A Family Case Study: How Money Might Matter for Academic Learning

Abstract

Many children living in low income communities do not face struggles in school. Many learn quickly and easily. But for some students, living in a high poverty communities and attending underfunded schools has consequences that can make learning difficult. In this paper, Compton-Lilly draws on the words of a parent living in a low-income community to explore how economic and social challenges affected the schooling of her daughter over a ten-year period. As the following accounts reveal, Ms. Rodriguez, an African American, low-income parent, was committed to her daughter’s learning and school progress and brought a thoughtful and informed critique to her children’s school experience that reveals the multiple ways that money affects academic learning.

Keywords

• education
• poverty
• socio-economic
• African American