University of Missouri, Kansas City, USA.
Soc Sci Res. 2022 Sep;107:102744. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2022.102744. Epub 2022 Jun 8.
Social scientists have found income inequality is associated with an array of health and social problems, however the implications of income inequality for education are the subject of debate. Across 100 different areas (individual counties or collections of small counties) of the United States, we investigated how income inequality was associated with 1) average mathematics and reading achievement and 2) socioeconomic gradients in mathematics and reading achievement. Using data from the Kindergarten to Fifth Grade waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2011 (ECLS-K 2011), we found areas of the United States with higher income inequality had lower average achievement in mathematics and a larger socioeconomic achievement gradient in reading. In further analyses, we investigated what characteristics of school and home environments mediated the relationship between income inequality and academic achievement. We found the association between income inequality and academic achievement was partly explained by the clustering of disadvantaged students in high poverty schools/districts and more intensive parenting practices among high SES parents (structured activity participation, educational expectations).
社会科学家发现，收入不平等与一系列健康和社会问题有关，然而，收入不平等对教育的影响是一个有争议的话题。我们在美国的 100 个不同地区（单个县或小县的集合）调查了收入不平等与以下两个方面的关系：1）平均数学和阅读成绩，2）数学和阅读成绩的社会经济梯度。我们使用了来自学前至五年级纵向研究（ECLS-K 2011）幼儿园班的数据集，发现收入不平等程度较高的美国地区的数学平均成绩较低，阅读成绩的社会经济梯度较大。在进一步的分析中，我们研究了学校和家庭环境的哪些特征在收入不平等和学业成绩之间的关系中起中介作用。我们发现，收入不平等与学业成绩之间的关联部分可以通过贫困学生在高贫困学校/地区的集中以及高 SES 家长更密集的育儿方式（结构化活动参与、教育期望）来解释。
