Parents' socioeconomic status and children's academic ... - Nova

The concept of ’poverty’ has evolved rapidly over the last four decades.
According to Simon Maxwell (1999), the concept of poverty emerged at the
beginning of the twentieth century with a focus on nutritional status. In the
1960s the focus shifted to income, reflected in macro-economic indicators
such as per capita GNP. Since 1980 new concepts have been added to the
definition of poverty such as participation, vulnerability, livelihood,
capabilities and functioning, empowerment and liberty. In the 1990s the
idea of ‘well-being’ was used as a metaphor for the absence of poverty, with
the emphasis on subjective evaluation of poverty. At the same time the
United Nations Development programme (UNDP), inspired by Sen,
developed the idea of ‘human development’: ‘the denial of opportunities and
choices… to lead a long, healthy, creative life and to enjoy a decent standard
of living, freedom, dignity, self-esteem and the respect of others...’. A
counterpart of ‘human development’ in rich countries is ‘social exclusion’
and ‘deprivation’ (Maxwell 1999).
The current debate on poverty is dominated by distinctions between
absolute and relative concepts, subjective and objective indicators, and by
discussions of which measurements and indicators should be used, particularly
in the rich countries. Moreover, the debate on poverty often touches upon
discussions of related terms, such as empowerment, social inclusion/ social
exclusion, discrimination and inequality. Social exclusion, in particular, is
frequently used as a synonym for ‘poverty’ or as part of the wider definition of
poverty (as in contributions on “poverty and social exclusion”) (The Poverty
Site 2008). However, Tone Fløtten argues that the two concepts are different
and that also non-poor people can be socially excluded (Fløtten 2006).
2.2.2 Measurement of poverty
Poverty is defined in either absolute or relative terms. Absolute poverty is
defined as a universal measure that quantifies the number of people below a
poverty threshold, and posits a fixed level across different countries, cultures,
and technological levels. Absolute poverty is sometimes used as a synonym
for ‘extreme poverty’ which is the severest state of poverty where people lack
the basic necessities for survival (food, shelter, clothing etc. used in
developing countries) or lack minimal acceptable standards of living (used in
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