Manifesting Environmental Poverty: K–12 Achievement in Alabama

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Poverty: Studying the Multifaceted Nature of Poverty in Schools

Abstract

This paper explores ways in which environmental poverty manifests across rural, suburban, and urban contexts in Alabama. We employ a novel combination of 8 years of state and national data to assess how the resource and social context impacts student academic outcomes over and above school and district resources. Utilizing fixed effect regressions over 12,000 district-year observations, results show that generational poverty, high unemployment, and low access to nutrition are significantly associated with lower achievement. Low achievement is more connected to unemployment in urban areas and low education in rural areas. To reimagine approaches equity in education, there must be a deep understanding of how the multi-dimensional and spatially-defined manifestations of poverty impact students.

Authors

• Joy Rushing, Auburn University

• Hyun Sung Jang, Auburn University

• Teanna Moore, Auburn University

• John Appiah, Auburn University

• Nicole Guilford, Auburn University

• Willie Billingslea

• Ade Dadematthews, Auburn University