How Can Teachers Help

Impoverished Students
Academically Succeed?
INQUIRY QUESTION #3- SOCIAL JUSTICE

 British Columbia has had one of the highest rates of poverty in

Canada for the past 13 years.
BC is the only province without a poverty reduction plan.
The battle of poverty in BC is the result of low wages and stagnant
welfare rates, in spite of rising housing and food prices.
Aboriginal peoples, single moms, immigrants and refugees, and
people living with disabilities are most vulnerable to poverty.
Current minimum wage: $10.85 per hour.

The Big Picture

 1 in 5 (20%) children in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District are living in

poverty.
BC School Boards faced budget cuts of $56 million dollars and the
elimination of 350 school postings in 2015.
Since 2015, nearly 200 schools in BC have been shut down.
To students this means:
-crowding in classrooms and more travel distance between school and home
-inadequate classroom supplies and outdated textbooks
-lack of funding for breakfast and lunch programs
For those students facing poverty at home, school needs to be a
sanctuary, a place that can help them.

The Big Picture

 Students living in poverty face a number of obstacles when it comes

to their academic success and learning.
On a daily basis, students from impoverished families can face:
-Hunger and inadequate nutrition
-Living in overcrowded, unsafe, or inferior housing
-Poorer health
-Lack of modern technologies and comforts
-High levels of stress and anxiety
-Few opportunities to participate in mainstream society

How Does Poverty Affect Student Learning?

Other issues that appear are:

School fees and unequal access to participate in school activities
Attendance problems and barriers
Lack of staff awareness and understanding about poverty issues
The inadequacy of resources to address learning gaps and poverty related needs
Impact of learning due to lack of access to technology
Students who are in need of vision, hearing, and speech support and unable to
access help for these problems due to poverty-related barriers

How Does Poverty Affect Student Learning?

 A survey completed by the BCTF Research Department highlights some

poverty-related barriers, often resulting with low attendance records.
This low attendance barrier that some students endure, many of whom
are from impoverished backgrounds, contributes to the widening
academic gap between students from high-income households and
those from low-income households.
Teachers observed that some low-income families can have trouble
getting young children to school consistently
Older students have more independence, however they may miss
school days due to looking after younger siblings or often for work, if
they have a job to help out the family

Below are suggestions from BC Teachers to the BC Government to address

poverty-related barriers for students (results from BCTF survey):
Provide extra resources to address the learning gaps.
-extra staffing resources (counsellors, psychologists, speech language
therapists, early literacy help, EA help).
-Smaller class sizes
Improve education funding to address poverty-related barriers.
-stop cutting educational services and programs
-inner city schools project funding
-fully funded meal programs
Address underlying causes of poverty.
-start poverty reduction strategies
-address affordable housing, affordable day care, etc.

Recommendations to the Government

 Increase government awareness and understanding of poverty and

education issues
-listen to the teachers about what is needed
-visit schools in low-income neighbourhoods to learn about the challenges that
families face
-increase awareness of poor housing conditions for families in low-income areas
-visit rural schools
Other suggestions
-address hunger and nutritional needs
-improve mental health services
-improve access to technology for low-income families

Recommendations to the Government

 Be flexible! (especially with deadlines for assignments)

Be open to providing extra help for students before and/or after classes
Create a compassionate and caring classroom
Emphasize communication and building relationships with the students
and parents
Collaboration is Key: Work with the school staff to better support
students learning
Encourage attending community and after-school programs
Provide the resources to meet the basic needs of the students
eg. Have a fruit basket in the class

What Can We Do In Our Classrooms?

 http://www.bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/SocialJustice/Issues/Poverty/Resea
rch/BCTF%20Poverty%20and%20Education%20Survey--Chapter%205.pdf
http://www.bctf.ca/povertyresearch.aspx
http://bcpovertyreduction.ca/learn-more/resources/
https://www.opencanada.org/features/inequality-explained-hidden-gapscanadas-education-system/
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/B
C%20Office/2011/07/CCPA_BC_cost_of_poverty_full_report.pdf
http://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/poverty-affects-many-b-cstudents-survey-of-teachers-shows

Sources