Impact of Risk Environment Assignment

Running head: CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 1
Capstone Proposal
Does Living in an at-Risk Environment Impact School Success?
Carlos Alberto Ortiz Jr.
Southern New Hampshire University
March 22, 2020

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 2
Abstract
Children can develop mental health problems due to their at-risk environments; therefore,
proper parenting and guidance can help a child develop gradually regardless of their
environment. The at-risk environment can cause a child to lose focus in school and cause them to
lose interest in their education. The environment can impact children to the degree that it can
lead to suicidal thoughts, dropouts, and health issues. Parents must understand that children’s
development is a critical period in their lives; therefore, not knowing how to raise them in a
proper environment can establish a precedent of bad behavior. In this study, the parents will go
through a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) that will measure the various question
of their child’s emotional, behavioral, and social development throughout the course. The study
reveals that a pleasant environment will help children develop their basic needs, such as social,
emotional, and behavioral. Furthermore, the parents with a better understanding to use their
academic achievement in the past and use their skills to help their children will help them
prosper into a better understanding of how to succeed in school.

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 3
Does Living in an at-Risk Environment Impact School Success?
The environment that children are surrounded by can significantly influence their
development. Children learn from their environment and from the way their parents demonstrate
certain behaviors. Children can develop mental health problems due to their at-risk
environments; therefore, proper parenting and guidance can help a child develop gradually
regardless of their environment. The development of children and how they view their school
success can resonate with how their environment is set up for them, what advantages their
parents may have, and their interaction with their children can influence their environment. It can
bring up several behaviors in their children. The advantages, the environment, and their parents
can influence a child’s school success. The at-risk environment can cause a child to lose focus in
school and cause them to lose interest in their education. Also, a risk environment can cause a
mental health problem to develop if trauma starts to occur with the children residing in the
environment. Proper parenting, guidance, and admiration with children can influence interaction
with school success.
Developmental issues could arise for children in a risky environment. The research will
investigate how at-risk environment impact school success. Also, how environmental factors
such as single-family households, poverty, and parenting can influence school success in
children? Also, why does school success predicated on an environment that is full of guidance
and care from their parents? Do genetics and environment play a connection to school success in
children? Parents who currently resides in an at-risk environment are the focal point of this
research. The research gathered will show how parents can use their genetic gifts and their
environment to influence the development of care in school success.

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 4
Research Questions: However, children who live in a risk environment can be influenced by
their surroundings and cause developmental issues. The research will look to answer why does
at-risk environment impacts school success? What risky environmental factors such as poverty,
single-family household, or poor parenting can lead to an impact on a child’s school success?
How does an unsafe environment influence the outcomes of development in schools such as
emotional, educational, and social development? The audience of this research are parents that
live-in at-risk environment. Parents will learn what impacts school success regardless of the
environment. Parents will learn the importance of genetics, and the environment can play into the
development of school success.
According to Farkas, Sheehan, and Grobe (1990), the environment and school success do
affect how the children will develop. The environment can impact children to the degree that it
can lead to suicidal thoughts, dropouts, and health issues. Parents must understand that
children’s development is a critical period in their lives; therefore, not knowing how to raise
them in a proper environment can establish a precedent of bad behavior. Child development
studies the advancement in the age of children through critical milestones, and school success is
one of the milestones children must achieve in order to develop. However, a child’s
environment, such as low-income households, single parenting, and neglectful parents, can
interfere with their success at school. An individual living in poverty may not have access to
such advantages such as technology, basic study essentials, or tutors that can aid in the
development of children. Most children are placed in an advance early learning center, and that
is an advantage that parents without living in poverty may have on other parents. Parents need to
understand their environment and how parents may influence the school success of the children.

