Chapter 10 - School Flashcards
10.1 Summarize the history of secondary school enrollment around the world.
Secondary enrollment in developed countries grew during the 20th century from rare to nearly universal. Today, secondary enrollment is relatively low in developing countries but growing rapidly. Over the past century, the secondary school curriculum in the United States has changed from a focus on liberal arts to a curriculum intended to prepare students for work and citizenship, to a curriculum that includes a wide range of courses from math and English to music and physical education. These changes have taken place partly in response to the different characteristics of the young people attending secondary school, and partly in response to changes in cultural beliefs about what adolescents need to learn.
10.2 Compare and contrast the forms that secondary school takes today in different regions of the world.
In some developed countries, secondary education takes the form of the comprehensive high school, which teaches a general education to all students. In other developed countries, mainly in Europe, there are three types of secondary school, a college-preparatory school, a vocational school, and a professional school. Secondary education around the world varies greatly in terms of availability and quality. Developed countries tend to provide relatively high-quality secondary education for most adolescents. Adolescents in developing countries are less likely to complete secondary school and the quality of secondary education available to them is often poor.
10.3 Identify the main reason why secondary school performance is higher in some regions of the world than others.
In international comparisons, developed countries rank higher than developing countries in academic performance because schools in developed countries are better funded and adolescents in developing countries have greater work and family responsibilities.
10.4 Summarize the research on school size in relation to adolescents’ school experiences and performance.
Large schools have the advantage of a broad range of classes, but can be alienating for students. At smaller schools, students are more likely to participate in extracurricular activities. No clear relation has been found between school size or class size and academic achievement, but scholars generally agree that the optimal school size is 500 to 1,000 students.
10.5 Define school climate, and identify the ways that it influences adolescents’ experiences in secondary school.
School climate—the quality of the classroom interactions between teachers and students—affects students’ academic performance and their participation in delinquency. The same qualities of warmth and moderate control that are effective in parenting are also effective in schools.
10.6 Explain how family expectations and parenting are related to adolescents’ school attitudes and performance, and the difficulties in establishing causation in this research area.
Adolescents tend to perform better in school when their parents are involved and have high expectations for educational performance. However, because adolescents receive both genes and family environment from parents in biological families, it is difficult to tell how much of parents’ contribution to adolescents’ school success is genetic and how much is environmental. Adolescents’ performance rises when programs succeed in increasing parents’ engagement with the school.
10.7 Summarize how friends may influence each other’s school engagement, and distinguish between the influence of friends and the influence of peers.
Adolescents tend to choose friends who share their level of academic engagement and achievement, and friends usually reinforce adolescents’ engagement, whether it is positive or negative. High-achieving adolescents may try to conceal their success from peers, but an environment of high-achieving peers can lead adolescents to lower their academic self-esteem and expectations for achievement.
10.8 Identify the ways that working and leisure activities may impact adolescents’ school performance, and specify the threshold of hours per week beyond which working has negative effects.
Employment in adolescence is related to a wide range of negative outcomes, including poorer grades, cheating, and less commitment to school. The negative effect becomes apparent above 10 hours per week, and worse still above 20 hours per week. Unstructured socializing is related to lower academic achievement, but organized activities enhance adolescents’ school engagement.
10.9 Identify the differences between American and Asian views of what schools should require of adolescents, and explain how social class is connected to cultural beliefs about school within American society.
Americans value academic success but generally believe it should not come at the expense of time with friends and participation in organized activities, including sports, art, and music. There is a long tradition of Asian cultures valuing education, including the belief that academics come first during adolescence and other activities should be minimized. Within American society, adolescents in lower social classes often perform less well in school, due to family stresses as well as to lower parental engagement in adolescents’ school performance.
10.10 Explain the differences in adolescents’ academic performance among American ethnic groups.
Asian Americans have the highest academic performance, with African Americans and Latinos lowest and Whites in-between. Ethnic differences in adolescents’ academic performance are explained in part by social class differences and in part by culturally different influences from family and friends.
10.11 Identify the reasons why girls’ academic performance generally exceeds boys’.
Girls perform better than boys on nearly all measures of academic performance, and in recent years they have become increasingly likely to pursue math and science. They are less likely than boys to have learning disabilities, more likely to do their homework, and they watch less television. They also feel more supported by teachers in school, by parents at home, and by other adults as well.
10.12 List the distinctive qualities of gifted adolescents, and describe the most common learning disabilities and their treatments.
Gifted adolescents are distinguished by precocity, independence, a drive for mastery, and exceptional information processing skills. About 10% of adolescents have a learning disability, with half of these diagnosed as ADHD. The most effective treatment for ADHD combines behavioral therapy and medication. Interventions for reading problems are most effective if they begin long before adolescence.
10.13 State the reasons why some adolescents drop out of school.
Dropping out of high school is predicted by a variety of factors, including previous problems in school, personality characteristics, and family difficulties. Successful programs to prevent dropping out have focused on providing alternative schools.
10.14 Summarize the historical trend in tertiary education participation in the United States and current variations by ethnic group and gender.
Tertiary participation rose steadily through the 20th century and is now just under 70%. There are more female undergraduates than male (58% to 42%), and Asian Americans have the highest rates of tertiary participation, followed by Whites. African Americans and Latinos are lowest, but their participation has risen substantially in recent years.
10.15 Identify the factors that contribute to college retention and dropout.
Cost is the number one reason for dropping out of college, but other reasons include physical, mental health, and family problems. Dropout rates are higher among African Americans and Latinos because they often come from poorly funded secondary schools that have not prepared them adequately for the demands of college. Retention programs have been successful that focus on peer mentoring and special programs for first-year students.
