CHILDHOOD AND GROWING UP: SOCIO ECONOMIC DISPARITIES : MULTIPLE CHILDHOOD

OBJECTIVES

After reading this article we will get to know about :

• The meaning of socio-economic status
• Division of socioeconomic status in our society
• The impact of socio-economic status on  children’s education health, and their development

 

MULTIPLE CHILDHOOD

Multiple childhoods refer to the different kinds of childhood. These are as follows:-

• Socio-economically higher middle and lower class children
• Children with learning disabilities
• Orphans
• Delinquent children
• Child labour
• Survivor of child abuse
• Children having a single parent

 

SOCIOECONOMIC- MEANING

• Derived from two words: socio meaning society and economic meaning wealth.
• Total economical and social measure of a person’s work experience and of an individual’s or family’s economic and social position in relation to others.
• A consistent and reliable predictor of a vast array of outcomes across the life span, including physical and psychological health.
• Relevant to all realms of behavioral and social science, including research, practice, education, and advocacy.

 

LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

• The income of lower-class people is very less.. Their life depends on daily wages.
• They have zero or negative net worth. So they don’t have any security and comfort.
• They don’t get jobs as society judges them on their background and financial status.
• They don’t get proper education as they don’t have enough money.

 

MIDDLE SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

• The income of the middle class allows them to live a fine life.
• They have less net worth than the upper-class community. So they have less job security and comfort.
• Their profession usually requires advanced degrees and credentials.
• They get enough education to get a job as they have a better lifestyle and savings than the lower class.

 

HIGH SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

• The income of the high class allows them to live a luxurious life as they earn too much.
• Wealth provides them comfort, security, and access to power.
• They always get priority as they have good health, wealth, and a better lifestyle.
• Higher family SES means a greater likelihood of entering and completing college.

 

BASIS OF DISCRIMINATION

SES discriminates against people on the basis of their

• Income
• Education
• Occupation
• Wealth
• Power in society

 

Factors of Socio-Economic Status that impact on health

• Family Income
• Nutrition & Growth
• Access to health care
• Education & Career options
• Language
• Society Environment

 

HEALTH

LOW-SES CHILDREN'S HEALTH

• Inadequate nutrition in their meals.
• More prone to disease i.e.., failure to get recommended immunizations.
• Access the medical care only in worse conditions.
• Lesser career options because of lack of minimal qualification (early dropped out).
• Limited Education due to few resources as well as their given importance towards self-earning.
• The social environment (slums background, violent neighbors) affects their mental health and further makes them vulnerable to real society.
• Early exposure to tobacco, smoke, or drugs.

 

MIDDLE SES CHILDREN'S HEALTH

• Fulfill their nutritional quantity rationally.
• Lesser prone to disease as they acquire immunization periodically & a healthy diet.
• Access the medical care as per necessity.
• Adequate amount of career options ( fulfill the minimal or more minimal employment requirement).
• Broadened education but not for skills only for employment.
• Social Environment affects mental health as there will be intra-comparison(in the same status), restricted resources & over expectation cause to various health issue anxiety, depression and can lead to suicide.
• Lesser exposure towards to drugs & drinking but not at an early age.

 

HIGH SES CHILDREN'S HEALTH

• Excess amount of nutritional quantity than their requirement.
• Least prone to disease as they can access the resource easily.
• Access the medical care on a daily/weekly basis.
• Vast career option (generate employment in society).
• Broadened Education (majorly focuses on skill additionally impact on employment).
• Social Environment affects mental health as if he/she can’t manage the higher expectation of the upper society there will be low self-esteem & loosing of confidence cause depression, anxiety, obesity Etc.
• The lack of emotional attachment & isolation from family at an early age (parents are working) causes their exposure to smoke, drugs & drink.

 

SOCIOECONOMIC EFFECT IN EDUCATION

Education provides individual children with the knowledge and skills necessary to advance themselves and their nation economically. Socioeconomic factors, such as family income level, parents' level of education, race, and gender, all influence the quality and availability of education as well as the ability of education to improve life circumstances.

 

1. Family Income Level

• A family's financial status influences a number of factors that can help or hinder a child in gaining an education. Wealthy families have the financial resources to send a son or daughter to high-quality schools, hire tutors and obtain supplemental education sources
• In some countries, students from low-income families may not even be able to attend school; in INDIA low-income families are limited mostly to go to government schools while wealthier families can afford to send their children to private schools.
• Financial stress on the parents can cause a child to leave school early to work. Worries about financial hardship at home can negatively affect low and medium-class-income children's ability to learn.

 

2. Parents' Level of Education

• Parents' education level directly correlates to the importance and influence of education in their children's lives. Educated parents can assess a son or daughter's academic strengths and weaknesses to help that child improve overall academic performance. 
• The educated parent also sets expectations of academic performance that propel students forward in their achievement levels. However, even if educated, parents who struggled academically and do not think highly of formalized education may have negative attitudes toward education that can still hinder the child academically.
• However, low-income families lacked the finances to provide such a running start for their children. Many of the nation’s poorest children, in fact, had little or no experience in any type of educational setting prior to school enrollment. They are mostly illiterate.