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 5
Literature Review
Maternal Hardship and School success can have a significant impact on the grades of
children. A mother with maternal hardship living in an at-risk neighborhood can cause their
children to lose interest in academic achievement. The study by Yang, Chen, Rhodes, and Orooji
(n.d.) relates to the research since it gives a detail report on how to grade reaction and adverse
effects are due to hardship encounter by the environment. The study understands that school and
family domains work together to function chemistry with the child. Therefore, this research puts
the proposal into perspective since it examines variables such as material hardship, school
engagement, and academic achievement for at-risk children. The study used a mediation analysis
approach provides through various studies by Baron and Kenny to help examine school
engagement with children who live in an at-risk environment. In addition, the study looked at the
direct connection between “material hardship and grade retention (Yang, Chen, Rhodes &
Orooji, n.d.). An outstanding 42.34% of children in a risky environment failed to complete at
least one grade and had to repeat the grade the following year (Yang, Chen, Rhodes & Orooji,
n.d). The study helps the overall proposal since it found a drop off in school engagement when
dealing with an at-risk environment such as maternal hardship. Families who experience
maternal hardship must not let it overwhelm their children since it could cause them to
experience chemistry lost with academic achievement. The study demonstrates that implication
in school success could occur when children deal with the at-risk environment; therefore, parents
learning more about how to deal with their environment can help their children live with
academic progress.
The following qualitative study will help explore the comparison between lower-income
and higher-income parents on the effect of school success. According to Veitch (2017), the

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 6
history of the parents and their overall traits can affect the child’s school success. The study
research home behaviors and school behaviors with their children to see if there is a meaningful
connection with their income. The study looks at the parents’ incomes and their educational
history of painting a picture of their overall academic success. Veitch (2017) explored the
mother’s school experiences and measured it to other mothers that have different income levels
to see a difference in school success. The study collected an overall of 16 interviews with various
parents that took account of their memories of their school success. After that, the qualitative
study to a five-step approach for finding several themes and data that determine the overall
resource collections. The study found a direct link between the two income levels and how
school memories can be reflected on in the past (Veitch, 2017). Higher-income and lower-
income mothers were able to remember their school success and contribute to their children
regardless of their income.
Another interesting article that distinguishes children with poverty and school success
profoundly cares about the poverty level and academic achievement in low-income
neighborhoods. The study evaluated the many children that grew up in poverty struggle with
their academic achievement (Abrahamse, Jonkman, & Harting, 2018). Also, the study
investigated how health outcomes can play into academic achievement as well. The study
investigated how health outcomes can interact with poverty levels as well. The study focused on
the intervention technique into low-income neighborhoods and how that can aid in academic
achievement. To explain, Abrahamse, Jonkman, and Harting (2018) looked into a “school-based
interdisciplinary approach” and how that interacts with the child’s health and academic success.
The goal of the study is to aid the children in high-risk environments and help them have more
opportunities to succeed in schools.

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 7
Families that are deprived finically have means to help their children through other
sources to give them a head start in life despite their poverty. The article “head start children’s
transition to kindergarten: evidence from the early childhood longitudinal study” examines the
relationship between low incomes families and how they compared to their peers in kindergarten.
The study acknowledged that children who grow up in a high-risk environment, such as low-
income homes, do have a disadvantage compared to privileged children (Pigott & Israel, 2005).
Therefore, the study looked into the “Head Start” program in which helps give children in
poverty a boast in their academics before they enter preschool. The article ran a longitudinal
comparison study in Early Childhood to access the scores of math and reading of children in
head start to those who skipped it and went to kindergarten (Pigott & Israel, 2005). Children in
head start did have higher test scores than those who skipped head start and went to kindergarten,
but they found an academic gap between those in head start and those who live in a “higher
social, economic standing” (Pigott & Israel, 2005).
Veitch (2017) believes that school success can be implicated based on the income on the
families. The article helps assist the research question because it helps answers questions
regarding school success in a high-risk environment. The article looked at past research from the
previous decades and found that children’s education development has been mainstreamed and
looks upon how to develop it for the better (Veitch, 2007). However, the article takes a different
approach, and it focused on the parent’s memories of their schooling and how that directly
impacts their children’s success. The article examines the parent’s school experience and how it
may influence their children’s school success. The study aims to provide an understanding of
how low-income families and high-income families low at their experience and considered
towards their children. According to Veitch (2017), parents’ cognition about schooling has a

