Theindividualist.hubpages.com-How Do Socioeconomic Factors Affect Early Literacy

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How Do Socio-economic Factors Affect Early Literacy?

By The Individualist

Literacy is a fundamental tool that students must have in order to further their academic success.Literacy can be seen as being crucial to a students academic achievement throughout their schoolyears. Early problems in literacy may have a devastating effect on their later academic motivationand achievement.

According to Ruby Payne in her book ,A Framework for Understanding Poverty, low achievementcan be closely correlated with low socioeconomic status. Poverty can be related to academic

achievement in the United States. Students who come from impoverished families are more likely tohave problems in school than students who come from middle-class or upper-class families.Unfortunately, the United States has very high rates of childhood poverty. Furthermore, it is verydifficult for the impoverished families to escape poverty once they are in it.

The purpose of this article is to study the impact of socio-economic (SES)status on educationalachievement and early literacy. It will also look at the success of compensatory programs, such asHead Start , Title 1 and Early Interventions, that have been developed in order to help at-riskstudents from low-income families and communities overcome learning problems associated withtheir socio-economic factors.

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) children of low-income familiesbegan school far below their more advantaged peers. (Klein Knitzer, 2007). Their studies point outthe following facts:

Before entering kindergarten, the average cognitive scores of preschool-age children in thehighest socioeconomic group are 60 percent above the average scores of children in thelowest socioeconomic group.

At age 4 years, children who live below the poverty line are 18 months below what is normalfor their age group; by age 10 that gap is still present. For children living in the poorestfamilies, the gap is even larger

By the time children from middle-income families with well-educated parents are in thirdgrade, they know about 12,000 words. Third grade children from low-income families withundereducated parents who dont talk to them very much have vocabularies of around4,000 words, one-third as many words as their middle-income peers.

Early education studies have demonstrated that one of the greatest factors that can predict a childssuccess are their early literacy skills. This readiness to read must be nurtured during a childs earlyyears. This is long before they ever enter preschool or kindergarten. It is important that childrenbegin their formal education as developmentally ready as possible. These are the fundamental skillsthat provide an important foundation for all education skills--reading, writing, and all other subjectareas.

It has been well documented that there is an association between family poverty and childrenshealth, achievement and behavior . Family income appears to be more strongly related to childrensability and achievement than to their long term emotional outcomes. However, the associationbetween income and a childs educational outcomes is much more complex than a simple of
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association between these factors.

Health can be viewed as an outcome in itself. However, it is also a means by which poverty caninfluence other childhood outcomes such as cognitive ability and school achievement. Furthermore,a childs home environment also has a substantial effect on these to factors as well. Opportunitiesfor learning in the home must include the important mother-child interactions as well as the physicalcondition of the home. Poverty can be linked to a lower quality of parent and child interaction.Parental practices may also include the use of harsh punishments. All of these factors play

important roles in the learning outcomes for children living in poverty.

Research shows that the critical period for children to develop foundational capabilities on which allsubsequent development builds is between the ages of birth to 5 years old. This is the time whenthe most dramatic progress in linguistic and cognitive gains are made. Emotional, social, regulatoryand moral dimensions are also intertwined with this early developmental period. Each of thesecritical areas will require focused attention in order to develop appropriately.

This is the very period of development when noticeable disparities in what children know and areable to do become evident before they ever enter kindergarten. These differences are stronglyassociated with social and economic circumstances that these children find themselves. These

disparities are also predictors of their subsequent academic and cognitive performance. It hasbeen suggested that, even before entering kindergarten, the difference between high-status andlow-status is estimated to be over 60%. (Lee & Burkam, 2002) . There are large differencesespecially between childrens receptive and expressive language skills. Even more serious thantheir skill deficiencies, are the knowledge deficiencies that are a reflection of the limited access tothe informal information that come from the daily interactions between parent and child. There hasbeen limited study on the differences among children in content knowledge and its relationship toachievement. However, it has been suggested that skill development without meaningful content hasonly limited usefulness or staying power for these socially disadvantaged students. (Bredekamp &Copple, 1997; Neuman, Copple, & Bredekamp, 2000).

The idea behind compensatory education is to, in a sense, "compensate" for these disadvantagesby expanding and improving the educational programs offered to children living in poverty. Earlyintervention programs which focus on young preschool and primary school children, attempt toprovide them with the skills they will need in they will need in school that they may not acquire athome or in their regular school. The federally funded Title 1 program provides schools money sothat they may provide students from low-income families, who are having school-related problems,with additional services.

For low-income preschoolers, increasing early literacy and math skills is vital to closing theachievement gap between them and their more advantaged peers. New research shows that anintentional curriculum and professional development and supports for teachers are important

components of effective preschool classrooms and programs.

