Human beings around the globe are driven by a desire to make it in life and excel in their undertakings. However, this is not usually the case for everyone considering various factors socioeconomic, geographical, and political among others which make it hard to have equality in the achievement of one's goals and objectives. Consequently, these factors lead to inequalities where some people make it in life while others fail to do so. The essay is all about exploring how parental socioeconomic status plays a significant role in the performance of students in learning institutions.
Learners majorly rely on their parents to finance their educational needs which are quite diverse from tuition, stationery, co-curricular activities, examination fees, boarding fees among other miscellaneous expenses. These finances are meant to ensure that a learner is well equipped and ready to make his or her dreams come true. However, this is not usually the case considering that human beings live in a society where the gap between the rich and the poor is widening at alarming rates. Eventually, this creates distinctions in the society where learning centres are modelled to fit this reality. This then leads to the creation of private schools for the wealthy and public schools for the poor (Reardon, 2011). In as much as the American federal government tries to step in to support the education of the poor, the urban poor students continue to receive insufficient education as compared to their more privileged peers who belong in the middle and upper-income brackets.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Parental socioeconomic status is a major factor in determining the learning outcomes of the learners since it is a major factor that influences decisions in the learning environment of the learners. This is so since their socioeconomic status will guide parents in choosing the kind of schools their children will attend the neighbourhood they will live in and parental preferences. Parents from lower socioeconomic status will probably in neighbourhoods that are not conducive to learning where crime rates are extremely high which will have adverse effects on their children’s academic achievement. On the other hand, these parents are likely to enrol their children in a bad quality schools lacking in necessary infrastructure which will mean that the learners will receive a compromised education which means that their life may continue stagnating. On the other hand parents with high socioeconomic status will live in conducive and safe environments, enroll their children in schools with modern infrastructure and provide for all of their children’s academic requirements (Reardon, 2011). This will then translate to better academic achievements which will place these learners at an advantage when it comes to pursuing lucrative careers.
Public schools in America are in crisis since they are forced to take scores of learners whose parents cannot afford the expensive private schools. This according to Reardon (2011), compromises the quality of education considering that the tutors will be overwhelmed by the large numbers. The increase in classroom sizes comes against a backdrop where funding to such schools is reduced forcing the administration to increase the class sizes to fund the deficit (Chen, 2017). Further, these schools population is drawn from the low-income Americans who also tend to have the highest dropout rates which further compromises their learning outcomes. Additionally, the studies indicate that the students from low-income families are likely to get insufficient sleep or food which contributes to poor academic achievements (Chen, 2017). In contrast, the students from high -income families are likely to have excellent academic achievements since they live in conducive environments in addition to studying in smaller classes which ensure that they get maximum attention from their tutors.
Importance of social and cultural capital in school success
Social capital in the educational settings refers to those intangible resources which are incorporated within social institutions or interpersonal relationships. Additionally, social capital may be in three forms which include expectations, obligations and social norms (Byun, Meece, Irvin &Hutchins, 2013). Various stakeholders in the educational system and process are tasked with undertaking several responsibilities or roles in ensuring that the educational outcomes are positive. Furthermore, these stakeholders expect that their efforts should bore fruits which translate to better academic achievements. These obligations and expectations are however framed within a particular set of social norms which dictate what is acceptable or not in the educational process (Byun et al., 2013). More so, these social norms are fundamental in determining a criterion for the rewarding or the sanctioning of individual actions so that they conform to the set social standards. The aspect of social capital is very vital in fashioning the learning process to ensure that everything that goes on in the learning process is regulated to make it productive and beneficial.
Cultural capital in the educational setting refers to scarce resources which are geared towards equipping a learner with practical skills, knowledge as well as rules which are rewarded and recognized in the educational setting. Further research into the impact of cultural capital in educational outcomes has established a strong relationship between cultural capital and academic achievement among learners (Jaeger, 2010). Additionally, families which tend to possess cultural capital in high levels are most likely to have additional socioeconomic resources which usually have positive effects on their children’s academic achievements. More so, according to Sullivan (2001), children from the middle-class families are usually advantaged when it comes to achieving educational credentials since they possess cultural capital. This, therefore, shows the importance of cultural capital in enhancing the academic achievements of the learners.
In conclusion, academic achievement is highly determined by various factors that have been discussed in the essay. These factors include parental socioeconomic status which determines the kind of schools learners go to, the motivation for the learners and the extent to which the learners realize their academic goals. While parents from poor socioeconomic status take their children to congested public schools parents from middle and upper-income brackets, take their children to private schools where they are assured of maximum attention and academic prowess. Cultural and social capital further impact on learning outcomes since they are socially and culturally determined which makes them very vital.
References
Byun, S., Meece, J. L., Irvin, M. J. & Hutchins, B. C. (2013). The role of social capital in educational inspirations of rural youth. Rural Sociology, 77(3), 355–379.
Chen, G. (2017). 10 major challenges facing public schools. Public School Review. Retrieved from https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/10-major-challenges-facing-public-schools.
Jaeger, M. M. (2010). Does cultural capital really affect academic achievement ? Centre for Strategic Research in Education. Retrieved from http://cser.dk/fileadmin/www.cser.dk/wps_001.pdf.
Reardon, S.F. (2011). The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor: new evidence and possible explanations. Stanford University. Retrieved from https://cepa.stanford.edu/content/widening-academic-achievement-gap-between-rich-and-poor-new-evidence-and-possible.
Sullivan, A. (2001). Cultural Capital and Educational Attainment. SAGE Journal, 35(4)
