Neighborhood Poverty, Social Capital, and the Cognitive...

Children in families with lower incomes at or below the poverty line have been connected with poor cognitive and social development in early childhood. The studies that I chose to use evaluate the cognitive and social development during early childhood using various surveys, evaluations, and observations completed by or with the children, parents, and teachers. Development of any kind is dependent on the interplay of nature and nurture, or genetics and environment. These studies draw from a child’s environment during the earliest years of development, specifically birth, pre-school, and early elementary school. The studies propose living in an impoverished environment as opposed to an environment above the poverty line imposes certain†¦show more content†¦Neighborhoods with higher poverty, ethnic diversity, and population instability are associated with higher rates of crime and delinquency. All of these things contribute to the breakdown of social cohesion and inform al social control (O’Brien, 2006), creating an unlikely environment for early childhood development and optimal outcome. The second study I used focused more on the significance of the timing a duration of poverty for a child from birth until third grade and the effect held on the child’s development and was titled â€Å"Duration and Developmental Timing of Poverty and Childrens Cognitive and Social Development from Birth Through Third Grade†. Allhusen et al. examined the effects of different amounts of poverty by comparing children from families that were never poor, poor during the child’s infancy, poor after infancy, and always poor. In this study, poverty is defined as living 200% below the federal poverty threshold (Allhusen et al, 2005). Children in poverty scored lower on cognitive and pre- academic tests, lower competence, and exhibited a higher level of behavior problems (Allhusen et al, 2005). The focus groups of this study were split into never poor, early poor, or poor during the child’s first three years, late poor, or poor from age four to nine but not before, and chronically poor, or always poor. The evaluations were aimed at finding any association between duration and timing of poverty andShow MoreRelatedSupporting the Development of English Literacy in English Language Learners22851 Words   |  92 PagesSUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH LITERACY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS Key Issues and Promising Practices Diane August August Associates Report No. 61 February 2003 This report was published by the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At Risk (CRESPAR), a national research and development center supported by a grant (No. R-117-D40005) from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education. The content or opinions expressed