Stephanie Berzams article “Educational Aspirations among Low-Income Youths: Examining Multiple Conceptual Models” discusses the lower aspirations attainment margin exhibited by children from lower income area. While 78 percent of youths in the lower quartile of the experiment expected to attend college, the percentage was much lower than 86 and 95 percent represented in higher quartiles. Youth in poverty have the socioeconomic barriers of negative peer norms, unconventional family units, culturally isolated neighborhoods, and low performing schools in sustaining healthy educational aspirations.
The article highlights the status attainment, blocked opportunities, and social support framework theories to analyze the process of aspiration development. Data for the study was collected from the School Success Profile, a detailed self-report questionnaire of 220 items, that was administered to student ranging from 6th to 12th grade. The study was taken from a subsample of 11,154 students who were identified as free or reduced lunch recipients. Results from the study indicate various factors that correlate with student aspiration attainment. Most specifically, understanding social context, development of effective programs and reevaluation of policies will construct a stronger dialogue in understanding the resources needed to increase educational aspiration among low income youths.
“The Effects of Economic Instability on Children’s Educational Outcomes” by William Elliot explores the relationship between children’s human capital development and economic instability by measuring and observing the chances of living through economic deficiencies, the effect of economic instability on children’s educational outcome, conditions that derive economic instability, and policies dealing with assets of the poor. Empirical studies are utilized to illustrate a wides scale composition of educational and welfare policy that produce consistent causations specifically with poor minority children. The research findings represent model of patterns that point to consumption based behavior