The Influence of Socioeconomic Status of Students of Teaching Practices

We often like to say that we don’t think about the socioeconomic status (SES) of our students any more than we consider their race, religion, or gender.  However, subconsciously and even at times consciously we do consider these factors when planning lessons, activities and assessments.  

Boaler (2002) describes the students at Amber Hill as being mostly from working class families.  She suggests that because of this the teachers have sought a more structured approach to their teaching (p. 28).  She also cites the findings of Anyon (1981) to show that schools in poorer neighbourhoods “discouraged personal assertiveness and intellectual inquisitiveness in students and assigned work that most often involved substantial amounts of rote activity” (p. 35).  This shows a form of prejudice against these students because of their family income and background.  It hardly seems to follow the idea of differentiation, which would take into account the learning styles of these students not how much money their families have.  To group all of these students into one category is not fair, “there is nothing so unequal as treating everyone the same way” (Davis, Sumara & Luce-Kapler, 2008, p. 178). 

I would argue that if students from a lower SES find mathematics concepts harder and are more likely to become a behavioural issue than the more open style of teaching would be a better option. 

Allowing students the choice to complete different activities and to take them to a level of difficulty that better suits their abilities, would give them a feeling of empowerment and provide them with the confidence they need to achieve well in math.  “Recent research shows that self-regulatory processes are teachable and can lead to increases in students’ motivation and achievement” (Zimmerman, 2002, p. 69).  

References:

Boaler, J.  (2002). Experiencing School Mathematics.  New York: Routledge.

Davis, B., Sumara, D., & Luce-Kapler, R. (2008). Engaging Minds. New York: Routledge. (Original work published 2000).

Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview. Theory into Practice, 41(2), 64-70.