April 2…Deficit Models and Education
Are you familiar with the term “deficit thinking” (a.k.a. “deficit model or deficit “ideology”)? If not, look up a quick definition. Have you seen evidence of deficit thinking in schools/society? Give an example if you can. If not, ask a question or comment on other folks’ comments.
I was not familiar with the term so I needed to do a little research. I found that "Deficit thinking refers to the notion that students (particularly low income, minority students) fail in school because such students and their families experience deficiencies that obstruct the learning process." I have seen evidence of deficit thinking in schools, and I have even heard some classmates talk about their experiences with it this semester. While I was researching this topic, I found an example I thought was very good. One author talked about culture in her school. She had a fellow teacher that complained about teaching immigrant students; she said, “I can’t teach my Somali students, especially the boys. Everything I teach them gets untaught when they go home. Their culture teaches them not to respect women, so I can’t control them in the classroom.” She was teaching in a kindergarten classroom. I think this is a good example of cultural deficit thinking and how assuming the worst in our students and their cultures can have a grave effect on their learning.
ReplyDeleteSources:
https://cehdvision2020.umn.edu/blog/improve-education-immigrant-students-ending-deficit-thinking/
Brittney:
ReplyDelete'Deficit thinking ' applies to the idea that students (especially those of low income, racial /ethnic minority background) suffer in school because these students and their families have internal weaknesses (deficits) that thwart the learning cycle (e.g., restricted, unmotivated education; insufficient care for the family). Deficit reasoning, an evolutionary philosophy, ' blames the individual ' rather than questioning how the classrooms are designed to discourage learning from other students. In the past I have experienced deficit thinking in my own life. Growing up in a middle-class income family that was half foreign I had difficulties in school despite my ethnical background. I was put into ESL due to my mom being filipino… I grew up in the United States with a white father and knew perfect English. Therefore there was no need to put me in the ESL program. I was surrounded by a diversity of different ethnic backgrounds who lacked english and many of them struggled in poverty. Being in such a program I feel held me back from what I was capable of… I felt I could have been I guess a lot smarter than I am now. This impact at such a young age has impacted my entire life/education.
Sources:
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1997-05061-000
I was not familiar with the term "deficit thinking." According to an Oxford Reference page, deficit model thinking is a perspective which attributes failures such as lack of achievement, learning, or success in gaining employment to a personal lack of effort or deficiency in the individual, rather than to failures or limitations of the education and training system or to prevalent socio‐economic trends. I have definitely seen examples of deficit thinking in schools and our society. The ESL program does it a lot. I am Hispanic and my first language is Spanish but I have an older brother that talked English at home when he learned it in school so I had been exposed to it prior to starting Kindergarten. Regardless of me actually needing the extra help, I was enrolled in ESL automatically. I was put in the program during 3 whole school years and even had to do summer classes. I was finally taken out when one day in 3rd grade, my whole class was taking the Math SOL test and I was supposed to take it as well with my ESL teacher and group but the teacher had an inconvenience and wasn't there that day. I insisted in taking it like the rest of my class instead of wasting the day doing nothing in another classroom. At the end, I took it and when the scores came back I had gotten a perfect 600. The teachers were surprised because of all the word problems that I should have had trouble with but I understood everything perfectly and did not really understand why I was getting extra help with everything.
ReplyDeleteI feel I have definitely seen some of this in schools especially. We have “low income” schools and that is quickly broken down into 50% or more of students of color. These schools tend to have lower test scores and as well as just a bunch of inadequacies. This is something that really gets under my skin because I did service learning at my old university at a low income school that was in an area very greatly affected by a previous hurricane. I’m not sure how these whole generalizations are supposed to be proven wrong when the schools barely have resources to help students learn besides a teacher and a piece of chalk. When these test scores are being related to predominantly white schools or schools in richer areas no one is ever really fighting for the lack of supplies these other places have. It’s very easy to say well they “forget it all when they get home” because no one is there to help them or reiterate information for them. These parents are fighting to keep roofs over their head and food in their mouth. If everyone was put on a level playing field and knew they were coming home to a meal, a clean place to live and got to go to school everyday with the same resources these “gaps” would close by a landslide. Teachers in these areas could do better; as I have first hand seen teachers in these positions because “after three years it relieves student loans.” So that leaves these students in low income areas with nothing. Not even teachers that want to be there for them.
ReplyDeleteYou know as I was trying to figure out what to post on this blog, I really couldn’t get the words out. After reading yours, I could agree with what you posted. I feel like Society has always found a way to separate individuals even if it is unintentional. To me “deficit thinking”, falls within that category. Deficit thinking is just another ideology to keep people of different classes separated. For example, there are still those who think that because I’m an African American man I won’t succeed because of where I come from. For some odd reason they think I am still going to fail, or I will not succeed. Now if we look in are school system, I believe our students are faced with the same setback. To add on to the trauma that students of minority are already going through, they are face with those in the school system that are saying sublimely “you’re going to fail.” This could simply be not wanting to spend the extra time on a student that come from a lower income level. But taking that extra time on some you know will succeed because of where they come from. So, I do think this idea exists and we must be aware of our own bias so we can educate with the single idea that everybody can learn. Regardless of were they come from.
