Pupils at the Centre

Pupils at the Centre

1. Impacts on pupils

   • Poor students more likely to attend schools with less funding, lower teacher salaries, limited computer and internet access, larger class sizes, less vigorous curr. etc.
     • Bigger class sizes demand greater need for Student-centered approach
   • We must stop trying to 'fix' poor students
   • In student-centered classrooms, don't assume all topics will interest everyone.
   • Must take a holistic approach to YPs and take their past experiences of education into consideration, approach them with consideration and sensitivity
     • Fluency and accuracy go hand in hand with confidence - maitaining others' interest, using simpler words, speaking slowly and clearly, not worrying about losing face by making mistakes, hesitation expressions, fillers
     • Must treat mistakes as valuable resource from which to learn and respond to them sensitively, perhaps correct afterwards and focus systematically on different categories of mistake
     • Prepare students for writing tasks by brainstorming ideas together first
   • 1.6 million children live in poverty in the UK
     • UK children are at the BOTTOM of the developed world's emotional wellbeing league - the UK is 'better off but not happier'
     • Emotional wellbeing in childhood = better chance of social mobility/good mental health later
       • Locus of control - the degree to which children perceive events as within their control
         • Maternal interaction very important in developing self-estemm and Int. LOC
     • The average UK school has 21% of its pupils eligible for FSM - Tower Hamlets e.g. is 53.9%
     • (After tax and benefit changes 2011-14) Families with children lose more than pensioner households and working-age households without children
       • Household types that tend to have lower incomes lose MOST from the reforms

2. Parent engagement

   • Educators must reach out to families, even if unresponsive
   • Parent interaction and support bigger factor than income or parental education
     • Consistensy in rules and style, warmth and interest, stability and security, authority without hostility, extra-curric activities
       • Much crossover with qualities of effective leaders
       • Parenting interventions need to be combined with a more holistic approach, combined with a community based one!
         • We need overlapping services, so noone falls through the net
         • Proven Interventions include: MST, Nurse-Family partnerships, High/Scope Perry Preschool, Parent Management Training, Preventitive Treatment Programme, The Incredible Years (Sure Start), Triple P
     • The two most important factors in UNDERMINING AN INTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL are maternal and paternal hostility

3. Achievement

   • Student-centered classrooms with an emphasis on working together
     • Ideal class size for S-C classroom is 12
     • Students who are unused to autonomy may need gradual introduction to methods
   • Developing confidence and self-belief
   • Is success increases motivation, then lack of success reduces it

4. Access to opportunities

   • Low-income parents less likely to attend school functions due to less ACCESS to school involvement
     • What are assumed to be 'deficient varieties' of English are no less sophisticated than so-called SE
       • Teachers should input 'new words' every lesson - the more words you know, the easier it is to express yourself (FLUENCY)
   • Society cheats poor people out of opportunities that their wealthier peers take for granted
   • School involvement should be accessible to all
   • Parenting and community should not be isolated areas - should support each other
     • Research suggests after 10 years old, parents have little effect on emotional and social development, whilst ACTIVITIES have a huge effect
       • ORGANISED, STRUCTURED activities are needed, not just youth club provision
   • There is a historic and powerful tendency for the most at-risk young people to avoid exactly the kinds of activities that would be most beneficial to them
     • Every Child Matters with each LA should ensure every child has genuine opportunity to particpate in a choice of at least 2 structured activities outside of school - plans to identify barriers and prove SOLUTIONS
       • Should be a degree of COMPULSION but with CHOICE - CIC have individual extra budget and should be consulted as to where and how it is spent
         • £100 CTF (Child Trusts Fund) - can only be accessed at 18, should it be earlier?

5. Aspirations

   • 'The Myth of the Culture of Poverty' - THERE IS NO SUCH THING(Paul Gorski)
     • Education the 'great equalizer'? Not without considerable change
   • What does exist is a culture of CLASSISM - focuses on low expectations fo low-income students
     • Deficit theory
   • Emotional wellbeing is linked to 'resilience' - being able to deal with stress, sdversity, trauma or tragedy
     • Emotional and personal attributes (NON-COGNITIONS) Literacy and numeracy etc (COGNITIVE ABILITIES)
       • NON-COGNITIONS are predictors of how people will fare later
       • In low-skilled men, non-cogs are 4x as important as cognitive abilities in determining wages in adulthood
         • Locus of control

6. Impacts on leadership

   • Common and dangerous myths about poverty
     • We must reject deficit theory, respond to colleagues sterotyping poor students and families, never assume all have equitable access, make curr. relevant
       • Student-Centered classrooms - teacher more as 'facilitator' - be transparent with methods
         • Take note of groups you don't get to visit in large classes
         • Sit YPs close to each other - but be aware of different cultures, esp when talking so close
         • Remember, small classes tend to be more teacher-dependent - avoid becoming part of the groups
         • Mixed-ability groups - vary pairings and groupings - put talkative students in groups of 3 and less talkative in groups of 4 or 5
           • Put shy students in 3s rather than pairs
           • Sometimes have 2 students talk whilst the 3rd takes notes and feeds back
         • Rearrange seating often
           • 'A stranger is just a friend waiting to happen'
             • Even though YPs will often want to work with their friends they will often have same ideas and thus not much discussion
         • Provide time limits, use a timer, be flexible, allow time to process and reflect and do not neglect Q&A stage
         • Don't assume all topics will interest everyone
           • Sharing involves listening carefully, reacting and expressing feelings. ('We have 2 ears and one mouth for a reason!')
         • 'Students can't be TAUGHT - they can only be HELPED TO LEARN'
         • We can't know everything and students shouldn't expect us to - acknowledge, make a note, find out, get back to them
   • Are we willing as educators to tackle classism in our own schools and classrooms? YES
   • Prioritisation of emotional wellbeing in schools?
     • Ed attainment and emot. wellbeing has been key govt. priority since 1972, but still lacking
       • 3 key recommendations: 1) A new approach for 5-12 year olds 2) The provision of activities for teenagers (esp. low SES) and 3) Additional targeted support for care leavers