A special focus on these strategies is important because many low-income children in earlylearning settings fall behind early and remain very much behind their peers in reading and math. Thevarious studies regarding Head Start have produced somewhat contradictory and controversialresults about the effect that the program has had on children from economically disadvantagedhomes.( Zigler, E. & Styfco, S.J. (1994). Their study analyzed this program in terms of both long andshort term effects on children attending the Head Start Program. Their research seemed to confirmsome of the controversial issues about Head Start. In particular, it appears that the Head Startprogram has only proven to be beneficial to childrens short-term educational development. (Lee,V.E., Brooks-Gunn, J., Schnur, E. et al. (1988).) Long term effects seem to indicate that students

lose any increased cognitive ability they may have gained relatively shortly after leaving the HeadStart Program.

Ron Haskins compiled various studies that compared the differences betweennon-compensatorypreschool programs and compensatory programs like Head Start.(Haskins, Ron, 1989). The result


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of these studies showed that by the end of the year both programs produced significant gains inintellectual performance and socio-emotional development. However, both programs saw a declinewithin a few years after the students left the program. When looking at the variables of schoolperformance, there was strong evidence of positive effects on the non-compensatory preschoolprogram and only modest evidence any long term effects from the Head Start Program. Studentswho have attended the Head Start Preschool program, seem to lag behind their peers in the latergrades. The question that still requires additional study is the how much independent factors suchas family income and parent education has attributed to these differences.

It appears to be a difficult task for such a compensatory preschool program to have a long termeffect on early literacy and later school achievement. Killian and Kagens research also points outthat the Title 1 Reading Program hasnot had the positive effects on reading achievement as firstprojected. Their study followed a group of students from second through sixth grade. The resultsshowed that, although Title I intervention had a positive effect on students tested in the third grade,they could not maintain these gains after leaving the program. The Title I program had resulted inonly minimal gains for struggling students. Many of the students, particularly those with low ability,required continued interventions and supports in order not to fall behind their peers.

In his research, Slavin (2006) indicated that there are some compensatory programs which are

designed to help students from low income families to overcome learning problems which can beassociated with their social economic status that have been successful. As far as the effects of Title1 programs in general, has shown only inconsistent success rates. He points to the success of theearly intervention, prevention and some school reform programs that have proved to be beneficial tothese high risk students.

The Reading Recovery program provides struggling first graders withaccess to individualize literacytutoring with trained teachers. The program can helpthose students that are at most risk reach theirappropriate level of reading performance. Slavin(2006) indicates that its positive effects are longterm and the program is used in more than 9,000 elementary schools around the country.

Success for All is an accomplished CSR program that provides research-based reading programsto preschools, elementary, and middle schools (Slavin, 2006). However, its main focus main focusis on prevention and early intervention children in elementary school. Students in this program doread substantially better than their peers through out the elementary grades. They are also less likelyto needspecial education services or to fail a grade.

Summer school seem to close the achievement gap which appears between the lower and middleclass students during the summer months. Socio-economically disadvantaged students are morelikely not to make any achievement gains during the Summer months. In contrast, middle classstudents tend to make gains during this same period. Furthermore, the lower class students aremore likely to forget previously learned material. Ultimately, they fall even further behind their peers.

Summer school may provide a solution to this discrepancy by engaging at-risk students inacademically-related activities they would have otherwise not participated in. Because summerschool has been found to increase childrens knowledge and skills, it may lead to achievementgains in at-risk students, in addition to helping them maintain previously learned material (Harris,Kelly, Valentine, Muhlenbruck, 2000).

In summary, the detrimental effects of poverty on children's academic outcomes and general wellbeing are well documented. The question remains about which program, or programs, can bestaddress this socio-economic disadvantage and provide students with the skills necessary to besuccessful learners. Although state governments have primary responsibility for elementary andsecondary education in the United States, The federal government s concern for the education of

poor children, continues to remain compelling enough to support the continued funding andcommitment to compensatory education policies from the mid-1960s to the early twenty-firstcentury.

Obviously, research confirms that The Title I and Head Start compensatory education programs


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have come a long way, but neither has reached its full potential in breaking the connections betweenpoverty and early literacy success. Neither of these program may ever be the great equalizer thatPresidentJohnson had in mind . In order to compensate for poor schools, poor health care, povertyand the various other conditions that have been shown to have adverse effects on studentsdevelopment is going to take more of a commitment that these two federally funded programs. Inthe history of both programs, neither has had sufficient funding to provide services to all eligiblechildren. To the millions of children, however, that Title I and Head Start have served, it has madeimportant differences in their lives, their families' lives, and in their schools.

