality. However, polarising the debate into public versus private schools polemics can detract educators from addressing pressing questions about the fundamental purpose of education. Are we content for education to be regarded as a quasi market that simply provides personal rewards and intellectual capital to fuel national competition, or are there other reasons we educate-some individual, some social, some ethical and some that we still struggle to understand and explain? Perhaps the most fundamental question we can ask of education is why it matters. Why do school resources, student outcomes, and social justice matter? In the late 21st century we face environmental, economic, social and political problems never before encountered, and of an unprecedented scale. What matters about education is its capacity to prepare all young people to meet the challenges of a sustainable post-industrial future. Will this be achieved through an education system that distributes educational success on the basis of wealth and income? Will the capacity to compete in a global market place prove as valuable as the capacity to collaborate and devise alternative ways of conceptualising problems and solutions? Having taught and researched in UK and Australian high schools and universities under neoliberal and pre-neoliberal education regimes, it seems to me that subjecting education, students and teachers to the forces of the market-While education may distribute good jobs to the few and while it should quite rightly seek to expand economic and social rewards to the many, it has bigger and broader benefi ts, writes Julie Matthews. EDUCATIONmatters 21 EM s c h o o ls Government fu n d in g Can disa dva ntag ed chil dre n slip thro ugh the sys tem ? o f
The impact of poverty on young children's experience of school
York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2007
Potter and Alex Tennant. My thanks to them for giving freely of their time and for their constructive criticism. vii viii x Ridge talked to children and young people aged ten to 17 and found that children living in low-income families were more likely to be socially excluded, or to exclude themselves, within school. They expressed concerns about having the right clothes, particularly for non-uniform days. Even with school uniforms, they were concerned about having the 'right' shoes or trainers. Many young people whose families lived in poverty were unable to participate fully in school life, because their parents simply could not afford it. Save the Children and the Children's Rights Alliance in England (Willow, 2001) and Save the Children in Wales (Crowley and Vulliamy, 2002) talked to children and young people about the effects of poverty and found that even children as young as Most advantaged Most disadvantaged Key Stage 1 maths (% level 3) 50 21 Key Stage 1 English (% level 3) 42 12 Key stage 2 maths (% level 5) 46 15 Key Stage 2 English (% level 5) 25 2 Source: Gallagher (2006). Non-FSM Eligible for FSM Key Stage 1 maths (% level 2 and above) 93 80 Key Stage 1 reading (% level 2 and above) 88 70 Key Stage 2 maths (% level 4 and above) 78 55 Key Stage 2 English (% level 4 and above) 81 58 Source: DfES (2005). Socioeconomic context of schools The impact of poverty on children's school experiences cannot be explored, or explained, without taking into account the social, economic and educational context in which the schools are situated. There is considerable evidence of a link between areas with high levels of deprivation and lower levels of educational attainment. Wheeler et al. (2005) studied the relationship between poverty, affl uence and area. They found that those areas with the highest proportions of young people with no qualifi cations tend to have the fewest teachers available. By contrast, those areas with a higher proportion of qualifi ed young people tend to have many adults (around the age of these young people's parents) with degree-level qualifi cations. Lupton (2004, 2005) found a strong relationship between levels of deprivation and the 'quality' of schools in an area. Lupton does, however, counsel caution in relation to the defi nition of 'quality' in schools, since many of the 'quality' measures are measures of outcome and do not take account of progress made by pupils who start with high levels of disadvantage. Nor do such measures always value the work that schools in disadvantaged areas have to do to promote children's 'welfare and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development' (Lupton, 2005, p. 590). The Department of Education is also the lead government department working to draw up a programme of measures across a range of areas to best target the Children and Young People Funding Package of £100 million over 2006/07 and 2007/08. The overall objective of the Children and Young People funding package is:
Child poverty is a well researched issue owing to a number of factors. The link between childhood poverty and adult life outcomes are unequivocal, especially in more deprived societies. Numerous theories exist relating to childhood poverty and adult opportunity. Investment Theory argues that a child’s inability to participate in the purchase of material goods will have a negative influence on their adult life chances to do so. Role Model Theory posits that poverty suffered by a child’s parents and other significant adults in the child’s life convey less desirable cultural norms for the child to aspire to. Parental Stress Theory suggests that poverty causes high levels of stress and less capability in parents which are passed on to children. This paper concentrates on the link between educational achievement and poverty, why the link exists and what is being done about it. Whilst this is an issue that can be considered globally this paper focuses predominantly on the United Kingdom. The author taught in a number of schools within impoverished societies in Greater Manchester and witnessed the effect first hand. This paper will begin by considering the global aspects of defining poverty drawing on Non-Governmental Organisations such as UNESCO, the World Bank and the OECD. The ability to understand how poverty is defined globally is important to the understanding of the main foci that follow in order to consider the question: “What causes the globally recognised educational achievement gap between children in poverty and those from wealthier families, and in the UK why has policy in recent years failed to deliver?” Paper written June 2015 as part of a Masters in Education.
Variations on a middle class theme: English primary schools in socially advantaged contexts
Journal of Education Policy, 2011
tacitly or overtly compare the difficulties they face with those of schools in more deprived settings even if they are hardly so serious in relative terms. We suggest this perception plays an important ideological role in supporting inequalities between schools as it helps to explain why staff in socially advantaged schools will often underestimate and downplay the extra demands on schools in more deprived areas and the resource implications of those extra demands.
The wrong side of the tracks: Starting school in a socially disadvantaged London borough
Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 2016
Substantial evidence exists that social circumstances can affect children’s language development. As a result many children in socially deprived areas start school with delayed language, which may persist and adversely affect their attainment. We assessed the language of children in seven reception classes in a London (UK) borough and followed the progress of children with English as their first language (E1L) and with English as an additional language (EAL) during their first 2 years at school. Significant differences were found between schools. The effect of social factors on performance was reflected in a high correlation between the mean language score for each school and the percentage of children in the school receiving the pupil premium. Many of the children with EAL had very low scores reflecting their limited exposure to English prior to starting school. Most of these children attended schools where children with E1L also had low scores increasing the demands on the schools...
2019
Setting the Context In Scotland, 2018 was designated the Year of Young People. Yet, we know that for many children living in poverty their life chances are significantly reduced, reflected in poorer mental health and wellbeing [1] and academic outcomes [2]. Focussing on attainment alone will not solve the problem: an holistic focus upon children and their wellbeing within the contexts of public policy, families, schools and communities is essential [3]. We have chosen to focus on early adolescence as this represents a critical stage in children's development [4, 5] when peer victimization [6] and mental health issues [7] often come to the fore, impacted by adverse childhood experiences [8, 9]. This is a complex international problem [10-12], articulated within the United Nation's global goals for sustainability [13], requiring a multidisciplinary focus. The seminar series focussed on one of the Scottish Government's key policies-the Scottish Attainment Challenge, addressed through a wide range of legislation and initiatives [14, 15]. Through hosting a series of three international seminars (one held over two days) and working with children and young people in St Rose of Lima Primary School, Glasgow City Council and Inverclyde Academy, focussing on their sense of belonging to school, we have sought to cast light on this complex problem.