Why some children from poor families do well—an in-depth analysis of positive deviance cases in Singapore

Abstract

Purpose: Research documents that children from low-income families face higher risks in many areas of their development including academic performance. However, some children from low-income homes excel academically despite their disadvantaged environment. Method: Using Positive Deviance methodology (PD), audio-diary and interview data were collected from ten children who scored at least 70 percentile in school examinations in spite of their financial deprivation. Results: This paper uncovers specific dimensions of agency in these children that stemmed from the relational contexts they had with their mothers. Combining the PD methodology and sensitizing lens from Social Relational Theory, this study provided evidence that PD children are connected agents within their family. It suggests that children's awareness of their family circumstances motivated them to work hard and enabled them to devise creative ways to manage their limited financial resources. Conclusions: The findings challenge dominant discourses on poor children as passive victims and suggest new ways for practitioners to examine the relationship contexts that support children's capacity as agents rather than focusing on individual traits.

Economic Support, Migration and Agency: The Experiences of Young People in Newly Arrived Families from Syria

“…Redmond (2009) describes a form of ‘agency of adaption’ that demonstrates an everyday and personal response to poverty by cognitively accepting and ‘getting by’. It is also evident that the young people cope with economic adversity by acting in ways that not only positively influence their own situation, but also that of the family (Bolin, 2016; Cheang & Goh, 2018; Harju & Thorød, 2010; Redmond, 2009). While these can be understood as short-term coping strategies, children and young people also act agentively in developing long-term strategies for coping with economic disadvantage.…”

“…While these can be understood as short-term coping strategies, children and young people also act agentively in developing long-term strategies for coping with economic disadvantage. Here, a well-recognized strategy involves making attempts to do well in school and, by investing in their education, to bring about a change in the family’s economic future (Cheang & Goh, 2018). These efforts can be understood in relation to cultural discourses that frame perseverance in school and dedication to study as delivering material rewards.…”

Children’s agency in the family, in school and in society: implications for health and well-being

“…First, there is a diversity of contexts where children act as agents. These include the macro level contexts of culture (De Mol et al, 2019) and acculturation (Bergnehr, 2019), poverty (Cheang and Goh (2019), school (Bolin, 2019;Wickström, 2019) and dyadic family relationships Kuczynski et al (2019), Robson and Kuczynski (2019), Gurdal and Sorbring (2019). Nowhere to be found is the individual agent operating devoid of context.…”

“…Kuczynski et al (2019) and Robson and Kuczynski (2019) consider unique features of the parent-child relationship that affords children leeway to express their resistance despite their difference in power in an asymmetrical but interdependent close relationship. Cheang and Goh (2019) attribute the ability of children to succeed academically despite living in disadvantaged, low income families, to the fact that they are connected agents rather than isolated agents. Being a connected agent means that children have social resources that they can draw on to empower their effectiveness as agents.…”

“…Instead, recognizing that even children experiencing adversity or oppression are agents who are capable of acting in a way contributes to their own well-being and the well-being of their families. The results from Bergnehr (2019), in the case of refugee families, Cheang and Goh (2019) in the case of economically disadvantaged families, and Wickström (2019) in the case of children with mental health concerns, will help social services professionals to develop skills to identify children's acts of agency despite disadvantage and to work with or support children's capacities and initiatives to achieve therapeutic goals. Furthermore, incorporating children's and young people's perceptions and knowledge into therapeutic interventions, is a way for professionals working with children and young to find proper ways to help young people on their own terms.…”