A 2008 University of Michigan study found a direct relationship between young children's economic background and the quality of education those children receive. Low-income schools receive fewer resources, have a harder time employing well-qualified teachers, face challenges in addressing student's needs and receive less support from parents than schools in areas with higher family incomes and school budgets. Because of this inequality, less educational opportunities exist for children from low-income backgrounds than for children from moderate to high-income backgrounds.
In an essay titled "Cultural Capital and High School Bullies," author Jessie Klein highlights the effect of violence on learning experiences in high school. Physical, mental and emotional abuse by a peer brings fear, oppression and victimization to the educational experience of a bullied student. Because of these consequences, it becomes impossible for bullied students to learn through the same receptive and cooperative experiences that nonbullied students typically benefit from. As a result, the opportunities for bullied students are not the same as those for students who are not victims of violence at school.
A Cornell study of every other year from 1981 to 2003 shows that there were several hundred more men enrolled at the university than women for each consecutive year. Another study revealed that Cornell has also accepted many more men into math and science majors than women over the last several decades. According to these scholars and others who have found similar results in studies of other school enrollments, unequal educational opportunities exist for college students because of gender biases.
Both adults and children can make a difference in social inequality at schools. Raising awareness is one of the most important things people can do. Many state and national organizations are dedicated to stopping social inequalities in the public school system. By joining one of these organizations, parents, teachers and students alike can actively work toward abolishing unequal opportunities at school.