# The Impact of Low Socioeconomic Background on a Child’s Educational Achievements

Authors: Balachandran Vadivel; Sohaib Alam; Iman Nikpoo; Bemnet Ajanil
Journal: Education Research International
 (2023)

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## Abstract

A child’s educational achievements are based on multiple factors, including their family, their family’s behavior, socioeconomic status, their behavior toward their parents, etc. The main objective of the study is to establish the relationship between the socioeconomic background of the children and their educational achievements and how it impacts their psychology. A descriptive survey research design was used to conduct this study. The target population was 50 students and either of their parents. The target was selected through random sampling. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and different types of observation techniques were implied while collecting the data. The study concluded that most of the students with low socioeconomic status had poor achievements in their academics, which led them into the labor market at an early age. It has been found that parents with low socioeconomic backgrounds were less interested in educating their children. Kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more focused on employment instead of pursuing their studies after completing their secondary education. Such students end up in unskilled or blue-collar jobs. This study recommends free-of-cost vocational and technical education to such children to provide them with better livelihood opportunities. There is a need for parental education and awareness programs as well conducted by schools/universities and other concerned authorities.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

Academic achievement is given the top priority in an educational system that aims to advance both the macrolevel development of human resources and the childs scholastic growth. A child’s academic performance serves as the basis for monitoring his scientific rearing and education. The primary focus of the broader term, educational progress, is an academic accomplishment [1]. It is impossible to overstate the significance of academic performance in one’s life. It serves as a balm for the soul.Education is a crucial need in this era of globalization. Education not only offers to understand but also shapes the personality, instills moral values, broadens knowledge, and bestows talents. Education is crucial because of the culture of competition. In any profession, highly qualified employees are needed [2]. It is well acknowledged that children of parents with higher and intermediate socioeconomic status (SES) are exposed to a learning environment at home that is more favorable since these parents have greater learning resources available to them. Low family SES is often associated with children performing poorly in school, although the mechanisms underlying this link are less obvious [3, 4]. Children’s parents are their closest relatives. Their level of education and wealth do have a significant impact on the child’s personality. Parents with more education are better able to gauge their children’s aptitude and educational demands. They can support their kids in their early schooling, which affects how well-versed they are in their particular field. With a solid financial foundation, parents may best support their children’s educational potential by giving them access to the latest facilities and technologies [5].In this research paper, the problem being studied is how the socioeconomic background of children impacts their educational achievements across the world and how it impacts their psychology. Many factors have the potential to impact a child’s educational achievements. These factors can be broadly divided into two categories, the child’s internal state and the environment in which he/she stays [6]. Under internal state are factors such as health, intelligence, anxiety, and degree of diligence. Under the environment are factors such as the availability of appropriate studying areas, proper educational infrastructures like textbooks, and fully equipped labs. With time, factors that impact a child’s educational achievements have developed a keen interest among the professionals involved in teaching, management, and educational policymaking [7]. While investigating such factors, various findings have been generated by researchers. In their studies, Clements and Oelke [8] assigned the cause of poor academic achievements to personal as well as institutional factors. Personal factors are ability, knowledge, and intelligence. Institutional factors are influences of parents or family, society, and institutions [9]. These factors are related to tutors, the rapport between teachers and students, the living environment, and accommodation. The growing awareness about the importance of the socioeconomic background of children in their academic achievements has been regularly studied by school administrators, counselors, and psychologists [10].The goal of Croll’s [11] study was to show that young people in the British Household Panel Survey who are between the ages of 5 and 10 have a strong desire to pursue careers, with far more of them aspiring to managerial, technical, and professional positions that are likely to be available in these fields. Ambitions, educational attainment, and intentions are generally well matched, but there are many instances of misalignment, such as when people have less ambitious aspirations than their academic performance would suggest or when they want jobs that their intentions and educational attainment are not suited for [11]. Children from households with greater vocational advantages are more ambitious, excel in school, and have better career outcomes than other kids. The study’s potential educational implication is that career interventions may be targeted at academically gifted but underachievers from underprivileged backgrounds.The European Union has developed distinctions between various higher education training pathways in previous decades. They generally made a distinction between academic or general education and vocational education. Because they train students for various jobs, the two types of education have