Examining the Culture of Poverty: Promising Practices

ABSTRACT

Spurred by preservice teachers' perceptions that diversity issues such as poverty would not affect their teaching, professors in 1 southeastern U.S. elementary teacher–preparation program took action, which resulted in this examination of the culture of poverty and the identification of strategies to best serve children living in poverty. The authors explored the effect of poverty in the role of schools, families, and teachers. In this article, they identify key strategies that focus on providing a strong support system for children living in poverty. The authors make recommendations on how teacher-preparation programs could infuse the teaching of these strategies into programs.

KEYWORDS:

• classroom environment
• culture of poverty
• family involvement
• instructional strategies
• school environment