Michelle Spiegel

Economic integration within schools is limited, UC Irvine-led study finds

Economic integration within schools is limited, @ucirvine.bsky.social-led study finds | Research, published in PNAS, highlights disproportionate isolation of students from families in highest income brackets
 
@uofcalifornia.bsky.social @andrewpenner.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social

This paper was a great team effort with @leahclark.bsky.social @t-h-a-d.bsky.social @andrewpenner.bsky.social @emilykpenner.bsky.social Paul Youngmin Yoo, Paul Hanselman

Paper: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

WP: edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1138

Parents often report wanting their children to be well-rounded. Schools could support this goal in part by exposing children to diverse income peers. When the top income students are isolated from others, we are missing out on helping all children thrive.

Low-income students (percentiles 1-40) have an over-representation of low-income peers, though this pattern is much less pronounced than at the top of the distribution.

Middle income students (percentiles 41-80), on the other hand, have remarkably more even exposure than their high-income peers.

Students in the top 1% of the income distribution are highly isolated in affluent school enclaves.

💥6%💥 of these top 1% percentile kids’ peers are ALSO in the top income percentile.

💥20%💥 are in the top 5 income percentiles.

💥Nearly 50%💥come from the top 20 income percentiles.

🤓We use records from students in Oregon to examine student exposure to – or isolation from – peers from across the income distribution.

We're living through a highly polarized time, both economically and politically. Schools have the potential to bring us together, but are contributing to our separation.
In a new @pnas.org article, my colleagues and I document students' exposure to economically diverse school and classroom peers.
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