different curricula. We investigated this in the context of the PISA dataset of children who had reached school-leaving age. Previous research had revealed that such factors could act as both initial and persistent impediments to educational attainment [12]. Ball’s methodology, which was employed to analyze British education reform in the 1980s, has been used to analyze South African government reforms. Second, history has played a very significant part in the advancement of South African education. In South African social science, Peter Delius and Stefan Schirmer are in favor of removing the barriers between historical research and policy analysis [13]. In China, a sample of 321 rural-to-urban migrant adolescents was gathered (48.2% of the girls; mean age = 11.73 years, SD = 1.16 years). The findings showed that the association between family SES and academic achievement was mediated by the educational expectations of migrating teenagers. In addition, among teenagers with greater levels of subjective SES, the relationship between parental SES and educational expectations was modest. These results imply that subjective SES acts as a protective factor, mitigating the detrimental impacts of low family SES on the academic success of migrating adolescents through educational expectations [14].The family of a child plays an important role in his social, emotional, psychological, cognitive, and economic well-being. The atmosphere of a home impacts children because parents are the first socializing agent for children. Thus, it builds a child’s reaction toward his life. The first four years of a child’s life are extremely critical for his intellectual development. No doubt, the school has a major role in his overall development but the parents and house environment have a bigger one in the formative years. Parents have authority over medical care, health habits, household chores, recreational activities, religious training, contacts with the community and the neighborhood, and vocational training [15]. For proper growth, a child needs support, warmth, individuality, a feeling of belongingness, availability of opportunities, and reward for achievements, which only a good home environment can provide [16]. Additionally, socioeconomic variables and parental education play a significant role in how well students perform in school. They serve as the kids’ financial and psychological backbone. Students from varied socioeconomic backgrounds and with different parental educational levels differ from one another [17, 18]. Family status factors including socioeconomic standing and parents’ educational attainment have traditionally been seen as indicators of children’s academic success. SES and parental education levels may not directly affect children’s academic performance, but research is increasingly pointing to them as components of a larger constellation of psychological and sociological factors that do [19–22].A family’s socioeconomic background decides its social and economic stand in the hierarchy of society. This becomes the most powerful factor determining a child’s academic achievements. The variables comprising socioeconomic background are the income of the family, the occupation they follow, the level of family members’ education, and where they live. Even the norms, attitudes, and behavior of a family are decided by its SES [23]. For instance, parents may find it simpler to be involved in their children’s education if they have a higher socioeconomic position and degree of education. Parents may be able to learn and impart to their children the social skills and problem-solving methods that will enable them to excel in school [24–26]. Therefore, students whose parents have higher SES and higher levels of education may have a higher regard for learning, more positive ability beliefs, a stronger work orientation, and may use more effective learning strategies than students whose parents have lower SES and lower levels of education [27, 28].The goal of the study was to comprehend the relationship between children’s SES and their academic success. In communities that promote equal opportunity regardless of socioeconomic background, there are issues and challenges raised by the unequal distribution of educational and employment prospects among people of different SES levels. As a result, much work has gone toward illuminating and comprehending the mechanisms that shape socioeconomic gradients [29].The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate a link between student academic achievement and SES to bring the attention of monetary and educational institutions to communities and families with lower SES. There are so many international organizations, governments, NGOs, and volunteers working on this issue. Governments in third-world countries are providing free-of-cost primary education, textbooks, uniforms, mid-day meals, etc. to attract children from low socioeconomic backgrounds to the schools. The main limitation here is the lack of awareness on the parents’ part and the lack of basic facilities such as washrooms, benches, and blackboards that do not let children get admitted to the schools and if they do take admission, they do not remain there for a long time. No proper education ruins their chances of getting upward in the social hierarchy [30].Every nation has a unique socioeconomic setting. Therefore, it is important to examine the effect of a country’s socioeconomic situation on student accomplishment and compare the results across various nations. The study is significant because academic success gaps between children from affluent and poor SES families start to appear early in a child’s life. Understanding this subject is important for policy study because it can provide information about how and when inequities reproduce and how they can change over a person’s life. This research paper hopes to draw the attention of all those authorities involved in working for the education of children with low-socioeconomic backgrounds. It throws light on the relationship between the socioeconomic background of a child and his educational achievements and what psychology is working behind these children not pursuing their education and getting into a low-paid job where they are exploited by their employers.


