Unequal selves in the classroom: Nature, origins, and consequences of socioeconomic disparities in children’s self-views.

Abstract

Children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds often have more negative self-views than their peers. How are these self-views shaped by teacher-student interactions in the classroom, and what are the consequences of these self-views for achievement inequality? We present a developmental framework addressing these questions by bridging insights from the psychological, educational, and sociological literatures. We show that children from low-SES backgrounds perceive themselves as less intelligent, less able to grow their intelligence, less deserving, and less worthy, independent of their actual abilities and achievements. We demonstrate how negative intellectual stereotypes-expressed through daily interactions with teachers in classrooms, such as teachers' expectations, feedback, and attention-undercut the self-views of children from low-SES backgrounds. We also show how this process can be exacerbated by institutional and cultural values reflecting a belief in meritocracy (e.g., schools that encourage competition, emphasize raw ability, and attribute achievement inequality to intrinsic factors), which are common in countries with high income inequality and rigid between-school tracking. The ensuing more negative self-views introduce psychological barriers that undermine the academic achievement of children from low-SES backgrounds, thereby reinforcing achievement inequality. This represents an enormous loss of potential and perpetuates harm into adulthood. Socioeconomic disparities in self-views can emerge early in life and widen with age, underlining the need for developmental research and timely intervention. We discuss implications for studying the nature, origins, and consequences of socioeconomic disparities in self-views, and for designing interventions to reduce achievement inequality. Public Significance StatementChildren from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds often have more negative self-views than their peers. How are these self-views shaped by teacher-student interactions, and how do these selfviews affect academic achievement? We show that these self-views emerge, in part, because children from low-SES backgrounds are exposed to denigrating messages about their ability, even when their achievements and abilities are equal to those of their peers. Their self-views, in turn, undermine academic achievement, reinforcing achievement inequality.

“You did incredibly well!”: teachers’ inflated praise can make children from low-SES backgrounds seem less smart (but more hardworking)

“…Doing so, our research bridges two separate literatures. One literature shows that teachers hold SES biases about children's intellectual ability 27 . Teachers tend to underestimate the intellectual abilities of low-SES students 31 , hold low expectations for their future success 45 , give them lower grades 46 , and assign them to lower educational tracks 47 .…”

“…First, researchers could examine how teachers' inflated praise influences the self-views of its recipient. Low-SES children tend to have low self-perceived ability and low self-esteem 27,81,82 . Could teachers' inflated praise contribute to these socioeconomic disparities in children's self-views?…”

“…Building on attribution theory, we theorize that teachers give more inflated praise to children from low-SES (vs. high-SES) backgrounds, because they are more inclined to attribute low-SES children's successes to hard work. There is a pervasive negative stereotype about the academic abilities of low-SES children 27 . Low-SES individuals are often perceived as incompetent-as "stupid," "uneducated," "lazy," "unmotivated," and "weak" 28 .…”

The Bell Curve at 30: A Closer Look at the Within- and Between-Group IQ Genetic Evidence

“…The psychological impact of oppression (a word rarely found in the behavioral genetic and IQ hereditarian literature) gives rise to negative self-views, can depress earlier test-relevant learning, motivation, and concentration, and can create increased anxiety in test situations. Brummelman and Sedikides (2023) concluded that children from low-SES backgrounds, apart from their actual abilities and achievements, perceive themselves as less intelligent, less able to grow their intelligence, less deserving, and less worthy. "Subjective Socioeconomic Status" research has identified SES-related adverse effects on views of the self (Kraft et al, 2022).…”

The inherence bias in preschoolers’ explanations for achievement differences: replication and extension

“…Explaining these differences in inherent terms is likely to lower the self-concepts and self-efficacy of children from marginalized backgrounds 22 , 23 . Social class and racial/ethnic differences in self-perceptions and perceptions by others could then act as a self-fulfilling prophecy, amplifying initial inequalities in achievement 24 , 25 .…”