Research Paper on "How Do Middle Schools Accommodate Student Diversity in the Schools?"

Research Paper 8 pages (2234 words) Sources: 10

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Middle School Student Diversity

How so Middle Schools Accommodate Student Diversity

Diversity is quickly become a major issue that all middle schools are focusing on. This is because they are experiencing a shift in the demographic of students. To adjust with these challenges, the research determined that there are number of theories which are effective. These include: educational productivity, greater choices / competition and technological innovation. Each one of these areas has been shown to offer a blueprint for educators. (Miller, 2008)

However, most people will take a one size fits all approach and assume that a single theory is the most effective. This hurts their ability to reach out to students from contrasting backgrounds. To deal with these challenges, select ideas from each theory should be integrated in the form a hybrid strategy. This can be accomplished using flexibility and carefully adapting them to the personalities in the classroom. When this occurs, diversity improves by helping everyone to understand various cultures and its importance. As a result, the way that middle schools accommodate diversity is to use different solutions in conjunction with each other. This enhances the educator's ability to reach out to the individual in format they can relate to. (Miller, 2008)

Research Question

The research question that will be studied is:

How do middle schools accommodate for student diversity?

This is important, as all institutions are dealing with a larger demographic of students from contrasting backgrounds. To make matters worse, there are greater amounts of accountability. This means that educators must reach out to them in a format they can understand to enhance learning comprehension. This study will focus on how these tactics can be used to improve transparency, diversity and quality. (Miller, 2008)

Introduction

Over the last several years, middle schools have been facing increasing amounts of pressure to accommodate student diversity. This is because a larger segment of pupils are from contrasting economic and cultural backgrounds. At the same time, the focus on improving quality means that these practices are becoming a way of reaching out to more people. (Miller, 2008) (Schectman, 2010)

To achieve these objectives, there is a concentration on improving competition by making the process simplified. The basic idea is that this will enhance everyone's understanding of key concepts through using this in conjunction with different cultural ideas and technology. When this happens, students will have a well rounded education by comprehending various customs and traditions. This is the point when they are prepared for effectively interacting and working with individuals from contrasting backgrounds. (Miller, 2008) (Schectman, 2010)

However, despite the benefits of diversity there have been studies completed which are concluding that it is hurting quality. Evidence of this can be seen with research that was conducted by Alba (2011) who said, "The rich countries of the West are facing a diversity transition that will unfold in the next several decades. The transition means that these societies will depend increasingly on individuals who have grown up in immigrant homes to maintain economic, social, and cultural vitality. This situation turns a spotlight on educational systems, which are crucial to preparing the children from low-status immigrant families to participate in the institutions of the mainstream. The educational gaps between native- and immigrant-origin children in France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States raise concerns about the performance of systems with very different characteristics." (Alba, 2011)

This is illustrating how accommodating diversity can be challenging. Currently, there is a focus on applying these principles without understanding potential drawbacks (which can hurt quality). To avoid these kinds of issues requires understanding the most effective tactics for embracing diversity and enhancing learning comprehension. This will be accomplished by looking at: different educational theories, analyzing the research and providing recommendations / conclusions from these findings. Together, these different elements will offer the best insights as to how middle schools can effectively accommodate student diversity and improve quality. This is the primary focus of the research question which is: how do middle schools accommodate for student diversity?

Theories

There are a number of theories that are used to promote diversity at the middle school level. The most notable include: educational productivity, greater choices / competition and technological innovation. Each one of these areas has been utilized by educators to create a unique environment that is supportive of diversity. Understanding them will help to offer insights about how these concepts can be used to transform the school atmosphere.

Educational Productivity

Educational productivity is when the process and goals for the individual are taken into consideration. The primary objectives are to create positive student perceptions about: their social environment, self-identity, creativity, participation in physical activities and promoting a genuine interest in the subject matter. These changes will improve academic performance by understanding how the person is able to interact with the world around them. This model is enhancing diversity through requiring everyone to have greater amounts of flexibility when conducting a variety of tasks.

(Schectman, 2010)

This is illustrating how these tactics, can help to enhance diversification inside a variety of middle schools. The reasons why it is so successful, is from the ability of educators to incorporate these concepts into a solution that is using flexibility. According to Lopez (2008), these tools increase student diversity by promoting different ideas and curriculum. This is when the student will have a well rounded education. In the future, this prepares the individual for the challenges they will face at higher grade levels and in learning how to adapt with new educational environments. (Lopez, 2008)

Greater Choice and Competition

Greater choices and competition is when the various educational institutions will compete against one another. Those schools that are embracing diversity and have proven results will see an increase in enrollment. This is because they are using a model that has been shown to enhance quality and take into account different cultural perspectives. Over the course of time, this will result in students understanding how to interact socially and professionally in the real world. This will more effectively prepare them for the challenges they will face in everyday life. (Miller, 2008)

Moreover, parents will exercise a certain amount of choices when determining their child's education. According to a study conducted by the Brown Center, they determined that 50% of families will evaluate their options. At the same time, many low income communities have the opportunity to improve quality with more choices. This means that students can go to those institutions that are providing everyone with the best results. When this happens, the school environment will focus on embracing diversity in order to accommodate their different needs. (Miller, 2008)

Technological Innovation

The technological innovation theory is focused on using IT related applications and solutions to improve diversity. This is accomplished by incorporating lesson planning and traditional techniques with these tools. For a number of educators, they have found this to be an effective way of providing additional explanations.

Furthermore, it has been shown to offer the student unique perspectives of learning and remembering critical ideas. For example, inside the best performing middle schools they will use these applications to reach out to students who are having trouble understanding key concepts (such as: English language learners). Those who are utilizing the Internet, computers and other solutions in conjunction with their classroom time will improve the student's learning comprehension by 80%. The reason why is because these tools are presenting them with new ideas in a format they understand. This builds a bridge between two different cultures by offering the individual with information they can use. It is at this point, when they will recall key ideas and comprehend these new traditions with existing social customs and norms. (Brozeck, 2009)

Evidence of this can be seen with observations from Brozeck (2009) who said, "Technology is the way to add excitement and connect with your students more effectively. Utilizing and combining graphics, video, and audio can address varied styles of learning in a more effective way and be a tremendous support to English language learners. Finding a way to infuse technology into instruction not only helps English language learners acquire a second language, but also enhances motivation and confidence." (Brozeck, 2009)

This is illustrating how these kinds of solutions can enhance diversity by presenting the student with contrasting perspectives of understanding the material. When this happens, everyone will learn the skills they need to effectively interact with different groups. At the same time, this will improve quality by providing students with further explanations about critical concepts. (Brozeck, 2009)

According to Graham (2009), this is one of the keys that many inner city and rural schools are using to address these challenges. Moreover, middle schools with strong traditions of academic excellence are turning to these solutions. This is because technology is quickly becoming something that everyone must have in order to compete inside the global marketplace. (Graham, 2009)

These resources are illustrating how technology can make a difference in dealing with diversity related issues. This is from… READ MORE

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