classroom teacher's role in preventing school failure, The

Kappa Delta Pi Record, Winter 2003 by Parsley, Kelly, Corcoran, Carol A

Research Reports

The quality of one's education will determine his or her future (Plato 1985). Every educator must take these words to heart, teaching all students to the best of his or her ability. Teachers exert a powerful influence on a student's potential success or failure, particularly when the student is at-risk. All teachers must become familiar with the characteristics, attitudes, and teaching methods most beneficial to at-risk students.

Students may be considered "at risk" for a variety of reasons. Moote and Wodarski (1997) noted that some researchers use the label "at risk" simply to mean that the student is likely to drop out of school. Others take a larger view and define "at-risk" students as also being in danger of unemployment and abusing drugs. Still others label students "at-risk" when they are likely to complete high school with inadequate skills.

Factors that lead to academic failure originate from several sources, including the student, the student's family, the school, and the classroom teacher. Several characteristics within each source are likely to contribute to school failure. For each student, a multitude of factors either promote or discourage academic achievement. For the purposes of this article, the at-risk student is defined as one who operates within a system-whether the family, community, or school-- that discourages him or her from succeeding academically.

Negative Factors

At-risk students often receive low grades and misbehave. Low self-esteem is common, and the students tend to attribute success and failure to luck (Vacha and McLaughlin 1992). This defeatist attitude can cause students to become low achievers (Bempechat 1999). The student's attitude toward education thereby plays a role in determining his or her performance in school.

The foundations for school failure often are rooted in the child's earliest school experiences (Alexander, Entwisle, and Horsey 1997). Academic and personal habits begin to develop during the student's first years in school. If these habits or self-concepts are detrimental, students quickly fall behind their peers. In the primary grades, teachers regularly place students into inflexible reading and math groups from which they may never escape.

Family factors also may cause students to be at-risk: divorce, single-parent households, high mobility, parental drug and alcohol abuse, neglect, domestic violence, physical or sexual abuse, and poverty (Vacha and McLaughlin 1992; Moote and Wodarski 1997). The most common determining factor is socioeconomic status (SES); poor parents may be unable to provide children with the material and nonmaterial resources needed for success in school. In addition, parents who lack cultural capital-familiarity with the school system, access to informal sources of information, and comfort in interacting with school personnel-place the student atrisk (Vacha and McLaughlin 1992). Therefore, parents endanger their children's academic success when they are not involved in their education. Familiarity with the "high culture" of museums, musical performances, and other educationally enriching experiences also plays a role in academic achievement, because students develop a richer backdrop of knowledge for school success (Vacha and McLaughlin 1992). Low-SES children often do not partake in these opportunities; consequently, they are placed at a disadvantage.

The school environment also influences academic performance. Low teacher expectations, lack of language instruction, inadequate curriculum, and a negative school environment damage children's potential (Moote and Wodarski 1997). Teachers who resist change often work within a traditional, controloriented culture that does not take into account the students' best interests (Haberman 1991; Parish and Aquila 1996). Poor school climate undoubtedly has a negative effect on the students attending the school.

What Should Be Done?

No single factor will doom a child to failure, nor is there one solution to the problem of academic failure. By concentrating on the classroom teacher, however, a part of the solution might be developed. Of all the factors that affect academic performance, teachers have the most impact on their students' school experiences.

Though it is impossible for teachers, or even schools, to develop comprehensive programs involving students' backgrounds to incur positive change, there is still much that an individual classroom teacher can do. Experienced, highly committed, caring teachers effectively promote the academic success of all their students (Vacha and McLaughlin 1992). Specific attitudes and teaching methods have increased students' academic achievement. Teachers must take responsibility and support at-risk students.

Teacher-Student Relationships

The importance of positive teacher-student relationships applies at all grade levels. Through respect, courtesy, shared responsibility, and a sense of community, teachers convince students that they are working together and that everyone is wanted and needed in the classroom (Haberman 1995). When primary-grade teachers develop positive relationships with their students, positive school adjustment is more likely to occur. In addition, relationships that students have with their primary school teachers greatly influence their academic achievement throughout their school career (Esposito 1999). In a study involving 241 high school freshmen, Niebuhr and Niebuhr (1999) found a positive correlation between positive teacherstudent relationships and academic achievement. When students feel valued by their teachers, they are more likely to work harder at assignments and comply with classroom rules (Morganett 1991; Pigford 2001). As Haberman (1995) suggested, through the use of gentle teaching strategies rather than coercive methods, the promotion of intrinsic learning and student accountability will be attained.