What do Latino children need to succeed in school? : a study of four Boston public schools PDF
Preview What do Latino children need to succeed in school? : a study of four Boston public schools
University ofMassachusettsat Boston UMASS/AMHERST Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy ^1992 What Do Latino Children Need to A Succeed in School? Study of Four Boston Public Schools Antonia Darder, Ph.D. Carole Upshur, Ed.D. M U a s s JFo s 1 0 n Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development Public Policy What Do Latino Children Need to Succeed in School? A Study of Four Boston Public Schools by Antonia Darder, Ph.D. and Carole Upshur, Ed.D. AntoniaDarderisprofessorofeducation atClaremontGraduateSchool, Claremont, California, and Carole Upshur is associate professor at the Center for Community Planning, the College of Public and Community Service, the University of Massachusetts atBoston. This paperwas madepossible bya grantfrom the Boston Foundation. Summary Executive In the spring of1991, with the cooperation offour Boston elementary schools, a pilot study was conducted that addressed the question "What do Latino children need to succeed in school?" The study was initiated in response to the growing concern aboutthe poor academic achievementofLatinochildrenin the pubUc schools. In the Boston public school district. Latinochildren not only have the highest dropout rate and the lowest achievement scores, but they are also retained at higher rates than children (rom other cultural/racial groups. In addition. Latino children are particularly at risk when they enter into middle school where they experience dramatic increases in retention rates and precipitous drops in achievement scores in sixth grade. Since knowledge in the field supports the notion that school achievement is vitEdly important to the future economic success of all communities, educational policy must be at the forefi*ont in efforts to positively impact the high poverty rates in the Latino conmiunity. Methodology The study was designed specifically to determine what principals, teachers, parents, and children identified as the educational requirements and resources necessary to promote the educational success of Latino children. Four elementary schools, all with large Latino student enrollments, were selected for the purposes of this study. The principals were invited to participate, and the study was approvedby the Boston Public Schools Office of Research and Development. Information was gathered from principals, teachers, parents, and children through interviews, questionnaires, and classroom observations. In total, over 200 school personnel, children, and parents participated in the study, and over 100 hours of school observations and visits were completed. Major Findings School Leadership Forthe mostpart, school administrators didnotidentify nordefine the unique needs ofLatino children. The most common ideas expressed when questioned about the issue of cultural needs and practices included the celebration of festivals and holidays and the desire for more integration of the bihngual and monoUngual classrooms. They emphasized the difficulties of the urban environments for all children, but seldom reflected a strong theoretical understanding ofissues related to bicultural development and its implications for educators of Latino children. In addition, they oftenfailed to acknowledge the teachers' needs for materials, in-service training, andimproved communication between teachers and administrators and the school andparents. Forthe mostpart, principalsindicatedthatthe greatestneedwas for outside social services and counseUng services for children and their families. 2 What Do Latino Children Need to Succeed in School? Teacher Expectations Many of the teachers focused on deficits in the children or difficulties in the home and environment, while only a few identified the school structure and the lack ofappropriate educational materials and resources as the primary reason for lack of educational achievement among Latino children. Teacher expectations of Latino children varied, but "mastery of material" was ranked as a low priority by most teachers, while "learning to think," "try their best," and "learn EngUsh" were ranked at the top of the Ust. In addition, httle emphasis was placed on promoting college attendance or the understanding ofcareer options. Curriculum and Materials Seldom did the curriculum reflect a significant inclusion of Latino cultural values, history, orthereaUties experiencedbythe Latinocommunitytoday. Bihngual teachers often made efforts to respond to the needs ofLatino students by providing materialstheypurchasedwiththeirownresources,butmainstream teachers didlittle in this area. Most teachers did note that the practice of sponsoring schoolwide culturalfestivalsandcelebrationswasaninadequatestrategyforaddressingtheissue of cultural diversity in their schools. Most of the teachers advocated for more integration ofbihngual and monohngual classrooms. Both teachers and children uniformly criticized the basal readers in Spanish and described them as poorly written, boring, and not culturally appropriate to the Latino children who attend the Boston schools. In addition, teachers were concerned about the lack ofgood literature, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and audio-visual materials in Spanish. Parents and children noted the need for more computers and science materials. Meaningful Use of Spanish The majority of teachers and school administrators placed an emphasis on promoting literacy in English at all the schools. While more instruction in Spanish occurred in bihngual classrooms, even here emphasis was placed on English competency and lesser attentionto children achievingliteracyinboth languages. For children, the message ofthe secondary status ofthe Spanish language was conveyed bytheirambivalencetowardspeakingSpanishin theschool. Further,itwasobserved thatwhen abilingual adultwaspresentwhoconsistentlyspoketo the childreninboth SpanishandEnglish, the children's comfortinspeakingSpanishmarkedlyincreased. Successful Teaching Strategies Manyoftheteachersidentifiedspecificteachingstrategiesthatseemedtowork wellwith Latinochildren. Ingeneral, theseincluded: lessons thatwere project-based, concrete, and personahzed; organized cooperative learning approaches; and a variety ofgroup-oriented projects. In addition, providing immediate feedback, individual A Study ofFour Boston Public Schools 3 attention, and displaying children's work were mentioned by both parents and