- Poor children a year behind in language skills, By Warwick Mansell, February 15, 2010, The Guardian: “The vocabulary of children from the poorest backgrounds lags more than a year behind that of their classmates from richer homes by the time they start school, a major new study showed today. The Sutton Trust, the charity which sponsored the research, said the divide was a ‘tragic indictment of modern society’, showing how educational inequality starts young and leaves children from the most disadvantaged homes struggling to keep up throughout their school years. The poorest children face multiple challenges, being less likely to be born to well-educated parents, have a regular bedtime or live with both their biological father and mother, the study found. However, it also concluded that ‘good parenting can triumph’, with families able to limit the effects of poverty by, for example, reading to their children daily…”
- Poor children a year behind when they start school, study says, By Nicola Woolcock, February 15, 2010, The Times: “Children from poor families are already a year behind in vocabulary tests when they start school, according to research published today. It reveals the full impact of upbringing and home life on attainment, and how those from troubled or impoverished homes can fall behind at a young age. Many never catch up with better-off classmates and become stuck in a cycle of underachievement. The report, by the Sutton Trust, highlights the importance of activities such as bedtime stories and taking children to museums and libraries. In isolation, these appear to have a bigger impact on progress than wealth…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty