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TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON ACADEMIC RECOVERY THROUGH
EDUCATIONALTHERAPY:- A THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IN THREE
CO-EDUCATIONAL GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NORTH TRINIDAD

A Research Report
Submitted in Partial Fulfilment
of the Requirements
for the Degree of Master in Education
Concentration in Youth Guidance

of
The University of the West Indies

by
Lisa-Marcella Henry-Legall
2010

Supervisor: Mr. Raymond S. Hackett

School of Education
Faculty of Humanities & Education
St. Augustine Campus
Trinidad W.I.
i

One should teach children
To dance on a tightrope
Without a safety net,
To sleep at night alone
Under the sky,
To row a boat
Out on the open sea...
One should teach them to
Imagine castles in the sky
Instead of houses
On the ground,
To be nowhere at home but
In life itself and to find
Security within themselves

– Hans-Herbert Dreiske
German poet and social worker
adapted from www.socialpedagogy.co.uk
ii
Abstract
This study introduced the notion of academic recovery through an alternative pedagogical practice
of therapeutic intervention called Educational Therapy. As such, its purpose was not only to explore and
evaluate an alternative educational practice but also to determine its feasibility in adapting to the local
context. This was done using teachers’ perspectives from three co-educational secondary schools whose
students had a history of academic underachievement and where violence and student aggression were
becoming the norm. Twenty three English and Mathematics teachers participated in the study which was
encased in an ethnography theoretical perspective. Their perspectives on the current state of the secondary
sector brought bearing to the types of best practices that teachers in their departments subscribed to in
terms of teaching, understanding how children learn, assessment strategies and accommodating students
who have learning deficits in the regular classroom. In addition, it clarified their stance on the adaptation
of therapeutic intervention in Trinidad and Tobago while determining the extent to which it could
improve academic achievement in these subject disciplines. Findings from the study revealed that
teachers needed assistance to effectively manage, teach and assess children with learning problems. They
felt that there was an urgent need to implement therapeutic interventions in educational practice as they
had no knowledge of how to deal with students who had underlying cognitive deficits which then became
manifested in the forms of social, emotional and behavioural problems. As the study was steeped within a
qualitative inquiry, its findings also noted the emergence of eight themes which described the factors
believed to be responsible for the present crisis within secondary schools where indiscipline was
concerned. The framework of this study thus provided a useful basis for identifying school discipline
issues and children who may have learning problems and for suggesting plans for appropriately targeted
interventions through Educational Therapy.
KEY WORDS:- therapeutic intervention, academic recovery, underachievement, alternative pedagogical
practice, cognitive deficits, Educational Therapy, best practices, school discipline.
iii
Dedication

This work is dedicated to my loving husband, Dominique, without whose caring, patience,
support and constructive criticism it would not have been possible; to my parents Charles and
Shirley, who passed on to me a love for learning and a passion for helping others – without your
unwavering love, support and understanding, I would not have made it this far; to my students,
who needed that extra help and could not find it before, and to the ones who struggled to learn,
lacked the confidence to try and felt that they had no voice and that no one cared –
I was listening.
iv
Acknowledgements

The author thanks the following people without whom this research paper would not have been
possible.

Firstly, I wish to express my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Mr. Raymond Hackett, who
believed in my study and offered his sage advice and guidance. He encouraged and supported me with
patience and knowledge from the initial to the final level and enabled me to develop a clearer
understanding of the subject.

Special thanks to Dr. Lynn Popp, the educational therapist who theorized with me andoffered an
“educational life jacket” and helped me to merge my interest in speech-language pathology with
educational therapy and to understand what it means to be a child advocate.

Thanks also to the teachers who worked alongside me for several months, offered their honest
opinions – Mrs. Samson; Mrs. Flores-Murray; Mrs. Sambury; Mr. Bharath; Mrs. Boyce; Mr. Jarvis;
Mrs. Thomas; Mr. Hope; Mrs. Julian; Mrs. Marshall; Mrs. Blandin; Mrs Byne; Ms. Bishop;
Mrs. Vance-Couteau; Mrs. Sookram; Mrs. Bristow; Mrs. Carrington-Dixon; Mr. Boodlal; Mr. Francis;
Mrs. Pereira; Mrs. Bernard; Ms. Brathwaite, Ms. Ramroop, Mr. Davis, Mr. Ali and Mr. Miller – and were
willing to allow me insight and access into their daily school lives.

To my fellow Youth Guidance colleagues, I wish to thank you for the support and study group
sessions as well as the listening ear. We met as strangers but we leave as lasting friends.
v
Special thanks to my family members for their ongoing love, support and numerous prayers; and to
my husband Dominique for supporting and encouraging me to pursue this degree, putting up with my
many moods and typing my papers for me when I was unable to so myself.

And lastly but by no means least, I owe my deepest gratitude to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
who continues to inspire and mould me and shape my craft so that I may teach with wisdom, knowledge
and understanding so that I may continue to try to build the competence and confidence of those who
struggle to learn.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Poem by Hans-Herbert Dreiske i
Abstract ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgements iv
List of Tables x
List of Appendices xi

Chapter 1 – Introduction 1
Background to the problem 1
Rationale 8
Statement of the problem 9
Purpose of the study 10
Delimitations 10
Limitations 10
Significance of the study 11
Research questions 13
Overview of the methodology 14
Ethical considerations 15
Definition of terms 15
Summary 18
vii
Chapter 2 – Review of the Related Literature 20
Introduction 20
Nature of Academic Achievement 20
A profile of school failure students 22
Cognitive Deficits/Environmental Circumstances underlying LDs 26
Importance of Learning Theory in Pedagogy 30
A Brain Based perspective 31
Innovative Pedagogical Practice & best practices 34
Assessment strategies (for the LD child) 36
Social Pedagogy 37
Therapeutic Intervention 40
Educational Therapy 41
NILD Educational Therapy 43
Identifying a student who may need Educational Therapy 46
How Ed Therapy Differs From Tutoring & Classroom Teaching 47
How Ed Therapy can help children with LDs 48
Current status of Ed Therapy 50
Summary 51
viii
Chapter 3 – Methodology 53
Introduction 53
Research Design 53
Sampling Procedure 59
Data collection instruments and procedure 67
Procedure used in instrument administration 71
Data Analysis 77
Summary 79

Chapter 4 – Data Analysis, Research Findings and Interpretation 80
Introduction 80
Research Findings 81
Gaps in the system 82
• Lack of parental involvement 82

• Lack of personal value to education 85

• Lack of connectedness between curriculum and

student ability 87

• Lack of social skills training leading to

emotional gap in students 89

• Bombardment of external/internal factors 92

Reformation Measures 94
ix
• Training and development of teaching staff

and teacher attitude 94

• Importance of merging technology in the classroom 99

• Teachers’ perceptions of Educational Therapy and

adapting therapeutic intervention to pedagogic

practice 101
Conclusion 105

Chapter 5 – Summary, Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations 107
Introduction 107
Summary of Research Findings 107
Discussion 109

Conclusion 115
Recommendations 116
Policy Recommendations 116
Suggestions for further research 119

References 120
Appendices 129