How Socioeconomic Status and a Students Home Life Has an Effect on

Classroom Performance and Learning

Literature Review
Kaitlin St. Peter
University of New England
EDU 600: Teachers as Leader
June 27, 2015

Home life and the socioeconomic status of a student are two

factors that are taken into consideration in the Biddeford School
District when it comes to assigning homework, starting fundraisers,
providing out-of-school activities and more. Biddeford Primary School,
the school where I volunteer, has moved to a no homework policy
within the last few years as a result of low-income families and a lack
of support or resources at home for our students. This topic, coupled
with our Homework Discussion Board during Module 4 inspired me to
research a bit more behind the scenes of how the socioeconomic status
and a students home life has an effect on classroom performance and
learning.
To begin, I have researched five different articles all on a
spectrum of parent involvement in homework, parent involvement in
schooling, connecting child poverty and school education, and an
international discussion on broken homes (separated or divorced
parents) and academic achievement. The five articles I have chosen
provide enough variety to explore new ideas and concepts, fully
answer my primary focus questions, and promote a discussion within
this topic.
In Parents Involvement in a Childrens Schooling: A
Multidimensional Conceptualization and Motivational Model, Grolnick et
al. (1994) the relationship between parental involvement in their
childrens schooling and the childs motivation and academic

achievement was researched and discussed. The study had two goals:
to present and assess a multidimensional representation of parent
involvement and to examine processes through which parent
involvement may be associated with school performance (Grolnick et
al. 1994). Stemming from the typical ideas that parent involvement
may include going to school activities and events, helping with
homework, or a number of contacts between families and schools,
Grolnick et al. (1994) suggests a conceptualization of parent
involvement in childrens schooling that integrates developmental and
educational constructs and includes both a general definition as well as
specific dimensions. Grolnick et al (1994) suggests that if a child sees
a parents involvement in school programming such as open houses or
other events, the child may begin to understand the importance of
schooling, and the parent may walk away with the tools to provide the
student with optimal achievement in and outside of the classroom. This
article brings support to my focus question, Does home life (or other
outside influences) have an effect on a students performance in the
classroom? The simple answer to this question is yes. With the
support from this first article, it is easy to show that if a parent is
involved with schooling in general, students may acknowledge and
understand the importance of classwork in and outside of the
classroom. If a parent is not involved with schooling or if the child
comes from a broken home where parents are in and out of the picture,

the opportunity for the students to develop the understanding of the

importance of schooling may not be thoroughly instilled (Grolnick et al.
1994).
Although Biddeford Primary School does not assign homework, it
is important to see how a parents involvement in homework could
have effects on the students schooling. In Parental involvement in
homework: Relations with parent and student achievement related
motivational beliefs and achievement, Cortina et al (2014) conducted
surveys to examine whether different types of parents involvement in
homework are predicted by their mastery and performance goals for
their child and their beliefs of the childs academic efficiency, and to
predict student achievement goal orientations, efficiency beliefs, and
achievement. The study matched up the parent and student goals in
their learning to find that the most effective type of parent
involvement in homework was through autonomy support meaning,
the parents were there to support their student in the homework, but
did not push them toward one answer versus another based off of the
parents personal, political, religious or other views (Cortina et al.
2014). Autonomy support as a way of parent-child interaction is fully
compatible with deep understanding and skill acquisition that masteryoriented parents encourage. In the context of homework, it might be
the best way for parents to substantiate their mastery beliefs and
goals into practice in front of their childs eyes which, in turn, predict

the adoption of mastery goals function as a protective factor for

avoiding an interfering style of involvement which would, in turn
undermine student mastery goal orientation and efficacy beliefs
(Cortina et al 2014). Cortina et al. (2014) suggests that parent
involvement and support is beneficial for the students, but the parents
do not need to interfere with the students personal developments and
discoveries within their learning. This article is a great secondary
source to the Grolnick et al. (1994) in support of the first focus
question.
Students that come from broken homes (divorced parents,
separated parents, single parent homes, other guardians etc.) may not
have the same support that a student that comes from a two parent
home. The international piece that I have incorporated in the research
studies the relationship between broken homes and academic
achievement of students. Although this study is located in Nigeria,
there are many connections to the students that we see in our
classrooms at Biddeford Primary School. In Relation Between Broken
Homes and Academic Achievement of Secondary School Students in
Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria, Alika et al. (2012)
talks about the social, psychological, and academic problems that stem
from students who have stresses from unstable and broken homes.
Parents are probably the actors with the clearest undimentional
interest in a high level of their childrens academic performance. To