The Comprehensive School Reform Program (CSR) encourages schools to focus on all aspects oftheir school's operations when making improvements rather on just isolated programs that have notproven to be effective in improving student performance. This program encourages the school toimprove themselves by implementing comprehensive school improvement models that provideproven methods and strategies for teaching, learning, and school management. It has been found tosignificantly improve the academic achievement of students or demonstrates strong evidence that itwill improve the academic achievement of all students.

Ultimately, we continue to ask the question: What compensatory programs or strategies canactually help these low socio-economic students catch up to their peers? There is much research

showing that effects of poverty on early literacy are not irreversible. With comprehensive, ongoingearly interventions , it is possible to change the educational outcomes for low-income children.Using an intentional curriculum, as well as providing teachers with professional development andsupports can help close the achievement gap.

An Intentional Curriculum can be defined as being:

content driven, research-based, emphasizes active engagement with children, includes attentionto social and regulatory skills, and is responsive to cultural diversity and children just learningEnglish.

An intentional curriculum is directive without using drill and kill strategies; it is fun for youngchildren and promotes positive peer and teacher interactions. It must also be developmentallyappropriate. ( Klein and Knitzer, 2007).

Research finds that children make even more academic gains when they have teachers whoencourage communication, reasoning and an enthusiasm for learning. It is also important to alignearly learning curricula and teaching strategies with K-3 standards.

Key skills must be identified and student progress must be monitored in order to identifythe childrenwho need this targeted intervention to promote early literacy. The assessments must providereliable and valid measurements of these skills. Findings further suggest that instruction focused on

these skills may provide valuable literacy preparation, particularly for children at risk for developingreading. Because these at-risk children are in critical need of effective instruction in the early yearsin order to develop effective reading and writing skills, curriculum must include the following keyelements for effective literacy instruction.

A book-rich literate environment;

Teacher read-alouds;

Students reading aloud to others;

Shared reading;

Phonological awareness instruction;

Phonics instruction;


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Reading comprehension strategy instruction;

Writing strategy instruction;

Variety of reading and writing activities; and

Time for reading and writing.

As this article has shown, early intervention is important for students who are struggling with readingand writing. This is especially true of children living in poverty. With well designed curriculum andscientifically based early interventions, thesestudents have an opportunity to overcome their lowsocio-economic backgrounds and become successful students, while at the same time breakingthe cycle of poverty. However, it will take a sustained effort of the government, school districts anddedicated teachers, in order to insure early literacy success for all students.

Bibliography

Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice--Revised.

Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Duncan, G.J., and Brooks-Gunn, J., eds. Consequences of growing up poor. New York:Russell Sage Foundation,

1997.

Harris, C., Kelly, C., Valentine, J. C. (2000). Making the most of summer school: A Meta-analytic and narrative review.

Monographs of the Society for Research in Childdevelopment, 65, v-118.

Haskins, Ron. (1989). The Efficacy of Early Childhood Education.American Psychological Journal, 44(2), 274-282.

Howes, C.; Bryant, D.; Burchinal, M.; Clifford, R.; Early, D.; Pianta, R.; Barbarin, O.; &

Ritchie, S. (2006). National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL).

Chapel Hill, NC: NCEDL, FPG Child Development Institute.

Kilian, Lawrenc J.: Kagen, Edward. The Long Term Effects of the ESEA Title I Reading

Program on Reading Achievement. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the

American Educational Research Association (Los Angeles, CA, April 13-17, 1981).

Chapel Hill, NC: NCEDL, FPG Child Development Institute.

Knitzer, Jane, Klein, Lisa G (2007).Promoting Effective Early Learning .What Every

Policymaker and Educator Should Know. National Center for Children in Poverty.

Columbia University. Mailman School of Public Health.

Lee, V.E., Brooks-Gunn, J., Schnur, E. et al. (1988). Does Head Start Work? A 1-yr

Follow-Up Comparison of Disadvantaged Children Attending Head Start, No

Preschool , and Other Preschool Programs. Educational Psychology, 24(2)

Lee, V. E. & Burkam, D. T. (2002). Inequality at the starting gate: Social background differences in achievement as

children begin school. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.


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Neuman, S.B. Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2000). Learning to read and write:

Developmentally appropriate practice. Washington, DC: National Association for

The Education of Young Children.

Parlakian, Rebecca. 2003. Before the ABCs: Promoting School Readiness in Infants and Toddlers.

Payne, R. K. (2003). A framework for understanding poverty (3rd rev. ed.). Highlands,TX: aha! Process

Slavin, R.E. (2006). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice (8th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Zigler, E. & Styfco, S.J. (1994). Head Start: Criticism in a Constructive Context.

American Psychologist, 49 (2).

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