Trouble with Educational Psychology - Report Example

Educational Psychology Case perspective Darren, a ten-year-old has had trouble with his education due to his tough social background and lack of supporting parents. With the father incarcerated for a violent crime five years ago, the mother is rarely home nor does she even bother to attend parents evening to gauge and make a follow up on the performance of the boy (Rodriguez-Campos, et al., 2014). Though the teachers report indicates that Darren is a quiet and well-mannered boy, her silence can be attributed to the challenges he faces from home. His school attendance is irregular with less than 65% attendance score, a contributing factor to her poor class performance. As he approaches the SAT exam, the teachers’ concern towards his ability to make a successful transition to secondary school is warranted. While most of his peers are able to write and read well, he struggles with such basic skills, which demonstrate his inability to catch up with his colleagues (Jones, Bailey & Jacob, 2014). The situation at home affects Darren more than the younger sister whose performance and school attendance is impressive. This report only provides the tough environment that Darren lives in but does not indicate that he suffers from any learning and cognitive conditions. He is healthy, active and plays football with his friends within the school playground during break time, a demonstration that his condition is not in any way medical. Since he was enrolled into the school, Darren has struggled academically, scoring low marks and making little progress towards improving his reading and writing skills (Wininger & Norman, 2010). With his energy and deceptively happy life covered with a smiling face, Darren faces some psychological issues that must be addressed in order to help him improve his performance. He also demonstrates strong athletic abilities by engaging in sporting activities within the school during break time with his close group of friends. Darren cognitive abilities Cognitive abilities are characteristics that arise from predisposition and a learning environment which are manifested in the level of creativity, intelligence and motivation. Students who have poor cognitive abilities can develop various conditions associated with learning disabilities, which include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia and even speech disorders (Rodriguez-Campos, et al., 2014). Darren performs poorly in his exams and cannot communicate effectively in class as compared with his peers, a situation that is attributed to his environment. With his father incarcerated for an unknown period of time and the mother absent from home most of the time, Darren lacks the motivation and abilities to develop like a normal child (Jones, Bailey & Jacob, 2014). Darren is a stressed and disturbed child and such a feeling is attributable to the environment back at home and the challenges he faces which stops him from concentrating and achieving his educational goals. Addressing the challenges he faces as a way of improving his academic performance and approach to life irrespective of the situation that the dad and mum is in requires cognitive restructuring (Jones, Bailey & Jacob, 2014). Cognitive restructuring is a process of learning and disengaging oneself from disruptive and unhealthy thoughts through a psychotherapeutic process. In cognitive restructuring, a number of approaches are adopted, including thought recording approach, the use of imageries and other cognitive behavioural therapies. Cognitive restructuring can be used in the management of stress and during habit changes in an individual. One of the cognitive restructuring approaches used in stress relief is the art of self-talk (Jones, Bailey & Jacob, 2014). Through this, we develop a proper way of understanding the problem and internalize the situation. Through this process, we can be able to eliminate the life threatening impacts of the habit. However, a trained cognitive therapist is best placed to provide guidance on how to manage behaviour change stress through cognitive restructuring. An individual must first be aware of the challenge he is facing before he can develop an approach to mitigate it. The inner power is also essential in cognitive restructuring as it provides assurance of an individual’s ability to handle the situation. According to the social cognitive theory, people are capable of acquiring different behavioural patterns based in the intervention strategies adopted. As a result, environmental factors play a major role in determining the abilities of a person to accept change such as behaviour change. Social cognitive theory can be applied to the management of stress by identifying the environmental factors associated with the condition beforehand (Glickman, 2009). Based on social cognitive theory, the management of stress, which is considered as a behaviour change process is affected by the environmental factors. These factors affect how the individuals concerned are capable to handle the situation despite the environmental pressures placed on them. In social cognitive, the environment is believed to be a predominant factor on the ability of an individual to effectively be managed a stressful moment. Two factors within the environment that affects the reduction of stress is the people one interact with and their