Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Chapter 9 Adolescents in School

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Chapter Objectives To look more closely at adolescents as students and at how best to structure their classroom experiences To distinguish characteristics of effective schools: skilled teachers, small classes, supportive school climate, and multiple services for students and their families To look at violence, bullying, and peacemaking in schools, to examine the relationship between academic achievement and socioeconomic status, gender, and culture To examine programs for gifted adolescents and those with learning disabilities To consider factors related to dropping out or completing school, and the ways of assessing the success of schools.

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Educating Adolescents The differentiated instruction method allows: –Students to work in groups on different projects –Gives students multiple ways of gaining information and making sense of what they are learning –considers all learning styles Grades drop when adolescents enter junior high, this may reflect more impersonal classroom environments and less involvement in classroom decision-making

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education What Makes Schools Effective? Skilled teachers who have high expectations for all students, monitor their progress, and make effective use of feedback in guiding students’ activities Smaller schools overcome differences related to social class and academic background better than large schools Small schools have more positive interactions, few discipline problems and less absenteeism It is possible to create smaller communities for learning within large schools that can be responsive to students’ needs

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Effective Schools Effective schools have a supportive school climate that promotes achievement through integrating resources into instruction and emphasizing diverse types of achievement Effective schools are full-service schools that collaborate with community agencies to provide a variety of health and social services for students and their families Effective schools involve parents in their children’s education

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education School Violence Factors contributing to the presence of violence in schools: –Societal attitudes toward violence –Domestic violence –Media modeling –Poverty –Discrimination –Accessibility of guns

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Statistics on Violence 23% of ninth-grade males report being in physical fights 15% say they have been threatened or injured with a weapon 7% reported they sometimes feel too unsafe to go to school 9% say they have carried a gun or other weapon to school

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Bullying Bullying: aggressive behavior or remarks over a period of time toward a person. The victim finds it difficult to defend him/herself. Victims of bullying do not feel safe at school Adolescents in middle school (13.3%) are more likely to be bullied than are those in high school (4.8%) 16.9 sixth-tenth graders experienced moderate or frequent bullying (Nansel et al )

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Bullying Boys are more likely to use physical aggression and direct verbal aggression Girls use indirect forms of aggression, such as, rumors and exclusion Victims may experience anxiety, depression, loneliness, lower self esteem, and school performance suffers Profile of victim: anxious, insecure, low self-esteem, male

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Intervention Programs Intervention programs that involve parents, teachers, staff and students have been found to be effective in reducing bullying by 50% - 70% Schools can promote peace through cooperative learning, and constructive controversy, and by establishing conflict resolution centers.

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Education for All Gender-role stereotyping still exists in teaching materials, large advances have been made in reducing stereotyping Using the masculine pronoun generically predisposes students and teachers to think of males in general, skewing their ideas of competence for all equally Jigsaw classroom: work in small groups that are balanced for ethnic background and ability.

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Education for All Materials from all cultural perspectives is helpful to minority students who may not always share the perspective of the textbook Communication problems arise when language is used differently at school and at home Intervention problems usually focus on problems at home or school (microsystem), but may need to be looked at as societal issues (macrosystem)

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Academic Achievement Student from low-income families: –Score lower on achievement tests –Get lower grades –Are less likely to finish high school –Home conditions are less conducive to studying –Have access to fewer resources, –High rates of unemployment offer less incentive for completing school –Attend schools where teachers are less likely to be experienced or trained

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Academic Achievement Existing public programs, such as early childhood intervention, have been found to be effective in countering the effects of economic adversity on academic achievement Academic tracking may contribute to differences in achievement and dropout rates among those assigned to college and non-college tracks Alternatives to tracking; –Forming small cooperative learning groups in the classroom –Involving parents in the educational process –Work-study and computer-assisted instruction

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Academic Achievement Dropout rates are related to: –Low socioeconomic status and ethnicity –Parents’ or siblings’ failure to complete high school –Family stress is predictive of dropping out –History of difficulty or failure in school –Low self-esteem –Assignment to non-college track –Behavior problems

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Academic Achievement Early childhood intervention programs improve academic performance in grade school, and increase the likelihood of completing high school Community college programs that allow students who have dropped out to earn GED while accumulating college credits are effective Effective programs for at-risk students: –Involve parents –Provide individualized counseling –Help students meet their financial and academic needs (work programs for academic credit)

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Academic Achievement U.S. student lag behind students in other countries in mathematics and science. Spending time with friends, playing sports and working are high priorities for many U.S. students Academic achievement is strongly correlated with authoritative parenting by communication, involvement, and expectation.

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Achievement Motivation Task oriented: focus on the task and increase mastery, less likely to be disrupted by failure. See failure as lack of effort rather than lack of ability Performance oriented: focus on performance and use it as a measure of their ability, are likely to withdraw if faced with failure. Attribute failure to an external cause rather than their own lack of effort.

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education The Gifted Adolescent Score 130 or above on IQ test or have creative, artistic, leadership or other special talents Enrichment programs provide gifted students more experiences than ordinary Acceleration programs allow gifted students to advance beyond their grade level.

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Learning Disabilities Average or above intelligence, but show a discrepancy between expected and actual performance Students have difficulty in academic tasks that can be traced to neurological dysfunction Can fall 5-7 grade levels behind classmates in some subjects Poor study habits and test-taking skills Social skills are also affected.

Copyright 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education Measuring Success Presently nearly 1/3 of U.S. adolescents fail to graduate high school with a diploma. Standards-based education holds schools accountable for making progress toward meeting proficiency levels, gives parents the option to place children in better schools if present school fails to meet proficiency standards Solutions to problems in education will need to address high rates of unemployment and improving the quality of schools serving low- income inner–city youth