14th February 2020 15:03
By Blue Tutors
Recent studies have shown that students from disadvantaged backgrounds progress less at school than their counterparts between the ages of 11 and 16. Improving access and aspiration in education is a huge issue at the moment, but why is it that these 5 school years create such a divide?
Secondary school tends to be when students begin to take control of their own studies. School isn’t necessarily as “fun” anymore, and homework feels like a chore, yet there is far more onus on students to plan their time outside of school to ensure they get everything done. Maybe these study skills can explain why some students perform better than others.
Obviously measuring disadvantage is a difficult thing, but in general there is a different attitude towards education in families which are likely to be part of the government’s definition of disadvantaged. This cultural difference can mean that parents don’t believe that education can give their children a better life, but it certainly means that those parents don’t have much experience of what their children need to do and the skills they need to have to be successful at school.
Parents who motivate their children to value education from a very early age begin to see the benefits at age 11 when students begin to take control of their own studies. Of course it’s understandable why a student wouldn’t do that if he/she doesn’t share that value. Over the course of 5 years, without the motivation to study, and without someone at home helping to develop study skills, it’s no mystery why a student can fall behind.
Some parents contact us at a time when they realise that their son or daughter is not going to do well in their GCSEs, and in that situation a tutor can really help to push student’s grade up. However, the tutor can’t develop the study skills found in another student who has been motivated by their parents for the last 16 years.
None of this is the fault of parents from disadvantaged backgrounds. The cultural groundwork was laid years ago and creates a barrier which is difficult to break through. It is really important that we begin to intervene at an early age and create better students from their first year of primary school; teaching the value of learning and the best way to learn so that when they’re in charge of their own destiny, they want to study.