Education and Economic Determinism

[The Intransigent Faction]

Yeah, another post. :o

I was browsing through the news and came across this article:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/students-can-succeed-despite-lack-of-money-fraser-institute-1.2538813

It seems the major indicator they use is standardized testing at various grades, so maybe the measure of success is flawed, but the article suggests other things such as self-directed learning were taken into consideration, as well. The level of community support comes to mind, though, as a huge factor. This suggests that treating education as a social rather than solely individual project is a factor in success, but this doesn't seem overtly economic. In short, I'm just wondering, how might an economic determinist respond to this idea that "oh, poor students can succeed too, if they work hard" in the face of evidence suggesting this may be the case?

[The Idler]

In the political sense, 'economic determinism' means society is determined by economics, not so much that individuals are determined by economics (although in many instances they are).

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

The key is in the phrasing.

Students can succeed if they are from poor backgrounds, it's just the odds are stacked against them.

In my first-hand experience, the key determinants of an individual's success in educations are, in no particular order:

Quality of education provision (i.e. school facilities, quality of teaching)
Access to educational facilities (including access to books etc.)
Support and stability at home

Now, it is possible that the above (which is clearly not an exhaustive list) can be met for the needs of learners from deprived backgrounds, but generally it's unlikely. Ghettoised, inner-city areas that are hotspots of urban deprivation typically do not cater to the needs of students in terms of the quality of education provision (though we in London have been making significant progress in this area in recent years, albeit with huge academy programme-related funding).

Further, the crappy education that was generally the norm for the poor in inner-city areas for much of the mid/late 20th century means that the parents of current students from deprived background are often not in a position (of stability, nor educational know-how) to provide the right support to their children, which can grossly distort downwards the educational attainment of their children.

So yeah, social mobility in education is possible, but on a grand scale it's unlikely.

[The Idler]

As stated economic determinism doesn't generally refer to social mobility wherever I've heard it used. Perhaps the OP can clarify?