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 8
direct impact based on their school experience. The article understands that the parents are the
primary “mangers” of the children, and they can directly impact the environment and mindset of
their kids (Veitch, 2017). The article asks various questions to parents that can lead to answer to
their attitude towards their school success. The article found four themes that can influence the
outcomes of school recollection attitudes based on their income: Intergenerational Influences,
Diversity, transition, and social involvement. All these themes influence the memories of the
parents based on their school backgrounds. The study also found that educational history, race
and marital status can influence their child’s school success when compared to social, economic
status (Veitch, 2017), The study found that family perspective and understanding of the school's
overall approach can help a child become more aware of the structure of the traditional approach
to education.
According to Abrahamse, Jonkman, and Harting (2018), deprived neighborhoods struggle
with their academic achievement. The authors ran a school-based interdisciplinary program to
help those children in a deprived neighborhood with their academic achievement. The study
understands that children in unsafe environments with high poverty rates are more likely to
experience adverse outcomes in their development. Overall, the outcomes of the study were
provided by self-report questionnaires by children and their parents. The questionnaire consisted
of various questions regarding their academic success, sports, and health. The study ran a family
affluence scale to get a background on the children's environment and social-economic status.
The study found that an estimate of 1 and 4 children in low-income neighborhoods live in
poverty (Abrahamse, Jonkman, & Harting, 2018). Various research gathered found that children
living in poverty struggle with their wellbeing and academic achievement. The article
investigated various studies and found a continuum into the harsh reality of low-income families.

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 9
Also, the article highlights how poverty can impact children on an “emotional and behavioral”
level, including their mental health (Abrahamse, Jonkman, & Harting, 2018). The study also
found that low-income families have a higher chance of having poor overall health, including
childhood obesity and mental health issues (Abrahamse, Jonkman, & Harting, 2018). The study
found that teachers who teach in low-income neighborhoods are less effective with disruption
occurring in their classrooms.
Pigott and Israel (2005) conducted an analysis of the Head Start program and how
poverty can affect the school success of young children through a longitudinal study. According
to Pigott and Israel (2005), Head Start children have many variations in resources depending on
their low social, economic status; therefore, their dependence on the program only occurs if they
live in poverty. However, they found the Head Start Gap to be very limited compared to other
schools. However, children who live in poverty still have a chance to perform worst in their
school success regardless of their participation in the program (Pigott & Israel, 2005). However,
the conclusion found that their math scores do increase when children attend head start. Minority
students who attend head start to benefit the most with academic progress development (Pigott &
Israel, 2005). However, A “large percentage” of heads start children that are minorities have
lower math and reading scores than those who attended school with a less diversity score (Pigott
and Israel, 2005). Social, economic status in the schools, had not led to any connection
depending on any math or reading assessments. Overall, the findings show that attending head
start is beneficial to children than those who do not attend it. However, an analysis sample tends
to support that low-income families struggle with the academic success of their children.
According to Yang, Chen, Rhodes, and Orooji (n.d.), maternal hardship directly relate to
school engagement in young children. The study used a longitudinal design to examine grade

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 10
retention over time. Therefore, it showed that attendance problems, low test scores, and risk
factors associated with at-risk environments. Yang, Chen, Rhodes, and Orooji (n.d) research will
show why academic success can be implicated, therefore showing evidence for the main picture
of this capstone proposal. It shows statically significant results while controlling variables such
as “school nesting effects and other covariates (Yang, Chen, Rhodes, & Orooji, n.d.). To gather
their research, it uses information from the children who get free/reduce lunches to look towards
social-economic status. Using that data, it uses about 27% of children who experienced maternal
hardship. The research demonstrates that school success can be implicated by showing evidence
on low attendance scores, low academic achievement, and failure rates all point toward one
variable: maternal hardship. Therefore, showing that school success and high-risk environment
have a connection aiding in the proposal.
Comparing and Contrasting the Sources
All the articles help assisted the various research question since it helped answer the
research question regarding school success in a high-risk environment. However, there were
many different approaches taken in various studies. For starters. Veitch (2017) investigated the
parents’ memories of their education and how that impacted school success in their children.
Abrahamse, Jonkman, and Harting (2018) investigated the influence low-income families may
bring to their children, enrolling them in a head start program. Pigott & Israel (2005) investigated
a low-income neighborhood and how that impact schools’ school. The study by Abrahamse et al.
(2018) and Pigott and Israel (2005) found that the environment in low-income neighborhoods
can be altered and changed for the better to influence school success. Veitch (2017) found that
parents with high incomes have more passion for remembering their educational experience and
transferring that to their parents. All these studies did their purpose in finding a connection with

