Abstract
As low socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnic minority students often experience barriers during their school career, increased levels of referral of these students to extramural support services in education (ESS) can be expected. Yet, research indicates that disadvantaged students are often underrepresented in different types of ESS. The purpose of this study is to examine possible social inequalities in the use of, and referral to, ESS (study 1) and to explore the experiences of disadvantaged students’ parents (study 2). In study 1, 3302 parents of school-aged children completed a survey on the use of ESS. Data were analysed using logistic regression analyses. In study 2, parents of disadvantaged school-aged children (N = 8) participated in focus group discussions, which were analysed thematically. Results of study 1 confirmed the unequal use of ESS according to family SES and migration history, and revealed that inequality was especially prominent in private ESS, whilst subsidised ESS was equally used. Schools did not refer low SES and ethnic minority students more to ESS. In study 2, disadvantaged students’ parents addressed the role of multiple thresholds beyond merely financial barriers in decision processes pertaining to ESS use. Results indicate varying degrees of social inequality in the use of subsidised and private ESS. Such dynamics of unequal access and participation can reinforce unequal education opportunities. Addressing disadvantaged families’ subjectively experienced thresholds may provide one way to reduce this inequality. When disadvantaged families do not reach the necessary ESS, schools should compensate and increase their guidance for these students.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Arcia, E., Fernandez, M. C., Jaquez, M., Castillo, H., & Ruiz, M. (2004). Modes of entry into services for young children with disruptive behaviors. Qualitative Health Research, 14(9), 1211–1226.
Ataca, B., & Berry, J. W. (2002). Psychological, sociocultural, and marital adaptation of Turkish immigrant couples in Canada. International Journal of Psychology, 37(1), 13–26.
Bourdieu, P. (1997). Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In J. Karabel & A. H. Halsey (Eds.), Power and ideology in education (pp. 487–511). New York: Oxford University Press.
Chow, J. C.-C., Jaffee, K., & Snowden, L. (2003). Racial/ethnic disparities in the use of mental health services in poverty areas. American Journal of Public Health, 93(5), 792–797.
Coutinho, M. J., Oswald, D. P., & Best, A. M. (2002). The influence of sociodemographics and gender on the disproportionate identification of minority students as having learning disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 23(1), 49–59.
Day-Vines, N. L., & Day-Hairston, B. O. (2005). Culturally congruent strategies for addressing the behavioral needs of urban, African American male adolescents. Professional School Counseling, 8(3), 236–243.
Epstein, J., & Van Voorhis, F. (2010). School counselors’ roles in developing partnerships with families and communities for student success. Professional School Counseling, 14(1), 1–14.
Farmer, E. M., Burns, B. J., Phillips, S. D., Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (2003). Pathways into and through mental health services for children and adolescents. Psychiatric Services, 54(1), 60–66.
Galassi, J. P., & Akos, P. (2004). Developmental advocacy: twenty-first century school counseling. Journal of Counseling & Development, 82(2), 146–157.
Gamble, B. E., & Lambros, K. M. (2014). Provider perspectives on school-based mental health for urban minority youth: access and services. Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research, 10, 25–38.
Garland, A. F., Lau, A. S., Yeh, M., McCabe, K. M., Hough, R. L., & Landsverk, J. A. (2005). Racial and ethnic differences in utilization of mental health services among high-risk youths. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(7), 1336–1343.
Kataoka, S. H., Zhang, L., & Wells, K. B. (2002). Unmet need for mental health care among U.S. children: variation by ethnicity and insurance status. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159(9), 1548–1555.
Krueger, R. A. (1997). Analyzing and reporting focus group results. USA: Sage publications.
Lapan, R. T., Gysbers, N. C., & Petroski, G. F. (2001). Helping seventh graders be safe and successful: a statewide study of the impact of comprehensive guidance and counseling programs. Journal of Counseling & Development, 79(3), 320–330.
Leong, F. L., & Lau, A. L. (2001). Barriers to providing effective mental health services to Asian Americans. Mental Health Services Research, 3(4), 201–214.
Levitas, R., Pantazis, C., Fahmy, E., Gordon, D., Lloyd, E., & Patsios, D. (2007). The multi-dimensional analysis of social exclusion. Bristol: University of Bristol.
Madsen, W. C. (2013). Collaborative therapy with multi-stressed families. Guilford Press.
Mendoza-Denton, R., Downey, G., Purdie, V. J., Davis, A., & Pietrzak, J. (2002). Sensitivity to status-based rejection: implications for African American students’ college experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(4), 896–918.
Merton, R. K. (1988). The Matthew effect in science, II: cumulative advantage and the symbolism of intellectual property. Isis, 79(4), 606–623.
OECD. (2012). PISA 2012 results: what makes schools successful (volume IV). OECD Publishing.
Santos de Barona, M., & Barona, A. (2006). School counselors and school psychologists: collaborating to ensure minority students receive appropriate consideration for special educational programs. Professional School Counseling, 10(1), 3–13.
Scheppers, E., Van Dongen, E., Dekker, J., Geertzen, J., & Dekker, J. (2006). Potential barriers to the use of health services among ethnic minorities: a review. Family Practice, 23(3), 325–348.
Snowden, L., Masland, M., Ma, Y., & Ciemens, E. (2006). Strategies to improve minority access to public mental health services in California: description and preliminary evaluation. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(2), 225–235.
Sue, S., Fujino, D. C., Hu, L.-t., Takeuchi, D. T., & Zane, N. W. (1991). Community mental health services for ethnic minority groups: a test of the cultural responsiveness hypothesis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59(4), 533.
Sullivan, A. L. (2011). Disproportionality in special education identification and placement of English language learners. Exceptional Children, 77(3), 317–334.
