The Poor vs The Wealthy

• Students from low-income families are often confronted with

educational disadvantages.
• How much their parents earn per month has a direct correlation to
their academic achievement.
• The study to see the correlations between socio-economic
background and the students’ performance has been done and the
results show that students from poor families demonstrate poorer
academic performance compared to students from low-income and
medium-income families.
• Schools with more low-income students also tend to fall in the
categories of Band 6 and 7 schools
• The possible reasonings to this pattern are that parents with medium and
high income tend to send their children to extra classes and lessons and
provide constant support and motivation due their awakened general
awareness of the importance of education itself.
• Saying this does not mean parents with low income do not give support
and encouragement, but there are constraints in their attempt to provide
such assistance due to their economic circumstances.
• For example, their children might have to work straight away after
finishing their secondary school in order to lessen their parents’
burden and in some cases, to entirely support their families.
• This prevents them from pursuing a higher level of education and
attaining more knowledge to be able to secure a more fulfilling job.
• Also, these students do not have role models to look up to if everyone
in their community comes from the similar low-income family
background. Sometimes hardship could be a motivation and drive to
them as well but that is not always the case.
References
• Education, M. (2012). Preliminary Report Malaysia Education
Blueprint 2013-2025. [online] Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Education.
Available at: http://www.moe.gov.my/userfiles/file/PPP/Preliminary-
Blueprint-Eng.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2016].
• Rao, R. and Jani, R. (2008). School Quality, Educational Inequality and
Economic Growth. International Education Studies, 1(2).