SCHOOL CONTEXT

Chapter 6

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Secondary Education

• Middle schools, junior highs, and high schools are all forms of secondary education

• The proportion of the 14- to 17-year-old population enrolled in school increased dramatically between 1910 and 1940

• Today, nearly 95% of individuals this age are in school

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The Rise of the Comprehensive High School

• Before secondary education was compulsory, high schools were for the socioeconomic elite

• By 1920s, educators called for curricular reform to match changes in social composition of schools

• Comprehensive high school– General education, college preparation,

vocational education all housed under one roof

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School Reform: What Should Schools Teach?

1970s1970s RelevanceRelevance

1980s1980s Back to Basics: Math, science, readingBack to Basics: Math, science, reading

Early 1990sEarly 1990s Critical/Higher-Order ThinkingCritical/Higher-Order Thinking

Late 1990sLate 1990s Rigorous Academic Standards: Rigorous Academic Standards: Emphasize High Tech trainingEmphasize High Tech training

TodayToday Standards-Based ReformStandards-Based ReformNo Child Left Behind (2002)No Child Left Behind (2002)

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School Reform:

• No Child Left Behind Act (2002)– Mandates that all states ensure that all

students, regardless of economic circumstances, achieve academic proficiency on standardized annual tests

– Schools that repeatedly fail face losing funding, being forced to close

• Addresses problem of social promotion• Advancing students regardless of their

academic competence or performance• Introduces problem of teaching to the test for

teachers who are under pressure to get kids to pass annual exams

Violence in Schools…

• What does the school experience look like now vs in the past?

• Is there more school violence?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1J6x4U-KJY

How big of a problem were the following at your school?

• Fighting?• Theft of personal

property?• Vandalism?• Students bringing

weapons to school?• Did you ever fear fro your

physical safety at school?

Characteristics of Good Schools

• Class Activity:

“My favorite teacher in school was ______ because…”

School Reform Past and Present: Characteristics of Good Schools

• Emphasize intellectual activities

• Have teachers strongly committed to students

• Constantly monitor themselves to become better

• Are well integrated into the communities they serve

• Composed of good classrooms where students are active participants

The Social Organization of Schools: School Size and Class Size

• Schools became larger– To offer a wider range of courses– To offer more services for

students

• However, student performance and interest in school improve – When schools are made less

bureaucratic – School are more intimate

The Social Organization of Schools: School Size and Class Size

• In larger schools, students tend to be observers rather than participants

• School size especially affects participation of students whose grades are not very good

Ideal size of a school for adolescents– Between 500 and 1,000 students

The Social Organization of Schools: School Size and Class Size

Bailey MS: 1,174 1,206Bowie HS: 2,900

The Social Organization of Schools: School Size and Class Size

HOWEVER…• Classroom size

– Does not affect scholastic achievement during adolescence

– Adolescents learn as much in classes of 40 students as in classes of 20 students

Age Grouping and School Transitions

• As children move into middle school or junior high– School grades drop– Scores on standardized

achievements tests do not decline

• Implication: Student motivation and changes in grading practices may be changing, not student knowledge

Age Grouping and School TransitionsRecommendations for

Improvements(1) Divide middle schools into

units of 200-500 students to reduce feelings of anonymity

(2) Hire teachers trained in adolescent development

(3) Strengthen school-community ties

Tracking

• Separating students, by ability, into different levels of classes within the same school

• Proponents argue– Ability-grouping allows teachers to

design class lessons that are more finely tuned to students’ abilities

• Critics argue– Students who are placed in the

remedial track generally receive a poorer quality education

School Desegregation• Landmark U.S. Supreme Court

rulings– Brown v. Board of Education of

Topeka (1954, 1955)• Even if racially segregated

schools appear equivalent on various indices of quality, they are inherently unequal

• The effects of desegregation on school achievement are very modest

• Minority youngster’s self-esteem is higher when they attend schools in which they are in the majority

• Interracial contact even in desegregated schools is rare

Public Schools versus Private Schools• Advantages for students

who attend Catholic schools– Social capital

• Coleman: The chief reason for the advantages seen in Catholic school students is due to the close links between their schools and families