children. However, it was observed that teaching assistants were generally underutilized in the classroom. Childrenrequestedmorefieldtrips,microscopes, andcomputers,whileteachers noted that Latino children needed more exposure to mainstream culture. One consistent theme expressed by children at the foiu: schools was related to their desire for teachers who would treat them with respect and not "yell" at them. Teacher In-Service Needs Teachers of all racial and ethnic groups, regardless of educational level, expressed a great need for in-service opportimities to assist them in better meeting the needs of Latino children. The needs of the teachers included understanding cultural issues in education, the impact of bilinguahsm on learning, access to information on different Latin American countries, knowledge of the goals and purposes ofbilingual education, and access to Spanish language instruction. Children's Views Children were most affected by the negative aspects of the physical school environment (i.e., dirty bathrooms, lack ofadequate playground facihties, poor food in the cafeteria, broken chsdrs, etc.) and lack ofadequate educational materials (i.e., books, computers, etc.). They expressed motivation, a desire to learn, and interest in particular careers and professions for the future. Their ideas about what makes a good teacher and good school fit well with teacher reconunendations and with the literature on effective education. Parental Roles All groups expressed fi*ustration with parentinvolvement. Teachers who had good success with parents noted that theirsuccess resulted firom personal contacts by telephone rather than by using only written notices. Parents themselves expressed frustration with respect to their involvement in their children's education because of their work schedules, lack oftransportation to distant school locations, and a sense of inadequacy in helping their children with their homework due to a lack of familiarity with the instructional approaches used in U.S. schools or their limited literacy skills. Transition to Middle School Alackofplanningfor transitioninto middle school was identifiedby nearly all theteachers and administrators. Onlyafewmentionedthattheyorganizedfieldtrips to visit middle schools or talked with the children about the changes they would experience in the middle school environment. 4 What Do Latino Children Need to Succeed in School? Recommendations School Leadership The xinique educational needs of Latino children must receive increasing attention at all levels of school administration in the Boston School District. This report should be widely distributed and discussed in all elementary and middle schools. In addition, school principals need access to professional development opportimitiesthatwHlprovidethemwithasolidunderstandingofthepedagogical and cultural issues that are essential to improving the educational achievementofLatino children. In general, the system needs to identify and address the deficits in its expectations ofLatino students,the stigmatization associatedwithspeakingSpanish, and the lack ofmeaningful inclusion ofLatino culture and history in the oirriculum. Teacher In-Service Training Eachschoolshouldsurveyitsteachersregardingtheirspecificin-serviceneeds. Low-cost and easily met in-service needs should be carried out immediately. Resources and mechanisms should be put in place to begin the planning process for other needs, includingthe use ofteachers and parents as resources for otherteachers in the same school. At each school, discussions should be undertaken to address the underutilizationofteachingassistants toensure thattheyfunction as amoreintegral part ofthe teaching team. Curriculum and Materials Curriculum units on the culture and history of Latinos in the United States and Latin America need to be developed. Project-based, cooperative learning and whole language approaches should be implemented consistently throughout the system. In addition, a teacher-parent committee to seek out quaHty materials in Spanish should be formed immediately at the Central Office level. A process for review of texts and materials should be developed in an effort to prevent scarce resources fi^om beinginvestedin inappropriate books or materials. Ciirriculum imits and use of guest speakers should be developed to introduce careers to elementary school students, as well as to explore the options for future education. The value ofbihnguaHsm needs to be incorporated in the curriculum for all children, andarecognitionandunderstandingthatacademicachievementispromoted for bihngual children when hteracy is maintained in the native language must be embraced by both bilingual and monolingual teachers. Parent Participation Recognition and resolution ofbarriers to Latino parent participation must be addressed. Solutions may i—nclude the provision of transportation, childcare, and dinner for evening meetings practices that are currently in place in other school A Study ofFour Boston Public Schools 5 systems. In addition, homework policies shouldbe reconsideredin light ofthe school- home tensions and difficulties identified and expressed by Latino children and their parents. Transition into Middle School Zone offices should estabUsh a task force of elementary and middle school teachers to identify no-cost or low-cost activities that can assist in the effective transition ofchildren fi-om elementciry to middle school. Long-term planning should be initiated for reexamination and possible reorganization ofsixth grade programs to promote a more successful transition of Latino children into the middle school. Conclusion Much valuable information surfaced from this study. Many suggestions for improving the achievement ofLatino children were made and genuine, concrete, and meaningful issues were raised by all groups that should not be ignored. While the recommendations are based upon a small sample of schools, principals, teachers, children, and parents, it is believed that the concerns identified are not insignificant or marginal. In many ways, the roots ofsuccess already existin the system, but these roots need to be better reinforced and more systematically implemented. Moreover, Latino children, parents, and teachers, who have the most day-to-day investment in the educational process and the least resources for reform, need to be heard and assisted to participate in the improvement ofthe Boston public schools. Digitized by the Internet Archive 2015 in https://archive.org/details/whatdolatinochilOOdard
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