ThisTheyBelieve: Young Adolescents Reveal Their Needs in School
| Autor: | Margaret Zoller Booth |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2011 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Middle School Journal. 42:16-23 |
| ISSN: | 2327-6223 0094-0771 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/00940771.2011.11461761 |
| Popis: | Contemporary middle grades educators who work from constructivist and constructionist frameworks view behavior, mental processes, and the school environment as interrelated and essential to learning (Wink & Putney, 2002). Because meaning is not inherent in the structures, practices, and processes of school, educators cannot make assumptions about what young adolescents think about their academic lives. Middle grades educators need to work to understand the sociocultural contexts of student lives and investigate how students create, apply, and act upon the meanings they construct (Cushman & Rogers, 2008; Harris, 2006). The January 2008 issue of Middle School Journal was dedicated to doing precisely this, with an emphasis on using what students think to "create learning experiences that work" (Doda & Knowles, 2008, p. 26). This article is based on findings from part of a larger longitudinal research project investigating the influence of two school contexts, K-8 and middle school, on several variables, including self-esteem and self-concept, academic achievement, school transitions, and problematic behavior. The sample for this mixed methods study included 103 students from two K-8 schools and two middle schools in Cleveland, Ohio (see Booth, 2008, 2007). During the course of the three-year study, students completed surveys and inventories that yielded quantitative data for the study. In addition, a sub-sample of 22 students was interviewed individually using a semi-structured self-esteem inventory. At the beginning of each interview, I took time to get acquainted or reacquainted with the student (depending on the interview phase) and to casually chat about school. During these conversations, I asked the students a very general question-How do you like school this year?-to make them feel comfortable and to ease into a more structured interview. At the end of sixth and eighth grade, I also asked them: If you could be principal for a day, would you make any changes to the school? The casual, nondirected manner of these questions led to some very candid, animated conversations about school. Students appeared to appreciate being asked their serious opinions of school and being permitted to take the interview in whatever direction they wished. They seemed to sense that I valued their opinions, and, thus, they wished to voice them. The content of these informal conversations with students provided the basis for this article. While the students discussed a variety of issues in these conversations, four major needs emerged as prominent themes in my data: physical needs, safety needs, academic needs, and the need for esteem. I discuss findings related to these themes using the students' own words, and I follow with implications of these findings for middle grades educators. Students understand their physical needs "Let people get recess-kids need a break, man." Many of the students' concerns about their schools focused on their own personal physical needs that were being negatively influenced by their school, including the need for physical exercise, fresh air, and healthy food. Approximately half of the students interviewed mentioned their desire to include more physical activity in their school day. The majority of these comments at the end of sixth grade reflected a general desire to be more active at some point during the day. Responses included: * I'd let us go outside before lunch. * Give us a break in addition to lunch. * We need new outside equipment so we can go out more. * Get kids to play games outside. * Let people get recess-kids need a break, man. Having just moved up from elementary school where they had recess, many sixth grade students clearly missed the time they used to have to run outside and expend energy. As students matured from sixth to eighth grade, their comments reflected an understanding of the personal, developmental needs of themselves and the younger students in their schools. … |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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