Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to determine how curriculum impacts students who are considered as at risk. In addressing this research question, it is quite implicit to first determine the prevalence of at risk students. The introductory part of the paper provides a statistical overview of the status of the country’s students who are considered as at risk. The population considered in this paper is only limited to students who have not yet graduated from high school. It also provides a background on how curriculum on pre-college education was developed, particularly in the United States. It also discusses the role of the government, particularly the school districts in developing the school’s curriculum. The paper also discusses how curriculum in the United States changed over time as well as the historical milestones that influenced its development. The paper also finds it necessary to identify the students that are considered as at risk and why they should be categorized as such. Finally, the paper establishes the connection between the prevailing curriculum and its impact on the student’s motivation in pursuing his or her pre-college education. Based on the gathered information, the paper aims to determine whether the school’s curriculum plays a significant role in keeping at risk students interested in the subjects that are being taught and whether it affects the retention of at risk students.
Introduction
At risk students are among the major concerns of most educational sectors. In the United States, for example, the number of dropouts in high school is quite significant. According to statistics, 8.2% of non-incarcerated individuals and 40% of incarcerated individuals aged 16-24 drops out of high school (Burrus & Roberts, 2012, p.2). This number does not include individuals whose immigration status is undocumented. The number of at risk students presents a challenge to school districts. As independent institutions, these school districts oversee several public schools and are responsible for developing policies as well as curriculums. As part of the educational sector’s strategy to address the problem of at risk students, it is desired to determine how curriculum impacts the motivation of students to pursue their pre-college education. Little is known, however, on how a curriculum impacts a student who is considered at-risk. Over the years, several studies have been conducted on how curriculum impacts a student’s success. However, the focus of such studies is more on the proficiency of the students who graduate from secondary education and not on the number of students who successfully graduate their secondary education. The effectiveness of a curriculum, for instance, is often measured in terms of how well a student integrates into college and copes with more advanced academic subjects or measured on how the student integrates into an entry-level career. Although such assessment is also important, the effectiveness of a curriculum should also be measured on how it can keep students from dropping out of school as well as how it keeps the student interested in the subjects that are being taught.
History of Curriculum Development in America
Prior to the 20th century, formal education is considered as a “small-scale experience, largely reserved for the privileged” (The High School Leadership Summit, n.d., p.1). Unlike today wherein formal education is compulsory and is provided free by the government, formal education in America in those early years is provided by private institutions and is quite expensive. Although public elementary education rapidly spreads throughout the country, it was not until the 1920s when the first public high school was established in Boston. Until then, a formal curriculum is not yet part of primary and secondary education. However, there is a consensus among educators that they need to prepare their students for college (The High School Leadership Summit, n.d., p.1). The earliest curriculum in America prior to the 20th century, according to scholars, is based on the traditional English curriculum. This curriculum consists of subject that are believed to provide the best college preparation, such as “composition, declamation, mathematics, history, civics, logic, surveying, navigation, and moral and political philosophy” (The High School Leadership Summit, n.d., p.1). However, due to the lack of a governing body that places certain standards and regulations on curriculums, quality of education in America during the time have become highly variable. In order to remediate the problem, representatives of prestigious colleges and universities convened to set a course of academic subjects that would form the basic curriculum of pre college education. According to scholars, the committee of ten, which is composed of professors from the Ivy League, convened to establish what became the basic academic curriculum adopted in most pre-college educational institutions. These core subjects include “English, foreign languages, natural history, physical science, geography, history, civil government, and political economy”. The industrial revolution, however, paved the way for a significant paradigm shift in the curriculum of educational institutions in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. The advent of the industrial revolution opened employment opportunities, which to poor Americans, is a shortcut for a better life. Vocational schools became a trend, opting some schools to consider adding technical skills education in the curriculum (The High School Leadership Summit, n.d., p.2).
Curriculum Development from 1960s up to the Present
The changing socio-political conditions in the 1960s created another significant shift on the focus of curriculum development in the United States. With the Soviet Union, Germany and Japan having significant progress in the field of science and mathematics, the United States’ education sector once again questioned the effectiveness of the prevailing curriculum. In response to the perceived curriculum failure, major educational reforms were introduced starting from the 1960s. Among the major reforms are the passing of the National Defense Act of 1958; the Education of All Handicapped Children Act; and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975, which outlawed segregation and aimed to provide equal education to all (The High School Leadership Summit, n.d., p.1). Attempts to standardize the curriculum at a national level can be observed through national assessments and the provision of curriculum based textbooks. However, in general, educational curriculum in the United States is developed at a state level. Each state in the U.S. has its own laws and regulations when it comes to formal education. Although the Federal government provides a fraction of financial contribution to the educational sector, it is the state that is responsible for its own educational programs. The state, through its local administrators and school districts, is responsible for the development their educational curriculum. The school districts are managed by the local school board. These districts may oversee several schools in a small town, or in some cases, a school district may operate schools that encompass several large cities and municipalities. The Galena Park Independent School District in Texas, for example, operates several Secondary, Primary as well as Pre-kindergarten schools in Houston, Texas. According to current statistics, the Galena Park Independent School District operates 24 schools of varied grade levels starting from early-childhood to primary and secondary education. Most school districts are independent from other school districts and exercise autonomy in policy making as well as in curriculum development. As observed by scholars, school districts are responsible for “coordinating education policies, planning for changing educational needs in the community, and often even establishing programs and curricula”
Who are the at-risk students?