The Importance of School Climate

– The way teachers interact with students

– The way classroom time is used– The standards teachers hold for

students– The expectations teachers have for

their students

• A positive school climate fosters students’ feelings of belonging and strengthens their feelings of academic efficiency

• Strong feelings of academic deficiency lead to better school performance

Beyond High School: The College Bound

• 1900: 4% of those 18 to 21 years of age were enrolled in college

• 1930: 12% of those 18 to 21 years of age were enrolled in college

• Today: 75% of high-school graduates enroll in college (2/3 do so immediately after high school)

Beyond High School: The “Forgotten Half” • Secondary schools are

geared almost exclusively toward college-bound youngsters

• High schools do not prepare graduates at all for the world of work

• The “Forgotten Half” have a hard time finding (even low-paying) employment

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Work and LeisureChapter 7

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Today’s Teenager

• Spend more time in leisure activities– Than in “productive” school

activities

• Spend more time alone– Than with family members

• Spend 4 times as many hours at part-time jobs– As they do on homework

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WORK AND LEISURE IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

• American adolescents spend more time on leisure, less time in productive activities, than peers in other countries

• ExampleAverage American high school student spends

< 5 hours per week on homework In Asian countries a student spends

4 to 5 hours per day on homework

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Adolescents and Work: Teenage Employment in America & Other Nations

• Industrialized countries– 75% of U.S. high school juniors hold jobs during the

school year– 25% of Japanese and Taiwanese juniors do so – Paid employment even rarer in most European

countries• Virtually nonexistent in France, Russia, Hungary, and

Switzerland

– Structured apprenticeship programs in career-related jobs more common in other countries

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Adolescents and Work: Working and Adolescent Development

The Development of Responsibility • Most people believe that working helps

teens build character, teaches them about the real world, and prepares them for adulthood

• But recent studies show that benefits of working during adolescence have been overstated

What do you think?

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Adolescents and Work: Working and Adolescent Development

Work and Its Impact on Other Activities• Working more than 20 hours/week may

jeopardize school performance– Absent from school more often– Less likely to be in extracurricular activities– Report enjoying school less– Spent less time on homework – Earned lower grades

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Adolescents and Work: Working and Adolescent Development

Work and Problem Behavior• Time-honored belief: Working will deter teens

from criminal activity by keeping them out of trouble

• Research findings: Working long hours may actually be associated with increases in aggression, school misconduct, precocious sexual activity, minor delinquency.

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Adolescents and Work: Working and Adolescent Development

Work and Problem Behavior• Differential Impact:

Middle-Class vs. Poor Youth– Poor youth – working may not lead to problem

behavior – WHY?

Adolescents and Leisure:Adolescents and Leisure:Leisure and the Mass MediaLeisure and the Mass Media

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Adolescents and Leisure:Leisure and the Mass Media

– Availability of media in young people’s homes is greater than anyone thought

– Many adolescents view TV, listen to music, or play video games, all in their bedrooms•This context makes parental monitoring

more difficult – The average adolescent spends >7 hours

each day using one or more media•Constant television environment •Smart phones•FB!

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Adolescents and Leisure:Leisure and the Mass Media

– Average 1.5 hours/day texting– .5 hours/day talking on phone– Multitasking = 11 hours/day– Advancements in technology = media in

teens’ pockets and bed!– Some studies show link to obesity, sleep,

behavior probs, and school achievement

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SEU Study: Changing Communication Styles– More than one-third (37.8%) reported

spending 3 to 4 hours on facebook per day; another 33% reported spending 1 to 2 hours per day on facebook

– Almost a third (28.7%) reported spending 7 to 8 hours per day texting

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SEU Study: Changing Communication Styles– Although most participants (91%) report

feeling either comfortable or very comfortable when talking to people face to face, 54% of them reported also feeling anxious when interacting face to face

– Overwhelming majority (96%) feel more comfortable communicating via text; and 82% feel more comfortable talking to others on facebook

– One quarter report using text to confront difficult situations