Education

Introduction

The quality of education is determined by different factors, which are the main drivers of the quality of services provided by teachers in different schools. Among these factors include economic status, culture, and ethnicity. Due to this factors, schools may therefore be able to either provide high quality education or low quality education, based on how they affect the provision of education in a specified region or locality. Similarly, these factors also define the way teachers’, students’, and the community in general relates to or even perceives education, hence affecting educational outcomes. Due to that reason, this paper will describe three examples of ways through which economic status, culture and/or ethnicity might influence educational outcomes for different groups of adolescents. In addition, the paper will also describe a strategy which would be used in a classroom to support for adolescents from such backgrounds, and finally explain how the given strategies will be effective and the expected outcomes.   

Economic Status

Economic status has both positive and negative impacts on the educational outcomes of adolescents. Whether the economic status and background in which an adolescent has been raised in. social economic status defines the psychological behavior of an adolescent based on his or her background (Miller, 2013). Adolescents may either be raised in a rich background, or a poor background, a factor which generally affects the way they relate with other people, the way they perceive education, and how they understand different aspects of life. This may consequently affect the privileges and opportunities tend to enjoy. In as much as adolescents may either be from a rich or a poor economic background, it may have either positive or negative impacts in their lives (Jensen, 2009).

There are two types of adolescent age groups, with one falling under the ages of 10-15 years, and the other one falling under the ages of 16-19 years (Zajda & Freeman, 2009). The two groups are different in the sense that they have different behaviors and reasoning capacities. Among the factors which adolescents from low socioeconomic status tend to behave differently, based on the things which they do not acquire in life. For instance, they may not have access to high quality education, healthcare and other social amenities. This makes them to have different beliefs when it comes to education.

Adolescents between the ages of 10-15 years from low socioeconomic status (SES), tend to perform poorly, basically because they do not have access to different social amenities, a factor which makes it hard for them to easily concentrated in their studies (Miller, 2013). The access of medical services is also poor, making them to experience poor health conditions, hence performing poorly in their studies. This is however not similar to those between the ages of 16-19 years, simply because they have adapted to the economic conditions which surround them, thus making them to easily concentrate in their studies hence performing better. In addition, they are not also at a high risk of dropping out of school, due to the adoption of this way of life. On the other hand, those between the ages of 10-19 years are at a very high risk of dropping out of school, and also getting unwanted pregnancies, due to poor understanding of how their bodies function, a factor which is majorly attributed to poor educational backgrounds (Zajda & Freeman, 2009).

When it comes to adolescents from high SES, they are privileged in the sense that they have access to social amenities, making them to perform better as compared to their counterparts from low SES. The access to high quality education, makes it easier for the adolescents between the ages of 10-15, and 16-19 years to perform equally better in their studies. Similarly, their health conditions are also good, making them to concentrate in their studies, without the risk of dropping out of schools or indulging in sexual behaviors, due to the quality of education which they receive thus making them to be abstain from such behaviors (Miller, 2013).

Culture

Culture influences the beliefs about education, the value of education, and the participation styles which cannot be overestimated by the students. There are two types of cultural styles which affect the way students perceive education. The two types of culture include individualist, and collectivist perspective on education (Zajda & Freeman, 2009). The two types of culture affect the way students understand and even tend to focus on their studies. Adolescents, between the ages of between the ages of 10-15 years tend to operate under collectivist cultural perspective. This means that they work in peers and offer assistance when needed. Their relationships are also based on groups which work together, and walk together, hence they are very likely to be affected by peer pressure, while undertaking different tasks while in school and also at home. They are also quiet and respectful in class, and in most cases they tend to listen to what they are being taught (Miller, 2013).

Adolescents between the ages of 16-19 years, tend to use individualist perspective, whereby they work independently. They consequently engage in discussions and in most cases their discussions are usually dependent on arguments, which makes them to think critically (Zajda & Freeman, 2009). Their behaviors are usually hyper, in such a way that they may not be telling the truth when it comes to group discussions. Similarly, they may not be attentive in class, thus they are likely to engage in sexual behaviors and also the abuse of drugs. They tend to adopt this behavior after joining the colleges, making them to be victims of peer pressure. This often makes most of them to perform poorly in their studies (Jensen, 2009).

Ethnicity

Ethnicity is also a major factor in the determination of the adolescents to the quality of studies which they tend to receive (Jensen, 2009). Adolescents from different ethnic groups have different beliefs when it comes to education, which may either affect their educational outcomes positively or negatively. Adolescents between the ages of 10-15 years usually follow the teachings and dictates of their ethnic societies, thus making them to be inclined on their ethnic beliefs (Zajda & Freeman, 2009). On the contrary, those between the ages of 16-19 years are usually self-dependent, hence making them to rely on what they no and believe in, hence they are likely to perform better, as compared to those between the ages of 10-15 years (Miller, 2013).

Conclusion

Economic status, culture and ethnicity are the main determiners of the outcomes of education among students, and as discussed, they may either positively or negatively affect the way adolescents perceive education. In the situation where students are self-dependent, in the sense that they do not rely on the dictates of their culture, ethnicity, and economic status, then they are likely to perform better in their studies. However, in situations whereby the economic status of a given region are poor, then students are likely to perform poorly.

Reference

Miller, D. F. (2013). Positive child guidance. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Zajda, J., & Freeman, K. (2009). Race, ethnicity and gender in education: Cross-cultural understandings. Dordrecht: Springer.

Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching with poverty in mind: What being poor does to kids' brains and what schools can do about it. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.