 

IMPACT OF SES IN SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT

• Socioeconomic status negatively influenced school readiness, academic achievement test scores, overall school success, and parental involvement.
• School readiness is developed long before the official start of the child’s formal education and previous learning environments are varied across social lines. Middle- and upper-class parents frequently enrolled their children in daycare programs that offered curricula geared specifically toward preparing the children for future academic success.
• However, low-income families lacked the finances to provide such a running start for their children. Many of the nation’s poorest children, in fact, had little or no experience in any type of educational setting prior to school enrollment.

 

IMPACT OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ON CHILD’S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

The difference in exposure to resources and facilities creates diversity among children.

 

Abilities influenced by Socio-Economic Status

• Language abilities include speech ability, vocabulary, syntax, phonological awareness
• Executive Functions are “a set of skills”. These are a set of skills that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior. 

 

LOWER SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASS

Students from low socio-economic backgrounds perform worse on standardized tests than other students. Children who are in a low SES home are twice as likely to have specific learning disabilities and behavioral problems. Theoretically, poverty could disrupt brain development, leading to impaired self-regulation.

 

MIDDLE SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS

Students from middle-economic backgrounds perform well or on an average basis on a standardized test. They show prefrontal activations. Since they get more learning opportunities they  Show high cognitive development.

 

HIGH SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASS

A highly maintained school system and early intervention programs result in high  Cognitive development. They have high literacy skills.

 

 

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AFFECTS PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT 

SES is associated with a wide array of health, cognitive, and socioemotional outcomes in children, with effects beginning prior to birth and continuing into adulthood.

 

PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT

• "Psychomotor" development refers to changes in a child's cognitive, emotional, motor, and social capacities from the beginning of life throughout fetal and neonatal periods, infancy, childhood, and adolescence.
• It occurs in a variety of domains and a wide range of theories makes understanding children's development a challenging undertaking.

 

LOWER SES CLASS

• Lower SES families have children that are malnourished, so their physical development may not be as optimal.
• Lower SES children may have limited opportunities to play outside due to where they reside.
• In many situations, children from lower SES communities lack available resources because of environmental factors.
• Inconsistent sleeping patterns can link to a delay in physical growth and health.

 

MIDDLE SES  CLASS

• Middle SES have children that are nourished, they get adequate food so their physical development goes steadily.
• In some situations, middle SES communities also lack available resources because of environmental factors.

 

HIGH SES  CLASS

• High SES have children that are properly nourished as they have good food so their physical development is s optimal.
•  Higher SES children who may have a yard to play in.
•  Higher SES communities don’t lack any available resources

 

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND CAREER CHOICES

 

HIGH SES CATEGORY

• 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.
• The privileged family background students face no financial problems, and they easily secured their admissions in highly scoped fields at tertiary level education which leads to success in their future lives.

 

 

MIDDLE SES CATEGORY & LOW SES CATEGORY

• Students from lower-class families tend to choose the occupation guided by external factors influence, such as social class of family or continuation of family tradition.
• Students from lower-class families are more likely to be affected by their financial status rather than from the middle and higher classes.

 

SOME RELEVANT DATA AND FIGURES

India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to its economic development the question that arises is, Do all children have access to the same quality of education?

 

While the sons and daughters of the top 10% are able to get good jobs and compete with the best in the world, the vast majority of poor kids will eke out a precarious living in the informal sector.

 

After eight years of schooling, only 43% of 14-18-year-olds could do simple division; slightly less than half couldn’t add weights in kilograms; more than 40% couldn’t tell hours and minutes from a clock; 46% didn’t know which city was the capital of India. We’ve been so busy congratulating ourselves for herding these kids into a school that we’ve forgotten to teach them anything.

 

COVID-19 IMPACT: MAJOR CHALLENGES FACED BY STUDENTS OF RURAL INDIA

 

The rapid shift to e-learning prompted by the pandemic has resurfaced long-standing issues of inequality and a digital divide in India that must be addressed by future economic, education, and digitization policies.

 

A total of 320 million learners in India have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and have transitioned to e-learning. With huge regional and household disparities in access to the internet and technology, this transition has not been possible for all students and educators

 

Many students either can’t afford personal laptops/smartphones or they are available for a limited time. Hence, learning remains restricted with the limited availability of technological devices.

 

CONCLUSION 

SES measures, such as income and education, have the potential to impact both Health-related qualities of life and Quality of life, and we have also been found to influence an individual’s life opportunities.

• The goal of compulsory education is to ensure equality at the starting point of one’s education but now it sadly become power and money and is treated as a business, not a right.
• The more educational services children receive in the market, the better their academic performance is.
• An individual’s subjective perception of their physical health, psychological health, social functioning, and environment, or “subjective quality of life”, is an independent determinant of wellness and disease burden.
• SES creates racial/ethnic gaps and separation. All these factors impact a child's development.
• Therefore, in designing interventions, socioeconomic inequalities should be taken into account through the use of multi-dimensional measurement tools.

 

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