The Study

Assistant Professor Nell Duke investigates in this study whether there are differences in print environments and experiences offered to children in 20 first grade classrooms chosen from very low- and very high-SES (socioeconomic status) districts. Duke visited each classroom for four days over the course of a school year, and she recorded information about the classroom library, classroom environmental print (any texts on classroom walls or other surfaces directed at students), and any activity during the day that involved print in any way.

Findings

Duke found that there are substantial differences between the low- and high-SES classrooms in all major areas examined, including the amount, type, and uses of print. In general, a child in low-SES first grade classroom encountered less print on the walls and other surfaces of the classroom and had fewer books and magazines available in the classroom library. Duke also discovered that children in low-SES classrooms spent roughly the same proportion of school time engaged in written language activities as high-SES classes, but were offered a smaller proportion of exposure to and experience with extended forms of text and less often found print integrated across the curriculum. The students in the low-SES classrooms also had fewer opportunities to choose what they read and less likely to have opportunities to write for audiences beyond the teacher alone. Given the findings, Duke reaches a number of conclusions, including the belief that schools themselves may contribute to relatively lower levels of literacy and other kinds of achievement among low-SES children. “If schools are offering students with more socioeconomic capital more opportunities to develop more important forms of semiotic capital,” Duke writes, “then they are not only failing to act as a ‘great equalizer’ but acting as agents of further disequalization.”

What It Means To You

The findings speak for themselves. Duke points out that in light of her findings, literacy can now be added to the list of domains for which meaningful differences in instruction have been observed in schools serving different socioeconomic groups. How do your schools measure up in providing low-income students with rich print experiences and environments?

For More Information

Duke, N. (2000). For the rich it’s richer: Print experiences and environments offered to children in very low- and very high-SES first grade classrooms. American Education Research Journal, 37(2), 441-478.

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