Why is it that students from higher socio-economic backgrounds perform better?

[jokerman1]

Why is it that students from higher socio-economic backgrounds perform better IN vce?

i have heard this being reiterated on and on...

so any explanations?/

[pi]

This is a generalisation, but I'll explain it (imo) in a generalisation too for ease. They can afford to go to "better" schools (ie. private schools) and hence receive an education that is, on average, at a higher level and therefore perform better.

[jokerman1]

This is a generalisation, but I'll explain it (imo) in a generalisation too for ease. They can afford to go to "better" schools (ie. private schools) and hence receive an education that is, on average, at a higher level and therefore perform better.

Okay, what is it the separates a "good" school from a "bad" school?
What exactly is this difference in quality of education?
Better resources, more motivated students...but what else?
Does this make a big difference?
I would have thought one's cultural attitute in the household family towards work/study would be more of a contributing factor in how a students goes in VCE.

[MJRomeo81]

I don't know that statement is backed up by statistics or whatever, but I'd assume it would be because they can afford to attend top schools (which have better ATAR averages).

[jokerman1]

How do you create a school with better ATAR averages?

What would you need?

[Russ]

Attending a private school is a small part of it the whole thing. A family that is financially successful can afford various luxuries (both study related and otherwise) that will contribute to the success of the student. Obviously study guides, tutoring, private schools will have a very direct impact on education but things like stress, holidays, the need to work to support oneself etc. are all going to impact ability to study. Even with the best work ethic in the world, if your family relies upon you working a part time job, you're at a disadvantage and so forth.

You can also link low socio economic status with low education rates and thus with genetic factors that impact on the children, but I think the above is more relevant

How do you create a school with better ATAR averages?

What would you need?

Money.
Okay, you'd need various other things, but it'd all come back to money providing them.

[aes_999]

How do you create a school with better ATAR averages?

What would you need?

Money is one thing. Another big thing would be smart students. Which is why we have selective schools at Victoria.

[jokerman1]

generally speaking how much money do private school students spend on tutoring?

also, i realize this is one big generalisation and i'm sure many private school students dont' receive tutoring or don't need it or even find it useful.

i went to a public school and only a couple of students received tutoring and they didn't do amazingly well in the end so it didn't seem to help them much at all.

do the parents of these students usually go about selecting who tutors their daughters/sons or do they research it all by themselves...

a lot of generalizations here but hope somebody can provide feedback.

[killerboy]

i've been informed that jokerman1 has just been banned.

what gives?

he was asking good questions and could benefit the vce community as a whole.

[Russ]

i've been informed that jokerman1 has just been banned.

what gives?

he was asking good questions and could benefit the vce community as a whole.

If you want to discuss a ban, do it privately via email

[Colobine]

Private School - Means you get to be around smarter students. This will dictate your interests and raise the bar for all your standards. Not to mention the better teachers and facilities would certainly help.

Tutoring - Richer kids get more/better tutoring.

Parents - Biggest influence by far in my opinion. This is why(no racist) many of the Asian kids whos parents speak broken English and work averageish jobs are able to become so successful.

Part of the wall already built - Well lets be honest here. It's much easier to climb up to the top if some of the stepping stones are already built for you. There is far less financial stress on richer kids. They don't need to work part time during their schooling periods.

By the time they hit 18, a lot of the wealthy kids from private schools are gifted cars by their parents.

[paulsterio]

Also an issue of culture, if you come from a family where you're well off then it's likely that your parents are some sort of professionals who would have had a good academic background. This means that they're more likely to respect education more and understand that it is important.

Kids who come from less well off families where their parents might not have had great education, or have had bad experiences with education will view it in a different light, thus, not instilling that culture of respecting education in their children.

I think it's more of an issue than just private schools, tutoring and other luxuries. Culture also plays a big part - this is exactly why there are so many kids in private schools that end up doing badly in VCE whilst many other kids who go to average-ish schools who end up doing very very well.

It's a range of factors which add up, in reality. It's not due to any specific factors, but rather the interplay and connection between these factors and the glue which seals the gap which ends up helping some kids perform better than others in VCE.

[b^3]

Also an issue of culture, if you come from a family where you're well off then it's likely that your parents are some sort of professionals who would have had a good academic background. This means that they're more likely to respect education more and understand that it is important.

Kids who come from less well off families where their parents might not have had great education, or have had bad experiences with education will view it in a different light, thus, not instilling that culture of respecting education in their children.

I think it's more of an issue than just private schools, tutoring and other luxuries. Culture also plays a big part - this is exactly why there are so many kids in private schools that end up doing badly in VCE whilst many other kids who go to average-ish schools who end up doing very very well.

It's a range of factors which add up, in reality. It's not due to any specific factors, but rather the interplay and connection between these factors and the glue which seals the gap which ends up helping some kids perform better than others in VCE.

Kinda agreeing with Paul and disagreeing at the same time. I agree that its a range of factors (lets face it, if you are that determined to do something in most cases there is little to stop you, within reason that is). What I would say, and this is just what I've observed (so anecdotal evidence), is that those who are more well off (on this side) are those who slack and don't utilise school as "they don't need to". Where as those who are less well off are the ones who are motivated to try hard and do well, as its the way to say "jump forward" if that makes any sense, but then there are the opposite cases too. BUT that doesn't mean everyone who is well off/not well off is like this. It really comes down to you, what effort you put in, how determined you are. Although being "better off" would help in the sense that in more cases you wouldn't have to "go looking for the tools" to try and help you and to do better. Where as those of us who didn't have this have to spend time looking for and going after these tools (could say AN was a lifesaver in this regard).

So what I'm trying to say is, on average it would appear that students from a higher socio economic background perform better, but just because you're not doesn't mean you can't too, it's just harder to, it takes more effort, it's not a level playing field from the get go.

Private School - Means you get to be around smarter students. This will dictate your interests and raise the bar for all your standards. Not to mention the better teachers and facilities would certainly help.

Also I wouldn't necessarily agree with this in all cases, just because someone is at a private school doesn't mean that the students are smarter (in some cases it just means the parents may value their education of their children more than others, but that still doesn't mean that the students will perform better, its up to the student, not the parents, if the student doesn't care then they won't perform as well. And just because the parents care doesn't necessarily mean the student cares/will care).

[Colobine]

Also I wouldn't necessarily agree with this in all cases, just because someone is at a private school doesn't mean that the students are smarter (in some cases it just means the parents may value their education of their children more than others, but that still doesn't mean that the students will perform better, its up to the student, not the parents, if the student doesn't care then they won't perform as well. And just because the parents care doesn't necessarily mean the student cares/will care).

When people use the word smart it usually refers to academic ability and knowledge, not IQ.

[b^3]

Also I wouldn't necessarily agree with this in all cases, just because someone is at a private school doesn't mean that the students are smarter (in some cases it just means the parents may value their education of their children more than others, but that still doesn't mean that the students will perform better, it’s up to the student, not the parents, if the student doesn't care then they won't perform as well. And just because the parents care doesn't necessarily mean the student cares/will care).

When people use the word smart it usually refers to academic ability and knowledge, not IQ.

That was partly my point, there are still those at private schools who don't care about their education (although the fraction is less than say at public schools), those who don't do as academically well. What I'm saying is that just because you go to a private school, doesn't mean that you are automatically going to do academically better, you still have to care and put the effort in. Yes the atmosphere is probably better at a private school, but that doesn't mean that you can't still find that atmosphere somewhere in a public school, if you surround yourself with the right people.

You get the people who put the effort in and the people who slack in both public and private schools, as I said above, in the end of the day it comes down to you, but being in a public school can make it harder to do well, but not impossible.