Poverty's Effect on Childhood Academic Achievement

The damaging effects of poverty on childhood have been well documented (Guo and Harris 2000). Numerous studies have shown childhood poverty to be highly correlated with poor performance in academics, lower IQ scores, and an increased risk of dropping out of school. Poverty also affects the level of education children attain and their math and reading capabilities (Powers 1996).

One study even found that the IQ scores of children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds were 25 points lower than their counterparts from privileged families. Additionally, lower socio-economic status seems to be associated with a lower rate of attendance and fewer years of school completed (Bradley and Corwyn 2002).

Poverty's effect on childhood academic achievement varies in relationship to age and length of time in poverty, parents' occupation and source of income, parents' educational attainment, cognitive stimulation, physical environment, neighbors' influence, physical well-being, and parenting style.

Poverty begins to affect the academic achievement of children in infancy (Bradley and Corwyn 2002). It has its greatest effect on the mental development of the child (Powers 1996). After early childhood, socio-economic status plays less and less of a part in the academic achievement of poor children (Bradley and Corwyn 2002).

However, reports show that the longer children live in poverty, the lower their level of academic achievement (Guo and Harris 2000). Considering the fact that most homes that experience poverty will suffer from it again, and that poverty will affect over one-third of American's during their childhood, it comes as no surprise that the culprit in the lower academic achievement of America's youth is poverty (Rank and Hirschl 1999).

The occupation and source of income (i.e. welfare, wages, and child support) received by impoverished families appears to affect the educational attainment of children. For example, mothers who worked more intellectually stimulating jobs often provided their children with more stimulating educational experiences at home (Bradley and Corwyn 2000).

Furthermore, the source of income received by poor families affects children's mental development. Research shows that children on welfare do not fair as well academically as children who live on child support payments. The study speculates that this may be due to the lack of motivation parents who do not work often have (Powers 1996).

Research shows that the low academic achievement of one's parents often becomes cyclical, and affects the child's education because they, like their parents before them, are also in poverty (Bradley and Corwyn 2002). For example, 82% of children who lived with parents with less than a high school diploma live in poverty (http://www.nccp.org/pub_pei04.html).

In fact, one of the best predictors of childhood academic achievement is the educational attainment of the child's parents (Bradley and Corwyn 2002). This may be due to a lack of encouragement by the parent. However, it is more likely that the poverty parents experience due to their inadequate education cuts their income, and consequently the amount of money they have to support their child's education.

If the parent is not educated, he or she cannot provide sufficient cognitive stimulation for his or her child. This is a concern because cognitive stimulation is vital during the most developmental period of the child's life: infancy (Bradley and Corwyn 2002). It has been shown to be the most effective way to ensure high academic achievement later on in a child's life.

Parents can mentally rouse their children with many high quality reading materials such as newspapers, magazines, and books in the home. Learning experiences such as trips to the museum also stimulate children. However, though reading materials may be available for free, they are of a lesser quality and there are fewer to go around. In addition, learning experiences are obviously less available to poorer children due to a lack of income (Guo and Harris 2000).

Another factor affecting the academic achievement of poor children is the physical environment they live in. Things such as overcrowding and rodents can be commonplace distractions from schoolwork in many low income homes. In addition, children from poor families often lack access to telephones and televisions which can provide cognitive stimulation. The greatest effect of low income housing is on the neighborhood conditions children must face. Low income areas are usually plagued by increased crime rates and abandoned housing.

Increased crime rates imply the presence of criminal influences within the neighborhood. These influences can entice poor children into selling drugs or committing robberies in order to get money (Guo and Harris 2000). Studies have shown that urban areas which more often suffer these types of inadequacies have a negative affect on the children who live their in comparison to children who grew up in rural environments (Powers 1996).

The affluence of neighbors of children in poverty also affects academic achievement. These individuals bring with them high property values which can be taxed to improve public education. This in turn provides poor children with access to better education then they may have received in strictly low-income school districts.

Moreover, affluent neighbors serve as positive role models in the academic arena because of their level of educational attainment and work ethic. However, when facing standardized tests and college admissions, poor children cannot compete with the children of their affluent neighbors who have had access to more cognitive stimulation within the home (Mayer 2002).

The physical well-being of children from a low socio-economic background also serves as a disturbance when pursuing education. Things such as malnutrition, disease, and injuries divert children's attention from schoolwork. Two very common health conditions experienced by poverty stricken children are anemia and lead poisoning.

Other health problems such as vision and hearing troubles and learning disabilities act as a direct hindrance to academic achievement in poor children. These health concerns are prevalent among poor children because their families often lack the money to afford health care, medications, nutritious food, and safe living environments which lower the chances of injury (Guo and Harris 2000).

Another strong predictor of academic failure is the parenting style the child is accustomed to. Better parenting has been shown to be correlated with higher levels of parental income and education (Bradley and Corwyn 2002). This is because unique pressures face the impoverished parent. Poor parents worry about joblessness, discrimination, inadequate housing, disease and injury, shortage of food, and many other problems that one might encounter when confronted with a lack of income.

These worries eventually weigh heavy on the psyche of the parent and can lead to the implementation of harsh discipline practices, menial amounts of support and love, absence from the home, and high levels of hostility (Guo and Harris 2000). In addition, large, low-income families see lower levels of academic achievement due to the attention of the parents being spread too thinly between their many children (Powers 1996).