In the United States, 43% of children under 18 live in low-income homes. Children under the age of six appear to be more vulnerable. Children’s economic instability is linked to parental education, job, race, and ethnicity. In the United States, there are about 23 million young children under the age of six (Jiang et al., 2017). Low-income households account for 45 percent of the population, or 10.5 million people. Poor households account for 23% of the population, or 5.3 million people (Jiang et al., 2017). From 46 percent in 2009 to 45 percent in 2015, the percentage of young children living in low-income families (including poor and near-poor) has fallen (Jiang et al., 2017). Between 2009 and 2015, the overall number of young children under six declined by 6%, while the number of low-income and impoverished children under six decreased by 7% (Jiang et al., 2017).
There are specific questions based on the course’s information, particularly on the above-described problem of children from low-income families. One of the main things is how to adapt the education system for such children, to give them equal opportunities? There are examples of educational systems that tried to be adaptive for all classes and social groups. An example of this is, for example, South Korea, the Soviet Union in the past, and the German schools of today. How can these institutions and systems be adapted to our educational system? Moreover, there is the question of how to reduce social stratification within the school itself, class, or group of students?
Based on my own life experience in the past, I can say that the information in the course has particular effectiveness in the approach—for example, the concept of how housing affects children’s educational performance. Young children from low-income homes are more likely to have relocated in the previous year than other young children. Regarding to the course information, I learned about many things and changed my mind on a number of issues, both educational and social. Comparing the information obtained in this document with the topic of the rest of the course, one can accurately speak of its importance. Statistical data reveals many socio-cultural features of the educational process and complements many topics of the last course. More specifically, the very general concept of the influence of the environment on educational abilities and motivation is supported by data.
Reference
Jiang, Y., Granja, M. R., & Koball, H. (2017). Basic facts about Low-Income children. National Center for Children in Poverty.