## 2. Literature Review

The aim of the study conducted by Zhonglu Li and Zeqi Qiu is to examine how family background affects children’s academic achievement at an early stage. The education of a child is directly linked to the future of a country’s labor force and thus determines the competitiveness of the country in the global market. This study found that a child’s background has a huge impact on his educational achievements. This finding is constant with the other studies done on this topic as well as this research paper [6, 31]. The study showed factors like the background of a family, differences in opportunities to get an education, and behavior learning of children had a wide gap of 34.4% in the test scores of the children.Another study was conducted by Gemechu Abera Gobena to find a family SES’ that affects students’ academic achievements at the college level. The study indicated that there were more boys in the sample than girls. This means families with low SES tend to spend their finances in favor of male children. The majority of respondents’ fathers were more educated than their mothers. This supported the findings of this research. Educated families supported their children’s educational achievements through encouragement and guidance [32, 33]. Moreover, Juan Liu, Peng-Peng, and Liang Luo researched “The Relationship between Family Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement in China: A Meta-Analysis.” Their research concluded the policy measures taken by the Chinese government over the years have promoted educational equity to an extent. The relation between SES and language is stronger than for math/science [34].It is important to look for systematic and up-to-date information on the key correlates of accomplishment at a time when educational progress is being evaluated vibrantly and when many changes are being seen in organizational, curricular, and teaching practices. It is appropriate in this situation to take into account all the variables that affect academic performance, such as the socioeconomic background of the student [35]. Teenagers’ lives are impacted by a variety of societal and personal issues. Teenagers who attend school, especially those in senior secondary, frequently have issues in and out of the classroom that has an impact on their personal lives and academic performance. Parents’ SES and the family environment (FE) are two examples of personal family-related factors that have an impact on students’ lives in many ways. The physical, social, and cognitive development of children and adolescents as well as their ability to cope emotionally are all influenced by their socioeconomic situation [36].Student achievement is one of the most crucial results of any educational system. Individuals are classified as high achievers, medium achievers, or poor achievers based on their degree of success. Numerous studies show that factors including the structure of the school or institution, student socioeconomic level, aspirations for higher education, and well-adjusted conduct, among others, affect academic achievement. In addition to these, it is influenced by personal traits, career goals, creativity, intelligence, attitude, values, etc. [37]. The closest relatives to a child are their parents. The degree of their money and education does have a big impact on the child’s personality. More educated parents are better equipped to assess their kids’ aptitude and educational needs. They can assist their children with their early education, which has an impact on how knowledgeable they are about a given subject. Giving their kids access to the most modern resources and technologies will help parents maximize their kids’ educational potential. Parents’ education levels and socioeconomic factors also have a big impact on how well youngsters perform in school. They act as the kids’ sanity and financial foundation. There are obvious differences between students with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and parental educational levels [38].According to the expectancy–value theory, variations in motivation and performance are caused by expectations for success and subjective task value (STV). This study looked at how STV, the expectancy of success, and their interactions with one another affected how gender and SES connected to achievement. Higher expectations led to better exam results for male students, students from families with more goods, and students with more educated parents; higher STV enhanced these relationships. Psychological factors, such as students’ expectations of success and STV, can help to explain how gender and SES vary in achievement [39]. Researchers, education professionals, and parents are all interested in the performance of students in secondary school topics. There are numerous different disciplines where academic achievement in secondary school topics has correlations. For instance, research has demonstrated the influence of the student, the school, and the family environment on students’ performance in a variety of fields [40]. Although research on the associations between variables and the academic accomplishment of school populations with different SES categories is few, SES analysis of the relationship between student achievement and SES has been widely discussed in the literature [41]. Achievement of goals also involves a social element because establishing performance targets necessitates evaluating oneself concerning others. Naturally, each child looks for intellectual and social interests. Students