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 11
the children’s school success and their environments. Social-economic status does impact the
way school success turns out for young children. Yang, Chen, Rhodes, and Orooji (n.d) found
that maternal hardship can implicate retention rates on grades on Elementry students. The
research demonstrates that socio-economic status can influence how well a child does in school.
In addition, social-economic status did affect how parents view their school memories.
According to Veitch (2017), parents will remember their school success, even more, when
surrounded by advantages they can get through their wealthy parents. Additional resources and
aids well help raise the value of school success with parents. However, The study should focus
more than just the Social, economic status of the mothers. Future research should investigate the
overall school experience of the children, comparing it to their parent’s experiences.
All research conducted found interesting points to show that school success and high-risk
environments do have a connection. Overall the article, “Parental Memories of School and
Children’s Early Learning: A Comparison of Higher-income and Lower-income Mothers”
conducted a well-balanced approach to defining how low income and higher-income families
interact with each other. Studies conducted by Veitch (2017)and Pigott & Israel (2005) look at
whether their parent's school success and how they influence decision making. All studies looked
at school involvement and how that affects the relationship with their environment. All studies
looked at the overall school experiences and how that influences academic achievement. The
study conducted by Yang, Chen, Rhodes, and Orooji (n.d) showed high reliability and validity
rates by controlling their confounding factors and conducting a longitudinal study. Pigott and
Israel (2005) did conduct a longitudinal study as well but did it for only to 3-5 years old.
Further evidence and data could be gathered from the time period of the study. The study
does well balance research on how schools’ SES can impact their child development when it

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 12
comes to Head start programs. The study could benefit from more extensive longitudinal
research in the upper school age to see if the achievement gap closes when the child goes
throughout the school system. Abrahamse, Jonkman, and Harting (2018) conducted well-
rounded research with investigated children in four different schools. Therefore, gathering
enough population sample to generalize the effects of the capstone proposal. However, the study
does “lacks randomization of the participating schools,” which could cause concern with
discussing the validity of the study (Abrahamse, Jonkman, & Harting, 2018). However, like
previous studies, it did help find a connection between low-income families and schools guess by
showing a need for an interdisciplinary approach for at-risk children.
According to the resources, parents’ cognition, decision, and social, economic status can
impact children’s school success. Parents need to understand that their educational background
and their attitudes towards schools can influence the school success of their offspring. In
addition, their maternal hardship could impact the way children feel about school. Parents must
not let their economic deprivation impact the advantages of children in the school system. For
starters, Head start does provide an advantage for those in a kindergarten class. Showing, even if
the situation of the environment is risky, finding an advantage in the community can influence
the outcome of school success. Using the data gathered, at-risk families can use a well-balanced
approach to find a connection between their educational experience and finding a resource to
find a path that can lead to school success.
The gaps in research
Overall the research gathered shows that there still needs to be more investigating done
on at-risk environments in a more longitudinal setting. Also, the gaps in research need to
compare what are the emotional, social, and biological factors that associate with school success

