【一起听英语】贫穷与教育（在线收听）

 人们会有一种错误的印象，是不是贫穷的孩子接受教育的能力更慢一些呢？然而并不是这样...

Dan: Hello, I'm Dan.

Alice: And I'm Alice.

Dan: And this is 6 Minute English! Today we're talking about a new report that

examines how poverty can affect education.

Alice: The report, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development – or OECD – studies whether there is an inevitable link between

wealth and academic performance.

Dan: You'd think that children from poorer backgrounds perform less well at school

than children from richer backgrounds, right Alice?

Alice: Well, that makes sense – if you're from a disadvantaged background then 'the

odds are stacked against you' – you're less likely to succeed because the

situation is unfavourable.

Dan: But the OECD report says that in certain countries children from poorer

backgrounds are more likely to achieve good grades and do well academically

despite having the odds stacked against them. 

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Alice: So it's easier for poorer school students – or pupils – to achieve high grades in

some countries rather than others then, Dan?

Dan: Exactly. They achieve against the odds. For example, poorer children in

Canada and Japan are more likely to achieve good grades than poor children in

the UK. There's a more level playing field in those countries than in Britain.

Alice: That's a good phrase – a level playing field – it comes from sport; if you're

playing on a level playing field, it's a fair situation for everybody. So where are

poorer pupils most likely to do well then, Dan?

Dan: Ah, well that's this week's question actually, Alice. Which country do you think

came top in the OECD list for pupils doing well, even when the odds are

stacked against them? Was it:

a) Finland

b) Canada

c) South Korea

Alice: And I'll guess…Finland? 

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Dan: Well, we'll see if you're right at the end of the programme. Now let's hear from

Professor Yvonne Kelly from the University of Essex. She specialises in how

economic factors can influence childhood development. Here she is talking

about her research in the UK. What factors does she say could be affected by

different levels of family income?

Professor Yvonne Kelly, University of Essex

We compared levels of family income with the likelihood of children having social and

emotional difficulties, and also their cognitive ability skills.

Dan: So the research compared levels of family income – that's how much money a

family earns – with the likelihood of children having social and emotional

difficulties.

Alice: Social here refers to how people live and work together; and emotional refers

to how the children react to their feelings. So the income of a family could

affect whether the children have social and emotional difficulties.

Dan: And the research also looked at children’s cognitive ability skills – that's the

way children learn. Cognitive is a scientific term that refers to how we process

information.

Alice: And what were the findings of this research then, Dan?

Dan: Well Professor Kelly says that children from low-income families were more

likely to show symptoms of social and emotional difficulties. She says they 

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can be more fidgety, restless and clingy. Could you explain some of these

terms for us, Alice?

Alice: Sure. Well, to fidget means to make small, quick movements in a nervous way,

so fidgety means moving nervously. Being restless means you're unable to

relax, and clingy, well here it means that the child doesn't want to be separated

from their parents.

Dan: OK, let's listen to Professor Kelly again. How many times more likely were

children from poorer backgrounds to suffer from social and emotional

difficulties?

Professor Yvonne Kelly, University of Essex

Children from the poorest households were between seven and eight times more likely to

have social and emotional difficulties – things like being excessively fidgety, restless,

clingy – compared to their better-off counterparts.

Dan: So children from poorer backgrounds were seven or eight times more likely to

be fidgety, restless and clingy than their better-off counterparts.

Alice: Better-off here means richer; and a counterpart is a person who's at the same

level, or who does the same job. So the better-off counterparts here are

children of the same age who are from richer backgrounds.

But Dan, did you say that some countries have less of a divide between the

grades of richer pupils and poorer pupils than other countries? 

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Dan: That's right, although there's a strong link between family income and how

well pupils perform at school, the report says that the education systems in

some countries are more likely to help students from poorer backgrounds

develop self-confidence and motivation to succeed.

Alice: OK, so don't keep me waiting, Dan – which countries are they?

Dan: Well, I can tell you that South Korea, Finland, Japan, Turkey and Canada are

the most successful countries in terms of poorer pupils achieving high results.

But today's question was which country came top in the OECD list for poorer

students getting higher grades? Was it:

a) Finland

b) Canada

c) South Korea

Alice: And I said Finland.

Dan: Well, in fact it was South Korea. In fact, the top five places by regional and

national school systems are all in Asia: South Korea leads the countries, and

Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macao and Singapore are also in the top five. France,

Australia and the US are around average for pupils succeeding against the odds,

and the UK is - unfortunately - well below average. Well Alice, before we go,

let's hear some of the words and phrases we've used in today's programme:

Alice: OK. 

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the odds are stacked against you

pupils

a level playing field

income

social and emotional

cognitive

fidgety

restless

clingy

better-off

counterpart

Dan: Thanks, Alice. I hope you've enjoyed today's programme and you'll join us

again for more 6 Minute English next time.

Both: Bye.