Middle-Class Students Ask For More Help Than Working-Class Peers, Create Own Advantages

Disparities in success among students from varying socioeconomic backgrounds and communities have long been attributed to the resources available to them from schools and their families. But a new report suggests that while home and institution are factors, inequalities in education also reflect differences in the resources that children can identify and secure for themselves in the classroom.

According to a study released today from the University of Pennsylvania, children from middle class families ask their teachers for help more often and more assertively than children from working class families. As a result, middle class students tend to receive more support and assistance from their teachers.

"We know that middle-class parents are better able than working-class parents to secure advantages for themselves and their children, but not when and where they learned to do so, or whether they teach their children to do the same," study author Jessica McCrory Calarco said in a statement Wednesday. Calarco is a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology in UPEnn's School of Arts and Sciences.

The paper, "'I Need Help!' Social Class and Children's Help-Seeking in Elementary School" is published in the latest issue of the American Sociological Review. Calarco followed students for three years -- from 3rd to 5th grade -- and specifically examined those children's role in how they try to secure advantages for themselves in the classroom.

She found that middle-class students more proactively and assertively asked teachers for help. They often directly called out or approached teachers, sometimes making requests even if it means interrupting the teacher. Working-class students, on the other hand, rarely admitted they were struggling and tended to wait for assistance and rarely actively sought help, only making requests as a last resort. When those students did seek assistance, they did so more passively and tended to wait longer for teachers to notice. Sometimes when teachers don't take notice, working-class students gave up entirely.

An example from the report briefs an instance in which 5th grade student Jared, from a working class family, is sitting out of teacher Ms. Hudson's direct line of sight while she is explaining a food web assignment. Jared is visibly confused. From the report:

He tips his head to the side, but hesitates a moment. After a long pause, Jared raises his hand slowly and only halfway with his elbow bent. At the same moment, however, Jamie, a middle-class girl, calls out curiously, asking: "Do we have to draw [the food web]?" Ms. Hudson turns toward Jamie, explaining: "No, just arrange the cards."

As Ms. Hudson was answering Jamie's question, Jared let his hand droop, resting his forearm on his head. Not seeing Jared's hand, Ms. Hudson then told the children to head back to their seats and get to work.
While Jared still has a puzzled look on his face, he hears this announcement and drops his hand down by his side. He gets up and heads back to his seat with the rest of the class.

Jared was confused about the assignment -- going back to his desk, he arranged his cards in a line instead of a web and never completed the assignment correctly. Despite this lack of understanding, however, Jared did not call out his question, even after watching Jamie do the same.

Calarco does note in her research that middle-class children tend to glean their more assertive habits from home, as those parents are more likely to explicitly encourage their children to be comfortable with asking questions and actively seeking help, "and also deliberately coach children on the language and strategies to use in making these requests." She also points out that while teachers don't intentionally privilege certain students, they tend to be more receptive to how middle-class children seek assistance.

"What that means is that middle-class kids' help-seeking skills and strategies effectively become a form of 'cultural capital' in the classroom -- by activating those resources, middle-class kids can secure their own advantages in the classroom," she explained. "It also means that children play a more active role in stratification than previous research has recognized."

In 2009, the dropout rate for low-income students was five times greater than their high-income counterparts -- 7.4 percent compared with 1.4 percent, according to an October report by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Another study released last month by the Pew Economic Mobility Project showed that students from low-income and less educated families are further disadvantaged -- not only compared to their peers from higher income and well educated families, but also compared to their counterparts in other countries. Those students are both disadvantaged in educational and academic success as well as opportunities for income mobility.

Still, the American Dream survives even in the areas hit hardest by the recession. In places like Seminole County, Fla., more than 1,100 homeless students traverse its public schools. CBS's 60 Minutes aired a report last month that profiles those families who have reached the point where they can't even make ends meet in motels -- and have resorted to living out of their cars.

But for those children, education is "everything," 15-year-old Arielle Metzger told CBS' Scott Pelley.

"I plan to be a child defense lawyer," Metzger says. "If I focus on my studies, I have that opportunity."

Comments

[CoralReef]

03:33 PM on 12/12/2011

I grew up upper middle class and hated asking teachers for help (especially in front of people). It wasn't until HS that I grew confident enough to do so. Even now, unless I know its a good question the group would benefit from, I save all questions for one-on-one Q&A's. I did not emulate the behavior I saw in my parents, as my mom was very active in my schooling. I was far from a wallflower too, as I was in competitive gymnastics, softball and/or cheerleading until I was 17.

I would often wait until we were working on stuff, before approaching a teacher and speaking quitely to them to avoid being over heard, going to them after class for help, or just waiting until I got home and got help from my mother. However, I had no issues speaking up in class on topics of discussion and those sorts of things.

