Cumulative Disadvantage Framework Understanding Family Disadvantage And Children’s Primary School Achievement: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Family disadvantages have increased over past two decades, raising concerns about associated risks for child development and school achievement. In this article, we describe cumulative disadvantage framework and literature to understand associations between family disadvantage and risks for children’s school achievement. Reviewing literature, we find that although some disadvantaged children manifest academic challenges, many children growing up in the persistent family poverty, low-SES, mother-only-family, over-family size, and neighborhood disadvantage are at greater risks for their school achievement. We also describe home education practice and school attendance underlying the association of family disadvantage with risk for children’s school achievement for research and improvement of disadvantaged children’s school achievement.