Many governments have adopted a policy of seeking to increase the number of

students entering higher education and to finance this expansion by transferring costs
from the state to the individual. In the United Kingdom, this policy has been pursued
with relatively little concern for the impact that the increasing financial burden may have
on students. Research at one case-study university suggested that many students were
coping with their day-to-day living costs more comfortably than they had expected to in
the first year. However, those in a difficult financial position at the start of their period of
study were likely to face greater problems in the course of their first year. Two
difficulties in particular – having missed payments at the start of the academic
programme, and having to wait for the first student loan payment – were shown to have
a damaging effect on academic performance.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0309877X.2011.584969

The Nigerian educational system has suffered disrepute in recent times. Schools outside Nigeria assess the
certificates earned from Nigerian universities as being low. In this research, we used carefully designed
questionnaires distributed by stratified random sampling with proportional allocation scheme, to find out the
impact of finance on students‟ academic performance with reference to Kaduna Polytechnic. The statistical
tests we applied are Chi-square, Phi coefficient and Bi-serial correlation. It was found that financial status
depends on the source of finance. The self-sponsored students are more satisfied than those that get their
money either from their parents or from a scholarship fund. It was also discovered that the adequacy
/inadequacy of a student‟s finance does not depend on gender. Bi-serial correlation analysis reveals that
adequacy of the money affects student‟s academic performance. The conclusion that satisfaction cum
improved academic performance depends on source of finance (and in particular, those that sponsor
themselves feel more satisfied) explains why graduates from the countries where job opportunities are
provided for students perform well in both external/professional examination and in the industry. Since jobs
are rarely available for students in Nigeria, a student-loan-scheme is needed to ensure satisfaction, which leads
to improved performance.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272458457_Impact_of_Students'_Financial_Strength_on_th
eir_Academic_Performance_Kaduna_Polytechnic_Experience

https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/9789264266490-10-
en.pdf?expires=1574868690&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=EF5803605FB19AC059FC78E9D925837
7
The recession may be over, but as tuition and debt continue to rise, many students are still
under extreme pressure to make ends meet – and for some, it’s at the expense of academic
pursuits.
In part responding to critics who wondered why they hadn’t explored this earlier, the creators
of the National Survey of Student Engagement this year asked how finances were affecting
students’ academic activity. The results, NSSE director Alexander C. McCormick said, are “not
too surprising, but worrisome.”
About 60 percent of full-time seniors who work more than 20 hours per week said it interfered
with their academic performance, but just as many said they frequently looked into working
more hours to cover costs. Further, 32 percent of first-year students and 36 percent of seniors
said financial concerns interfered with their academic performance.
And 27 percent of freshmen and 34 percent of seniors said they “often” or “very often” chose
not to purchase required academic materials because of the cost.
“You have to wonder what the impact is,” said McCormick, who is also an associate professor of
educational leadership and policy studies at Indiana University at Bloomington. Ones hopes
that students are renting textbooks or borrowing from a friend rather than simply going
without, but even then, he said, if a student can’t open a textbook whenever needed, it’s not
ideal.

Perhaps it’s also not surprising, then, that when asked whether a series of factors
“substantially” influenced their choice of major, 55 percent of seniors said “yes” to having the
ability to find a job (with more minority than white students saying so), and 52 percent noted
potential salary. Nearly 59 percent pointed to career mobility or advancement, and 41 percent
said potential for management positions. Still, academic interest and personal talents won out,
with 89 percent of seniors answering in the affirmative to both.( Grasgreen,2012)
insidehighered.com/news/2012/11/15/finances-affect-students-academically-nsse-2012-finds
This paper examines the relationship between family income and the academic performance of tertiary
students in Ghana, the case of Ho Polytechnic. The study focuses on the sources of family income,
expenditure patterns of students on campus and students’ performance. Case study under qualitative
research design was used. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 480 students across
the faculties in the Polytechnic. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data to support the
secondary data. The study found a mixed significant relationship between higher family income and
better students’ academic performance based on the students’ cumulative grade point average (CGPA).
Thus, though family financial status affects students’ performance to some extent, but it is not an
essential predictor of higher academic performance. A good number of student respondents indicate
that low family income does not necessarily lower their academic achievement. The study concludes
that financial status of families/parents and the students’ academic performance must be a shared
responsibility for the purpose of mutual benefits in the future. Financial interventions from the
government and other external parties are paramount for the future socio-economic growth of the
nation, since these students are great assets and future leaders of the country. This study adds to the
existing body of literature and also serves as a basis for future research.

