Meeting Diverse Student Needs in Urban Schools

1. Meeting Diverse Student Needs in Urban Schools Authors: Alan Arroyo, Randy Rhoad, and Priscilla Drew Presented By: Elizabeth Ward Cultural Competency

2. Main purposes of the article: • Identifying key variables related to underachieving urban students • Analyzing recommendations for school personnel

3. 10 Key Influences On Student Underachievement: • Teacher Behavior • Teacher Expectations • Curriculum Relevance • Class Size • Student Disengagement • Confidence in the students ability • High Mobility • Parental expectations and involvement • Level of parents' education • Poverty or low income

4. Teacher Classroom Behavior: • It is important for teachers to show students respect, support, and encouragement and to make the child’s total development a priority. • Also, it is important for teachers to communicate understanding of cultural diversity among students. • Teachers who are task oriented and set clear classroom discipline expectations, while democratically giving students choices were found to relate best to urban students.

5. Teacher Expectations: • Teachers must demonstrate realistically high expectations for students to reach their academic potential. • When teachers expect students to do well, students will rise to that level of expectation. • Teachers who expect students to achieve not only communicate that expectation but also give students every opportunity to achieve.

6. Curriculum Relevance: • Education often lacks relevance because students can not imagine how educational experiences connect to their lives. • Lacking Schema • Some students underachieve because of instruction that is uninteresting and academically unchallenging, which leads to apathy and low performance. • Teachers can help students realize the relevance of the academic curriculum by involving students in real-life vocational activities, having guest speakers from the community, and intergroup cooperative learning activities.

7. Class Size and Academic Achievement: • Smaller classes, especially in the early grades, can make a significant difference in a students achievement levels. • Small-group cooperative learning activities can provide personalization and involvement that achieving students need.

8. Student Disengagement: • When students perceive that academic achievement will lead to rewards and believe that their own hard work will result in academic achievement they will be more engaged. • Expanded study time and homework assigned frequently by teachers reinforces student academic engagement. • Student involvement in school and community activities is a predictor of low academic performance.

9. Lack of Student Confidence in Ability to Achieve: • Successful students attribute their school success to hard work . • Unsuccessful students view academic performance as a result of circumstances beyond their control. • Teachers play an important role in building students confidence in their academic success. • When teachers inform students that they believe in them and expect that they will do well, students begin to believe in themselves.

10. High Mobility: • Mobility is defined as students transferring form one school to another, due to family relocation. • Students who move often have less time to establish an academic routine, have less opportunity to develop relationships with teachers and peers, and are less likely to engage in school life.

11. Parental Expectations: • Students whose parents expect higher grades and verbalize these expectations tend to perform at a higher level academically than do students whose parents have low academic expectations for them. • Students also show less problem behavior and emotional maladjustment in school. • Parent involvement is also an essential component. • Teachers and administrators need proper training to facilitate parental involvement.

12. Level of Parent Education: • Parents’ involvement and expectations tend to be affected by their level of education. • Schools can be influential increasing the level of parent’ participation and expectations for their children’s academic success, regardless of the parents’ level of education.

13. Poverty-Low Income: • Low-income status is associated with a high dropout rate. • Struggling poor families have more stress on family relationships and this affects the child’s ability to perform. • Students from low-income families tend to lack quiet, orderly places to study. Also, students often are ill nourished, lacking sleep, and preoccupied with problems at home.

14. Recommendations: • Schools should match caring, skilled, experienced teachers who have realistically high expectations with low achieving students. • Students respond best to teachers who display an attitude of respect, concern and encouragement. • Students respond best to teachers who relate in a caring and respectful manner and also communicate an understanding of cultural diversity.

15. Recommendations: • Administrators should change the practice of assigning novice teachers to underachieving students . • Schools should establish programs for professional development to assist teachers in how to effectively communicate with students and parents of diverse cultures. • Teachers should receive training in curriculum adaptations for multicultural populations.

16. Recommendations: • Problem-based , cooperative-learning activities • Activities related to students culture and gender • Reduce class size to below 20 students • “Schools within a school”, small-group instruction • Stressing the importance and relevance of out-of-class study, and involvement in extra curricular activities

17. Recommendations: • Instruction in positive self talk (e.g.," This may be difficult but I can do it.”) • Welcome new students and their parents • School intervention to support students mobility issues • Training to increase parental involvement • Promote parent training programs