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 13
and how the environment can alter academic achievement. Also, additional research is needed to
help focus on the trauma that at-risk environments children might experience to alter their school
success. The research getting a better understanding of what the environment does to alter other
factors besides school success, the field of psychology can find out what needs to be done in
order to aid individuals in at-risk environments. The field of psychology can help individuals
stay in track with their academics while manipulating the hazardous environments to show the
better direction in academics. The focus is on treating the individual with a hazardous
environment and still give them a chance to succeed.
Research Method
The research gathered will use a quantitative cohort research design to gather evidence on
two different population samples. The study will follow two sets of geographical locations: high-
risk neighborhoods and low-risk neighborhoods. A high-risk neighborhood will consist of
children living in poverty. The study design will follow two population samples prospectively
and evaluate them for their school success when exposed to particular risk factors such as living
in poverty. The study will use a comparative approach to try to understand how geographical
locations impact school success. The results of the study will be measured based on data
collected with their grade performance in school. The mean score will be collected to see which
geographical location does not hamper school success. The outcome from each geographical
location in the cohort study will be measured to analyze the results of school success compared
to the associated risk factor.
The goal of the research design is to determine how children living in poverty vs.
children living in suburban areas develop their school success skills. Also, the study will look at
their academic achievement and compare it to their geographical location. The controlled cohort

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 14
study will test out two different geographical locations and compare their school success using a
quantitative approach since numerical data will be measured based on data collection. A
randomized sample of children will be selected from each population sample. After that, the
students will be analyzed over time based on their academic record and location.
The cohort study design approach will generate enough data to aid in the research
sample. Also, testing it over time will see how the children living in a high-risk environment can
cause academic problems. Also, the study could provide answers-based over time to see how
impactful the geographical location can be towards school success. The cohort study design is
most beneficial to this research since the data will be collected over time; therefore, it will give
researchers a chance to access the data with ease. Also, variable patterns that develop over the
period will be easily identifiable. The cohort study will consist of valid data collection. Also,
developmental trends can be observed over time. If confounding variables were to show up in the
longitudinal study, then the flexibility of the research design will allow researchers to work
around the confounding variable and focus on external and internal variables that can aid in the
proposal.
Support of Method
In order to evaluate the similarities and differences of academic achievement over time
in different geographical locations, the sample will be collecting data through the schools; of
course, informed consent will be received by the parents and the school district involved in the
study in order to access their data. Validity and reliability will be kept based on the academic
records of the children involved. The parents must be able to disclose their children’s
information without being biased and holding back their academic records. Also, the study will
interview the parents to pick up any developmental trends,

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 15
The relationship between school success and geographical location is best analyzed
through a cohort longitudinal study. The measurable statistical data will be analyzed over time to
see if there is a relationship between school success and high-risk environments. The relationship
will be best analyzed through a cohort study since two different locations will be involved
(Hossain & Poellabauer, 2018). The study will consist of the parents, children, and the school
district. In order to ensure all ethical outcomes are met through the course of the study, all parties
will be informed of the research and get updated every year. Parents and the school district must
consent before giving out information. Also, confidentiality must be ensured by all parties
involved.
Strength and Weaknesses
Accurate data will be evaluated using professional researchers who can distinguish
academic achievement over time. Information gathered from children can be tricky since they
cannot consent, and their opinion could be misconstrued through manipulation from the parents;
therefore, detailed data such as school performance will be the strength of this study. All
information gathered will be used for research purposes only, and the parents do not have to
worry about using their information against them for malpractice of parenting. All parent
interviews will be multiple choice/open-ended questions to access their validity in their parenting
skills. Furthermore, they analyzed the development of their children over time.
According to Calzada et al. (2012), Africain American boys attending elementary school
did have a higher reading score despite having a lower social economic status, demonstrating
that it can help to look further at many other variables in the capstone proposal. Also, the overall
academic achievement of both low income and high-income children was similar to each other.
The research provides by Calzada et al. (2012) was a longitudinal study that provided

