1. SES has been implicated in many childhood outcomes and was discussed throughout the course.

Compare and contrast 3 models for explaining the relationship between SES and school achievement.

Socioeconomic status (SES) plays a significant, albeit indirect role in school achievement. Research studies indicate that childrens academic outcomes are mediated by a number of different variables that implicate socioeconomic status (SES). Specifically, three models for explaining the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and school achievement will be reviewed: Economic Investment Theory, Risk Factors, and Resiliency Factors.

Economic Investment Theory Economic Investment Theory dictates that children are predisposed to academic success or failure based on parental attributes. Relevant parental attributes include biological attributes, and cultural influences determined by their parents norms and values; level of income and wealth; and, access to other resources. Moreover, parental level of education, specifically, is closely related to childrens literacy development. Studies have shown that literacy development is tied to academic achievement and other childhood outcomes, including psychosocial and mental health outcomes, respectively. Learning is closely related to literacy rates. It follows then that as parental level of education increases, child literacy rates increase also, and therefore childhood learning increases. Literacy is related

to higher earnings and tax revenue, reduced crime rates, reduced unemployment and dependence on social welfare, and lower health care costs.

As levels of parental education increase, parental engagement in academic tasks and related activities is more likely to increase. Parents with lower literacy levels are less likely to read to their children; are less attentive to homework and other academic assignments; speak in less sophisticated ways to their children; and are less aware of their childrens academic performance in general. This results in decreased quality and quantity of positive childhood outcomes as it relates to academic achievement. Specifically, children with less parental involvement are more likely to experience fewer learning experiences; engage in reduced levels of recreational reading; and experience higher incidents of academic failure.

Statistically speaking, children whose parents have advanced levels of education have a head start toward academic success and positive outcomes compared to those children whose parents have not attained advanced levels of education.

Risk Factors Research has identified individual risk factors that are associated with reduced school achievement outcomes. Most prevalent among these risk factors is the issue of family poverty. Close to 20% of the children in Canada live at or below the poverty line. According the Sesma (2003), child development outcomes are mediated by a number of variables related to socioeconomic status (SES). Included among these are: nutrition and health; home environment issues; parent-child interactions; and neighbourhood conditions.

Children from low-income or poor families are statistically more likely to have negative physical health outcomes including low birth weight, prematurity, growth stunting, and lead poisoning. Further to this, familial poverty is correlated to lower IQ scores, and increased rates of learning and developmental disabilities, respectively. This can at least be partially explained by socioeconomic factors related to reduced access to high nutrient foods, which tend to be more expensive than foods of lower nutrient value.

Poor children tend to be more likely to repeat grades and have a higher dropout rate than their more affluent counterparts. Furthermore, poorer children, and boys in particular, are more likely to experience externalizing behaviours problems such as aggression, while girls are more likely to experience internalizing behaviour problems, such as increased anxiety levels and depression. Lastly, children from poor families are much more likely to engage in high-risk behaviours such as sexual promiscuity, resulting in increased rates of teen pregnancies; delinquency; and substance abuse. According to available data, there are five major familial risk factors that account for nearly 20% of risk effects. These are closely related to low socioeconomic status (SES), and include: low maternal education, teenage motherhood, low family income, single parenthood families, and low paternal occupation status. There is also an increased rate of maternal depression associated with family poverty. These mothers tend to be less responsive to their children, and are more likely to have children with behaviour problems in childhood and adulthood as well.

Resiliency factors Resilience refers to an individuals ability to recover from or adapt to the presentation of stressful stimuli. There are a number of factors associated with childhood resilience. Some of these factors are mediated by extrinsic variables, such as family and/or community supports, while other factors are closely related to intrinsic or individual variables. According to Human Resources and Social Development Canada, childrens development is more likely to flourish if families have access to educational, cultural and recreational resources. Specifically, ten indicators of family and community success are identified: positive parenting; parental engagement; family functioning; maternal mental health; social support; social capital; neighbourhood quality; neighbourhood safety; use of resources; and residential stability. Specifically, extrinsic assets related to resilience include available supports within the family, including quality of relationships between family members, level of parental involvement in schooling; and quality of relationships with neighbors, teachers and peers.

Children are empowered, and therefore more resilient when they feel valued and appreciated within their community and when they are actively involved in decisionmaking within the home and community. A child is more likely to feel empowered, and therefore more likely to be resilient when he/she is made to feel safe within the home, school and neighbourhood, has clear boundaries and expectations across all environments, and has positive social influences within the aforementioned environments.

Finally, individual internal factors can predict childhood resilience. Academic achievement is positively linked to an individuals commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity. A child who shows a genuine commitment to learning, who is highly motivated to achieve, academically engaged, and invested in academic outcomes is more likely to have academic success, despite socioeconomic status (SES). Furthermore, parents who impart positive values related to equality and social justice, honest and integrity, responsibility, and healthy lifestyle are more likely to achieve than those children who do not have these values and goals. Lastly, childrens academic and developmental outcomes are correlated with social competencies and positive identity factors.