http://hrmars.com/hrmars_papers/Article_16_Assessment_of_Family_Income.pdf

Education and Socioeconomic Status

Socioeconomic status (SES) encompasses not just income but also educational attainment,
financial security, and subjective perceptions of social status and social class. Socioeconomic
status can encompass quality of life attributes as well as the opportunities and privileges
afforded to people within society. Poverty, specifically, is not a single factor but rather is
characterized by multiple physical and psychosocial stressors. Further, SES is a consistent and
reliable predictor of a vast array of outcomes across the life span, including physical and
psychological health. Thus, SES is relevant to all realms of behavioral and social science, including
research, practice, education and advocacy.
SES Affects Our Society
SES affects overall human functioning, including our physical and mental health. Low SES and its
correlates, such as lower educational achievement, poverty and poor health, ultimately affect
our society. Inequities in health distribution, resource distribution, and quality of life are
increasing in the United States and globally. Society benefits from an increased focus on the
foundations of socioeconomic inequities and efforts to reduce the deep gaps in socioeconomic
status in the United States and abroad.
SES and Educational Issues
Research indicates that children from low-SES households and communities develop academic
skills slower than children from higher SES groups (Morgan, Farkas, Hillemeier, & Maczuga,
2009). For instance, low SES in childhood is related to poor cognitive development, language,
memory, socioemotional processing, and consequently poor income and health in adulthood.
The school systems in low-SES communities are often underresourced, negatively affecting
students’ academic progress and outcomes (Aikens & Barbarin, 2008). Inadequate education and
increased dropout rates affect children’s academic achievement, perpetuating the low-SES
status of the community. Improving school systems and early intervention programs may help to
 reduce some of these risk factors; therefore, increased research on the correlation between SES
and education is essential.
SES and Family Resources
Literacy gaps in children from different socioeconomic backgrounds exist before formal
schooling begins.
 Children from low-SES families are less likely to have experiences that encourage the
development of fundamental skills of reading acquisition, such as phonological awareness,
vocabulary, and oral language (Buckingham, Wheldall, & Beaman-Wheldall, 2013).
 Children’s initial reading competency is correlated with the home literacy environment, number
of books owned, and parent distress (Aikens & Barbarin, 2008; Bergen, Zuijen, Bishop, & Jong,
2016). However, poor households have less access to learning materials and experiences,
including books, computers, stimulating toys, skill-building lessons, or tutors to create a positive
literacy environment (Bradley, Corwyn, McAdoo, & García Coll, 2001; Orr, 2003).
 Prospective college students from low-SES backgrounds are less likely to have access to
informational resources about college (Brown, Wohn, & Ellison , 2016). Additionally, compared
to high-SES counterparts, young adults from low-SES backgrounds are at a higher risk of accruing
student loan debt burdens that exceed the national average (Houle, 2014).
Research indicates that school conditions contribute more to SES differences in learning rates
than family characteristics do (Aikens & Barbarin, 2008). Researchers have argued that
classroom environment plays an important role in outcomes.
 Students who were randomly assigned to higher quality classroom in grades K-3 earned more,
were more likely to attend college, saved more for retirement, and lived in better neighborhoods
(Chetty et al., 2011).
 A teacher’s years of experience and quality of training are correlated with children’s academic
achievement (Gimbert, Bol, & Wallace , 2007). Children in low-income schools are less likely to
have well-qualified teachers (Clotfelter, Ladd, & Vigdo, 2006).
 The following factors have been found to improve the quality of schools in low-SES
neighborhoods: a focus on improving teaching and learning, creation of an information-rich
environment, building of a learning community, continuous professional development,
