[Edling] US: The Middle Class (Thinks It) Knows Best: Daring to Intervene in Disadvantaged Households

[Francis Hult]

Huffington Post



The Middle Class (Thinks It) Knows Best: Daring to Intervene in Disadvantaged Households



In a recent New Yorker article, Margaret Talbot discusses Providence Talks, a project designed to address the so-called "language gap" that, according to 30-year-old research claims, is directly related to an "achievement gap" at school. Generalizing from data about language use in only six African American families on "welfare," researchers estimated that by the time disadvantaged children enter school, they will have heard 30 million fewer words than the children of professionals. This research reveals several methodological problems: too few children and families were studied, the link between the number of words and school achievement is only suggestive and many other aspects of children's lives that might account for school failure were left unexamined.



Full story:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/american-anthropological-association/the-middle-class-thinks-i_b_6653932.html
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