Need Identification
The following paper addresses the issues faced by non-English speaking students. There are a plethora of needs that these students possess that should ideally be addressed in order to solve this issue effectivelyThere are a number of needs that can be addressed to solve this issue. The first need that should be addressed is the importance of the student to feel as if they belong at the school. The first need is for the students to feel a sense of belonging in the school If the students do not understand their respective environment or the rules of engagement for their environment, then they are likely not going to feel a sense that they belong. This will greatly inhibit their respective progress down the road.. Without understanding the environment and the rules of engagement in their environment they are unlikely to feel a sense of belonging. The second need is to provide students with a fair ground to compete with the rest of the students who speak English as their native language. The non-English speaking students have to sit for similar exams with other students, which is unfair since the same scoring techniques are used on all of them. This causes a disparity in the classroom because the students are forced to be at the bottom of the grading curve when they need to be tested differently given that English is not their first language. The third need is the need to communicate with the students. This need is like the backbone of all other needs since there can be no fair grounds or sense of belonging without communication.Without communication, there is essentially no fairness that ensues between the students and teachers because there is not a clear understanding of what the students need in order to succeed. The sense of belonging is an emotional need and the second need, a fair ground, is a security need.the need to have an even playing ground is a security need. The students should feel secure to achieve their education goals. The third need is a primary need since in this environment it is vital for the survival of students. These three needs, if satisfied, have the potential to greatly change the success rate of a student who does not speak English as their first language in the classroom.
Making students feel a sense of belonging makes them more comfortable with the school environment. Giving them a fair ground means making them be on the same level for competition. The students will be in a position to understand the instructions in class and in the examinations as well. Communication is the backbone of this needs since without communication in a school then no learning can take place. There is a need for the teachers to communicate with students and for them to understand each other.
Policy Evaluation
The National Education Association has implemented policies to help non-English speaking students. One of these policies is the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) whose aim is to help students who are in need. struggling. The policy is found at http://www.nea.org/home/65276.htm. One of the needs met by this policy is the ability for non-English students to opt out of standardised tests. The policy ensures that English learners are provided with the necessary materials and resources to learn English before proceeding with the normal curriculum. It provides services to different school districts that educators can implement (NEA, 2015). It also provides school administrators with ways on how to go about educating and disciplining non-English students. One of the most important aspects of this Act is that it gives school administrators the necessary devices to relate to non-native English speakers. The most important thing is communicating with these students and the services provided in this Act give school administrators ways to go about it. The strengths of this program are the issues it addresses. For instance, the program addresses matters of school discipline and security in relation to the non-English speaking students. Another strength is that the policy addresses issues that are left out in many policies like issues of weight for the students. The weaknesses of this program are that it does not go deeply into the important issues on how the policies are implemented in different school districts. The program does not go into matters of how the programs are to be implemented and how school administrators can use the information to their benefit. Also, the program does not provide information on the studies done and the changes expected from implementing these programs. There are issues that the program does not address and these are the loopholes. The program does not address the issue of parents of the non-English speaking students. It is important to know that the school educators need to communicate with the parents as well as the students. The program should help out the parents as well. This is particularly important because many of these children’s parents never learned English. Thus, it is imperative to find innovative ways to communicate what is expect of their children to these people so that the children can be the first generation in the family to speak fluent English and be a productive member of society.
There have been constant changes in the education policy environment. The procedures for making and implementing education policies have changed over the years. In the past, education policies were developed by the state department, education committees, and education lobby groups. Today, the policy environment is different. The state governments have more authority over the public school and constantly present policy proposals to improve the system. This policy environment does not consider school educators necessary in developing these policies but instead they consider them part of the problem, (Fowler, 2013). The policy environment prefers to seek help from business leaders and researchers. There are reasons for the changes in the policy-making process, including: economic changes, ideological shift, and demographic trends.
The economic changes in the twenty-first century have resulted to more children in the United States growing up in poverty. As such,Given the increased amount of poverty within the United States, it is difficult for the education system to support a high number of such students, especially with their resources declining as well.the declining resources as well. The economic crisis has affected the education policy environment. Other changes have resulted from demographic trends. Currently, the number of baby boomers has increased and the government is more concerned with how to finance their retirement and health care costs, (Fowler, 2013). The government has invested more money in this generation and hasence reduced the resources available for schools. Consequently, that means that there are older people in the population who are less interested in educational needs, which leads ing to a decline in the political support for schools. The changes in the policy environment can be attributed to an ideological shift in the society. The education politics in today’s society areis more focused on accountability, excellence, and choice. More conservatives have joined the policy development arena making United States’ politics harsh. School leaders who grew up in a different political era may find it difficult to influence change in this era due to the political stagnation that exists in the United States due to the political landscape whether the political parties and their views are deadlocked and not promoting progress. .
