NSF Award
2317285
Poverty is increasing in America, especially among young people. Teenagers who are poor earn lower grades and are more likely to drop out of high school than teenagers who are not poor. The amount of schooling that teenagers complete determines the opportunities they have for work and, as a result, the amount of money they earn for the rest of their life. Despite the large amount of research on poverty and schooling, there has yet to be a study about the way that teenagers who are poor are treated at school. These experiences may make teenagers feel like that they do not belong at school and, in turn, this may lead to their academic underperformance. Thus, this study creates a new tool to measure the experiences teenagers have at school. Interviews are used to find out how teenagers who are poor are treated by friends, teachers, and staff. This information is used for a survey that will also include academic outcomes. This study reveals how teenagers who are poor are treated at school and how this is related to their schooling. Findings have the potential to inform policies aimed at reducing the effect of poverty on schooling.<br/><br/>This study develops a new tool to measure the experiences that teenagers who are poor have at school. A broad definition of poverty is used that includes social class, such as parental income, education, and occupation. A mixed-methods research design is used that includes interviews and surveys. Interviews are conducted with teenagers to understand how they are treated in school because of their social class. This includes teenagers’ experiences with discrimination by friends, teachers, and staff. The information from the interviews is used to inform the development of a new measure, leading to a survey using the new measure and academic outcomes, such as achievement and school completion. This study reflects the early stages of a line of research that can dramatically change our understanding of the effect of poverty on academic outcomes. In addition to the large amount of knowledge this study will generate, we advance a new interdiscplinary theoretical model that integrates developmental, social, counseling, and educational perspectives. The tool created provides a new way to study how poverty is related to schooling in America.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
