A Framework for Understanding Poverty

A Framework for Understanding Poverty is a very popular book published in 1996 by Dr. Ruby K. Payne. Its main purpose is to understand how poverty impacts learning, work habits, and decision-making. It provides “practical, real-world support and guidance to improve effectiveness in working with people from all socioeconomic backgrounds.” It also provides educators with tools they could use to understand

With this book, Dr. Payne seeks to educate others on the “culture of poverty.” Rather than poverty simply being a state where one is financially poor, Dr. Payne defines poverty as “the extent to which a person goes without resources” (Payne, 7). These “resources” are defined as being one or more of the following:

• Financial - Having the money to purchase goods and services.
• Emotional - being able to choose and control emotional responses, particularly to negative situations, without engaging in self destructive behavior. This is an internal resource and shows itself through stamina, perseverance, and choices.
• Mental - Having the mental abilities and acquired skills (reading, writing, computing) to deal with daily life.
• Spiritual - Believing in divine purpose and guidance.
• Physical - Having physical health and mobility.
• Support Systems - Having friends, family, and backup resources available to access in times of need. These are external resources.
• Relationships/Role Models - Having frequent access to adult(s) who are appropriate, who are nurturing to the child, and who do not engage in self destructive behavior.
• Knowledge of Hidden Rules - Knowing the unspoken cues and habits of a group.

Within this framework, Payne continues by defining the role of five different registers of language. For the purposes of the book, the two most important registers are casual and formal. Casual refers to the language used between friends and formal refers to the language of choice in work and school. Dr. Payne goes on to explain that in students in poverty may not have any access to formal register other than school and may never learn the “hidden rules” about where and when casual and formal register are to be used.

Dr. Payne devotes an entire chapter to these “hidden rules” that are to be learned by students. As defined by Dr. Payne, “hidden rules” are cueing mechanisms used to let people know you do or don’t belong. The overall message of the chapter is best explained by Dr. Payne herself. "The key point is that hidden rules govern so much of our immediate assessment of an individual and his/her capabilities. These are often the factors that keep an individual from moving upward in a career - or even getting the position in the first place" (p. 44).

Dr. Payne also discusses in detail the differences between “generational poverty” and “situational poverty.” “Generational poverty” refers to having been in poverty for at least two generations. “Situational poverty,” on the other hand, refers to a lack of resources due to a particular event, such as illness or divorce. She then draws the following conclusions:

• An education is the key to getting out of, and staying out of, generational poverty.
• Being in poverty is rarely about a lack of intelligence or ability.
• Many individuals stay in poverty because they don't know there is a choice - and if they do know that, have no one to teach them the hidden rules or provide resources.
• Schools are virtually the only places where students can learn the choices and rules of the middle class.

Dr. Payne does not stop at simply understanding poverty, she provides tools and strategies to reach these students. One of the greatest tools is the development of relationships between school employees and the student. The research from Payne’s work has found that the most important possessions for those in poverty are relationships, and by developing strong relationships with students and families, we can most effectively deliver education to students in poverty. Additionally, by effectively and directly teaching the “hidden rules” of communication, students are better able to navigate the various social situations and appropriately respond with the correct register.

She provides the following strategies teachers can employ to help make their lessons more relevant and understandable for children of all social classes:

• Build relationships of mutual respect with students.
• Use direct teach processes. This means that you are very specific in the steps and procedures needed to do something. For example, a recipe has amounts of ingredients but will also tell the steps or order that must be followed to make the item. And in school, often the processes are not identified or written down so they can be consistently followed.
• Use mental models. Mental models help translate between the sensory and the abstract worlds. Just as a blueprint translates between the conversation about a house and the actual finished house in the three dimensions, so a mental model translates between abstract constructs and the sensory world.
• Teach that there are two sets of rules -- one for school and work, one for outside of school and work.

Dr. Payne is not without her opponents. One of the staunchest opponents of Payne’s work is Paul C. Gorski who has written an essay entitled Savage Unrealities: Uncovering Classism in Ruby Payne's Framework. This essay seeks to reveal Dr. Payne's focus on blaming those in poverty, supporting stereotypes, and looking at poverty as a choice. It also challenges Dr. Payne's plan to teach those in poverty how to successfully work within the system, rather than change the system which he affirms is flawed. Gorski makes an effective case for this criticism when he states “Instead of tackling inequity and injustice, instead of describing ways in which schools and a complicit upper and middle class (Brantlinger, 2003) contribute to cycles of poverty through classist policies and practices like tracking, inequitable expectations, and high-stakes testing, Payne (2001) insists that we must understand these 'hidden rules' of poverty and teach students in poverty the rules that will help them navigate the system (p. 8).”

Despite its criticisms, many people have been positively affected by the work of Dr. Payne. I tend to agree with Payne, yet I find myself drawing back at times due to, what I perceive, are her overt generalizations bordering on stereotyping. As an individual who has grown up in poverty and is now considered “middle class,” many of the strategies that Payne promotes would not have worked for me. However, there is a great need for education reform and understanding the framework of poverty and how to deal with it is an excellent way to start.