The impact of neoliberal discourse and the socio-economic status of parents on TEFL young learners’ achievement: Parental beliefs and behaviors in the spotlight

Authors

  • Amir Ghajarieh

    University of Ershad Damavand
  • Fereshteh Sadat Mirkazemi

    University of Ershad Damavand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18063/fls.v5i1.1536

Abstract

Considering the scarcity of research on different aspects of young learners’ teaching and learning English, and given the fact that parents provide financial support for the young learners’ education, this study was an attempt to investigate how socio-economic factors interact with parents’ behaviors and beliefs regarding young learners’ success in achieving English oral proficiency. The participants were 28 young learners of English with their parents. They were selected through purposive sampling and these learners were taught with the same method, and tuition were waived for children with low SES. To explore parents’ perceptions, beliefs and 7 behaviors, 17 parents of adequate and inadequate means were interviewed. Qualitative findings indicated that parents based on their SES viewed their young learners’ success in English differently. This study has implications for various agencies in English language teaching, including teachers, teacher educators, and policymakers in Iran, highlighting the interaction of Neoliberalism discourse and parenteral factors and behaviors in education. Given the limited research on young learners’ English language teaching and learning, coupled with the provision of financial support by parents towards their educational pursuits, this study sought to investigate the interplay between socio-economic factors, parental behavior, and beliefs in achieving English oral proficiency. Participants involved in the study comprised 28 young learners of English and their parents, who were selected through purposive sampling. These learners were instructed using the same syllabus, teachers and textbooks with tuition fees waived for children from low socio-economic backgrounds. In order to explore parents’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors, 17 parents of the student participants representing varying financial means were interviewed. Qualitative analysis of the findings revealed that parents’ socio-economic status influenced their views on their children’s success in learning English. The implications of these findings are far-reaching, not only for teachers and teacher educators but also for policymakers in Iran, stressing the interplay between neoliberalism discourse and parental factors and behaviors in education.

Keywords:

parents’ perception; socioeconomic status; speaking skill; young English language learners

References

Abel AD, Schuele CM, Arndt KB, et al. (2017) Another look at the influence of maternal education on preschoolers’ performance on two norm-referenced measures. Communication Disorders Quarterly 38(4): 231–241. DOI: 10.1177/1525740116679886

Aikens NL and Barbarin O (2008) Socioeconomic differences in reading trajectories: The contribution of family, neighborhood, and school contexts. Journal of Educational Psychology 100(2): 235–251. DOI:

/0022-0663.100.2.235

Braun V and Clarke V (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2): 77–101. DOI: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Butler YG and Le V (2018) A longitudinal investigation of parental social-economic status (SES) and young students’ learning of English as a foreign language. System 73: 4–15.

Cruz-Ramos AM, Heredia-Escorza Y, and Cannon BY (2017) Academic performance and family cohesion in a private junior high school in the U.S.—Mexico border. World Journal of Education 7(5): 31. DOI: 10.5430/

wje.v7n5p31

Davis-Kean PE, Malanchuk O, Peck SC, and Eccles JS (2003) Parental Influence on Academic Outcome: Do Race and SES Matter? [online]. Available at: http://education-webfiles.s3-website-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/arp/garp/presentations/daviskean03.pdf

Eggen PD, Kauchak D, and Garry S (2002) Educational Psychology: Windows on Classrooms (5th edn.). Hoboken: Prentice Hall.

Ghaemi F and Yazdanpanah M (2014) The relationship between socio-economic status and academic achievement in the EFL classroom among Iranian university students. European Journal of English Language and Literature Studies 2(1): 49–57.

Gibbons A (2018) Neoliberalism, education policy and the life of the academic: A poetics of pedagogical resistance. Policy Futures in Education 16(7): 918–930. DOI: 10.1177/1478210318774675

Hamid MO (2011) Socio-economic characteristics and English language achievement in rural Bangladesh. Bangladesh E-journal of Sociology 8(2): 31–50.

Harvey D (2005) A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hoff E (2013) Interpreting the early language trajectories of children from low-SES and language minority homes: Implications for closing achievement gaps. Developmental Psychology 49(1): 4–14. DOI: 10.1037/a0027238

Honea JW (2007) The effect of student diligence, diligence support systems, self-efficacy, and locus of control on academic achievement. PhD Thesis, Tennessee State University, Nashville.

Miura Y (2010) Fuanteika-suru Chugoku [“Unstabilizing” China]. Tokyo: Toyo Keizai.

Murphy VA (2018) Commentary: Socio-economic status, young language learning, and the weapon to change the world. System 73: 89–93. DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2018.02.001

Nikolov M and Csapó B (2018) The relationships between 8th graders’ L1 and L2 reading skills, inductive reasoning and socio-economic status in early English and German as a foreign language programs. System 73: 48–57. DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2017.11.001

Qi CH, Kaiser AP, Milan S, and Hancock T (2006) Language performance of low-income African American and European American preschool children on the PPVT–III. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in

Schools 37(1): 5–16. DOI: 10.1044/0161-1461(2006/002)

Riazi AM (2016) The Routledge Encyclopedia of Research Methods in Applied Linguistics: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed-methods Research. Oxfordshire: Routledge.

Sanjurjo JF, Blanco JMA, and Fernández-Costales A (2018) Assessing the influence of socio-economic status on students’ performance in content and language integrated learning. System 73: 16–26. DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2017.09.001

Saunders D (2007) The impact of neoliberalism on college students. Journal of College and Character 8(5). DOI: 10.2202/1940-1639.1620

Song J (2018) English just is not enough! Neoliberalism, class, and children’s study abroad among Korean families. System 73: 80–88. DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2017.10.007

Ward CM (2002) Preparing K-12 teachers to teach social justice: An experimental exercise with a focus on inequality and life—Chances based on socio-economic status. Multicultural Education 9(4): 22–24.

Wigfield A, Byrnes JB, and Eccles JS (2006) Adolescent development. In: Alexander PA and Winne P (eds.) Handbook of Educational Psychology (2nd edn.). Mahwah: Erlbaum, pp.87–113.

Zou W and Zhang S (2011) Family background and English learning at compulsory stage in Shanghai. In: Feng A (ed.) English Language Education Across Greater China. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, pp.189–211.

Downloads

How to Cite

Ghajarieh, A., & Mirkazemi, F. (2023). The impact of neoliberal discourse and the socio-economic status of parents on TEFL young learners’ achievement: Parental beliefs and behaviors in the spotlight. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 5(1), 234–249. https://doi.org/10.18063/fls.v5i1.1536

Issue

Vol. 5 , Iss. 1 (June 2023)

Article Type

Article

License

Copyright © 2023 Amir Ghajarieh, Fereshteh Sadat Mirkazemi

Creative Commons License

This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.