[10YearTeacher]

12:18 PM on 12/12/2011

So it really is not the students, but the parents. The issue is that students emulate behavior that their parents engage in. Studies like this are good because when we find out piece of information about why there is an achievement gap, we can work better to ameliorate them. Evidently, we need to work with working-class students more on asking questions appropriately and being more assertive in pursuit of academic goals.

[poeticjustice4all]

03:44 PM on 12/12/2011

Yes, we could try and "work with working-cl­ass students more on asking questions appropriat­ely and being more assertive" -- but we obviously cannot do that effectively with the same clueless teachers.

The teachers that have proven themselves to be failures at reaching students situated lower on the economic ladder -- are not going to suddenly be successful now that this study has been published.

We have long known that different students learn differently -- and it's not just economic differences but gender, culture and perceived social status differences as well. None of this is new. The research goes back for decades!

We don't need better children -- we need better teachers.

[livingdangerously]

05:38 PM on 12/12/2011

DO NOT blame the teachers for the mess the children are in. It is the CULTURE of America that has failed.

Look at the countries producing top students.

1. Korea ...where the school day is much longer than in US
2. Other Asian countries; Where the respect for teachers' authority is practiced.
3. Denmark: Becoming a teacher there is for the elites. 100's of applicants for every 1 opening because the pay is comparitively 5 times the amount teachers are paid here. Also, students attend school longer.

US is now 37th in EDUCATION and dropping. IN MY LIFETIME US was number 1.

[10YearTeacher]

09:19 PM on 12/12/2011

If you believe it will take throwing the baby out with the bath water, I really feel sorry for you. If you honestly believe that teachers cannot be trained, cannot grow in their craft, and it would take a wholesale replacement to fix one particular issue (or even a few!) then you really have swallowed the RHEEformer Kool-Aid.

Plenty of teachers, myself included, have proven to be successes at reaching students situated lower down the economic ladder. And no, of course there would not be instant success, but there will be faster success than if you threw the whole lot out and started over from scratch. This study supplies the data needed to get the extra funding to hire teachers to write this curriculum, field test it, and then teach other teachers how to execute it. That is how it works. Obviously you have not had any experience in education. Us teachers have known this for years, and we have done our best to integrate this into our teaching, but until there is data to back it up the "powers that be" do not take our opinions seriously. Res ipsa locquitor-your obvious disdain for teachers.

No one is saying we need better children. We do need some training for some teachers, and we need some training for some parents. Where the heck did you get that idea from? Certainly not from what I said.

And prove me wrong. How long have you been a teacher?

[nix28]

09:13 PM on 12/11/2011

I'm rather mixed on this. I grew up in a lower SES, yet I never struggled to get attention from my teachers. I'm sure this can be attributed to a number of things. My mother always encouraged us to ask questions, she knew all of our teachers and came to every conference and game and play and concert; she was very involved, which was hard with 4 (and later 5) children. My mother stressed how important an education was, and we received heaps of praise for good grades and encouragement and support when our grades weren't up to par (rather than punishment).

There's also the fact that I was in a great school system. Our classes were small, our teachers were attentive and interacted with us in and outside of school, and learning was actually fun. Once I was put into AG and Advanced classes, things were even better. I never felt any different from my well-off friends. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that my teachers never treated me any different and because I didn't see myself as different; I was just as smart and capable as any of my friends, and everything I experienced at home and at school supported that belief.

It's not fair to say that children aren't advocating for themselves and that's why they're falling behind, because self-advocacy is not inherent to childhood.

[sabelmouse]

11:09 AM on 12/11/2011

i have read studies that teachers will treat students differently according to their perceived social back grounds.
they put more effort into middle class kids and assume that some kids aren't worth the effort.
my personal experience tells me the same.

[poeticjustice4all]

12:46 PM on 12/11/2011

It's an absolute disgrace.

[sabelmouse]

01:06 PM on 12/11/2011

it is , isn't it ?

[Hlynn]

11:30 PM on 12/09/2011

I don't know if I agree with these findings. I think it has more to do with the personality of a student than their family's income. Some children are shy and quiet and don't advocate well for themselves and some are assertive and verbal and push until they get what they want or need. We have students with a wide mix of family incomes from homeless (living in motels or shelters) to very wealthy and sometimes the middle/wealthy children are passive and sometimes the poor children are demanding. It's definitely more personality than anything from my observations.