some extent, there is simple evidence to show that marital instability

brings about stress, tension, lack of motivation and frustration.
Obviously these manifestations act negatively on a childs academic
performance (Alika et al 2012). The article also ties in the
socioeconomic status of parents and families that come from broken
homes to academic achievement. Alika et al. (2012) states many
students from low-socioeconomic homes respond incomprehensively to
classroom teaching because their home environment has not exposed
them to the kinds of materials used in schools. If home environment is
not intellectually stimulating, some students find it difficult to cope in
school and may eventually drop out. This statement is one of the
main reasons why I chose to divulge into this topic, as it is extremely
relevant to the lack of resources that many of the students I work with.
The socio-economic statuses of our students play a very large role in
their success within the classroom.
The relations of child poverty to school education by McKinney
(2014) and The impact of poverty on educational outcomes for
children by Ferguson et al (2007) are the final two articles that support
the ideas that socioeconomic status and home life have an effect on a
childs classroom performance and learning. McKinney (2014) suggests
that schools in urban settings should have the strongest teachers in
the public school systems to provide optimal support and intervention
for students that come from low income or poverty. McKinney (2014)

also suggest that schools must be under a constant change in order

support and fit the needs of the students who may not have the
support at home. With the support during the school day, there may be
a great success of student staying in school and having a positive
outlook on their educational opportunities because frankly, it may be
one of the only positive things in their lives. The support within the
schools supports another focus question, What can be done in the
classroom setting to provide support for students that come from
broken homes to enhance school performance? (i.e. Teaching methods
and delivery, roles of the teacher as a mentor and guide, homework)
Ferguson et al. (2007) compliments McKinney (2014) well because they
suggest that a student in poverty may not have the resources to be
ready for school at the age of five (5), however, school readiness
reflects a childs ability to succeed both academically and socially in a
school environment (Ferguson 2007). Ferguson (2007) continues to
say that poverty decreases a childs readiness for school through many
aspects including health, home life, schooling and neighborhoods. In
support of Alika et al (2012), Ferguson (2007) states children from low
income families often do not receive the stimulation and so not learn
the social skills required to prepare them for school. Typical problems
are parental inconsistency, frequent changes in primary caregivers,
lack of supervision and poor role modeling. It is important to note that
not all poverty is obvious as some of the parents do work full-time,

however the wages are often unknown. It is a matter of paying close

attention to our students, the things they are saying, the health
problems they are reporting, the attendance and participation with the
parents in the childrens schooling and more (Ferguson 2007).
These five articles have transitioned from the importance and
the difference parent involvement can make in a students learning
and classroom performance to the effects that a broken home, or lowincome families have on the childs school readiness, health issues,
social and psychological matters and more. It is now clear that a
student that comes form a two parent home of a high socioeconomic
status is more likely to be successful within their schooling during
adolescence versus a student of a one or no parent home, who lives in
poverty (Grolnick et al. 1994). The main difference between the two
would be access to resources, ability to find support for schooling
outside the classroom and the students attitude toward school.
Students who have a role model that is positive toward school often
times will have an understanding and positive attitude toward the
importance of school with the role models support (Grolnick et al.
1994).

References:
Grolnick, W. S., & Slowiaczek, M. L. (1994). Parents' Involvement in
Children's Schooling: A Multidimensional Conceptualization and
Motivational Model. Child Development, 65(1), 237-52.
Gonida, E. N., & Cortina, K. S. (2014). Parental Involvement in
Homework: Relations with Parent and Student Achievement-Related
Motivational Beliefs and Achievement. British Journal Of Educational
Psychology, 84(3), 376-396.
Alika, H. I., & Edosa, O. S. (2012). Relationship between Broken Homes
and Academic Achievement of Secondary School Students in Oredo
Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. College Student
Journal, 46(2), 256-263.
Mckinney, S. (2014). The Relationship of Child Poverty to School
Education. Improving Schools,17(3), 203-216.
HB Ferguson, S Bovaird, MP Mueller. The impact of poverty on
educational outcomes for children. Paediatr Child Health
2007;12(8):701-706.