There was a study by McMaster’s Scott Davies highlighting the idea that children from more affluent backgrounds do not experience the same “fallback” in their reading ability during the summer months as their more affluent classmates.
Doesn’t sound like rocket science to me. In fact an similar study in the U.S. inspired Ontario’s Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat to conduct summer research here in an attempt to discover whether the same held true for our students. (!)
But, before commenting further, I would love to read the research but, at this point, I am unable to get beyond this report filed in today’s Toronto Star. So before going any further I turn to you to see if anyone has access to the study by Dr. Davies.
Help?
Why not email him and ask him for it directly?
daviesrs@MCMASTER.CA
Thamks, I ended up doing that!
No not rocket science, but you did bumped into the brick walls 20 feet tall, to prevent the snoops from reading the actual research. Big problem in Canada, and so unlike the United States when it comes to education, learning and other research relating to the education field.
It is obvious I have too much time but within 10 minutes, I found out why and to no surprise the usual re-announcements and news articles to build up to what? Could 2013, bring on expenditures in summer sessions at the local schools? Or the push for the extended school year? Or both?
“Davies, Scott and Janice Aurini. 2011. “Summer Learning Inequality in Canada.” Under review.”
The study has not been published.
Another article in early part of 2012 – “Pierre Bourdieu’s signature concept “cultural capital” has been defined in a variety of ways in educational research. This paper applies this concept to the phenomenon of summer learning. School achievement gaps stem partly from inequalities among children’s opportunities to learn outside of school, particularly during the summer, when some “entertain themselves,” while others enjoy a menu of enriching activities.”
http://www.uwindsor.ca/education/94/cultural-capital-and-summer-learning-gaps
Another one of the above link – “He will discuss the implications for theory and policy in a colloquium entitled “Cultural Capital and Summer Learning Gaps,” Monday, January 30, at 5 p.m. in room 1123, Education Building.
In partnership with Ontario’s Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Davies co-launched Canada’s first summer learning project and has collected data on thousands of Ontario children in grades 1 to 3.”
http://www.uwindsor.ca/dailynews/2012-01-27/colloquium-to-consider-ways-to-bridge-summer-setbacks-in-learning
So it did not get enough of a buzz – some more articles before the actual publishing of the study in a journal.
Stephen, you should indeed question the research. In Canada, we could do with a lot more questioning the education research.
For example in the Toronto Star article – “While continuing this summer in nearly 40 school boards across the province, pilot programs over the past two years have already shown that children of wealthy, university-educated parents tend to read about five months ahead of their poorest classmates by the end of June each year, and the gap stretches even wider in summer when children are immersed in their diverse family backgrounds without school to level the playing field.”
Education by income and social status, and it really irks me that children are seen in the abstract rather than the realities. Of course it is not rocket science, but its the language reinforcing the imagery of lower income Canadians are seen as deficits, needy, and the only solution is school.
“A child who is reading four to five months behind his richer classmates in Grade 1 can fall more than a whole year behind by Grade 3, the study showed. U.S. studies have found summer learning gaps can be early warnings for poor high school marks and even dropping out.
While children whose parents didn’t go past high school generally saw their literacy skills slip by a month (the amount of skill typically gained in a month at school), parents with bachelor’s degrees saw their children’s reading skill actually rise by a month; those with master’s degrees, PhDs and professional degrees — doctors, lawyers and so on — saw their children’s reading skill go up by two months, even though school was closed.”
Another reinforcement of class structure, that further divides on education level. Even within the higher income groups, the pipe fitter working in Alberta, earning $150,000 is see as being more needy than the professional class with their university degrees.
“It’s like French immersion, but I call it socio-economic immersion — there’s nothing like having two months with highly literate parents modeling vocabulary, exposing you to reading; it’s like having your own private tutor or being in summer school at home,” said Davies, who holds the Ontario Research Chair in Educational Achievement and At-Risk Students.”
Socio-economic immersion? When I went to school, we were taught how the other side think, and just in case one was in a social situation, that requires to used the higher forms of vocabulary that were taught to us. Although keep in mind, it was stress to set yourself as an example, without hiding who you are. It irks me, because the term socio-economic immersion has long been used in other areas such as health – to compare health to socio-economic status. The usual conclusions of studies always shows the higher social-economic status, the better able to predict future outcomes. No brains needed here either, when having the ability to purchase services/goods for your children where there is no government services being provided always trumps over lower income people who are dependent on low-cost services either being provided by the private or government sectors. Hard to keep up on reading, when the local library has made cuts to services , the number of hours, or the city decided to close the branch.
” Principal Christine Parr said the free program gave struggling readers nearly an hour of small-group reading help every morning, as well as field trips to a beach and ice cream parlor, activities they might not have had the chance to enjoy with their families.
“Background knowledge is what helps us understand stories we read, but if your background knowledge is different than what comes up on Ontario tests or curriculum, you won’t understand,” Parr noted.”
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/education/article/1231204–summer-widens-rich-poor-learning-gap
What can I say for the last Star quote – Plenty, but the question that arises – what are the schools doing throughout the school year to improve reading for all children?