involvement of parents, and increased funding and resources (Muijs, Harris, Chapman, Stoll, &
Russ, 2009).
 Schools with students from the highest concentrations of poverty have fewer library resources to
draw on (fewer staff, libraries are open fewer hours per week, and staff are less well rounded)
than those serving middle-income children (Pribesh, Gavigan, & Dickinson, 2011).
SES and Academic Achievement
Research continues to link lower SES to lower academic achievement and slower rates of
academic progress as compared with higher SES communities.
 Children from low-SES families enter high school with average literacy skills five years behind
those of high-income students (Reardon, Valentino, Kalogrides, Shores, & Greenberg, 2013).
 In 2014, the high school dropout rate among persons 16–24 years old was highest in low-income
families (11.6 percent) as compared to high-income families (2.8 percent; National Center for
Education Statistics, 2014).
 The success rate of low-income students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
disciplines is much lower than that of students who do not come from underrepresented
backgrounds (Doerschuk et al., 2016).
 According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2014), individuals within the top family income quartile are
8 times more likely to obtain a bachelor’s degree by age 24 as compared to individuals from the
lowest family income quartile.
Psychological Health
Increasing evidence supports the link between lower SES and learning disabilities or other
negative psychological outcomes that affect academic achievement.
 Low SES and exposure to adversity are linked to decreased educational success (McLaughlin &
Sheridan, 2016). Such toxic stress in early childhood leads to lasting impacts on learning,
behavior, and health (Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health et al.,
2012).
 Children from lower SES households are about twice as likely as those from high-SES households
to display learning-related behavior problems. A mother’s SES is also related to her child’s
inattention, disinterest, and lack of cooperation in school (Morgan et al., 2009).
 Perception of family economic stress and personal financial constraints affected emotional
distress/depression in students and their academic outcomes (Mistry, Benner, Tan, & Kim, 2009).
SES and Career Aspirations
Social class has been shown to be a significant factor in influencing career aspirations, trajectory
and achievement.
 Diemer and Blustein (2007) found that racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic barriers generally
hinder individuals’ vocational development. Career barriers are significantly higher for those
from poor backgrounds, people of color, women, those who are disabled, and LGBTIQ-identified
individuals (Blustein, 2013).
 A study showed that individuals from a lower social class generally had less career-related self-
efficacy when it came to vocational aspirations (Ali, McWhirter, & Chronister, 2005).
 Those from higher social class backgrounds tend to be more successful in developing career
aspirations and are generally better prepared for the world of work because of access to
resources such as career offices, guidance counselors, better schools, high level “social actors,”
and familial experience with higher education (Diemer & Ali, 2009).
https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/education?fbclid=IwAR30v3qTxxx6ppK7yMP4LJODl
pbEVLXcas82yiTsqVY_FN-ZxxNhYuL6wQ8
“THE IMPACT OF STUDENT’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE” – A
CASE STUDY OF NORTH-EAST STUDENTS IN LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY (PUNJAB)

 JALESH GURUNG

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION ORIENTATION OF THE PROBLEM

Education is a basic tool used by society for transmission of its societal values and culture. so,
every parents are the most immediate relation of a child for their development and growth.
Their financial status and education do have an important influence on the personality of child.
For instance educated parents can better understand the educational needs and their children’s
aptitude. They can help their children in their early education which affects their proficiency in
their relative area of knowledge, confidence, idea, etc.

