Access to basic and quality healthcare is often limited for families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Throughout the country, many students come to school from unhealthy living environments, unable to learn and perform to their full potential. Educator, Charles Basch, states simply, “If a health problem is the cause of an educational disparity, the health problem must be statistically and temporally associated with the unfavorable educational outcomes” (see here). Linking education and healthcare may be a key in closing the academic achievement gap.
Tag: Health
When you are hungry, nothing else seems to matter. It is our most basic instinct to eat, and young children cannot be expected to focus or function at a high level without proper nutrition. Low vitamin and nutrient intake has been linked to low performance in school settings. Children who skip breakfast have decreased cognitive performance in alertness, attention, processing complex visual and auditory messages. These children are often from low income homes. Food insecurity for young children is a real problem in schools and when it comes to academics, these students suffer disproportionately in the classroom. The problem lies in both the family life and the school. The school must promote healthy eating habits, that are reinforced and acted upon at home. The problem is not simply establishing healthy habits and education surrounding food. There is clear causal relation between children’s health and socio-economic standing. That being said, socio-economic status is not the only indicator of health for school children. Poor nutritional education from the parents also factors into the equation. Missing meals is bad, but eating unhealthy food is also an indicator for poorer academic performance.
Childhood obesity and food insecurity are also both salient factors when it comes to childhood achievement. One study found food insecure students to be more likely to have low cognitive and social-emotional skills in pre-k and kindergarten. Obese students, were linked to similar trends especially linked to low curiosity, effort, and cognitive skills.
One source talks about the reciprocal relationship between heath, education, and poverty. These three factors are causally linked and interconnect, influencing each-other’s outcome and creating a composite formula that can predict trends for educational achievement. Health, which is taken for granted by the wealthy, and not always available for the poor, seems to be a major indication of achievement through all levels of education. Even prenatal health of the parent is linked to the achievement of children. A study looking at parent obesity and health risks during pregnancy found unhealthier parents to produce lower achieving children. This study found that unhealthy parents had children who exhibited similar symptoms, minor and major birth defects, and deficits in academic skills.
While early intervention education is helpful, and incredibly important in the achievement of students, health is a variable which is oftentimes unaccounted for. The familial health fo both mother and child is the first concern and unfortunately, the least amendable. Pushing for initiatives that incentivize good health for parents, and making healthcare available for pregnant women can control much of the failures in academic achievement we see across the nation.
Extensive research shows the continued presence of the achievement gap in the United States, drawing links predominantly between the quality of schools and children’s poorer academic performance (see here and here). However, a growing body of research suggests several health factors are being neglected consistently, while disproportionately negatively impacting school-aged children, especially low-income, urban minority youth (see here). Continue reading
Research shows that “environmental exposures may contribute to the etiology of the achievement gap”. Connections have been found between childhood lead exposure and increased cognitive disadvantages, such as decreased performance on standardized intelligence quotient (IQ) tests and cognitive functioning tests, worse end-of-grade (EOG) test scores, and increased neurobehavioural, behavioural, and attention deficits (see here). Continue reading