Written by Jarret Bain B.S. There's a hidden divide affecting class participation that often goes unnoticed. Psychologists asked, “How do children from families with different income levels engage in class?” They recruited 100 preschoolers from four classrooms in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France. Based on their parents' jobs, nearly half (43) came from low-income families, (51) came from middle- or high-income families (four were undetermined). The researchers observed recordings of whole-class discussions on books, arts, or their personal experiences. Then, they measured how often and how long students participated, the likelihood their teacher called upon them, and how much they interrupted each other. Results? On average, Kids from wealthier families participated substantially more than those from lower-income families. Teachers more likely called on the more affluent students who volunteered or interrupted other students or the teacher and talked for longer time periods than lower-income students. Teachers and Parents. Be sure to smile or praise all for contributing to discussions and answering questions. Ask the quieter, lower-income children for their ideas. Encourage them to share, too. As what they think, and share is valuable too. Reference: Goudeau, S., Sanrey, C., Autin, F., Stephens, N. M., Markus, H. R., Croizet, J.-C., & Cimpian, A. (2023). Unequal opportunities from the start: Socioeconomic disparities in classroom participation in preschool.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 152(11), 3135–3152. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001437