Pat Veleno

2. What role can a School Psychologist take in facilitating communication among family members?

The definition of the term family has gradually evolved to incorporate many varied versions of interpersonal unions. Statistics Canada (2002a) defines family as a couple, of any sexual combination, with or without children, married or cohabitating as well as a lone parent of any marital status, with at least one child living within the same dwelling. Ambert (2006) argues that the family is a social group, an institution, and an intergenerational group of individuals related to each other by blood, adoption, or marriage/cohabitation. The family constitution has gradually changed to include traditional nuclear families, extended families and other voluntary unions between people. It has become much more inclusive. Most relevant amongst this, however, is the recognition that the family dynamic is based upon the process of interpersonal socialization. Family members play an active role in the dynamic process of familial development. Family incorporates a system of interaction, where there is a system of multidirectional influence between members. Communication, therefore, has emerged to play a vital role in family development, and consequently, familial communication patterns have a large impact on the relationships within the family system.

Each family innately develops a unique code of communication between members. This is based upon both the individual and collective experiences of the family members, and subsequently contributes to the interpretation of familial experience. The process of expression is both verbal and nonverbal, encompassing a multitude of modes of

communication, including: verbal content, manner of speaking, i.e., pitch, cadence, rate of speech; gestures; routines and rituals; foods; and behaviours. The process of communication between family members is dynamic it changes and evolves over time, however. It can be symbolic. This means that there are intended (and sometimes unintended) meanings associated with familial behaviours. For example, some families will celebrate important events by eating particular foods, or with specific members of the extended family. Therefore the recurring practice of these events symbolizes the recognition and confirmation of a significant achievement, as long as their meanings are universally understood and accepted among family members. This is an example of transactional communication. It is a process of creating and sharing meaning and affecting relationships within the family.

Individuals within the family perceive and interpret messages based upon their own previous experiences. This impacts upon the process of filtering the message. Filters can be physical, social or personal/individual. Essentially, these filters are manifestations of personal biases acquired via life experiences, and help shape perceptions of day-to-day experiences. Message contents are interpreted, i.e., meanings of the spoken/written words; and are perceived at the relationship level, i.e., including nonverbal messages.

Finally, families are impacted by meta-communication. Meta-communication refers an awareness of communication style, content and intended messages. This is important to consider insofar as families with communication difficulties can converse about meta-

communication as a means of identifying problems and generating solutions to communication problems.

Communication plays an important role within family functioning. The levels of cohesion and adaptability within the system impact family functioning. There can be great discrepancy between families levels of cohesion and adaptiveness. Cohesion refers to the feeling of belonging and togetherness within the family, and this variable can range of a continuum. Family members can be disengaged, or completely enmeshed, or can fall somewhere in between. Furthermore, the degree of autonomy can vary within the family system, and this too is related to family cohesion. Again, the level of cohesion between family members can change over time, as individuals enter into different life stages. Adaptability on the other hand, refers to the ability of the family structure to change its roles, structures and rules in response to changes to the family. A family that is rigid does not adapt well to the changes it incurs, while a family that is chaotic will undergo numerous changes to their ultimate detriment.

Lastly families differ with respect to their respective adherence to boundaries and identified themes. For example, families with fewer boundaries tend to have more open dialogue about various subject areas than families with stricter boundaries. This of course impacts upon the individual relationships and dynamics of the family. Further, families with identified themes are more likely to feel bonded with one another than those families who do not share quality time as a unit. These factors affect familial relationships and

communication. Families who struggle with these aforementioned components will more likely experience communication difficulties and strained relationships.

The school psychologist can play multiple roles in facilitating communication among family members. Depending upon the circumstances and needs, a school psychologist can engage in counseling duties, advocacy, consultation, psychoeducational group facilitation, evaluation, and/or assessment. However, in most cases, the school psychologist will approach the problem of familial communication with a systems approach. The school psychologist will examine the impact of the individual on the greater whole. This essentially refers to the dynamic, ever-changing process associated with familial communication.

As a counselor, the school psychologist can facilitate communication between family members by working either directly with a family member, with couples, and/or with the entire family. Typically, when a school psychologist is working with an individual directly, this means that the counseling is taking place with a student, however in taking a systems approach, a school psychologist will seek involved parents and siblings, if required, to address processes that affect the individual. By taking this approach, a school psychologist may act upon the presumption that the interplay within the group dynamics affects the individual, and vice versa. As such, in order to address the problems of the individual, the workings of the family unit must be explored. Very often this may require the psychologist to address communication problems such as communication styles, parenting styles, levels of bonding, perceptions and so forth. In this role the school

psychologist mediates family problems resulting from communication breakdowns that particularly impact upon one individual, i.e., the student, and can manifest in behavioural or socio-emotional difficulties, but originates and is often a function of greater problems within the family unit.

A school psychologist may also help facilitate communication between families by leading psychoeducational groups in which family members attend, that are related to communication topics, including problem-solving groups, dispute mediation, developing effective communication styles, parenting styles, etc.

Finally, a school psychologist may be required to assess familial functioning to determine whether further interventions are required, and may be asked to evaluate communication interventions associated with familial deficits or problem areas. To a lesser extent a school psychologist may be asked to take on an advocacy or consultant role as it pertains to familial communication issues by seeking to acquire further services that would benefit the family, making referrals, acting as a liaison, and/or being involved for feedback on an as required basis, as it relates to communication systems, boundaries, understanding biases that affect communication, etc.

Pat Veleno

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