It's the teacher's responsibility to make sure that the classroom is a safe place to ask questions. No one should ever be allowed to ridicule student for asking a question. And it's not enough to say "Do you understand?", I get much more information when I say, "Tell me what you understand about this". I also don't allow students to say, "I don't get it", they have to say, "I understand this part, but need help with--" and then they need to be specific about what they need. If they can't even articulate what they need, I know they're really lost and need immediate intervention. The old "pair and share" technique works really well, too, so they can talk with another student about the concept or do a new task (such as the food web cards example in the article) together.

[foresure]

02:27 PM on 12/09/2011

"Create Own Advantages" Or is it that they come from FUBAR families. Google the word.

We need voluntary, neighborhood, boarding schools free of charge for all who request it.

[dfleming]

11:34 AM on 12/09/2011

Obviously not a surprising study. Harvard ed. prof. Ron Ferguson has been reporting on this effect for years. He's also set-up training for districts and teachers to recognize and address this, which is the far more important step to be taken.

Teachers want the training that helps them recognize student gaps and shows them ways to train children to become better students. Districts and teachers can certainly address this "seeking help" gap if they really want. Encouraging curiosity and confidence from students who are not getting it from home is one parent-learned trait that schools can absolutely tackle within the course of their normal school day.

[johnsamo]

01:38 AM on 12/09/2011

I've been a substitute teacher at schools the run the gamut in terms of SES, and beyond a doubt, the biggest issue in lower SES schools is, about 10% of the student population takes up well over half the teacher’s time with behavioral issues.

Middle class and high income are schools have problem students too, but the percentage is lower, and they’re more likely to be social outcasts, where peer pressure keeps them somewhat better behaved, but in lower SES areas, the problem kids intimidate the other kids, and often the teachers as well.

ANd then there is the problem of their parents, or lack thereof. There is also a great need for better child psychology/psychiatric services. The worst of the worst kids are usually ADHD, autistic, or have some other serious mental health issue, and they are stuck in regular classes.

The way to do the most good for the most students, would be to make it easier for schools to get problem kids into special schools/classes, that are run basically like military boot camps. Would they learn anything there, who knows? But it’s not like the status quo is better, and at least it would give the kids who are there to learn a chance to do it.

Once you hit High School, things in lower SES schools improve somewhat because so many of the problem kids drop out as soon as they legally can, or wind up in Juvenal detention centers.

[poeticjustice4all]

12:51 PM on 12/08/2011

We need better teachers and a more diverse teacher workforce.

[foresure]

02:30 PM on 12/09/2011

poeticjustice4all

And how about segregated schools? Under the right conditions, a child will learn from any patient, thoughtful, concerned adult.

Unfortunately when there a 40 kids in a class, not one is available.

You want diversity with benefits. Hire local women or men whose native tongue is not English to be teachers aids. No acadmic requirement whatsoeve. Must be extraverted, not heinous criminals, and have the a the patience to interact with the children only in their own native language.

[noudidnt]

08:53 AM on 12/11/2011

Absolutely!!!

F and F

[foresure]

10:28 AM on 12/11/2011

noudidnt:

Thank you.

We seem to be the only country in the world in which citizens with a high school diploma don't have functional use of another language.

I don't know if you noticed, but President Obama had his youngest greet President Hu of China in Chinese.

It has been my observation that little children naturally learn as many complicated languages as they hear. By the age of six they know to talk to Grandpa Li in Chinese, Grandpa Francois in French, and her/his parents in English.

Can you imagine the advantages that a child who learned all three by age ten would have later in life? Without all the grief that adults go through learning a second language.

[cmr86]

11:04 AM on 12/08/2011

Wouldn't that suggest that they are still societal forces that are molding these students than the students themselves?

That said, why are we blaming the victims? Teachers aren't JUST educators. They're coaches, friends, parents, facilitators, counselors, etc.

[Brianna Cole]

11:25 AM on 12/08/2011

A teacher cannot MAKE a student ask a question. They are also not mind readers. If a teacher teaches 6 classes a day with 30 kids in each class, that is 180 students they see. It gets to a point where a teacher is giving 110% and burning themselves out, the kids still need to ask for help. Teachers aren't miracle workers.
But I agree completely that it is more the societal forces training these kids how to behave and what their self image should be rather than the child making the decision themselves.

[cmr86]

11:30 AM on 12/08/2011

I'm not saying a teacher can force a student to do anything. It's about creating a community in which students who may not normally feel comfortable asking questions can ask away. That is done by carefully crafting curriculum in such a way that brings students into forced intercultural contact with one another and working towards talking about the "uncomfortable issues." I'm well aware of the pressures teachers feel, being one myself, but that doesn't stop me identifying which students need help and which can succeed on their own.

I also recognize that at the end of the day it's the student's decision, but having observed several teachers in my district, I can't say there isn't blame to go around.

