Equipping future classroom teachers to understand the situation of low socio-economic status learners

Socialno-ekonomski status močno zaznamuje naša življenja, še posebej življenja otrok. Nizek SES pusti trajne posledice, ki so lahko za otroka tudi tragične. Pri nastanku vplivov SES na razvoj otrok je pomembna tudi šola, predvsem učitelji. V magistrski nalogi sem se tako osredotočila na posledice SES na otroka, ki prihaja iz družine z nižjim SES, in na razumevanje njegovega delovanja znotraj razreda. V teoretičnem delu sem predstavila pojma SES in revščina. Opredelila sem posledice, ki se odražajo pri razvoju otroka iz manj spodbudnega okolja, in se dotaknila tudi strategij in metod, ki jih lahko učitelj izvaja v razredu in na ta način stremi k zmanjševanju razlik med učenci iz družin z nižjim SES in učenci iz družin z višjim SES. V teoretičnem delu pišem tudi o pravičnosti in meritokraciji ter o šoli kot reprodukciji neenakosti. V empiričnem delu sem na vzorcu 89 študentov in študentk Pedagoške fakultete v Ljubljani raziskovala, kakšno je poznavanje revščine pri bodočih učiteljicah in učiteljih, ali poznajo posledice SES in kako kompetentne se za poučevanje otrok iz manj spodbudnega okolja čutijo sami. Zanimalo me je tudi, v kolikšni meri se z omenjenimi vsebinami študentje in študentke srečujejo v času študija in ali bi si želeli več informacij in znanja na tem področju. Povprašala sem jih tudi o metodah, ki bi jih uporabljali za zmanjšanje razlik med učenci glede SES, ter o tem, kakšni so njihovi dvomi in pomisleki glede poučevanja učencev iz okolja z nižjim SES. Zanimal me je tudi odnos študentov in študentk do vplivov politike na šolstvo in do vpliva šole na reprodukcijo družbenih slojev.Socio-economic status (SES) has a huge effect on our lives and particularly on the lives of children. A low socio-economic status has life-long consequences that can have a devastating impact on children. Among the factors of development connected with SES are school and, in particular, teachers. In my Master\u27s thesis, I focus on SES consequences which affect children coming from families with a lower SES. I also focus on understanding their overall functioning in the classroom. In the theoretical part, I explain the terms ‘socio-economic status’ and ‘poverty’. I define the consequences of living in poverty for a child’s development, and I also present strategies and methods for a teacher to act and teach in the classroom with the goal of minimising the gap between a higher and a lower SES among pupils. In the theoretical part, I write about fairness and meritocracy, and about school as an environment for reproducing inequality. In the empirical part, I interviewed 89 students of the Faculty of Education, Ljubljana. I researched the knowledge of future primary school teachers about poverty. Do they know what consequences can be associated with SES? Do they feel competent to teach children from a lower socio-economic environment? I was intrerested in how much knowledge about this topic students receive at the Faculty, and whether they would like to have more related information and knowledge. I asked them about methods for minimising the gap between pupils from different socio-economic backgrounds, and what doubts and reservations they may have about teaching children from lower SES environments. At the end of my research, I asked students about their attitudes towards the impact of politics on the school system, and about the role of the school system in reproducing socio-economic classes