Conceptualising poverty as a barrier to learning through ‘Poverty proofing the school day’: The genesis and impacts of stigmatisation

Abstract

This article draws on an evaluation of the Poverty proofing the school day initiative. It outlines an argument arrived at through abductive reasoning to explain the generic and widespread instances of the stigmatisation of disadvantaged pupils that have been uncovered. The process of abductive reasoning necessitated broadening the conceptual framework through which we usually understand poverty and its impacts on education, and in so doing we take account of the affective or psychosocial dimensions and the attendant coping strategies that result. Listening to children's descriptions of poverty and its impacts on schooling is an essential aspect of better understanding these non-material aspects of poverty and their ramifications for all involved. There is, however, a lack of time and appropriate structures in schools to attend to this wider conceptualisation of poverty, yet the outcomes of Poverty proofing the school day demonstrate that schools do have a significant role to play in reducing the barriers to learning that result. We make the case that the specific conditions of high-stakes performativity in which schools operate, and the dominance of instrumental and metrics-based responses to issues around poverty and learning, reduce the visibility of the affective dimension and in so doing enable unwitting stigmatisation to result.

Engaging Children in Meaningful Charity: Opening‐up the Spaces within Which Children Learn to Give

“…This is not to suggest this is an unethical practice, but more that without critical discussion and debate children remain distanced from and unaware about the charitable cause they are seeking to support. Furthermore, research highlights that increasingly habitual activities such as non‐school uniform days and dress‐up days are problematic for families facing poverty (Mazzoli Smith and Todd, ), and that schools in wealthier areas fundraise significantly more than those in more deprived areas (Body et al , ). Indeed, Power and Taylor () conclude that ‘ the current mainstreaming of charities into schools is not necessarily a self‐evident “good” and that this under‐researched phenomenon deserves greater critical attention within and outwith schools’ (p. 702).…”

Poverty proofing healthcare: A qualitative study of barriers to accessing healthcare for low-income families with children in northern England

“…Our analysis demonstrates how the lived experiences of low-income families attempting to navigate healthcare are inextricably linked to the cultures of healthcare systems through which stated barriers are then experienced. As Mazzoli Smith and Todd [14] found in relation to studies reflecting on the work of Poverty Proofing the School Day, an analysis of normative…”

Fframwaith ar gyfer ymgysylltiad teuluoedd: Mynd y tu hwnt i Fframwaith Epstein

“…Gall ysgolion alinio eu hymarfer â'r fframwaith yn hawdd, neu, yn fwy problemus fyth, gallant gysoni'r fframwaith i'w hymarfer, drwy wneud newidiadau arwynebol i'w hymarfer. Yn anffodus, mae'r newidiadau hyn, gan eu bod yn arwynebol, yn annhebygol o fynd i'r afael â phroblemau dwfn pŵer, rhagdybiaethau am rieni, am addysg a dysgu a amlygir uchod , Mazzoli Smith a Todd 2019. Mae Epstein yn nodi nad yw elfennau'r fframwaith ei hun yn sicrhau rhaglen effeithiol o bartneriaethau (Epstein a Van Voorhis 2010, 2), ac mae hyn yn fwy gwir fyth, gan ein bod yn deall cymaint mwy bellach ynghylch sut beth yw cefnogaeth i ymgysylltiad rhieni effeithiol.…”