1. Chapter 10: School Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D.
The Department of Psychology
The University of West Florida

2. Patterns of Schooling: USA
USA: Mandatory attendance ages based on states law(FL: students may drop out of school with parent’s permission at 16 years)
Organization of school systems based on state and school district political systems
Curriculum is state or local decision
National requirements based on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) but dependent on state level assessment

3. Patterns of Schooling in USA
Elementary School—kindergarten through 5th or 6th grade
Middle School—6th grade through 8th grade
Junior High School—7th grade through 9th grade
High School—9th or 10th grade through 12th grade
Alternative plan: Primary (K-8) & Secondary (9-12)—tends to be more adaptive.

4. Patterns of Schooling: A Global Perspective
Globally the compulsory age varies by country.
Frequently attendance is required through basic school which goes through 8th or 9th grade.
Assessments frequently determine the type of post basic education (gymnasium=college prep; professional=technical career; vocational=trade or guild)
Decisions about profession and type of school made quite early

5. Patterns of Schooling: A Global Perspective
Education in Post Conflict Regions
Low Numbers of Trained Teachers
Universities and Teacher Training Centers lack trained faculty
Dependent upon foreign trainers and faculty
Number of females in secondary schools significantly lower than males
Textbooks typically outdated and shared by multiple students

8. Effective Schools for Adolescents
Two dimensions for consideration:
School climate & belongingness:
the degree to which adolescents feel part of the social fabric of the school
Adolescents’ sense of support and care from peers, faculty, and administration
Academic achievement
Level of academic performance
Test scores
Class levels (advanced, basic, remedial)
Class grades

9. School climate & Belongingness
School Size:
500 students is likely optimal
Above 1000 students isolation of shy, neglected students more frequent
School-within-a-school
Within larger schools, students and teachers form smaller learning communities
Teacher as Advisor
Each teacher is assigned a small group of students to maintain contact across the middle or high school years

10. School climate & Belongingness
Transition from Primary to Secondary School:
Teacher expectations generally negative re: adolescents (Eccles and associates)
Multiple teachers across subjects
Broader range of peer groups
Age at transition less important than school, peer, & parental factors

11. School Climate & Academic Achievement
Factors predicting academic achievement (Stewart, 2007/2008):
School Attachment: the extent to which students care about and have positive feelings for school.
School Commitment: students’ perceptions that education is important to themselves

12. School Climate & Academic Achievement
Factors predicting academic achievement (Stewart, 2007/2008):
Positive Peer Affiliations: values peers who have high academic aspirations and prosocial behaviors
Parent-Child Discussions: parents who engage in conversations with their children about school and school-related topics in the home

13. School Climate Norms of Secondary Education:
Greater teacher control of the teaching/learning process
More negative stereotype about adolescents in general
Low expectations for most students
Less individualized attention than in primary schools

14. School Climate Creating Positive School Climates High Demandingness
High and appropriate expectations of all students
High Responsiveness
Provide necessary and appropriate support for student needs to meet or exceed expectations.
Create a safe and warm atmosphere
Sound familiar????

15. Teacher Attitudes that Foster Positive School Climate
All students are capable of learning
Expectations are high for all students
Teachers value free and positive interactions with all students
Teacher student relationship reflects authoritative style
Teachers freely provide and receive feedback that is encouraging & informative

16. Attribution for Success & Failure
Internal Attribution
External Attribution
Stable Factor
Ability
Luck, Fate
Variable Factor
Effort; Strategy Selection
Task Difficulty
Other’s Bias

17. Attribution for Success & Failure
Middle & High School:
Females
Tend to attribute success in science or math to luck or task (easy)
Tend to attribute failure in science or math to ability
(Dickhauser & Wulf-Uwe, 2006)
Males
Tend to attribute success in science or math to ability
Tend to attribute failure in science or math to luck or lack of effort (self-handicapping)

18. Attribution for Success & Failure
College students:
females more than males indicated lack of ability for failure and effort for success (males attributed success to ability)
(Beyer ,1998)
Attributions of internal and variable factors for success and failure linked to greater perception of control.

