An Investigation of the Different Levels of Poverty and the Corresponding Variance in Student Academic Prosperity

TL;DR

This study examines how different levels of poverty impact primary students' academic engagement, interest, and extracurricular participation, revealing significant disparities linked to socioeconomic status.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of how varying poverty levels correlate with student academic and extracurricular engagement, using multivariate analysis.

Findings

Significant variance in student academic prosperity based on poverty level

Lower socioeconomic status correlates with reduced engagement and participation

Quantitative evidence of socioeconomic disparities in education

Abstract

Underprivileged students, especially in primary school, have shown to have less access to educational materials often resulting in general dissatisfaction in the school system and lower academic performance (Saatcioglu and Rury, 2012, p.23). The relationship between family socioeconomic status and student interest in academic endeavors, level of classroom engagement, and participation in extracurricular programs were analyzed. Socioeconomic status was categorized as below poverty level, at or above poverty level, 100 to 199 percent of poverty, and 200 percent of poverty or higher (United States Census Bureau). Student interest, engagement, and persistence were measured as a scalar quantity of three variables: never, sometimes, and often. The participation of students in extracurricular activities was also compared based on the same categories of socioeconomic status. After running the multivariate analysis of variance, it was found that there was a statistically significant variance of student academic prosperity and poverty level.