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 16
background on how poverty impacts school success. The design from their study will be
replicated but will be changed up to meet the study application level. The data collection method
works the best overtime when trying to determine a relationship between the two variables;
therefore, a replication of a similar study will help researchers understand the basis of our cohort
study.
In a cohort study of this caliber, there will be an abundance of strengths and weaknesses
associated with the research. For starters, an advantage for this research is the clarity involved in
data collection. The data collection will assist in finding answers over time of children’s
development in high risk and low-risk environment. The study will be controlled with one
population of children coming from a suburban area and one population of children coming from
an urban area with low income. Another advantage associated with cohort studies is the
calculation of incidence involve that can be analyzed throughout the study. The absolute risk of
low academic achievement can be analyzed over time based on what data patterns emerge.
Common exposures to a negative environment such as maternal hardship, impoverished living
conditions, and high crime neighborhoods can be investigated to see if those exposures can
impact school success. All the participants in the Cohort studies are also randomly selected, and
it will reduce selection bias based on the given subjects. However, disadvantage does exist to
cohort studies as well, such as attrition rates may be high when following a large population
sample over time. Also, the cost of the study will be immense since research will be prolonged
for an extended period. Potential confounding factors in this research design are unusually high
since we cannot predict what caused the child to have high achievement or low achievement in
their school success. To explain, many other factors could associate with their academic
achievement besides their geographical location.

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 17
Data-Collection
The research design will replicate the basis of the research provide through Calzada et al.
(2015). The data collection tool will look at the gap growth of academic achievement each year
in determining the potential methodology of the study. Participants will be gathered at random
through a multi-school event that promotes higher learning in high-risk neighborhoods. The
participants will put their demographics and contact information in a box at the event and be
randomly selected for the study at both schools. Students that were from the urban area must be
enrolled in head start at the time to establish low income. Students that were in the suburban area
must meet the criteria in attending a high-quality educational program. The various parents who
are willing to participate in the study will have their characteristics analyzed. Also, research will
ask for informed consent to begin the research process. The pre-k students will be followed for
four years, with each year their academic progress will be gathered for research. The goal for the
data collection will be for both districts to allow access to getting their academic records and for
parents to allow honest guided opinions on their children’s educational process. Trained
professionals in education will analyze the research. The data will be put into SPSS for data
analysis using their One Way ANOVA. In SPSS Statistics, the research will separate low-income
families and high incomes into their appropriate groups and putting them into the same columns
as the two independent variables int the study. The two fixed factors will be low income and
high-income families. Besides, the dependent variables will be children's final grades from each
year. The one-way ANOVA will be comparing each year for assessment of progress in academic
achievement.
Population and Sampling Procedure

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 18
The goal of the study is to have about 250 children total randomly selected through the
population. A total of 125 children from Susquehanna township high school and 125 from
Harrisburg City School District. The reason behind the 250 population sample is due to the low
volume of students located in the Susquehanna region based on the vast majority of children
located in Harrisburg city. The students will be selected at random through a festival conducted
at both school districts. Students will come from a variety of head start/pre-k programs in the
area. The target audience focuses on the head start program and the preschool program in the
assign areas and their end of the year festival. Overall, their condition was controlled based on
the population sample. However, the sample cannot consist of all the students who attended the
festival but only those subsets that will be randomly selected, such as those in urban and suberin
areas.
Collect Data
The cohort longitudinal study will take place in a four-year span in which data will be
collected every year. Each year data will be evaluated for the increase of academic progress or
the decrease of academic progress. The schools will be informed of the current grades of each
student from year to year to see if they want to continue with the research. Evaluation of
academic achievement will be given a baseline test at the beginning of the intake with informed
consent and confidentiality paperwork given as well. Student's final grades will be pulled by the
parents and the school administration with their consent. Their grades will be put into different
files, labeled low income or high income. Each year researchers will evaluate the grades through
SPSS and file the means for each year. Therefore, research can look at and compare the years the
child improved or declined in their academic achievement. The income of the families will be
determined based on the demographic questionnaire given to them at the school event for the