While, Belonging to strong financial background, parents can provide latest technologies and
facilities in a best possible way to enhance educational capability of their children as well as they
provide good education facilities also. Socioeconomic status is an economic and sociological
combined total measure of a person’s work experience and of an individual’s or family’s
economic and social position relative to others, based on income and education, and occupation
(Marmot, Michael, 2004) indicates When analyzing a family’s social economic status, the
household income, earners’ education and occupation are examined, as well as combined
income, versus with an individual, when their own attributes are assessed. Many factors and
reasons have been given as being responsible for the continuous falling in the academic standard
of our present educational system. These includes; attitudes of teachers to work, lack of
seriousness on the part of the students, effect of the dwindled economy and to some extent the
increasing degenerating moral system.

According to Lareau, Annette ( 2003) observes that Socioeconomic status is typically broken into
three categories, high, middle, and low to describe the three areas a family or an individual may
fall into when placing a family or individual into one of these categories any or all of the three
variables income, education, and occupation can be assessed. Additionally, low income and little
education have shown to be strong predictors of a range of physical and mental health problems
due to environmental conditions may be the entire cause of that person’s social predicament to
begin with. Most economically disadvantaged children have effectively mastered the usual
developmental childhood tasks of motor and language skills, and have learned the values of
social practices of their homes and neighborhoods (Harry & Klingner, 2007); but they may not
have learned particular forms of language or the ways in which schools use specific forms of
language to the extent that their middle income peers have. Therefore, it can be assumed that
students’ failure to achieve academically may be explained by other factors also. The amount of
money that a family has or the color of a child’s skin should not influence how well that child
learns (Rothstein, 2004)
Literature review

These chapter focus on the relevant and related literature of various researches in an attempt to
relate their work to this study.

Sub topic related to the literature review are as follows:

1. The concept of social and economic problems

2. Relationship between parents income to the students.
3. The students academic performance as well as social adjustment

(i)The concept of social and economic problems

While sociology use some broad theoretical sense to explain the concept and meaning of society
and its activities. They divide the macro-level society into two broad perspectives, namely
functionalism and conflict theory, and then the feminist theory, which combines both micro and
micro-levels of analysis, and also the interactions theory, a micro –level analysis which is by far
the most influential of the social psychological theories in sociology. (Coleman and Cressey,
1999).The idea make up of the society in such that individual and group of individual is co-exist in
the society and make them as a harmony and pace without any threat to the society. Moreover
the concept of social and economic problems is that misconstrued by many people.

(ii)Relationship between parents income to the students.

APA ( 2001) describe the relationship of family socioeconomic status to children’s readiness for
school, Across all socioeconomic groups; parents face major challenges when it comes to
providing optimal care and education for their children. For families in poverty these challenges
can be formidable. Sometimes, when basic necessities are lacking, parents must place top
priority on housing, food, clothing, and health care. Educational toys, games, and books may
appear to be luxuries, and parents may not have the time, energy, or knowledge to find
innovative and less-expensive ways to foster young children’s development.

Furthermore,( Ominde, S.H 1964) observes that even in families with above average income
parents often lack the time and energy to invest fully in their children’s preparation for school,
and they sometimes face a limited array of options for high-quality child care both before their
children start school and during the early school years. Kindergarten teachers throughout the
country report that children are increasingly arriving at school inadequately prepared.

Families with low socioeconomic status often lack the financial, social, and educational supports
that characterize families with high socioeconomic status. Poor families also may have
inadequate or limited access to community resources that promote and support children’s
development and school readiness. Parents may have inadequate skills for such activities as
reading to and with their children, and they may lack information about childhood
immunizations and nutrition.
Lareau, Annette (2004) state that “low maternal education and minority-language status are
most consistently associated with fewer signs of emerging literacy and a greater number of
difficulties in preschoolers.” Having inadequate resources and limited access to available
resources can negatively affect families’ decisions regarding their young children’s development
and learning. As a result, children from families with low socioeconomic status are at greater risk
of entering kindergarten unprepared than their peers from families with median or high
socioeconomic status.