might achieve their social goals through their academic efforts. Children may collaborate in groups, for instance, if they enjoy spending time with their pals or if they wish to win over their teacher [42]. Not all socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils are equally vulnerable; some of them are referred to as “resilient” students because they can “beat the odds” and succeed academically. Gabrielli et al. [3] used information from the most recent two OECD Programme for International Students Assessment (2015 and 2018) editions to examine the academic resilience of native-born and students of immigrant origin (i.e., the 25% of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged students who achieve an adequate level of proficiency in reading, science, and math).Healthcare systems around the world are faced with a significant problem as socioeconomic inequality is acknowledged as a significant factor in determining people’s health at all ages. Children who are in school experience proportionately worse health outcomes for every decline in the socioeconomic gradient. In comparison to their more affluent peers, children and teenagers from socioeconomically disadvantaged homes are more than twice as likely to suffer from acute illnesses as well as chronic diseases like asthma, obesity, mental illness, and developmental delay. Across all income levels, such connections are seen all over the world [43]. Additionally, studies have shown that SES has a significant impact on kids’ quality of life and academic success. Another well-studied component of a family is its psychosocial environment. It depends on the continued interpersonal connections among family members. Additionally, it has a significant impact on adolescent lives [44].In Nigeria, parents are mostly responsible for funding their children’s formal education, just like in many other countries. Typically, there is a clear relationship between the family’s financial status and the quality of education provided to children [45]. Even though the same teacher taught the same course content to the same class of students year after year, there was constantly a difference in the student’s academic performance. But only a teacher or education professional can find a child’s hidden talents and employ the proper techniques to foster their development. Developmental coordination issue has a substantial impact on life prospects and educational success (DCD). Co-occurring reading difficulties, social communication problems, and hyperactivity/inattention can make learning difficulties worse. To improve the assistance provided to those with DCD, it is crucial for educational, medical, and policymakers to have a better understanding of the condition [46]. One of the most unequal societies in the world is found in South Africa. In 1994, democratic elections were held for the first time in the country’s history, and a black majority administration led by the African National Congress (ANC) took office with a mandate to address the inherited injustices and disparities. Stephen J. Ball proposes a conceptual framework for education policy analysis that recognizes the three dimensions as interrelated but acknowledges the relative autonomy of each dimension, drawing on Althusser’s analysis of a social system as consisting of political, ideological, and economic dimensions [47]. It is well known that differences in children’s academic performance are caused by family SES. Children from low SES families typically perform worse academically than their more affluent peers. Parental participation behaviors, an important component of family practices, are linked to this SES gap in children’s academic performance. However, studies on the relationship between family SES, parental academic involvement, and academic success have mainly been conducted in European and American nations [48].The process through which a kid changes over time and combines their emotional, social, and cognitive growth with their physical, intellectual, and language growth can be referred to as their mental development. Vision, observation, memory, creativity, introspection, problem-solving ability, intellect, and expression are all part of a child’s mental development. Young children’s intellectual, linguistic, psychological, physical, and emotional development is impacted by their socioeconomic level (SES). More and more data point to links between lower SES and learning disabilities or other adverse psychological consequences impacting university performance [49]. Numerous studies have shown how poor family SES negatively affects the academic performance of migratory children from rural to urban areas. The processes behind this link, however, are not well understood. The current study looked at the link between family SES and academic achievement among Chinese rural-to-urban migrant teenagers. It also looked at the potential mediating impacts of educational expectations and the moderating effects of subjective SES. The apparent threat that socioeconomic variations between students pose to educational equity and efficacy is also recognized by policymakers, who frequently try to address this by allocating more resources to kids from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Lowering the student–teacher ratio for schools in more disadvantaged areas is one common tactic. For instance, schools with a disproportionately high percentage of underprivileged pupils tend to have more full-time instructors in the majority of OECD nations [50].


