Teaching Economically Disadvantaged Students

Internet articles, comics, newspapers, magazines,

and other print materials in the classroom will help

students find something that is of interest to them.

The more students read, the better their skills develop.

Stereotypes vs. Truths of Economically Disadvantaged Students

Lazy...

In actuality, poor

working adults work

more hours per week

than their wealthier counterparts

Alcohol abuse is more common in

wealthy people and drug use is

distributed equally through all

social classes

Little value placed on

education....

Most low income parents

place the same value on

education as other parents

Crime and Violence...

Poor people commit more "visible"

crimes than wealthier people, but white

collar crime has much greater economic impact.

Alcohol abuse is more prevalent

in wealthy people.

Drug abuse occurs about equally in

low, middle and upper classes.

Culture of Economically

Disadvantaged Students

Struggles of Many EconomicallyDisadvantaged Students

• More likely to enter school linguistically disadvantaged because parents have not promoted literacy at home

Strengths Economically

Disadvantaged Students

Bring to Class

• May experience socioemotional effects of poverty such as: lower self-esteem, lower popularity, and conflictual peer relationships

• Lack of parental support and at-home instruction

• Parents often work long, hard hours for low wages

• Have not participated in many "broadening" life experiences

• Most cannot afford health insurance or proper medical care

Students in any socioeconomic class may have strong attributes such as:

• communication skills
• humor
• imagination/creativity
• inquiry
• insight
• interest
• memory
• motivation
• problem-solving and reasoning

• Some live in unsafe housing, go without food, have utilities turned off, face medical crises and are homeless at times

• Experiences frustration due to poor educational foundations

• Often rely upon charities for healthcare, food and clothing

• Embarassment that they cannot afford things like fashionable clothing, soft drinks, field trip costs

Strategies for Helping Economically

Disadvantaged Students Achieve

Establish a positive relationship with the student

Set high expectations for all students

Students whose parents are not actively involved in their education need a trustworthy adult to support them

All students should be held to the same high expectations. Students should be encouraged to take rigorous courses so that they will be more likely to attend and succeed in college.

Use a variety of materials

Establish a support system to increase liklihood of completing higher education

Students who are involved in sports, clubs or other groups find encouragement to stay in school from peers or from teachers.

Modify pace of instruction

to allow for a range of student abilities

Use cooperative reviews to improve achievement

5 Steps to increasing achievement:

• Create a clear, appropriate test
• Develop study items that correspond to test questions
• Assign students to mixed ability cooperative groups
• Teacher roams room, monitoring and clarifying group work
• Conduct whole class review to reinforce student understanding

Differentiated instruction needs to provide activities so that students who work quickly are not waiting around for other students to catch up

Small group instruction can be used to address the needs of a variety of learners

Scaffolding works better than simply slowing pace of instruction

References:

• Cuthrell, K., Stapleton, J., & Ledford, C. (2010). Examining the Culture of Poverty: Promising Practices. Preventing School Failure, 54(2), 104-110. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
• Diuguid, D. (2010). Student Teachers' Awareness, Preparedness, and Attitudes Of Issues Related to High-Poverty Schools. Southeastern Teacher Education Journal, 3(1), 77-87. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
• Glasgow, N., McNary, S.J., & Hicks, C.D. (2006). What Successful Teachers Do in Diverse Classrooms. 96-119. Corwin Press. Thousand Oaks, CA.
• Haberman, M. (2010). The Pedagogy of Poverty Versus Good Teaching. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(2), 81-87. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
• Kennedy, E. (2010). Improving Literacy Achievement in a High-Poverty School: Empowering Classroom Teachers Through Professional Development. Reading Research Quarterly, 45(4), 384-387. doi:10.1598/RRQ.45.4.1
• LaGue, K. M., & Wilson, K. (2010). Using Peer Tutors to Improve Reading Comprehension. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 46(4), 182-186. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.