Amutabi, M.A (2003) says that the impact of socioeconomic status on children’s readiness for
school: while the segregating nature of social class, ethnicity, tradition may well reduce the
variety of enriching experience through to be prerequisite for creating readiness to learn among
children activates. Similarly, cast ethnic value, housing, neighborhood and access to resource
that directly or indirectly affect enrichment or deprivation as well as the acquisition of specific
value system

(iii)The student’s academic performance as well as social adjustment

Academic performance of students in the classroom is very important as this is capable of

determining whether the student is doing well or not. Parents, Teachers, School Administrators
attach so much importance to students’ academic performance that if the students are not
performing well academically, then they see all other efforts of the students in the school
programme as a total waste. These people pretend as if there are no other activities for the
student in the school environment aside the academics, hence academic performance defines
the totality of the child in his school life. Contrary to the opinion of this group, it is important that
there are many factors that determine the level of a student’s academic achievement, chief
among these factors is social adjustment.

Moreover, academic performance has been seen as a term used for students based on how well
they are doing in their studies and classes. This definition tends to see academic performance as
the culmination of all the activities of the student in the school. Academic performance for the
student is also seen as the extent to which a student has achieved his educational goals
(Wikipedia, 2012-2014).

1.3 Statement of the problems

According to study published in 2001 issue of Psychological Science found that children of
parents with a high socioeconomic status tended to express more “disengagement” behaviors
than their less fortunate peers. In this context, disengagement behaviors represent actions such
as fidgeting with other objects and drawing pictures while being addressed. Other participants
born into less favored circumstances tended to make more eye contact, nods as signs of
happiness when put into an interactive social environment. The more fortuitous peers felt less
inclined to gain rapport with their group because they saw no need for their assistance in the
future. However, Socio-economic status can be measured in a number of different ways. The
prime things that commonly it is measured by father’s education, occupation and income.
All family’s socioeconomic status is based on family income, parental education level, parental
occupation, and social status in the community such as contacts within the community, group
associations, and the community’s academic performance of the family, while families with high
socioeconomic status often have more success in preparing their young children for school
because they typically have access to a wide range of resources to promote and support young
children’s development in day to day life. They are able to provide their young children with
high- quality child care, books, and toys to encourage children in various learning activities at
home but lack in poor ones. And , they have easy access to information regarding their children’s
health, as well as social, emotional, and cognitive development. In addition, families with high
socioeconomic status often seek out information to help them better prepare their young
children for school and college. The study aimed at finding out the contribution of socio-
economic status of the family on the academic performance of the student in private
Universities in Punjab, A case study of North-East students in lovely professional university.

1.4 Objective

To study the relationship between socio- economic status of families and its impact on the
academic performance of the students in university.

To study the impact of the level of parents’ education on the academic performance of the
students in university level.

To study the impact of occupations of parents on academic performance of the students in the
in university. Similarly, to know about the negative impact as well as positive impact on the
students performance.

To study the impact of family income on academic performance of the students in the various
courses in university.

To study the impact of expenditure on children’s education on their academic performance in

the university.

To know about the student’s academic performance (TGPA/CGPA) according to their families
socio-economic background.

