Education Foundations Module B

With reference to one of these scenarios, how might knowledge of the philosophy and history of education help you understand your role?


Stan (2)
Stan has been teaching at his outer metropolitan high school for 20 years now. Over this time he has seen the community change from a reasonably affluent Anglo community, where many people lived on large semi-rural blocks to a near suburb of medium density housing and many ‘new Australians’. If you ask Stan will tell you that the school has gone down hill over the years as the students are just not what they used to be. It has changed from a small high school with a sense of community to a new reasonably large school with rows of demountable classrooms on the old oval. The sense of community has been replaced by an undercurrent of discontent with notable divisions between parents of the old community and the ‘new arrivals’. Last year a fence even went up around the school. In the past parents used to help out a lot at the school, while nowadays you hardly see a parent as they all leave on the 7am train for Sydney and don’t get back till the evening. Stan is worried that a number of the students are falling asleep in class and not keeping up with work, while some are associating with what he thinks are 'gangs'.


Response:


This module introduces some further observations Stan has made about his school environment. These observations can be understood by considering human development, and in particular, physical, mental, emotional, social, cultural and moral development. Consideration of these developments in the students also sheds further light on some of the observations Stan had made previously.


Firstly, "Stan is worried that some of his students are falling asleep in class and not keeping up with their work". This is connected to natural physical and mental development in adolescents. However, Stan is right to be worried about this, as sleep has been shown to be closely connected to academic performance and learning ability, and it is believed that adolescents require more sleep than younger students, despite the fact that a mismatch between their natural sleeping rhythm and school and societal timetabling typically allow them to sleep less (Carskadon 1990; Wolfson and Carskadon 1998). Regardless of the specifics, it is important for Stan to understand that there is a biological basis to this behavior, and his action in response should be in consideration of this.

Stan is also worried that some of his students "are associating with what he thinks are gangs". This provides a link to the emotional, social, cultural and moral development of the students, which are in turn linked to their physical and mental development (Churchill et al. 2011). The association with gangs could be seen as an indication of the students discovering their 'self' identity. Marcia's ideas of identity achievement, identity foreclosure, identity diffusion and moratorium, and Erikson's industry versus inferiority and identity versus role confusion stages of psychological development seem particularly relevant here, as the students are of an appropriate age to be going through these stages and are forming social interactions to support and develop their identities (Marcia 1980; Erikson 1966). 


These identity forming interactions influence the students' sense of 'self', particularly their self concept and self esteem. Self concept and self esteem are also heavily influenced by the varying social and cultural backgrounds of the students as mentioned previously in the scenario, and it is particularly worth noting that as immigrants, many of the students' backgrounds differ from both Stan's, and the 'upper class' for whom the education system is arguably designed (Churchill et al. 2011). 


A concern for Stan therefore, is that his students are fragile, and may have tendencies towards identity foreclosure, diffusion and moratorium instead of identity achievement. Similarly, inferiority and confusion instead of industry and identity, and particularly what this might all lead to, in low self esteem and corresponding low self efficacy (Bandura 1982). Indeed, this assists in explaining Stan's previous observation that the students "just aren't what they used to be". This also ties in heavily with Vygotsky's idea that culture heavily influences development and learning (Vygotsky 1978). 


While these observations and theories justify Stan's concerns, they also provide hints as to how he should address these issues at a classroom level. Bandura puts forward his idea of human agency, which indicates that despite any disadvantages Stan's students may have in the education system resulting from their differing backgrounds, with appropriate guidance they can make choices to engage, succeed and thrive in that environment (Bandura 1982). Stan can provide appropriate educational guidance by understanding the developmental stages his students are going through. At a practical classroom level, this could involve highlighting relevance of what he teaches to help the students find identity, achievement and industry within the class room and consequently improve self esteem and self efficacy of the students. Stan should also ensure he pitches work at an appropriate level and provides appropriate scaffolding, staying within Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development" to help create a learning environment that considers his students' development, further improving their sense of belonging in the class room, as well as their self esteem, self efficacy and self identity (Vygotsky 1978).


References:


1. Churchill, R et al. 2011. 'Teaching: Making a difference', Part 2,  John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.


2. Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. 'Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes', Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.


3. Bandura, A 1982. 'Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency', American Psychologist, Vol 37(2), Feb 1982, 122-147.


4. Marcia, J. E. 1980. 'Identity in adolescence', In J. Adelson (Ed.), Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, New York: Wiley.


5. ERIKSON, E. H. 1966. 'EIGHT AGES OF MAN', International Journal of Psychiatry, Vol 2(3), 1966, 281-300.


6. Carskadon, M. A. 1990, 'Patterns of Sleep and Sleepiness in Adolescents', Pediatrician, Vol 17, Pg 5-12.




7. Wolfson, A. R. and Carskadon M.A. 2008. 'Sleep Schedules and Daytime Functioning in Adolescents', Child Development, Vol. 69, Issue 4, Pg 875–887, August 1998.