## 3. Research Questions

(RQ1)
How the low socioeconomic background of a child impacts his/her educational achievements?(RQ2)
How does low education impact a child’s psychology?


## 4. Methodology

### 4.1. Research Design

We used different sources to conduct this research. A quantitative analysis was conducted in order to understand the impact of the socioeconomic background of a child on educational achievements and how low education impacts a child’s psychology. We created a semi-close-ended questionnaire specifically to gather data for this research paper. The questionnaire had two parts, Part A and Part B. Part A was for the children. It had seven questions and Part B was for their parents which had five questions. So, the questionnaire consisted of 12 questions in total.


### 4.2. Participants

There were 50 random participants who took part in this research. The children as well as their parents participated. However, a child and his or her parent were regarded as one participant. The respondents were from three different regions of the world namely, Germany, India, and Nigeria. These regions were considered mainly due to a huge lack of education seen in children whose parents fall below or somewhere near the poverty line. The questionnaire was filled out with the help of correspondents. The correspondents either met the participants in person or helped us get a video call. The participants were selected using a random sampling technique. Children who took part in this research were in the age bracket of 7–18 years.


### 4.3. Instrument

Primary surveys or assistance from video call apps were the main instruments utilized to gather data. The acquired data were then analyzed and inferences were drawn using SPSS and MS Excel.


### 4.4. Data Collection

Qualitative data were collected with the help of this questionnaire. The questionnaire had two Parts A and B. Part A had seven questions and Part B had five questions. The questions in the sets were meant to get information about the participants and their socioeconomic backgrounds (Table1).Table 1
Questions for children and parents.
Questions asked from the childrenQuestions asked from the parentsWhat is your age?How many children in your family are studying?What is your gender?What would be your income range? (optional)Are you currently in school? If yes, in which class?Do you support your child’s studies financially and mentally?Do you have proper textbooks to study?Do you want your child to continue their education?Do your parents tell you to take leave from school often and help them with household work or in their occupation?Will education give you a better future for your child?Does your school have adequate facilities?What is the number of members in your family?


## 4.1. Research Design

We used different sources to conduct this research. A quantitative analysis was conducted in order to understand the impact of the socioeconomic background of a child on educational achievements and how low education impacts a child’s psychology. We created a semi-close-ended questionnaire specifically to gather data for this research paper. The questionnaire had two parts, Part A and Part B. Part A was for the children. It had seven questions and Part B was for their parents which had five questions. So, the questionnaire consisted of 12 questions in total.


## 4.2. Participants

There were 50 random participants who took part in this research. The children as well as their parents participated. However, a child and his or her parent were regarded as one participant. The respondents were from three different regions of the world namely, Germany, India, and Nigeria. These regions were considered mainly due to a huge lack of education seen in children whose parents fall below or somewhere near the poverty line. The questionnaire was filled out with the help of correspondents. The correspondents either met the participants in person or helped us get a video call. The participants were selected using a random sampling technique. Children who took part in this research were in the age bracket of 7–18 years.


## 4.3. Instrument

Primary surveys or assistance from video call apps were the main instruments utilized to gather data. The acquired data were then analyzed and inferences were drawn using SPSS and MS Excel.


## 4.4. Data Collection

Qualitative data were collected with the help of this questionnaire. The questionnaire had two Parts A and B. Part A had seven questions and Part B had five questions. The questions in the sets were meant to get information about the participants and their socioeconomic backgrounds (Table1).Table 1
Questions for children and parents.
Questions asked from the childrenQuestions asked from the parentsWhat is your age?How many children in your family are studying?What is your gender?What would be your income range? (optional)Are you currently in school? If yes, in which class?Do you support your child’s studies financially and mentally?Do you have proper textbooks to study?Do you want your child to continue their education?Do your parents tell you to take leave from school often and help them with household work or in their occupation?Will education give you a better future for your child?Does your school have adequate facilities?What is the number of members in your family?