DeleteDeficit thinking is based upon the idea that lower income families do not do as well in school/intelligence as their wealthy peers. That being said, I do believe that wealthy children have many upper hands, though lower income children still have the same potential. The lower income kids have to work much harder to even be on the same playing field, even though this is not right, we struggle to fix the problem. Lower income students usually do not have access to tutoring, parental engagement, or sometimes even a meal, they may work after school and have no time to study for their tests. Wealthy children usually only have school to worry about, maybe engaging in extracurriculars too which boosts brain productivity. Low income families do not have the privilege that their wealthy peers do, and this makes the gap wider with each cycle. Funding goes into the schools that get more accreditation and higher test scores who also have access to qualified educators while the underfunded schools do not receive as much care. Deficit thinking exists because we allow the cycle to continue.
ReplyDeleteGaren: I had never heard that term before so after a little searching its basically just saying that students of low income and/or minority groups tend to "fail" in school due to family and problems that obstruct the learning process. though i agree many students in fact struggle when they are from low income i do NOT think that the word "fail" should have been used to describe it because just because they struggle and/or dont enjoy the school experience doesn't mean they are failing. fail is such a strong word and it beats people down and causes them to be even more unmotivated so i wish they had used the word struggle rather than fail. But i do agree that low income students do struggle with school alot more due to not being able to get the help they need because the families cant afford it if they fall behind but also causes them to think since they dont have the money they wont be able to go to college anyway so there is no point. Though these obstacles can cause a student to work harder, there was a kid at my high school whose family was struggling with payments but we had this award ceremony for him because hes the first family member to graduate high school, got full ride and housing to the college he wanted to and had a 4.3 GPA he was an incredible student and it was because he knew he had to work harder but overall with many families the students give up on trying to succeed due to everything going against them. i believe schools should be able to supply what the students need to succeed so free books, technology and tutoring so they arent as stressed about falling back.
ReplyDeleteI was also not familiar with the term “deficit thinking”. After looking through several explanations, I believe I found a comprehensive definition: “deficit thinking holds students from historically oppressed populations [or from under-resourced families] responsible for the challenges and obstacles that they face [in school]”. I don’t think I have personally experienced a teacher’s deficit thinking, but I know of a teacher whose deficit thinking affected her students. I had suspected my physics teacher, Ms. Lowe, in high school of being partial to and biased towards certain students based on their academic standing or college aspirations. My friend who had Ms. Lowe the year before me told me of when she had been caught cheating on a test and was given special treatment by Ms. Lowe because of her high academic standing and known Ivy league ambitions. Ms. Lowe had her stay after class and told her that she would not penalize her for cheating nor invalidate that test because she was aware that my friend aspired to go to an Ivy league school. When I had Ms. Lowe as my teacher, I observed her over the course of that school year and continuously noticed her preferential treatment of students that she believed to be above average intelligence or academically advantaged. I think that my example might help shed light on the other side of deficit thinking that inevitably leads to preferential treatment of students who come from well-resourced families.
ReplyDeleteSource:
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/idx/c/currents/17387731.0001.110/--what-is-deficit-thinking-an-analysis-of-conceptualizations?rgn=main;view=fulltext
Deficit thinking basically means that you think that minority/low-income students are not as able to do well in school because their family experiences block their learning. I personally haven’t seen evidence of it in real time but I know that certain low-income students automatically get put in the “struggling/needs extra help” group at school even though they are just as capable as other students but they aren’t given the same chance to prove themselves as the other students get before they get put in that group. I think there are a lot of teachers don’t purposefully do “deficit thinking” but I also think there are teachers who do and that has to change.
ReplyDeleteNour:
ReplyDeleteI was not familiar with the term “deficit thinking” so I had to search it. I found this definition “Deficit thinking refers to the notion that students (particularly those of low income, racial/ethnic minority background) fail in school because such students and their families have internal defects (deficits) that thwart the learning process (for example, limited educability, unmotivated; inadequate family support). Deficit thinking, an endogenous theory, 'blames the victim' rather than examining how the schools are structured to prevent certain students from learning.” I feel like the term deficit ideology focuses on the students’ limitation rather than their strengths. Even though English is not my first language, I have not experienced deficit thinking. I believe that all students can learn and succeed in the general classroom regardless of their cultural backgrounds, languages, and socioeconomic statues. Diversity added to the general classroom and improves the learning environment. My question is: As future teachers, how do you think we can stop deficit thinking?
source:
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1997-05061-000
Rebecca Mendoza Vasquez
ReplyDeleteI believe deficit thinking is prevalent in schools/society. I have experienced it personally and many of my friends have as well. Because of this, most of my friends dropped out of high school. I think as teachers it's important to try to look out for these students and intervene at a young age. I was placed in a college preparatory program in middle school which basically helped me believe that I am more than capable of learning and going to college.
