Evaluating the Impact of Environmental Stressors on Cognitive Development and Self-Efficacy for Students in Poverty

• In Event: Examining the Impact of School Culture and Climate on Equity and Access

Abstract

Despite overwhelming support regarding the adverse impacts of poverty on a child’s development, there is little research that provides a synthesization of the types of environmental influences as they relate to cognitive impairments and self-efficacy. In an effort to synthesize information, stressors deemed statistically significant were evaluated in parallel with the developmental theories of Urie Bronfenbrenner and Albert Bandura to determine if these theories could have an influential impact on mitigating strategies for the academic achievement of students who live in poverty. Leveraging data from the ESLS-K dataset, preliminary data analysis supports current research however, statistically significant environmental stressors were identified via data analysis and it provides insight into the deleterious affect of specific chronic specific environmental stressors over time.

Author

• Tracey Banks, Notre Dame of Maryland University