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promotion of higher learning. An interview will be conducted with the parents on their parenting
methods as well. Interviews with the parents will be conducted every six months to avoid a high
attrition rate with the participants. The parent's interview question will be evaluated to see if they
can have an impact on a child's school success as well
Data-analysis Process
In order to evaluate all the data, the SPSS software will be useful in imputing all the data
from the parents and the children’s school success. Trained professionals in the educational field
will evaluate the data and double-check for a type one or type two errors that could occur. All
data will be subject to evaluation. Parents will be encouraged to give an account of what
parenting method works best for them when trying to raise their children. Parents will be given a
multiple-choice answer either to pick the authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative method.
The multiple-choice answer will also have an explanation of each method. Also, they will be
asked to discuss their child’s emotional, behavioral, and social development throughout the
process. They will be given a scale of 1-10 in a questionnaire asking about their children's
emotional stability, behavioral progress, and social outings throughout the research. An SPSS
expert will be used to analyze all the results and develop an analysis that is statistically
significant for our data. The data collection intends to compare the different mean scores in
academic achievement between high risk and low-risk neighborhoods. In addition to comparing
the different methods of parenting associated with different poverty levels.
Statistical analysis
The parents will go through a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) that will
measure the various question of their child’s emotional, behavioral, and social development
throughout the course (Richardson, Pearce, Shortt & Mitchell, 2017). According to Richardson,

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Pearce, Shortt, and Mitchell (2017), the study found that a pleasant environment will help
children develop their basic needs, such as social, emotional, and behavioral. Therefore, the
questionnaire provided can relate to the research. The self-report method will hamper the
reliability of the study since parents could give a biased answer based on their children’s
performances. An analysis of the data will be conducted using SPSS and will be analyzed with a
one-way ANOVA feature. The multilevel analysis will also determine academic achievement
through kindergarten and second grade. Reading and math scores will be compared for a mean
score using the feature. Genders will also be compared using the means scores. The children will
be given a questionnaire rating scale from 1-10 on the classroom quality, poverty, and school
readiness, The data from the children will be used as a predictor to determine the achievement
scores as well. The data will be put into SPSS software and analyzed for comparison based on
academic records. A one-way ANOVA will be used to compare the means difference between
the two variables. The one-way ANOVA will compare the mean differences in school success
between children in urban areas and children in suburban areas. The reason a one way ANOVA
will validate the research starts with the basis of comparing the mean differences between low
income and high-income parents, which are the two independent variables. The dependent
variable, school success, will be collected using their mean scores. The primary reason the
research is using aa one-way ANOVA is to get a better understanding of the interaction between
high-income low-income parents and their school success.
Limitations and Assumptions
The assumption associated with the research state that children who live in poverty will
struggle with school success since they do not have access to advantages like those families with
high income. However, there are plenty of resources associated with academic achievement

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 21
geared towards the families in poverty in the Harrisburg area. The parents just decide not to use
those methods. Limitations of this research will come from the gaps in research implied towards
the environment and how they interact with school success. School success cannot just be
mediated based on a person’s living conditions; therefore, there could be potential for many
confounding variables underlying the various other options needed to improve school success. A
connection on a developmental pathway towards school success can be made based on
geographical location, but that cannot be the main reason. To explain the other variable could
cost children to either falter in school or have school success, such as an abundance in
advantages provides by wealthy parents or a lack of sleep associated with high crime
neighborhoods. Also, the two-school district, Harrisburg City school district, and Susquehanna
township school district are geographically close together. However, their environments are
entirely different. The sample could be compromised based on the movement of different parents
throughout the neighborhood over the years. To explain, parents could leave the area and
increase their financial wealth, or parents can leave the sub-suburban area and go towards
financial hardship. Therefore, implicating the measures of the studies from previous data
collection. The reliability of the research could be in jeopardy based on the various confounding
variables associated with the research, such as parenting techniques, academic advantages,
learning disorders, and genetics.
How Findings will be Disseminated
After all the research is gathered throughout the process, it will be disseminated towards
all the parents, school districts, and researchers involved in the study. Also, it will be published
in an educational journal for higher learning. Confidentiality will be kept throughout the
publishing process. Before the article is published, various peers will evaluate the research for

