About the speaker:
Eddie Brummelman is an Associate Professor at the Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam. He leads KiDLAB, which studies children’s developing self-views. He is a Jacobs Foundation Research Fellow and board member of The Young Academy (De Jonge Akademie). For more information about his research, see: www.kidlab.nl
Abstract:
Inequality gets into children’s heads: Growing up, children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds develop more negative self-views than their peers. They come to see themselves as less intelligent, less able to grow their intelligence, less deserving, and less worthy, independent of their actual abilities and achievements. What are the origins and consequences of these socioeconomic disparities in children’s self-views? Bridging insights from the psychological, educational, and sociological literatures, I focus on the classroom as a central place where children form beliefs about their intelligence, deservingness, and worth. I will show that negative intellectual stereotypes—which can be expressed through teachers’ expectations, feedback, and attention—undercut the self-views of children from low-SES backgrounds. I will also show how this process can be exacerbated by institutional and cultural values reflecting a belief in meritocracy or a belief that success requires exceptional intellectual ability (or “brilliance”). The ensuing more negative self-views introduce psychological barriers that undermine the academic achievement of children from low-SES backgrounds, thereby reinforcing achievement inequality.
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