The Early Education of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Children

Abstract

This chapter reviews selected research on the education of low-socioeconomic status (SES) children from birth through the first years of elementary school. Themes include the importance of early academic skills and interest to later achievement; the benefits of integrating knowledge from research on mental health and other areas; the need to utilize and build children's strengths as well as address their weaknesses; and a call to connect research to practice and policy. Relevant research on race and culture is reviewed because ethnic minority low-SES children are at great risk of poverty. Gender is discussed because low-SES boys have poorer general achievement than girls, while very few low-SES girls pursue careers in math- and science-related fields.

Career Construction and Work Inclusion of People with Disabilities: Goal Setting

“…(Arnold et al, 2003) states that unequal initial conditions usually affect individual's career achievement but they might not affect his/her personal appraisal of career achievement. So, career adaptability leads to successful career construction, self-sufficiency, and psychological well-being of the vulnerable groups.…”

De la Escuela Gueto a una Comunidad de Aprendizaje: Un Estudio de Caso sobre la Superación de la Pobreza a Través de una Educación de Éxito

“…Una de las estrategias educativas que mayor impacto ha generado en la superación de la pobreza es que los niños y las niñas menores de seis años tengan la oportunidad de acceder a recursos y programas de desarrollo cognitivo y socioemocional. Además, el establecimiento de un currículo de máximos, especialmente en las áreas instrumentales (Maulucci, 2010;Hammond, 2001) o la extensión del tiempo de aprendizaje (Arnold & Doctoroff, 2003;Mahoney, Lord & Carryl, 2005;Taylor, Power & Rees, 2010) son factores esenciales para el éxito académico y el acceso a la educación post-obligatoria (Baum & Flores, 2011) de las personas que viven en contextos empobrecidos.…”

Mind, Brain, and Education in Socioeconomic Context

“…In practice, these benefits of education are often less available to individuals of low socioeconomic status for a variety of reasons (see Arnold & Doctoroff, 2003, for a review). Schools attended by low-SES students are generally less well funded than other schools.…”

“…Finally, even before they enter school, low-SES children lag behind their middle-class counterparts by most measures of cognitive development (e.g., Bayley Infant Behavior Scales and IQ scores) and school readiness (e.g., preliteracy skills such as letter recognition) (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997). They enter the school system in need of an enriched educational experience, but often their lack of preparation is simply compounded by an inadequate school system (Arnold & Doctoroff, 2003).…”