4.3 Evidence

Question 1

Steiner Schools

Based on Rudolph Steiner’s educational philosophy

Answer 1

The teacher stays with their class up to 15 years old, creating the home environment that the classroom is designed to emulate. In practice, specialist classes like science and maths are taught by a specialist as the child progresses. A classroom should be big enough to incorporate everything the children need. Computers are hidden away from sight.

Teaching according to the principle of peak concentration times. The first lesson starts at 8.45 am and lasts two hours. The routine includes a waking up process with physical movement and song which continues until the children are settled.

Block teaching. The children study one subject for several weeks. Craft and movement are scripted into each day.
No textbooks. The children make their own. Black boards are used instead of white boards.

Steiner schools are non-selective. The teaching method is different. Learning is seen in the context of the whole child. Steiner believed that the child’s emotional and spiritual development is a key component of learning.

Teaching starts much later because it is considered so important to concentrate on their emotional development. They start learning to read and write at about seven.

No head teacher. The school is run by a teacher democracy where all the teachers meet once a week and discuss each child in turn.
No pressure. Steiner schools place emphasis on the child being relaxed. Schools are not exam or test focused.

Only five to seven GCSEs are taken. Steiner schools are not concerned with sending children out into the world with a list of qualifications but as well-balanced individuals.

Question 2

Its a man’s job…class and gender in school work experience programmes

Mackenzie

Scottish Council for Research and Education

Answer 2

found that:
* 45% of girls were allocated to caring placements, but these did not always reflect their choices.
* boys who did not get their preferred placement tended to be allocated to occupations that they considered as either neutral or traditionally male.
* girls who were unsuccessful in their preferred placements were allocated to traditionally female occupations.

Question 3

Osgood etal

Answer 3

• Teachers perceive that girls within classroom settings can downplay their achievements and successes due to low self-belief (Perander et al., 2020) and in alignment with attributes of care and love. In spite of girls’ raised ambitions, the types of occupations chosen by girls and boys remain strongly gender delineated
• Boys often reject the possibility of work in caring careers where their masculine identities may be under threat. However, there were boys who justified their choices based on caring or helping others, providing examples of shifts in conception of masculine performances of, and alliances with, traditionally coded feminine pursuits (Anderson)
• found that when opportunities for work experience are presented in schools the experiences taken up reflect occupational segregation. Since those work experiences are gendered, it is likely to follow that they will choose traditional gendered occupational paths. …

Question 4

Cultural Influences on academic achievement in Fiji

Otsuka

Answer 4

There are cultural differences between values, beliefs and practices which affect educational achievement among Indo-Fijians and ethnic Fijians in the Fiji context.

Indo-Fijian culture respects and values education highly. They believe that education changes people for the better, and the only way to success and to establish good customs is through education.

Thus, Indo-Fijian parents believe that helping children to strive for
their academic excellence is one of the most important tasks for them.

On the contrary, ethnic Fijian culture encourages children to become
good members of their community. For this purpose, one’s total
commitment to communal activities and requirements is of vital
importance.

Ethnic Fijian parents spend a large amount of time and money on making contribution to ceremonies and church, somewhat at the expense of their children’s education. Consequently, Indo-Fijian
students generally become better performers than their ethnic Fijian
counterparts.