Takeuchi, D. T., Sue, S., & Yeh, M. (1995). Return rates and outcomes from ethnicity-specific mental health programs in Los Angeles. American Journal of Public Health, 85(5), 638–643.
Verschueren, K., Bodvin, K., Vervoort, E., Vander Elst, L., Teppers, E., De Haene, L., & Struyf, E. (2015). Extramural support services and guidance at school: consistency, coordination and explanatory factors. Leuven: Catholic University of Leuven.
Warwick-Booth, L. (2013). Social inequality: a Student’s guide. SAGE.
Winter, K. (1999). Speech and language therapy provision for bilingual children: aspects of the current service. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 34(1), 85–98.
Acknowledgements
The data used in this article were gathered as part of a research project about ESS commissioned by the Department of Education of the Flemish government.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Kathleen Bodvin, Department of Training and Educational Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Antwerp, Gratiekapelstraat 10, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium. E-mail: kathleen.bodvin@uantwerpen.be. Website: https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/staff/kathleen-bodvin/
Current themes of research:
Social inequality in student guidance.
Karine Verschueren, School Psychology and Child and Adolescent Development, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. E-mail: karine.verschueren@kuleuven.be. Website: http://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/en/person/00004708
Current themes of research:
Child and adolescent development in schools, teacher-student relationships and interactions, social classroom dynamics, student guidance
Most relevant publications:
Cadima, J., Verschueren, K., Leal, T., Guedes, C. (2016). Classroom Interactions, Dyadic Teacher-Child Relationships, and Self-Regulation in Socially Disadvantaged Young Children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44(1), 7–17.
De Laet, S., Colpin, H., Vervoort, E., Doumen, S., Van Leeuwen, K., Goossens, L., Verschueren, K. (2015). Developmental Trajectories of Children’s Behavioural Engagement in Late Elementary School: Both Teachers and Peers Matter. Developmental Psychology, 51(9), 1292–1306.
De Laet, S., Doumen, S., Vervoort, E., Colpin, H., Van Leeuwen, K., Goossens, L., Verschueren, K. (2014). Transactional links between teacher-child relationship quality and perceived versus sociometric popularity: A three-wave longitudinal study. Child Development, 85(4), 1647–1662.
Engels, M., Colpin, H., Van Leeuwen, K., Bijttebier, P., Van Den Noortgate, W., Claes, S., Goossens, L., Verschueren, K. (2016). Behavioural Engagement, Peer Status, and Teacher-Student Relationships in Adolescence: A Longitudinal Study on Reciprocal Influences. Journal of Youth and Adolescence (in press), 1–16.
Verschueren, K., Koomen, H. (2012). Teacher-child relationships from an attachment perspective. Attachment & Human Development, 14(3), 205–211.
Lucia De Haene, Education, Culture and Society, Faculty of Psychology and Educational sciences, KU Leuven, Vesaliusstraat 32, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. E-mail: lucia.dehaene@kuleuven.be. Website: http://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/en/person/00043831
Current research themes:
Refugee and minority families, transcultural care, psychosocial impact of (forced) migration
Most relevant publications:
Kevers, R., Rober, P., Derluyn, I., & De Haene, L. (accepted). Remembering collective violence: Broadening the notion of traumatic memory in post-conflict rehabilitation. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry.
De Haene, L., & Rober, P. (in press). Looking for a home: An exploration of Jacques Derrida’s notion of hospitality in family therapy practice with refugees. In G. Simon & I. McCarthy (Eds), Systemic therapy as transformative practice: Working with complex systems. Farnhill: EIC Press.
Roubeni, S., De Haene, L., Keatley, E., Shah, N., & Rasmussen, A. (2015). ‘If we cannot do it, our children will do it one day’: A qualitative study of West African immigrant parents’ losses and educational aspirations for their children. American Educational Research Journal, 52, 275–30.
Rober, P., De Haene, L. (2014). Intercultural therapy and the limitations of a cultural competency framework: About cultural differences, universalities and the unresolvable tensions between them. Journal of Family Therapy, 36, art.nr. 10.1111/1467–6427.12009, 3-20.
De Haene, L., Rober, P., Adriaenssens, P., Verschueren, K. (2012). Voices of dialogue and directivity in family therapy with refugees: Evolving ideas about dialogical refugee care. Family Process, 51, 391–404.
Elke Struyf, Department of Training and Educational Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Antwerp School of Education, University of Antwerp, Venusstraat 35, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium. E-mail: elke.struyf@uantwerpen.be. Website: https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/staff/elke-struyf/
Current themes of research:
Teacher professionalization, integrated student guidance, classroom management, teacher-student relationships.
Most relevant publications:
De Vroey, A., Struyf, E., & Petry, K. (2016). Secondary schools included: A literature review. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 20(2), 109–135.
Fluijt, D., Bakker C., & Struyf, E. (2016). Team-reflection: the missing link in co-teaching teams. European journal of special needs education, 1–15.
Sneyers, E., Jacobs, K. & Struyf, E. (2016) Impact of an in-service training in neurocognitive insights on teacher stress, teacher professionalism and teacher student relationships. European journal of teacher education, 1–14.
Jacobs, K., & Struyf, E. (2015). First step towards a comprehensive model on integrated socio-emotional guidance: investigating the effect of teachers’ task perception and a supportive network at school. Journal of Educational Research, 108(2), 95–111.
Ceulemans, C., Simons, M., & Struyf, E. (2014). What, if anything, do standards do in education? Topological registrations of standardizing work in teacher education. European educational research journal, 13(1), 73–88.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bodvin, K., Verschueren, K., De Haene, L. et al. Social inequality in education and the use of extramural support services: access and parental experiences in disadvantaged families. Eur J Psychol Educ 33, 215–233 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-017-0335-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-017-0335-z