At-risk students, in general, refer to those students who “are likely to fail at school” (National Center for Education Statistics, 1992, p.2). In the past, at risk students only includes those who are at risk of dropping out of school. However, recently, experts also include those students who are not adequately educated as part of the at-risk list. There are many characteristics that can make a student become at risk. According to researchers, a student can be considered at risk if he possesses or experiences any of these characteristics:
Low income or low in financial support.
Living in a dysfunctional or broken family.
A victim of abuse or domestic violence.
Suffering from health problems.
Having poor academic performance and competencies.
Have parents who are poorly educated.
Associated with problematic and undesirable peers who are engaged in gangs, fraternities and vices, such as gambling and illegal drugs.
Early pregnancy and early marriage.
Engagement in regular and part-time jobs during the school year.
Home is too far from school with no proper means of transportation.
Incompetence of teachers.
Unpleasant attitude of teachers.
(Burrus & Roberts, 2012, p.4; Druian & Butler, 1987, p.3).
It can be noticed, however, that these demographic and socio economic factors have little to do with the institution’s curriculum; giving an impression that the curriculum has little or no effect on the student’s status of being at-risk. There are, however, self-identified factors that contribute to the student’s status of being at risk. It should be noted that at risk students are not only those who are at risked of dropping out. Today, the term ‘at-risk’ has broadened to include those who stay in school, but fail to achieve the basic competencies associated with their educational level. As observed by scholars, there are students who “fail to achieve basic skills before leaving school,” which are also considered at risk (National Center for Education Statistics, 1992, p.2). In this context, the educational institution’s curriculum has a huge role to play in order to achieve the educational goal of producing students that have the competencies to pursue higher learning opportunities or become ready for employment. Although they do not necessarily drop out of school, there are students who graduate their formal education, yet they lack the basic skills or the basic proficiencies that they ought to learn while they were in school (National Center for Education Statistics, 1992, p.2). Many factors contribute to this problem; the most common of which as identified by experts are uninteresting classes or subjects; lack of school or classroom engagement; and those who give tests that are too difficult for the average student (Burrus & Roberts, 2012, p. 4).
Current Curriculum in the U.S. and its Impact on Students at Risk
Modern educational institutions from preschool to college follow a certain program or curriculum. This curriculum serves as a blueprint or guide in order for educational institutions to achieve a desired objective or goal. The goal of formal education today can be considered as holistic; the objective of which can be broadly categorized into two: to train students to become college ready while training them to become career ready. Traditional curriculums focus more on producing college-ready students. These curriculums emphasized academic subjects over technical skills. However, a significant shift on the goals of pre-college education can be observed, especially at the start of the 20th century. Gradually, pre-college education pursued a more holistic approach; balancing between college readiness and career readiness. Many educators believe that the significance of the curriculum could not be undermined. For the same reason, a student could not be promoted to a higher level or grade or considered as having successfully graduated a particular course of study until he or she has successfully gone through all the subjects that were laid out in the school’s curriculum. The prevailing curriculum in the United States now aims to promote the holistic development of the individual. The K-12 curriculum is the current standard curriculum of pre college education in America. This curriculum offers more flexibility since it offers electives to students, giving them a chance to plan their career path even before they graduate high school. In the K-12 program, the goal of the curriculum is twofold; provide an education that prepares the student for a college education as well as produce individuals that are career-ready. The government is pursuing a K-12 program that is complete and competitive. The logic behind the K-12 curriculum is quite simple. Since one of the major factors that makes students at risk of dropping out is poverty, the curriculum should also address the same problem. As observed by scholars, “Poverty seems to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, predictor of a school’s dropout rate” (Burrus & Roberts, 2012, p.7). In order for the curriculum to significantly impact at risk students in a positive way, it should motivate at risk students to pursue their formal education until they graduate from high school. Some students whose family do not have the capability to send their children to school may find pre-college education impractical. By adjusting the curriculum to include not only academic subjects, but also skill oriented subjects, poor students and their families would be more interested in staying in school due to its practical benefits. By giving students the technical skills, their chances of landing an entry-level job also increases. Many poor students do not expect to go to college because they cannot afford to do so. However, they can be made to stay in school until graduation if they are given opportunities through a career-ready curriculum. One of the major feature of a K-12 curriculum lies in the program’s ability to make the student choose the career path that suits their level of intelligence and financial capabilities. Students who wish to pursue a college career may choose a more academically focused curriculum while still in high school while those who wish to pursue an entry-level job can choose to focus on taking subjects related to acquiring a particular technical skill.
Conclusion
The school’s curriculum significantly impacts at risk students in terms of personal preference. By offering subjects that are designed not only for financial well-off students, schools can encourage students to continue to pursue their pre-college education until they graduate. Most modern schools in the United States have adopted this type of curriculum. The K-12 program, for instance, offers curriculum flexibility, which allows students to choose whether to focus on college-ready or career-ready programs. Being able to choose a career path through a flexible curriculum could impact at risk students positively because they can make more practical subjects that coincides not only with their intellectual capacity, but also with their socioeconomic status. In this context, a school’s curriculum is, therefore, a significant factor for keeping at risk students interested in school.
References
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