THE EFFECT OF BOARDING SCHOOLS ON DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to conduct a study on the effect of boarding schools on disadvantaged students.

Design/ Methodology/Approach: For the research methodology, the paper adopted the desktop literature review method (desk study), which involved an in-depth review of studies and research addressing the effect of boarding schools on disadvantaged students in different places and especially the SEED Program in the U.S. Furthermore, a vast research of the top keywords related to boarding school, cognitive skills, non-cognitive skills, randomized controlled trial.was conducted  in various databases. Thus, the study was purely qualitative, drawing its findings from secondary sources of information.

Findings: Boarding schools substitute school to home, but little is known on the effects this substitution produces on students. Boarders enjoy better studying conditions than control students. However, they start outperforming control students in mathematics only two years after admission, and this effect mostly comes from strong students. After one year, levels of well-being are lower among boarders, but in their second year, students adjust: well-being catches-up. This suggests that substituting school to home is disruptive: only strong students benefit from the boarding school, once they have managed to adapt to their new environment

Contribution to policy and practice: In conclusion, the study found out that the school has a negative effect on students’ well-being after one year, which reverses in the second year. This could explain why its positive effect on cognitive outcomes and on a number of measures of motivation and effort only appear in the second year, although from their first year onwards boarders experience a number of positive inputs.

Originality/Value: Thus boarding  students indeed have a positive impact on the education of disadvantaged children. However, the children who are not strong enough are over powered by the control students which makes then uncomfortable and thus do not perform as good.