19. Motivation Orientation and Engagement
Dweck’s Motivation Orientation
task/mastery orientation—
the completion of the task and learning the material or mastering the skill is key
Tends to have a more intrinsic motivational set

20. Motivation Orientation and Engagement
Dweck’s Motivation Orientation
performance/ability orientation—
Focus is on external evaluation; getting the grade
Tends to have more extrinsic motivational set
Schooling typically requires both!!!

21. Beyond School Climate: Student Engagement
Family factors in Student Engagement:
Parental expressions of value of educational attainment (e.g. Stewart, 2007/2008)
Parental monitoring of students’ homework and academic progress
Parental models for literacy
Parents provide a text rich environment
Authoritative parenting related to higher engagement regardless of social class.
How might a parent with low skills and little financial resources accomplish this?

22. Peers, Friends, & School
Friends typically share similar levels of engagement and achievement
Larger peer groups (e.g. crowds) can influence social comparisons
Selective schools/programs can have differential impacts on peer status

23. Work, Leisure, & School Broad issue is linked to competing priorities
Work of greater than 10 hours/wk linked to:
reduced engagement in school,
lower academic performance,
increased psychological difficulties, and
over all poorer outcomes
Students from lower SES families tend to work to provide partial family income
Others tend to work for disposable income (e.g. car)

24. Ethnic Differences in Schooling: Engagement and Achievement
Cautionary Notes:
Ethnic differences are confounded by economic factors
As much intragroup variability exists as intergroup variability
When economic, prejudice, and peer influences are considered, little difference in engagement and academic achievement exist

25. Gender Differences Cautionary Notes
Differences in academic achievement related to social support from peers, teachers, and families
Overall females achieve higher than males
Domain specific differences (e.g. science & math) likely due to socialization (Nosak’s work)

26. Academic Achievement
What are factors that impact one’s level of academic achievement?
Educational history
Parenting factors
Individual motivation
Peers and friends
Psychological/Learning disabilities
Teacher expectations

27. Academic Achievement Accommodations for Differences
Special needs programs (Exceptional Student Education) within schools
Different schools (Charter Schools)
Individual interventions (e.g. medication, therapy, tutoring)
Tracking (grouping by achievement levels)

28. Tracking Research on tracking
Snow (1986) with tracking "low" kids tend to be alienated from school
Gamoran & Mare (1989) When achievement is held constant, tracking predicts drop out better than scores on achievement tests.
Page (1990) kids in low tracks tend to think that luck and guessing is more fruitful than hard work and skills

29. School Dropouts/School Leavers
Old-for-grade (retained one or more grades)
Disengagement from social fabric of the school
Relevant peer groups outside of school
Disengagement from the process of learning
Repeated failure with no sense of possibility of recovery
Behavioral Problems
Rejected peer group

30. School Dropouts/School Leavers
Family Factors:
Competing priorities in the home
Need for additional income
Need for child care or care for ill parent
Neglectful Parenting
Little parental monitoring
Little encouragement to succeed in school

31. School Dropouts/School Leavers
Prevention
School within a school
Active learning strategies
Models/Mentors
Cooperative learning with mixed ability groups
Family involvement programs
Alternative programs/Pathways
Adult High School (Pensacola Junior College)
Cooperative Education (.5 day academics/.5 day work placement)

32. On the next slide are some questions I’d like you to prepare for our discussion. Do not spend too much time but make some notes for yourself for our discussion on School and Adolescence.

33. Education during Emerging Adulthood: The College Years
Think about your first year in college.
How would you describe your peer group?
How has it changed since that year?
How would you describe your own educational experience to date in your college tenure?
In what ways have you as a person changed during your college years?
What other priorities have you had to handle during your college years?