Deficit thinking in education refers to the ideology that teachers often fall into, that ends up stereotyping and failing students, especially students who fall into categories of lower SES, and/or minority backgrounds. Students of these backgrounds should not end up being defined by them, and in the classroom should be provided equal opportunity as the other students. Evidence of this (I think) would overlap with the idea we talked about of tracking students. Both of these (deficit thinking and tracking) lead to heavy stereotyping of students, and when we do this at elementary level education, educators and administrators end up putting a child with potential down, due to deficit thinking.
ReplyDeleteI was not familiar with "Deficit thinking" so I turned to google and looked it up. "Deficit thinking" refers to the notion that students who particularly comes from low income, racial/ethnic minority background, fail in school because such students and their families have internal defects that interferes with the learning process. I feel as if you can't blame a child upbringing or background for a child failing in school. Schools should be able to provide for those who are in need of things that might help them to do better in school. I do think that children that come from wealth are less prone from failing. Being able to afford tutors or having parents that are willing to help you with homework could be a advantages. I also believe that there are other better explanations of why students do fail. I seen this kind of thing where people around me would eventually graduate from high school but don't go to college because of low income.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1997-05061-000
I definitely believe deficit thinking is prevalent in today's education system, especially in the Richmond City/Henrico County area. I think a great example of this is the current situation in some schools in the Richmond area. In Henrico County and in several other affluent districts in the area, students are continuing their learning and assignments even while at home. It is expected that the students have access to wifi, technological devices, etc. However, in some districts, such as that of the teacher interviewed, although there are devices available for students to borrow, the students are not provided this opportunity. This may be because the administrators do not trust the students, don't expect them to actively participate in online learning...I honestly can't think of any reason as to why the schools would not provide the students the necessary equipment to be successful in schooling. Yet, because of this, eventually, these students will fall even further behind relative to their neighboring counties because unlike those students, these students are not learning the necessary material. Then, ultimately, these students will be blamed for their lack of knowledge when really it was the fault of those in charge for not doing everything possible to ensure the success of the students.
ReplyDeleteThere is a quote that if you work hard, you can achieve or become anything, but it's not that simple. Some people have more opportunities, are in a better financial state to take risks, or have different personal things going on whether that be anxiety, PTSD, or things going on in their family that consume a lot of their energy. What ever it is, some people have to work significantly harder than others to get to where they want to be and I think that is where deficit thinking comes in. Deficit thinking plays more into the thought that not everyone has an equal playing field due to stereo types, disability, finances, etc. Down in Florida where my aunt teaches, there is a large community of students who have parents in jail, live with their grandparents, live in this apartment housing which serves as a buffer home for families that can't afford housing at the moment, or so many other things. You can tell who those kids are because they fall asleep at their desk from being so tired of bouncing around to different houses while their parents are at work or they ask for more time to do homework because they really just don't have help at home. It's hard to provide enough support to each of those students as a teacher when you have a class of 28 kids. My aunt had 9 students with IEPs in her class and the school wasn't providing enough resources to help them learn, so many of them were at a kg reading level in fifth grade, and my aunt didn't have enough hours to give them one-on-one to help them as much as she waned to. They would sit at their desks and sound out words like running or Florida during independent reading. It is hard to deny that some students needs are supported better than others, even if the teacher is great and doing her best to support all her students. The system itself is flawed and isn't capable of supporting its students in all the ways they need which means that the deficit model is something that takes place in schools.
ReplyDelete"Deficit thinking refers to the notion that students (particularly low income, minority students) fail in school because such students and their families experience deficiencies that obstruct the learning process." I have heard that line of reasoning before but it fails to take into account the lack of equitable access to resources in these schools including everything from crumbling, dilapidated buildings [which says you don’t have value] to less experienced teachers and a deficit of learning materials - laptops, science labs, advanced course offerings…Couple that with the struggles many families are having just to get the kids to school every day. They may experience food insecurity and perhaps even homelessness but this has nothing to do with the innate intellectual ability of the kids when they are on a level playing field. The potential has always been there, it is the resources and enrichment that are lacking.
