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Transcript

[Slide 1 - Greetings]

Hello, my name is Hugo Olvera-Leija, and my PowerPoint presentation is on the

Environmental Causes of the Achievement Gap, I will discuss about Community, Racism, and

Individual Differences.

[Slide 2 - What are the Causes]

In this presentation, I will examine three environmental, or non-school, causes of the

achievement gap: community, racism, and individual differences. In short, neighborhoods,

together with a child’s family context, can be a significant influence on development and

academic achievement. Substantial research has also confirmed that racism is one of the most

significant factors of underachievement. The topic of individual differences is covered in

controversy, with scientists arguing whether genetics and inherited intelligence have a link to

academic performance. Now, let us discuss each of these factors in detail.

[Slide 3 - Community]

It is evident that family income has a huge impact on a child's academic achievement, and

neighborhood conditions can further amplify this effect, since local communities are the closest

space for development and socialization after family (Murphy, 2010). But what are the pathways

through which neighborhoods can influence student learning? They include peers, adults, and

community institutions, from which we can extract negative influences, such as stress, limited

institutional resources, social disorganization, and damaged environment. For example,

impoverished communities with deteriorating or absent infrastructure can produce disadvantaged

and underachieving children. Similarly, in low-income neighborhoods, there may be significant

peer pressure that discourages consistent and high academic achievement. Finally, collective
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socialization through adults can create a culture that avoids the importance of school

achievement and future work ethics.

[Slide 4 - Racism and Discrimination]

Racism and discrimination are perhaps the most significant factors out of the three that I

discuss in this presentation. Various studies have concluded that the effects of historical

discrimination aggravated the underachievement of black children and placed them at a

disadvantage in terms of educational opportunities compared to white children. Race can be

considered an independent factor because it affects the academic achievement of African

Americans at every income level and social class (Murphy, 2010). The damaging legacy of racial

segregation also brings consequences to the current achievement gap between black and white

children. Segregation contributed to the impoverishment of Black communities, which, in turn,

affects the racial achievement gap today (Reardon et al., 2019). Another important element in

this discussion is the response of African Americans to racial discrimination. Racism and

prejudice created a situation where students’ outlook on schooling and academic success has

become negative and skeptical. In other words, it generates fear and a lack of self-esteem and

motivation that make Black students disengage from school (Murphy, 2010). Such an attitude is

established as part of cultural values that further deepen the racial achievement gap.

[Slide 5 - Individual Differences]

The final cause that I will discuss in this presentation is the individual differences

between white and black children. This topic is surrounded by considerable controversy: some

researchers claim that genetic differences have a partial effect on the achievement gap, while

other specialists argue that no genetic evidence has ever demonstrated that black children have

lower innate cognitive abilities and intelligence than white children. The latter group explains
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that this gap in intelligence is the result of limited opportunities, slavery, and racism rather than

genetic inferiority (Murphy, 2010). On the other hand, the position that supports the genetic

theory is upsetting because it also claims that investment in educational programs cannot close

the achievement gap and improve the academic achievement of black children from low-income

or uneducated families. A more realistic answer to this question is that differences in intellectual

abilities are the product of the environment, not innate and inherited genes that signify higher

intelligence (Murphy, 2010).

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References

Murphy, J. (2010). The educator’s handbook for understanding and closing achievement gaps.

Corwin Press.

Reardon, S. F., Weathers, E. S., Fahle, E. M., Jang, H., & Kalogrides, D. (2019). Is separate still

unequal? New evidence on school segregation and racial academic achievement gaps.

CEPA Working Paper, 19-06. http://cepa.stanford.edu/wp19-06