## 5. Results

This research had 50 children and either of their parents as the sample. The child and the parent were treated as one entity. Out of 50 children, 27 were boys and 23 were girls. They belonged to the age range of 7–18 years. Considering the percentage, there were 54% of boys and 36% of girls (Figure1). The sex ratio is an important factor for any analysis to understand the socioeconomic data and the age–sex pyramid of any study area.Figure 1
Number of boys and girls in the sample taken for this research.When question was asked by our correspondent whether the students had proper textbooks or not, the results were not shocking as only 40% of the children had proper textbooks whereas 60% of the children did not have textbooks or had half of them (Figure2). More than 50% of the students in the class do not have a proper textbook which shows that either their families are having financial difficulties or it may be because of improper guidance from the education system or institute [51].Figure 2
Number of children having proper/fewer textbooks.Children were also asked if they liked going to school to which 58% of children replied yes and 42% of them replied no (Figure3).Figure 3
Number of children who liked/disliked going to school.As the sample was taken from remote areas, knowing about the condition of the schools was essential. So, it was enquired if the schools had adequate facilities. As expected the schools in these areas were in a bad condition as only 8% of schools had adequate facilities while 92% of the schools in those areas did not have proper facilities (Figure4). The unavailability of the basic infrastructures and adequate facilities in the educational centers depicts the reason for 42% of students not going to school or not being willing to go to school. If proper facilities are being availed by the students then the school student percentage will be enhanced.Figure 4
Number of students saying their school has adequate/inadequate facilities.Occupations and lack of proper education are the reason only 20% of the parents were able to take care of their child’s studies either financially or emotionally. Eighty percent of the parents were either not financially equipped to support their child’s studies or emotionally able to help their child in their studies. Some lacked both capacities (Figure5). Financial stability and support from the family are very much the primary need of a child for going to school and continuing their study. There must be emotional support as well for the better mental well-being of students. But the study shows that 80% of students are not being supported by their families in any way.Figure 5
Number of parents who take care of their child’s education financially and emotionally.Part B of the questionnaire was specifically designed for the parents. When asked the parents, do they want their child to continue their studies? Forty percent of the parents said yes they want their children to continue their studies, on the other hand, 60% of the parents replied that they did not want their child to continue their studies (Figure6).Figure 6
Number of parents who wanted their child to continue studies.Some children had to leave their studies due to their low socioeconomic background as 36% of the children from our sample were not studying and 64% were studying (Figure7). The families had a large number of members as they had three to five children on average. More mothers answered the questions as they knew better about the children. Most of the children below the age of 13 were studying because primary education is either free or offered at a minimal cost. As the children belonged to low socioeconomic backgrounds, the income range of their family was from $4,200 to $5,500 per year. Though they were aware that education will give them a better future, very few families wanted their children to continue with further education.Figure 7
Number of children who were studying/not studying.


## 6. Discussion

This research was conducted to study how the socioeconomic background of children impacts their educational achievements and how low education impacts their psychology. The socioeconomic background of children is measured using data on parental occupation, family income, parental education, or combining these factors [52]. It is found in this research that parental income has a big role to play in children’s educational achievements. Generally, low socioeconomic children perform poorly in academics. Their parents were engaged in agriculture, semiskilled or unskilled jobs. Such students and also their parents are less motivated to go for higher education. Children after the age of 13–14 entered the labor force where they worked in transportation, construction, restaurants, hotels, agriculture, household labor, factories, etc., as unskilled labor. They are eager to earn money. The most common problems with children with a low socioeconomic background are low attendance, irregularity, and dropout in-between the academic session.As these parents are not well educated, they are unable to help their children in their studies. They do not even interact with the teachers about their child’s performance at school. Thus, these parents were not able to understand their child’s educational needs [48]. Though quality education and schools matter for academic achievements, the home environment is more important. Low socioeconomic households do not offer a good learning environment for their children [53]. As answered by the parents, most of these families live with a large number of members. The large number of mouths to feed implies less or no money left to pay for the child’s education. Even if the child goes to school, he will not have a learning-friendly environment at home. Only children from families with low socioeconomic levels or those with low kindergarten reading skills showed differences in their reading abilities between the two courses. The results imply that economically or academically vulnerable students may gain more from high behavioral involvement than their peers [54]. The results of this research showed that the schools in these areas lacked proper facilities. Due to this, more girls dropped out of school when they started getting on their menstrual cycles. This shatters the dreams of many girls to date.According to the study, families with better economic circumstances are more likely to support their children’s education because parents in families with higher socioeconomic positions are more supportive of their children’s education. Additionally, pupils benefit from emotional support and increased mental fortitude, which lowers the risk of school dropout. As families lack the finances to allow their children to continue with their studies, they push them into the labor market. It is not always the family, at times even the children want to start working and earn money to support their families or fulfill their own needs. Due to this, the child ends up involved in child labor [55].Leaving education at an early age and getting into employment affect every sphere of a child’s life. Children aged 13–14 fall into Ericson’s fifth stage of psychosocial development. This stage is called Learning Identity vs. Identity Diffusion. This is the age when a child develops his self-image in accordance with society. Children involved in employment at this time often build antisocial feelings resulting in delinquency. Consequently, children engaged in economic activities have different social development compared to children who are studying [56]. Child employment has various negative psychosocial effects. Such children are found to be more vulnerable to behavior and emotional problems [57]. The impacts may not be visible immediately and usually its estimation is also not possible but it surely results in low self-esteem, unwanted social behaviors, anxiety, difficulty in building relationships, and depression [58]. Education is not only essential for good earnings but it is also essential for proper social integration and healthy emotional growth. A lack of education does not allow these things to happen [59].When a child drops out of school and joins the labor age at an early age, it negatively impacts his future opportunities for employment. At this stage, they will work only in unskilled or semiskilled jobs where there is no growth–either in psychological terms or financial terms [60]. The monotony of the work and the psychological burden originating from premature responsibilities will cause an unwanted permanent impact on them. Working in petty jobs due to no proper education lowers the self-esteem of the children. This is the physical, verbal, and psychological abuse that they have to bear while working.According to UNICEF, these children are the victims of neglect, abuse, alienation, marginalization, and discrimination [61]. While working, children miss school, come into bad company, and affected their education. Restricted interaction with others, working for long hours, responsibilities, and no social support from families negatively impact the development of the children. The child does not get any sort of protection when he submits himself to the employer as he is under pressure to earn due to his low socioeconomic background. When no emotional and intellectual stimuli are given to the children, the most natural outcome is psychological injury. Hungry, anxious, or exhausted children would not get good growth compared to children nurtured with play and leisure [62].This research showed growing up in low socioeconomic background can have a huge impact on children’s educational achievements [19, 20]. They are at a disadvantage position when they start their schooling in comparison to their peers. Over the years, this gap keeps on widening. This goes on throughout their life. Filling this gap needs attention from families, teachers, policymakers, and other concerned authorities [63]. Income is an important aspect of attaining educational achievements but that is not the only driving force. The socioeconomic background is a multifaceted construct. Apart from income, other factors that hampered children’s educational achievements are poorer physical and mental health of the parents, less or no attachment between the child and the parents, household chaos, harsh discipline, etc.


