Essay: How Income Levels Affect How Children Develop Academically

Income levels can affect how children develop academically and their ability to attain successful grades. It is stated in detail the correlation between student’s economic status and educational prosperity in Development Through Life: A Psychosocial Approach (Newman, 2018, p. 10). A study conducted in Chile sought out to determine positive school outcomes in regard to socioeconomic earning relationships with growth and fixed mindsets of students. I think that someone’s income can affect their grades in school due to stressful home life, less educated parental guidance, and a significant lack of available resources to help complete assignments.
Each school in Chile tests the students on their mathematical and language arts skills and these results were tested by researchers comparing tenth grader’s socioeconomic statuses and mindsets (Claro, 2016). Their mindsets were determined by answering if they agree or disagree with statements on whether or not intelligence levels can be increased or not through learning (Claro, 2016). A point of contention with these results are that they are taken place in Chile which may be vastly different than results of students in the US. The results may not be exactly comparable to students in Florida, but I think that the findings in general would be similar.
Results of the study displayed that students with a lower family income were more likely have a fixed mindset which had significantly lower tests scores than those with growth mindsets (Claro, 2016). “Students from the low-income families who had a growth mindset showed comparable test scores with fixed mindset students whose families earned thirteen times more” (Claro, 2016). This shows how economic status can provide privilege for upper level students and set lower level students behind even if they have a growth mindset. Academic support should be provided for students who have these disadvantages.
Children in the bottom income bracket have the least access to beneficial tools to do well in school. I believe to alleviate the gap of their success levels and to help them better accomplish assignments to the best of their ability that resources such as laptops, after-school tutoring to, access to nutritious foods, and other innovational ideas for the school system to implement. Children have the right to education and the study showed just how much their home life and access to assets affect their test scores and ultimately any degree they will be able earn for a future career.
The study done in Chile coincides well with the textbook’s statements on how coming from a lower income family provides great disadvantages for the child on their education performances. The result that lower income students are more likely to have a fixed mindset shows how they believe they are set to fail in life. Children are entitled to education to begin to lead a positive life and the school systems should work to help the underprivileged succeed. Impoverished children should have more opportunities to succeed in their schools and equal access to supplies to improve their academic accomplishments.
References
Claro, S., Paunesku, D., & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement. PNAS Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America, 113(31), 8664-8668. doi:10.1073/pnas.1608207113
Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2018). Development through life: A psychosocial approach (13th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.