Global economic crises, like the one we will experience post-COVID, disproportionately affect vulnerable segments of society. Historical data tell us that they increase disparities and threaten social cohesion. A research team led by A/Prof Paolini at UON Psychology has partnered with a local high school to check on the impact that the COVID crisis is having on the academic aspirations of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Dr Paolini explains: “We know that, even in regular times, vulnerable students, more than other students, struggle to align their aspirations for the future to their academic performance and potential. We have also observed that their academic aspirations tend to decline over time, as vulnerable students approach the time in which they need to make consequential decisions about their future schooling and professional pathways, at the end of middle school”. This dampening in academic aspirations can undermine efforts at forging positive futures for these students and their families. It can be a key contributor to difficult to break cycles of poverty in our local communities.
These troubling patterns in academic aspirations of vulnerable students are likely to get even worse as the post-pandemic crisis deepens. As the economic pressures increase, stigmatization of social minorities often becomes more pronounced. Narratives of ‘survival of the fittest’ and ‘succumbing of the weakest’ thrive in especially competitive and uncertain job markets, like the one we are facing. These stigmatizing narratives and stereotypes can be used to explain away and normalize differences in rates of recovery in society. Market-oriented views of education can become rampant and reduce education to just an instrument for “preparing individuals for their ‘place’ in the labor market”.
With their work, Dr Paolini and her UON research team want to minimize the risk that disadvantage students in the Newcastle area will fall through the cracks of the post-pandemic crisis and cut their aspiration short, accepting a bleak future for themselves and their families. For this, they will take a closer look at post-COVID experiences of stigmatization and exclusion of local Indigenous students, students from low SES, Out-of-Home Care, refugee and migrant background.
Their work will track trajectories of academic success and aspirations of these students and their more advantaged counterparts, over a three year period. This investigative effort will help identify the drivers of debilitating dynamics in academic aspirations and protective factors. It will help the school put in place strategies to ensure that all students at this local school and around Australia do not miss out on the bright futures they can forge and deserve.
From left to right the research team: A/Prof Stefania Paolini (Psychology), Dr Olivia Evans (Psychology), Dr Stephanie Hardacre (Psychology), Adele Ghabrial (Psychology), Prof John Fischetti (Education)
To know more about this research project and progress with tackling these important challenges, get in touch! S