ReplyDeleteI wasn’t familiar with the term given so I did some research. A quick Google search led me to the understanding that deficit thinking is the belief that low-income and/or minority students do not perform at their fullest potential due to obstacles put in their way. This is definitely happening in public schools. Lower-income students aren’t given the opportunities that their peers with more money have and that is evident in the testing performance. Many schools that have students who have more money offer free SAT/ACT prep sessions or they offer more AP classes. This is done because school officials feel as though more low-income students are not going to college therefore, these services do not need to be offered to them. I have seen this happen first hand and it’s a terrible way to see students because every student, regardless of how much money their family has, has the potential to succeed.
ReplyDeleteMadison Williams
ReplyDeleteAfter educating myself on deficit thinking, I can see how it affects some students and I can even think of times in my life where it may have impacted my former classmates. Some deficiencies that low income students may experience include sleep, food, homework help, and adequate attention. These are all things that every person needs, and by being a child without these things, education will become more of a want than a need.
Madison Nail
ReplyDeleteI googled the meaning of deficit thinking, it is how lower income students and families particularly fall behind because of their experience deficiencies that obstruct learning. I read the chapter by Gorski, before that i never thought much about the dynamics of my high school classes. my AP classes tended to be with other students that are well off or wealthier than me, where as remedial classes tended to be low income, minority students. Students in low income do not lack the ability to do as well and be as successful as wealthier students, they just do not have the same resources and opportunities.
Erin Felix
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of the term "deficit thinking". The definition I found says that deficit thinking refers to the thought that students, particularly minorities and low income backgrounds, do poorly in school because they and their families have internal deficits, like no motivation or support. I would say we can see this through victim-blaming rather than blaming the school or policies that may be causing or not helping the issues. Society tends to blame these students for failing when they have no control of the situation and may have other issues going on instead of giving them the support they need to be successful.
Ji-eun Hwang
ReplyDeleteI was not that familiar with deficit thinking but it was brought up in a few of my education classes. I looked up the definition and I see it happen in schools. I went to an elementary school where majority of the students came from low income families and some of them did struggle due to their background. The students have the potential to do well but sometimes there were some obstacles holding them back. I feel like if everyone is able to get the same amount of resources and opportunity then it may be fair in the education system.
Deficit thinking is the assumption that minority/low-income students will perform poorly in school because their family experience blocks their learning. I do not think this is a good way to think, because just because of someone’s lifestyle or things they can not control should not dictate our perspective on them. In my high school this happened often. Students that were of lower financial status were automatically placed in lower level classes and it was sad because not all of those students deserved to be there. I think every student deserves to be given the opportunity at better opportunities or opportunities that fit best. I also see this in the classroom as well, teachers will assume just because a student looks, speaks, or presents themselves in a certain way, they are at a certain level and that is wrong and I believe there needs to be changed.
ReplyDeleteI was not familiar with the term "deficit thinking". After doing some research, I found out that deficit thinking is the belief that students with families of low income tend to fail because of their limited resources and inadequate home socialization. If every student had the same recourses at home, they would have the same opportunities to succeed. Students shouldn't be placed in lower level classes because of their financial situation. There are students that are capable of doing more but are being held back because teachers assume they will fail.
ReplyDeleteCourtney Hedrick-Choi
From what I found on Deficit Thinking, it appears to be way of thinking that excuses the education system from acknowledging the blatant racism that occurs within its walls. essentially, deficit thinking is the idea that low-income or minority students tend to preform worse in schools due to lack of access to resources and low-socialization from parents that simply do not care about school. I believe the stronget example of deficit thinking is evident in the chapter we read on tracking. Simply, the schools in Manhattan did not care that their Latino population would often fail or score low on tests, and that fact was only changed when someone went in and removed the inherently racist tracking policies from the school. If those students educational careers had been allowed to continue uninterrupted, I believe the administration simply would not have cared that the minority often preformed poorly, because of deficit thinking.
ReplyDeleteI was not familiar with the term deficit thinking prior to this assignment so I had to do some googling to find out. I learned that deficit thinking is the idea that there is a link between children who come from low-income households and low performances in academic testing. The belief coincides with the idea that because these children are coming from low income households, they lack the basic resources needed to be successful in school such as pencils, notebooks, extra tutoring, clothes etc. Often times, there are other reasons including lack of basic human resources such as water, food and housing causing second hand stress on the child. I have definitely witnessed this in play in my educational experience. In high school, I vividly remember a classmate mentioning how she was not surprised that another classmate did poorly on his exam. She said that she knew he came from the "hood" and probably didn't even bother studying for it. Her reasoning was so illogical because he actually lived in a nice neighborhood and she just based that accusation off of his appearence. I remember being so angry and disgusted that she was judging his academic capability off of such materialistic and external reasons. I agree that lacking those factors can pose as a threat to a child's academic performance but it doesn't happen in all cases. Children are resilient and more often than not we hear about success stories of first generation college kids, doctors who grew up in trailer parks and even our own first African American president coming from a poor household. Educators are meant to help guide a child through their education, not hinder it by acting on stigmas and judgement.
ReplyDelete