Educational Equity in Numbers: Exploring Demographic and Economic Influences on School Numeracy for Students of ages 8-13 in Bengaluru, India

International Journal of Humanities and Social Science

© 2024 by SSRG - IJHSS Journal

Volume 11 Issue 1

Year of Publication : 2024

Authors : Siddharth Garimella

10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V11I1P102

How to Cite?

Siddharth Garimella, "Educational Equity in Numbers: Exploring Demographic and Economic Influences on School Numeracy for Students of ages 8-13 in Bengaluru, India," SSRG International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 11,  no. 1, pp. 8-18, 2024. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V11I1P102

Abstract:

Numeracy skills are an especially prevalent issue in students of a low-income family background. This research took place in a school for students of a lower Socio-Economic Status(SES) in Bangalore, India. Students of grades 4-7 were surveyed on two different factors: demographic background and mathematical ability. For the demographic aspect, students were asked questions about their daily life and family. For numeracy, the government-assigned textbook was used as a basis for the questions. Due to the system of school in India, the survey was done at the beginning of the new academic year. Therefore, the students were assessed based on the material taught in their previous grade. Through this research, the aim was to see where the issue is in the numeracy of students in a lower SES. The data was collected through a google form with a translator, who was asking all the questions in Kannada. The students were not able to do simple mathematics, and their numeracy levels were very low. They were averaging around 4-5 on a 30-question test. This data shows that there is a need for an intervention because of the results obtained from the research.

Keywords:

Academic performance, India, Mathematics, Numeracy, Socio-economic status.

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