Cultural Deprivation: Euphemism and Essence

Abstract

The culturally deprived child is described as one who cannot benefit from the educational opportunity that a society may grant for the development of the individual's potentiality to the fullest extent, and an inability to exploit the opportunities for employment that society may provide. It is suggested that sensory deprivation studies on animals cannot be appropriately replicated in the life patterns of disadvantaged children. Not all children who grow up in a disadvantaged environment suffer becauseof it; indeed some of them get to be as brilliant as the children from advantageous backgrounds. A threshold hypothesis is advanced at this point: if we recognize a threshold for intellectual capacity, children above this threshold are hardly affected by the usual disadvantageous conditions, whereas children below this threshold are affected strongly by these conditions. Efforts at stimulating early environment can thus be beneficial only for those who are below the threshold. Some strategies for remedial education are also discussed.