Power gives individuals the ability to influence the actions of others. In the education system, power influences the policy process, which includesing the practices and language instruction provided to these students. guage during this process. Most policies in the school administration are achieved through talk in meetings, media, hallways, and on the telephone. School leaders communicate their power through language. Different elements can indicate the power relationships in the education system, (Fowler, 2013). Texts can show the relationship between the community and the office. Certain traditions in the organisation’s meetings can indicate power relationships in the company. Such traditions include the arrangement on the agenda and items placed on it. Power affects different settings including the organisations in the education system.
Impact of Economic Climate on Education Policies
It is important for school administrators and educators to understand the social changes and how they influence the education system. Such knowledge makes it possible to predict and develop changes in policies. One of the most important aspects of the environment is the economic system and the changes in this system. Economic systems have short-term, intermediate, and long-term changes. Changes in the economy also affect politics and it is important to have knowledge on the economy to influence changes in education policies, (Fowler, 2013). Smart school leaders and educators use the changes in the economy to their advantage.
In this case, making changes on policies pertaining toabout non-English speaking students also requires an understanding of the economic climate and the trends. Short-term trends include the expansion and contraction of tax revenues with the business cycle. Such changes affect the level of funding available to public education. In most cases, economic buoyancy fluctuation is an indication for upcoming widespread change. With this information, school leaders can identify the appropriate time to push for policy reforms. For instance,A viable example of this would be to make changes in policies for non-English speaking students such work should be prepared in slow economic times. during slow economic times and have them ready to be presented when there is going to be a major shift in the economy. As suchThus, in the next economic expansion, it will be easier to push for policy reforms. During such a timea prosperous time, there will be more resources available and it will be easier to convince the necessary parties to support the policy changes, more resources are available and it is easier to convince the necessary parties to support the policy changes (Fowler, 2013).
A study of the long-term trends in the economic climate may lead to the identification of useful information to influence policy change. Such information may reveal that schools receive considerable amounts of money and in most cases the money is wasted by the educators. Such information can lead to identifying the need to come up with incentives to encourage adoption of better education practices and better financial management of allocated education funds provided by the government, (Fowler, 2013). A change in the incentive structure could lead to numerous educators proposing ways to implement policies to help non-English speaking students. Competition in the education system will encourage schools to improve the programs for these students and ensure they catch up with other English-speaking students.
Domains of Policy Matters
The eight domains of policy matters are made up of elements and sub-elements that are important in the development and implementation of education policies. The domains will assist in the development of policies to assist my non-English speaking students. The first domain focuses on creating quality ECE settings, which are important in creating quality programs. The domain is made up of other subdomains (Kagan & Kaurez, 2012). The first subdomain pertaining to, regulations and enforcement, will include identifying and meeting the state licensing requirements for this group of students. The second subdomain regarding , incentives from quality , will ensure the creation of a program that is likely to receive more funding. To meet this requirement, the program will have to improve the quality of instructioncare provided to the non-English speaking students. Facilities and capital is the third subdomain that will include finding the relevant strategies to receive capital investments for the program. The second domain in policy matters is ECE professional and workforce development (Kagan & Kaurez, 2012). Using this domain will ensure that the program meets the state’s requirements for the teacher’s eachers’ training and education. In addition, it will ensure the issue of teacher’ss’ compensation is addressed and how the training of helping these students can be incorporated into their degree programs. The third domain, informed families and informed public will ensure that the student’ss’ families are informed and involved in the process. The program can involve the families through parenting information campaigns or home-visiting services. Focusing on the fourth domain, accountability and results orientation will ensure that the assessment standards and program evaluation strategies for the program are addressed. Monitoring the implementation of the program will determine whether it achieves the intended outcomes. Furthermore, this domain will ensure that the necessary data for the program is collected and that the state has the required infrastructure to collect and coordinate the collected data. The fifth domain, adequate ECE financing, can be used to ensure the development of a program that is affordable to people on different economic levels and one that can generate revenue. Governance and coordination will ensure the relevant entities are involved in the development of this program (Kagan & Kaurez, 2012). The involvement of these entities will ensure the development of a comprehensive childhood system. The seventh domain, education in the early grades, will ensure that this program is provided even to non-English students in kindergarten. Also, it will ensureAdditionally, it will enforce relevant that learning standards and curriculums for students in this grade are setstandards for each curriculum and grade level to be properly set. The final domain of policy matters is health, oral health, and mental health. The domain will ensure the program meets certain health standards. For instance, the program can include health evaluations standards for students undertaking the program. The use of these domains in developing the program will lead to the creation of a comprehensive program that includes all the important aspects, (Kagan & Kaurez, 2012).
