civ
Desc
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Who are Today’s Students?
Chapter Five
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
U.S. Student Demographics
Number of public school students is rising
Enrollment rose dramatically from 1985-2010
Demographics changing
Number of non native English speaking students rose dramatically during this period.
Over 43% of public school students are part of a racial or minority group;
Latino and Latina students are the fastest growing segment of the school population.
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Equal May Not Be Equitable
Equity: Treating individuals & groups fairly & justly, free from bias or favoritism
Equity does not mean treating groups equally- it means treating them in ways that maximize their potential for learning.
Those ways may be different for different groups- but the outcomes are the same!
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Where’s the ethnic diversity?
Immigration
New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Nevada: Highest % of immigrants
~ 1/5 of students are from immigrant families
Rise in segregation in past few decades
Whites move to suburbs, build new schools
Latinos account for 65% of increased enrollment in older schools…..de facto segregation!
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Language Diversity
“English-language learners” (ELLs) or “language minority” students: Speak a language other than English at home, need to learn English in school
1979-2009 # ELLs rose from 9% to 20%
About ¾ speak Spanish
Bilingual education has met with some success
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Bilingual Education Approaches
Dual (“two-way bilingual”): ELLs & native English-speakers both become fluent in 2 languages (several program variations)
English as a second language (ESL): Academic subjects in native tongue; students pulled out for English instruction
English-only immersion
Specially designed academic instruction in English (SDAIE): English-only, instruction modified to help ELLs understand
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Religious Diversity in the U.S.
Christians account for 78.4 percent of the American population, with Protestants
accounting for 51.3 percent of that total.
The total number of Americans who identified their religion as something other than Christian increased by more than 32 percent over the last two decades.
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Religion in Public Schools: Separation of Church and State
One Cannot:
Teach a religion (indoctrinate or inhibit)
Encourage, participate in students’ religious activities
One Can:
Teach about religion
Honor privacy of students’ rituals, as long as they don’t interfere with class/school function
Teach values such as honesty, respect, citizenship
Guidance from the First Amendment Center
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Sexual Orientation
Enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction for people of one or both sexes
LGBT students fear rejection and harm:
Over 60% surveyed felt unsafe at school
LGBT students suffer greater risk of suicide, depression, bullying, assault
Unlike most minority students, LGBT may experience prejudice & isolation at home
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Socioeconomic Diversity
Socioeconomic status: Based on family income, occupation, education, and social status:
Relates to social capital of family
Students with higher socioeconomic status tend to outperform those w. low social capital
>30% of all U.S. kids live in single-parent household
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Students at Risk
Students in danger of dropping out before completing high school or not acquiring adequate skills for success
“High-risk child” = one whose family has 4 or more of these risk factors:
Household head is high school dropout
Family income below poverty line
Child living with underemployed parent(s)
Family receives welfare
Child lacks health insurance
-from Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2003
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Social Risk Factors
Most significant are:
Poverty
Substance abuse
Child abuse
Homelessness
Hunger
Depression
Teen pregnancy (major reason girls drop out)
High-risk 16-19 yr. olds are 4x more likely to drop out of HS than those not in category
-from Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2003
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Sex, Drugs & Violence
Survey of public & private school students in grades 9-12
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance-United States, 2005,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 55 (no. SS-5), June 9, 2006.
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Multicultural Education
Creates equal learning opportunities for students from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic groups
Curriculum as Window and Mirror- topics outside of the students’ world and topics that reflect the students’ world;
Culturally relevant pedagogy: Places learner’s culture at center of instruction
Incorporates culture into curriculum
Respect students’ experiences
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Single-sex Schooling
Girls often squelched in coed classrooms
Teachers tend to call on boys more often
Girls less likely to express themselves
Fewer leadership roles
Women underrepresented in curriculum
Single-sex schooling predicted to become more common in public schools
Gender-fair education: Helps females & males achieve full potential
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Variation in Intelligences
Theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner): Intelligence is reflected in many types of abilities, not a single fixed attribute
Explore topics in multiple ways to play to different intellectual strengths, learning styles
Watch the Teach Source Video Case, “Multiple Intelligences: Elementary School Instruction”
In what ways is this lesson an example of teaching to multiple learning styles?
*
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5 | *
Conclusion
Different is just different; it’s not lesser
Treat your students’ differences as a gift, not a barrier to be overcome
Learn from them
And with them
Help them be all they can be: Through your non-biased teaching practices and your pursuit of equity!
*