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 22
further investigation and validity. The input given by the peers of psychologists and educators
will be necessary for a greater understanding of how academic achievement can be impacted by
geographical location. The purpose of the research is to give school districts and parents a clear
view of what can influence school success. Other factors, such as poverty and low resources, can
hamper the development of children.
Ethical Consideration
When working with children, ethical concerns are always something to be aware of
during research. The proposed study for the capstone discusses children in a risk environment to
see which child can achieve greater school success. The longitudinal study will follow children
across their lifespan in their environment. The children will not need to do much in the research
besides letting them know that they are being observed based on their grade performance.
Informed consent is a must for children and adults. If the adults do not get informed consent,
then a dilemma of ethics could occur. The legal guardian of the children should always be given
information regarding the research; therefore, they could honor the code of ethics (Mackie,
Leslie, & Rojas, 2019). According to Mackie, Leslie, and Rojas (2019), research must honor the
consent of the parents since children cannot consent on their own. All children involved in this
proposal will receive approval and their parents as well. The researchers must build trust with
their clients and understand that their research should not be disclosed without their consent.
Also, confidentiality is a must to maintain trust with the participants, or the integrity of the study
will be in question. Ethical considerations in dealing with children can be challenging to
understand, but a child’s right must be upheld when observing them in a naturalistic observation.
One of the ethical concerns that could arise with the research is causing mental harm
towards the child while they endure the risk associated with an at-risk environment. The

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 23
individual should remain in their environment, but if their grades and observation are causing a
distraction and mental harm, the reporting should be discontinued. According to American
Psychoglcail Association Professional (2017), no individual involved in the research should be
subject to any damage while research is being conducted. Also, all children’s rights should be
honored during the study. According to the American Psychological Association (2017),
researchers should only provide research with the right qualification and training; therefore, to
avoid any potential wrongdoings. The research involved dealing with school district and minors.
Therefore, professionals must be able to gather information without interfering in the child’s
academics.
The research will involve gathering information from the school district and their parents
and computing them into a two way ANOVA to compare means between the children in an at-
risk environment and an enrolment with some advantages. The variable will include the
children’s school success, which will not be manipulated. Furthermore, no concern for ethical
dilemmas during the experimental design since it will occur naturally. Cooper & McNair (2015)
stated it clearly that at risk, the research could arise if the variables must be manipulated;
therefore, research should be sound and clear for no risk be involved in the reporting and
publishing aspects.
The population will include parents and children. The children ages will be around four
years old and will be followed until they turn seven years of age. Different cultures and
backgrounds of many minorities will be includes in the study. The research will look at children
in a risk environment and try to see how their school success is impacted by their surroundings.
Therefore, individuals involved will be in a risk environment, but it will be in their natural
habitat so the children will not be forced in those living conditions. Possible language barriers

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 24
could occur due to different cultural living in low-income areas. All these issues will be
examined and looked at with clarity throughout the research.
Conclusion
Overall the research shows that children in an at-risk environment do struggle
academically. Head start program is in place all over the country to help children in poverty get
ahead of struggling with school success (Pigott & Israel, 2005). Parents with a better
understanding to use their academic achievement in the past and use their skills to help their
children will help them prosper into a better understanding of how to succeed in school (Veitch,
2017). Finally, parents in a risk environment have a chance to manipulate the environment and
aid those children to gain a head start with different intervention approaches (Abrahamse et al.
2018). Children must grow up in an environment that can help them with their academic
achievement without sub coming to the disadvantages of living in poverty. However, family
structure can lead to a child not to focus on their academics but the trauma surrounding their
environment. The future of psychology can help resolve the problem children living in poverty
might have for academics and guide them for a better understanding to succeed.
For children to develop at their necessary pace, they must grow up in an environment that
can support their development. However, circumstances such as poverty and single-parent homes
can destroy the integrity of the household and cause the child to falter in their school success.
Future research will help discover the overall value of helping children living in poverty areas.
Parents’ recollection of their memories and how they view school success could play a massive
part in the motivation of their families. Schools implementing an integration program to help
low-income neighborhoods could aid in developing children’s mental health and overall
wellbeing despite being in a low-income household. Finally, more programs like head start

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL 25
should be in place to aid in the development of children living in poverty. A different approach
should be taken toward low-income families to find out what ties their school success together.
Also, the research conducted on these various articles will help uncover the distinction between
children in low-income families and high incomes families and how that directly impacts their
school success.
References
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