Motivation and Academic Success of Economically Deprived Children: A Phenomenological Exploration

Abstract

“Poverty is not a hindrance to success.” A positive quote that brings encouragement and serves as a motivation to a lot of individuals. At some point, poverty is often perceived as a significant barrier to academic success due to the countless challenges it presents, such as limited access to resources, inadequate learning environments, and increased stress levels. However, this viewpoint overlooks the resilience and potential that economically deprived students can exhibit when given appropriate support and opportunities.Using a phenomenological approach, this study explores the relationship between academic achievement and motivation in children from low-income families. The purpose of the study is to understand the ways in which motivational factors affect the academic success of children from low-income families. Through use of qualitative methods, such as in-depth interviews with five participants and the use of Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis for comprehensive data analysis ensuring credibility of findings. The rigors of findings were upheld through credibility checks via member validation, narrative extraction for transferability, code-recode strategies for dependability, data validation by participant’s conformability, enhancing trustworthiness of the study. The research reveals the real-life experiences of these children, focusing on their challenges, goals, and support systems. Results show that a combination of strong work ethic, encouraging family relationships, and supportive school environments can promote academic resilience and achievement even in facing severe financial limitations.
Overall this investigation highlights the relevance of individualized educational strategies and policies that suit to the unique needs of economically disadvantaged children, indicating that improving motivation might be a key factor in closing the achievement gap in academics.