Improving Outcomes For Children

Improving Outcomes For Children

Introduction

There are many factors of work, which may influence the result or this study: Different types of work may effect a students academic achievement due to whether the job is demanding or not and if it is, to what extent. The class of the student may effect their academic performance, as depending on their class they may feel more need to work or need or have to work long hours to help support their family. The amount of work a student does may also affect achievement as they may work long hours, which may affect their work differently to shorter hours. A person's sex may also affect their achievement in college, as a certain sex may be more organised and though they both might work, one may organise their time better as to when they do their out of class work. Age may play a role as certain students may have more experience than others, which may result in them knowing how to handle their time better. Whether or not students have received careers advice may also affect the result, as ones that have may act in a certain way to those that haven't. It may be a factor that certain ethnic groups may tent to work more or less than others, thus again affecting college work. The lifestyle of a student may also play a part in the result as students may be working to support a social life where they worked to buy tickets for clubs for example or to buy music, make-up, etc. these are all personal needs that are not necessarily necessary.

“Social justice implies a comparison” (Gale & Densmore, 2000:11) that is made between individuals and/or groups to evaluate and achieve justice in “social institutions like schools” (EDCX348 Unit Handbook, 2006:29). This paper is concerned with how the interrelationship between academic success and the bootstraps metaphor relate to social justice in education. The discussion and definitions presented focus on the notion of academic success and its place in the retributive model of social justice (Gale and Densmore, 2000), followed by a critique of the model's effectiveness in addressing the inequalities (on academic performance) arising from social class and poverty.

The Notion of Academic SuccessThe expression 'to pull yourself up by your bootstraps' originated from a legendary tale in the sixteenth-century (Wikipedia, 2006 online) and is still used today. Its generic meaning, to “improve your situation by your own efforts” (Martin, 1996, online), can be taken to a further extreme whereby improvement is achieved “only on your own” (Shetter, 2006, online, author's emphasis). Regardless of an individual's circumstances, he or she can succeed through dedicated hard work and effort. Open to interpretation, the expression can be applied in religious, moral, ethical, financial and educational contexts. Before defining bootstraps in the educational context, the ambiguous notion of academic success needs to be clarified.

What determines the point of 'success'? An average score for one student may be brilliant, yet for another a ...