CHAPTER-II

METHODS AND PROCEDURE

2.1 STUDY AREA

2.2METHODS
While, according to the availability of data the method adopted for this study was descriptive
and statistical in nature. The sample consists of 95 students selected from different courses in
the university. Therefore, Out of 95 students 36 were males and 59 were females in age range of
20 to 30 from different schools. To have a comparative study of the boys and the girls ,the
sample was drawn from both the boys and the girl’s institutions. Stratified random sampling
technique was applied for selection of the students for the sample. Similarly, For a detailed
technical discussion of all that will be presented in this section, see Dachs et al (2006)
In the present study, the researcher intended to examine and explore the impact of Socio-economic Status on
Academic Achievement of Senior Secondary School Students. The investigator used descriptive survey
research method for the present study and selected 170 Senior Secondary School students as a sample
population from four Secondary schools by using Simple Random Sampling Technique. Socio-economic
Status Scale (SESS) developed by Kalia and Sahu (2012) was used for data collection regarding student’s
Socio-economic Status and previous annual marks of the students considered as Academic Achievement of the
students were collected from office record book. The researcher analysed the data by applying Pearson’s
Correlation Coefficient and t-test as statistical techniques with the help of IBM SPSS 20.0. The findings of the
study showed that there is positive correlation exist between Socio-economic Status and Academic
Achievement of Senior Secondary School students, it also highlight that significance difference is present
among different SES group in their Academic Achievement. It further revealed that there is no significant
difference between male and female students in their Academic Achievement

researchgate.net/publication/321197286_Impact_of_Socio-
economic_Status_on_Academic_Achievement_Among_the_Senior_Secondary_School_Students
?fbclid=IwAR2mcVSAqxI4gBEuZDYu2HWjZD8HfRoMzQ-vBmAqYVWWcPaMMT5TfiYiPeM

Achievement at school and socioeconomic background—an educational perspective

INTRODUCTION
Educational achievement, and its relationship with socioeconomic background, is one of the
enduring issues in educational research. The influential Coleman Report1 concluded that schools
themselves did little to affect a student’s academic outcomes over and above what the students
themselves brought to them to school—‘the inequalities imposed on children by their home,
neighbourhood and peer environment are carried along to become the inequalities with which
they confront adult life at the end of school’ (p. 325). Over the intervening 50 years, much has
been added to the research literature on this topic, including several high-quality meta-analyses.
It has become ubiquitous in research studies to use a student’s socioeconomic background, and
that of the school they attend, as contextual variables when seeking to investigate potential
influences on achievement.

The two articles in this issue of Science of Learning touch on aspects of this discussion rarely
included in the educational research literature. The article by Smith–Wooley et al.2 asks whether
whether it is the influence of the student socioeconomic background that is the greater
influence or whether the parents are passing down intellectually advantageous genes to their
offspring. In contrast, the article by van Dongen et al.3 suggests that that it is likely a
combination of genetics and socioeconomic background, and they examine the effect of
environment on the epigenetic status of genes that are involved in learning and memory.

What do we mean by socioeconomic background?

The definition of socioeconomic background used varies widely, even across educational
research. In the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) rigorous
large-scale international assessment of more than 70 countries over 15 years, the Programme
for International Student Assessment (PISA), socioeconomic background is represented by the
index of Economic, Social and Cultural Status, which is a composite score derived by principal
components analysis and is comprised of the International Socioeconomic Index of Occupational
Status; the highest level of education of the student’s parents, converted into years of schooling;
the PISA index of family wealth; the PISA index of home educational resources; and the PISA
index of possessions related to 'classical' culture in the family home.4

However, examining Sirin’s5 meta-analysis of the research into socioeconomic status and
academic achievement finds that many studies use a combination of one or more of parental
education, occupation and income, others include parental expectations, and many simply use
whether the student gets a free or reduced-price lunch. The latter factor is most commonly used
as it is readily available from school records rather than having to ask questions about
occupation and education of students or parents, yet Hauser6 as well as Sirin have argued that it
is conceptually problematic and should not be used. Other studies have used family
structure,7,8 family size,9 and even residential mobility.10

Sirin’s meta-analysis, however, found that the traditional definitions of socioeconomic

background were not as strongly related to educational outcomes for students from different
ethnic backgrounds, for those from rural areas, or for migrants. Its use in developing countries is
particularly problematic. For example, in examining the effect of household wealth on
educational achievement, Filmer & Pritchett11 found that many poor children in developing
countries either never enrol in school or attend to the end of first grade only. Even within
developing countries, the gap in enrolment and achievement between rich and poor was found
to be only a year or two, in other countries 9 or 10 years. Often in developing countries low
achievement and enrolment is attributable to the physical unavailability of schools.