[dfleming]

12:10 PM on 12/09/2011

That's a defeatist way of looking at this. Teachers and schools properly adjust to student needs all the time - it's what they're supposed to do. Once you identify a problem that inhibits student learning you investigate if there are things you (as teacher and school) can do to help it.

Encouraging more curiosity and confidence among an identifiable group of kids is absolutely something that can be done within schools. Great teachers thrive on that - especially when they have the resources and support to do it.

Don't go into teaching if you're first response to a hurdle that many young children need to overcome is to point to your inability to do anything about it.

[foresure]

02:31 PM on 12/09/2011

cnr86

You have an excellent command of education jargon. Congratulations!

[jdollinter]

08:17 PM on 12/07/2011

Wow, it's about time they realized this, I was a ward of the courts from the age of 2 and I grew up in nine different foster homes and moved allot. The Instructors knew which students they didn't have to push because there was no one going to the parent/ teacher conferences and no one interested in their grades. I always found the instructors spent an inordinate amount time working with the kids from good homes but they left people like me to my own fate.This was also the case when it came time to register for needed electives, they always gave the slots to these students from good homes while I had to fight for whatever classes I could get after everything was gone. It was an unfair system and prevented many kids from my generation from moving onto college. Can't believe they are just addressing this problem now after all these years.

[foresure]

02:32 PM on 12/09/2011

jdollinter:

Another reason for voluntary, full service boarding schools.

[TFT]

07:56 PM on 12/07/2011

This "study" is more evidence that SES is our problem, not schools or teachers.

[whotheox]

12:42 AM on 12/08/2011

I completely agree. SES is one of the largest, if not the largest factor that affects academic success

[foresure]

02:32 PM on 12/09/2011

TFT:

No, no one is responsible. Everyone is "just following orders".

[Warhammer Jones]

07:31 PM on 12/07/2011

Usually the students who really need to ask questions are the ones who never do.

[poeticjustice4all]

12:51 PM on 12/08/2011

Good teachers know this. We need good teachers.

[Allthosewhowander]

12:13 PM on 12/14/2011

We have good teachers. We need good parents. We need a responsible society that shows children the value of an authentic education, and the opportunities it will create in the future.

[GlennWatson]

05:30 PM on 12/07/2011

This just in. "Students who work Harder do Better"

[eceresa]

06:21 PM on 12/07/2011

Interesting news roundtable discussion of this very important issue:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RrreVthWRY

[foresure]

02:33 PM on 12/09/2011

Glenn:

Might properly programmed programs, used in the classroom help with this?

[GlennWatson]

04:06 PM on 12/09/2011

If the student works then any method works. If the student won't work then nothing will work.

[brokenleoheart]

05:08 PM on 12/07/2011

this study is rather biased. i can think of 2 reasons off the top of my head why middle class children receive more support.
1. working class children may not communicate well in school due to possibly language barrier, or their lower socio-economic situation. we ALL know how mean and superficial kids can be. this can hinder them from performing well or associating/cooperating in general in school.
2. if the kids have a TON of problems at home and has a hard time to even not stay hungry, the last thing on his little mind is asking the teacher about homework.
3. middle class families tend have the privilage to pay attention to their kid's education more, maybe parents help out at home and tell their kids to pay attention in class and ask the teachers if there's any questions, showing up at PTA meetings and talking to teachers, so the teachers pay more attention to their kids, etc.
all of these are possible and can affect the results.

[wacado]

08:14 PM on 12/07/2011

None of this has anything to do with what a school can control.

[brokenleoheart]

09:15 AM on 12/08/2011

i didnt say anything about what school can or can't control. but i'm just saying the study is biased, which is correct.

[cmr86]

11:02 AM on 12/08/2011

1. But the role of school is to provide equitable education for students. If there is a language barrier, there should be services to address that.

2. It's out of our control, but it doesn't mean we just throw our hands in the air and say "we give up."

3. Again, it's the educator's role to differentiate learning experiences.

[allerleirauh]

07:50 AM on 12/08/2011

All valid observations. There are other possible factors which are less politically correct. Smart people tend to earn more money, and IQ is highly heritable. Studies have found that poor parents talk less and interact less with their children, thus causing the children to lag in vocabulary skills. And studies have found that poor parents are more likely to use physical discipline inappropriately - and it only takes a couple times of being beaten for "talking back" for a child to stop talking.

The point shouldn't be criticizing children for their behavior but training teachers to recognize it and work to give these kids what they need anyway. As wacado pointed out, the school has limited ability to control the behavior of the parents. It can only control what happens in school.

[Brianna Cole]

11:31 AM on 12/08/2011

I favorited your comment specifically in reference to the second part. As a teacher, I agree completely. Fanned and Faved.