## 7. Conclusion and Recommendations

The socioeconomic background of a child is an essential aspect that impacts his educational background. Children of this background are usually seen in semiskilled or unskilled jobs. Parents hardly take part in educational activities. Parental education is a crucial factor in attaining good performance in academics. Poorly educated or uneducated parents are unable to offer support for their child’s education. Some of the recommendations to concerned stakeholders and authorities to address the issues identified in this research are as follows:(1)
Government should provide free primary and secondary education(2)
Schools need to have adequate facilities(3)
Schools and also the concerned authorities should emphasize vocational and technical education. It should be provided free-of-cost in order to give them better employment opportunities in the future(4)
Involving parents is essential for the educational achievements of the children. Schools need to try to increase parental involvement in the school as well as the school’s educational activities. Parent–teacher meetings on a regular basis, school, and parent interactions, parents’ participation in school activities, awareness and education for the parents, and door visit programs need to be implemented effectively(5)
As the parents are not aware and educated, they hesitate to talk to the teachers. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the teachers to create a parent-friendly environment(6)
Extra classes should be held for such children(7)
Schools should explain to the children and their parents how entering employment at an early age will negatively affect children’s psychology, behavior, and personality for the rest of their lives(8)
Children should be aware of their rights and the different policies the government has formulated for them(9)
Community mental health providers must approach such children themselves(10)
Proper implementation of child labor lawsThe study is applicable to rural locations and regions with low socioeconomic family levels. The study will help identify society’s weak points so that better solutions may be implemented. The use of random sampling was the main problem in this study, and few online data were also collected. Future studies may compare the attitudes toward education of individuals in different age groups or income levels, or they may utilize an appropriate sampling technique with age and social status clearly indicated.In summary, it was seen that the educational achievements of children are determined by the socioeconomic background of their parents. The reasons why parents do not want their children to go for higher education are poverty and widespread unemployment among educated youth and it is high time that the concerned authority and the families take care of their kids to give them a better future.



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*Source: 6565088-2023-01-03.xml*