Factors Influencing the Educational Performance of Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds

The relationship between family socio-economic status (SES) and the academic performance of children is well established in sociological research. While there is disagreement over how best to measure SES, most studies indicate that children from low SES families do not perform as well as they potentially could at school compared to children from high SES families (Graetz, 1995). Most studies, however, compare students from across all SES backgrounds to reach the conclusion that low SES adversely affects a range of educational outcomes. Another important dimension, however, is the factors that may influence educational outcomes within particular SES bands. This paper presents data on the educational performance of children from financially disadvantaged backgrounds and examines its variation as affected by traditional measures of SES as well as by a range of other family, individual and contextual factors.