Similarly education achievement is measured in many ways—achievement on a set test in

certain subject areas, completion of numbers of years of schooling, entrance to university, for
example.

What does this mean for educators when they are reviewing the research? It means that they
need to exercise some caution. The results and the conclusions will obviously vary, as the
research is, essentially, looking at different influencers and not the same influence each time. So,
when the argument is made that the relationship is not stable, this may well be because the
variable under consideration is different.

School-level socioeconomic background

While the Coleman Report concluded that schools themselves added little to effect outcomes,
the school environment, in particular the social background of a student’s peers at the school,
has certainly been found to be positively related to student achievement. On average, a student
who attends a school in which the average socioeconomic status is high enjoys better
educational outcomes compared to a student attending a school with a lower average peer
socioeconomic level.12,13

Relationship between achievement and student socioeconomic background

There is some discussion about the size of the effect, however the relationship between a
student’s socioeconomic background and their educational achievement seems enduring and
substantial. Using data from PISA, the OECD have concluded that 'while many disadvantaged
students succeed at school … socioeconomic status is associated with significant differences in
performance in most countries and economies that participate in PISA. Advantaged students
tend to outscore their disadvantaged peers by large margins' (p. 214).14 The strength of the
relationship varies from very strong to moderate across participating countries, but the
relationship does exist in each country. In Australia, students from the highest quartile of
socioeconomic background perform, on average, at a level about 3 years higher than their
counterparts from the lowest quartile.15 Over the 15 years of PISA data currently available, the
size of this relationship, on average, has changed little, and over the now 50 years since the
publication of the Coleman Report, the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students
remains.

How are these effects transmitted?

What the continued gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students highlights is that
despite all the research, it is still unclear how socioeconomic background influences student
attainment.

There are those that argue that the relationships between socioeconomic background and
educational achievement are only moderate and the effects of SES are quite small when taking
into account cognitive ability or prior achievement.16 Cognitive ability is deemed to be a genetic
quality and its effects only influenced to a small degree by schools. Much of the body of
research, particularly that generated from large-scale international studies, would seem to
contradict this reasoning.

Others have argued that students from low socioeconomic level homes are at a disadvantage in
schools because they lack an academic home environment, which influences their academic
success at school. In particular, books in the home has been found over many years in many of
the large-scale international studies, to be one of the most influential factors in student
achievement.15 From the beginning, parents with higher socioeconomic status are able to
provide their children with the financial support and home resources for individual learning. As
they are likely to have higher levels of education, they are also more likely to provide a more
stimulating home environment to promote cognitive development. Parents from higher
socioeconomic backgrounds may also provide higher levels of psychological support for their
children through environments that encourage the development of skills necessary for success
at school.17

The issue of how school-level socioeconomic background effects achievement is also of interest.
Clearly one way is in lower levels of physical and educational resourcing, but other less obvious
ways include lower expectations of teachers and parents, and lower levels of student self-
efficacy, enjoyment and other non-cognitive outcomes.15 There is also some evidence that
opportunity to learn (particularly in mathematics) is more restricted for lower socioeconomic
students, with ‘systematically weaker content offered to lower-income students [so that] rather
than ameliorating educational inequalities, schools were exacerbating them’.18

Conclusions
If the role of education is not simply to reproduce inequalities in society then we need to
understand what the role of socioeconomic background more clearly. While much research has
been undertaken in the past 50 years, and we are fairly certain that socioeconomic background
does have an effect on educational achievement, we are no closer to understanding how this
effect is transmitted. Until we are, it will remain difficult to address. In this edition of Science of
Learning, two further contributions to this body of knowledge have been added—and perhaps
indicate new paths that need to be followed to develop this understanding

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-018-0022-
0?fbclid=IwAR30v3qTxxx6ppK7yMP4LJODlpbEVLXcas82yiTsqVY_FN-ZxxNhYuL6wQ8