Diversity

Bio-ecological systems can affect students’ behavior and learning in the classroom. Students with lower socioeconomic status, their peer group, and their culture can all affect their behavior. When students are stressed in their environment it makes it more difficult for them to learn. Parenting behavior also affect students’ behavior. If a student’s parents are authoritarian, permissive or uninvolved, the student may not perform as well in school, as a student whose parents are authoritative. I am currently visiting a youth center this semester to work with the students on their reading development. The students are all minorities and from low-income households with parents who are working and cannot be picked up right after school. Many of these students may struggle with reading and learning. This can be contributed to their environment. They are in a lower socioeconomic class so the families may be stressed and in survival mode, that can cause tension in the home and make it harder for students to concentrate on schoolwork. Some families may not have a high value on education, which can also affect students’ outcomes. Some of the students have language barriers, adding additional obstacles to overcome. Teachers can also have lower expectations of these students and may treat them differently, subconsciously, as we discussed last week.