Building the System at Local Level
Building a childhood system at the local level is important since this is where the children and their families intersect with the different childhood programs and services. There are challenges and advantages that come with the implementation of a program at this level. The success of such programs results from coordination of efforts of the people at this level. More people can be reached by including the local councils and leaders. The leadership at this level has a better understanding of the community and the community’s needs as they pertain to students who do not speak English as their first language, (Kagan & Kaurez, 2012). They can provide information on the practices that would work for the target community and those that would not. Additionallylso, transparent communication with the leaders at this level is likely to eliminate any political challenges that the programs would encounter during implementation of these policies, especially in influencing the change of policies. One of the greatest challenges is exercising authority to direct the planning of the program and delivery of services, (Kagan & Kaurez, 2012). Developing cross-agency relationships may lead to the disappearance of authority. It is also a challenge to build and sustain a strong leadership with such integration. It is important to create and maintain a leadership that is reliable continuously.continuously reliable. It is also difficult to ensure accountability in such a partnership. It is difficuladditionally challengingt to ensure accountability for the public and private funds invested in the program. Both the local and state organisations must efficiently use the available funds which positively impacts the services delivered and returns on the investments, (Kagan & Kaurez, 2012).
There are lessons that one can use in the development of an education program. These lessons will be useful in the development of policies for the non-English speaking students. One valuable lesson will be to ensure that the people working on the program are well skilled. Also, to implement a strategic approach from the start that will include sharing precise vision and priorities with all parties. That will allow room to respond to any local changes and needs and take advantages of emerging opportunities. Since one of the challenges is in pertains to ensuring accountability of funds, it is necessary to pay attention to having a diversified funding base.
Early Care and Education Policies
Governments have implemented different policies with the aim of eliminating work-family conflicts. One of the well-known policies is Family and Medical Leave Act in the United States. The acts provide parents with a right to 12 weeks for reasons like the birth of a child. The act is said to provide parents with generous rights. Europe, also, has a tradition of providing the parents with maternity leave. Most of the European nations provide 14 to 20 weeks of paid maternity leave, (Ruhm, 2011). However, paternity leave is less common in the European nations. Canadian leaves are more similar to those offered in the United States. The Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services in the United States is more of a private responsibility that is a challenge to most families. For most countries, the program emphasises on care, safety, and health. The care arrangements for the first three years of a child’s life are associated with the parental leave rights. The Early Childhood Education and Care services in the United States are different and better for certain reasons, (Ruhm, 2011). The public investment required for the first three years is less compared to other countries like Germany and the Netherlands. Also, the United States has a low enrollmentenrolment in formal care for young children of less than five years old. The United States has made efforts to make the ECEC services available and for parents to continue with their careers.
Developmental Stages of Systematic Change
There are stages that exist in the shift from a traditional educational system to a new system that embraces interconnectedness, higher achievement, and active learning. The first stage involves the maintenance of the old system before incorporating new knowledge about learning, teaching, and organisational structures. The second step is where one becomegets aware that the old educational system does not work but in this stage one is still not sure what to change. In the exploration stage, the educators study places implementing new approaches and then they try these managing and teaching approaches, (Anderson, 1993). In the transition stage, people commit to risking to try out the new system. The emergence of new infrastructure is the stage where new elements are implemented to keep the new system running. In the last stage, the most powerful elements of the system are identified and leaders start envisioning better systems. The implementation of systematic change can differ depending on the situation. In this case, the systematic change will require me to continue teaching the students as under the current situation and identify the areas to make changes. It is a long process before I can get the change of policies to help the non-English speaking students. That will involve making changes in the school I am currently teaching with the hope that other institutions will adopt similar changes.
Bridging the Gap
There is a clear disparity between children raised in low-income families and those in affluent families. Research shows that at the age of four4, children from a poor background know a small fraction of words compared to other childrenchildren from affluent backgrounds. Children from such backgrounds have a stressful and chaotic environment lacking attention and stimulation necessary to develop properly. At eighteen18 months, children from poor backgrounds hear around 3 million words annually and those from affluent backgrounds hear 11 million words, (Harriet Meyer Consulting, 2009). The quality and quantity of language between children from the two backgrounds is clear and affects their ability to communicate when in school. Therefore, there is a need to bridge the gap between the two extremes to provide all children with equal opportunities. Such a gap can be bridged by increasing programs available to at-risk children and infants. The programs can include profit and non-profit child care centreers and homes. Also, it can include the implementation of home visitation programs with high-quality standards. On-site consultants and monitors can ensure that the set standards are met, (Harriet Meyer Consulting, 2009).
References
Anderson, B. L. (1993). The Stages of Systematic Change. Retrieved from http://www.buildinitiative.org/WhatsNew/ViewArticle/tabid/96/ArticleId/582/The-Stages-of-Systemic-Change.aspx
Fowler, F. C. (2013). Policy Studies for Educational Leaders: An Introduction (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Harriet Meyer Consulting. (2009, March 17). Testimony at U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and LaborLabour Hearing: The Importance of Early Childhood Development [Video file].
Kagan, S. L., & Kaurez, K. (Eds). (2012). Early Childhood Systems: Transforming Early Learning. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
National Education Association (NEA). (2015). The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA): ESSA Implementation Begins. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/65276.htm
Ruhm, C. J. (2011). Policies to Assist Parents with Young Children. Future of Children, 21(2), 37-68. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
