Protective Factors for Low SES Students

Along the same lines as Tana's post from the other day, I found another interesting article about protective factors for low SES students. Morales (2010) conducted qualitative interviews with 50 high-achieving low-socioeconomic students of color and the outcome was the identification of two clusters of protective factors, each of which consisted of a series of interrelated protective factors identified by participants as crucial to their academic achievement.

The article points out that as educators we can either focus on failures or focus on strengths. As a counselor, these terms are very familiar to me; counselors often focus on strengths and help our clients to focus on their strengths. I've attempted to recreate the table in Morales' (2010) article, because I believe some of the factors in Cluster 2 can be influenced by teachers and counselors in the school setting.

TABLE 2
Protective Factor Clusters    

Cluster/protective factor                                                           Percentage of sample
Cluster 1.                                                                                            66
Willingness/desire to “class jump” (move up in social class)                  94
Caring school personnel (K–12)                                                          90
Caring school personnel (college)                                                        72
Sense of obligation to one’s race/ethnicity                                            68
Strong future orientation                                                                      86

Cluster 2.                                                                                            70
Strong work ethic                                                                                90
Persistence                                                                                          94
High self-esteem                                                                                  92
Internal locus of control                                                                        92
Attendance at out-of-zone school                                                        76
High parental expectations supported by words and actions                  80
Mother modeling strong work ethic                                                       74

The three that stuck out from Cluster 2 are highlighted above, however, the main factor from cluster 2 that I believe teachers and counselors can have significant impact on in the school setting is a student's self-esteem. Twenge and Campbell (2002) state that children with higher SES have higher self esteem. If teachers and counselors provide tools and support (i.e. groups, empowerment programs, etc...) would it be possible to increase a student's self esteem, which could have positive impacts on a low SES student's academic achievement?

References

Campbell, W. K. & Twenge, J. M.  (2002).  Self-Esteem and Socioeconomic Status: A Meta-Analytic

          Review.  Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6(1), 59–71.


Morales, E. E.  (2010).  Linking Strengths: Identifying and Exploring Protective Factor Clusters in

          Academically Resilient Low-Socioeconomic Urban Students of Color.  Roeper Review, 32, 164–

          175.  doi: 10.1080/02783193.2010.485302