individual behaviours (Wininger & Norman, 2010). A number of assumptions exist that guide the application of the social cognitive therapy in the reduction of stress and management of behaviour change. The triadic reciprocal-it describes the progressive functioning of an individual and this makes the process of reducing stress either easier or more challenging. Development approach to Darren condition Apart from lack of adequate development of cognition abilities, Darren is also faced with developmental challenges, which is a common aspect of educational psychology. The behaviour of Darren, though mild, is masked by the frustrations that he faces as a kid growing in such a challenging environment with responsibilities and no one to address his problems (De Coulon, Meschi & Vignoles, 2011). However, report from the school states that the sister’s performance is impressive, this is short term as she is yet to have a proper hold of the issues at hand. According to the behaviourist’s theorist, a student will only repeat the desired behaviour and learning approach if positive reinforcement is provided which can be in the form of a pleasant consequence that is used to appreciate the good behaviour and action. By positive reinforcement, behaviourist believes in the use of actual or verbal rewards to appreciate and motivate the learners. At the stage of Petra’s learning, the use of positive verbal reinforcement will help her realize how great she is doing and make it possible for her to forget the difficult moments she is facing because of the new environment (Carter, Chunn & Frewen, 2014). To improve the condition of Darren, the teachers must understand that the school is the only place where he feels comfortable and away from the issues associated with the volatile home. The learning approach developed should encompass his problems and attempt to address them as opposed to looking down on them (Wininger & Norman, 2010). Facilitative learners also work towards the development of a strong and positive relationship with the learners in order to create an enabling and free environment that enhances learning and information exchange (Glickman, 2009). Learners in this kind of setting are also encouraged to remain responsible and possess the power to direct their learning. Based on this theory, learners are made to realize that the most effective evaluation is self-evaluation, a process that enables them to develop approaches that enhance problem solution (Carter, Chunn & Frewen, 2014). Educational researchers who have attempted to provide a theoretical rationale on the process of student self-assessment have developed a number of theories (De Coulon, Meschi & Vignoles, 2011). These theories have been drawn from sociology discipline and attempts to highlight how best to use the tools of self-assessment to improve student’s performance and morale. Self-assessment has been shown to subscribe to the ideologies of cognitive and constructivist learning theories of learning and student morale improvement. The ability of a student to self-monitor and think through his learning process is the central component of this theory (Glickman, 2009). Conclusion The challenges faced by Darren should be approached from a multi-theoretical perspective in order to effectively address them and improve his learning. Possible theories that touch on his poor academic performance include the constructivism theory, cognitive abilities and developmental theory. With these theories, students are allowed to construct meaning of different areas of their subjects through self-assessment process before and during the actual learning process (Carter, Chunn & Frewen, 2014). It thus allows them to connect known facts and abilities to do different things in their lives with the current knowledge gained through direct learning. Through self-assessment processes, students are given the ability to connect the gained skills with the current learnt information in the class. This is considered as a goal-theory approach of learning in which a student connects the goal of his studies with the theories learnt in class. References Carter, M. A., Chunn, J., & Frewen, A. (2014). Through the eyes of parents: A Singaporean perspective of the importance of cognitive and non-cognitive skills for six-year-old children. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(3), 57-65. De Coulon, A., Meschi, E., & Vignoles, A. (2011). Parents skills and childrens cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes. Education Economics, 19(5), 451-474. doi:10.1080/09645292.2010.511829 Glickman, N. S. (2009). Cognitive-behavioural Therapy for Deaf and Hearing Persons with Language and Learning Challenges. New York: Routledge. Jones, S. M., Bailey, R., & Jacob, R. (2014). Social-emotional learning is essential to classroom management. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(2), 19. Doi: 10.1177/0031721714553405 Rodriguez-Campos, L., Berson, M. J., Owens, C. M., Egea-Walker, C., & Bellara, A. (2014). Challenges in Evaluating Outcomes Influenced by Social Desirability: Lessons Learned from an Evaluation of a Civic Education Professional Development Program. Global Education Journal, 2014(4), 26-38. Wininger, S. R., & Norman, A. D. (2010). Assessing Coverage of Maslows Theory in Educational Psychology Textbooks: A Content Analysis. Teaching Educational Psychology, 6(1), 33-48. Read More