A Thoughtful Reflection of my Educational Journey - Essay Example

?A Thoughtful Reflection of my Educational Journey My education began in my native land, China, at age 7. I was born in China in 1992 and stayed until 2003. Our educational system is very different from the United Kingdom’s. China’s system grouped children together according to their abilities. Seven classes per year level are spread out to reflect a spectrum of abilities. Since I was of average ability, I was placed in Class 4. Slavin (1987) describes: “ ability grouping as a process wherein students are taught in stratified groups according to their achievement, skill or ability levels. It is believed that grouping students is one way of promoting collaborative learning, active engagement with learning materials, critical thinking and communication” (McCroach, O’Connel & Levitt, 2006). Each class had about 50 children who were positioned by gender alternately. This means, boys sat next to girls and are not isolated from each other and we’re not isolated from each other. A typical school day in China begins at 7 in the morning when all the students assemble for morning exercises. Lessons begin at 7:30 thru 11:30 when they break for lunch. Children go home and come back at 2:30 in the afternoon to resume their lessons until 5:30 pm. The rigorous routines actually prepare children for the world of work which they will encounter upon graduation from their schooling. A hidden curriculum teaches them to persevere throughout their academic life so that they acquire the necessary skills when they venture onto their future careers. The school day focuses on Literature and Maths as the main subjects, along with Physical Education, Science, Geography and many others. I was subjected to this routine for three years until I came to the UK at age 10. My first school in this foreign country was in a small town called Fenstanton in Cambridgeshire. The Fenstanton and Hilton Primary School was adjudged a good school by Ofsted standards this year (2013). Most of the students are White British and Ofted reported that “none are at the early stages of learning English as an additional language” (p. 3). This was a far cry since the time I joined the school. In my time, since I was not adept in the English language, I had difficulties understanding the lessons. It was a good thing that classes were smaller that we can all sit in small groups. To help me cope with my language difficulties, a teacher sat next to me during tests to help me understand the questions. This difficulty became a barrier for me from achieving the grades I needed. My teachers also thought I was not academically prepared, so I missed my chance of taking the 11+ and entering grammar school for my secondary education. This is a case of teachers expecting me to fail, so they did not bother anymore to help me through. The expectancy-value theory of achievement and motivation was developed by Wigfield and Eccles (2002). It states that: “ one’s expectations and values in educational achievement are influenced by the social context they live with (parents, teachers, peers, community, etc.) and previous academic achievement. In turn, such expectations and values influence the way one performs and persists in his academic life as well as choose his academic career” A year later, I moved again to a different school, this time, in Essex, Maldon. The school was called the Plume school. It was the only secondary school in Maldon and it was a comprehensive school. My difficulties in language caused me to be placed at the bottom set for the majority of my subjects such as English and Science. However, since Maths had the language of numbers, which I am adept at, I was placed in the top set for this subject. I continued to receive support from teachers with learning English as a second language to help me improve in my comprehension of language and literature. This was mandated by the government because of ‘Languages for All’, a consensual policy backing the National Language Strategy of 2002 in the UK which finds full expression in secondary (DfES, 2006 a). There were other students from various ethnicity groups as well, and we had different experiences in adjusting to a dominant white race culture. My challenges in being of a different racial and linguistic group resulted in very poor performance in my academics, that I could not improve much and got low marks, usually below the C average. My case, being an Asian student in a predominantly white culture does not correspond to studies reporting Asians doing very well or even surpassing other students from other ethnicities (DfES, 2006 b). For example, Ferguson (2002) conducted a study in the US to understand the experiences of students of different racial and ethnic groups which might affect their engagement and achievement in school. Data from self-reports of students show that half of whites and Asians report their GPA to be A or A- while the same is true for only 15 and 21 percent of blacks and Hispanics respectively. Conversely, 44 percent of blacks and 34 percent of Hispanics report GPA of C+ or below while only 14 percent of whites and 15 percent of Asians report the same. In terms of understanding well of school lessons, more than 50 percent of blacks and Hispanic students say they only understand “about half or less” compared to only 29 percent of whites who say the same. For Asians and mixed students, percentages amount to 42 and 43 percent respectively. On the contrary, when asked of the time they “completely understand” the teacher’s lesson, almost half of black and Hispanic students indicate that they understand the lesson about half the time or less while quarter of white students and a third of Asians report the same (Ferguson, 2002). It was found in this study that Whites and Asians appear to be more academically engaged in their studies and may give teachers the impression that they are more interested and hard-working than their Black and Hispanic counterparts. However, what are not obvious are measures of effort and interest. Although there are differences in reported rates of homework completion, there is not much difference in terms of reported times spent studying and doing homework. It is only the Asians that stand out with regard to effort as measured by time on homework (Ferguson, 2002). In this regard, I agree because my training from my Chinese school inculcated in me the value of diligence and industry in studying. My belief is that in Ferguson’s study, the Asian students are more proficient in the English language than I am, and my deficiency in the language has been the main cause of my learning difficulties and low achievement in my academic performance. When I came to the UK, I was still very poor in the English language. DfES (2003) reported that at Key Stage 4 from the year 2003, students manifest an achievement gap: “At Key Stage 4, 48% of pupils for whom English was an additional language achieved 5+ A*-C GCSE/GNVQs compared to 51% of pupils for whom English was a first language (3 percentage point gap)” (DfES, 2006 b, p. 3). Apart from the learning difficulties I experienced due to language barriers, I was also bullied a lot for being the only Chinese girl in the school. I felt that the Plume school could not offer me the help I needed, as teachers did not make enough effort to understand my situation as a foreign student with a problem with language barrier. This emphasizes the point that teachers need to be equipped with skills in accommodating and adjusting to the needs of children from various cultures. Global education is defined as “education that develops the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are the basis for decision making and participation in a world characterized by cultural pluralism, interconnectedness and international economic competition (Merryfield, 1995, p. 1 as quoted in Willard-Holt, 2000). In view of this, on a much more specific level, culturally relevant teaching must be learned by teachers. It takes into consideration the cultural background of the students at all times. It also keeps in mind cultural aspects in all interactions with students on both personal and educational levels. (Edwards & Kuhlman, 2007). Students’ cultures, languages and experiences need to be acknowledged, valued and used as important sources of their education because they deserve the best that society can give them. In a comprehensive research by Kai-ming Cheng (1998), he outlined several points of comparisons. One is that parents of American children attribute their children’s successes or failures to their innate abilities while Japanese and Chinese parents pay more attention to their children’s effort and the environment in which they learn. This has a multitude of implications on cultural views and expectations in education. It is observed that Asian schools value uniformity and conformity to the collective culture. Priority is given to one’s status within the collective group, so there is much focus on examinations and competition. This suggests why much emphasis is given on the effort exerted by the students. In contrast, cultures where individualism dominates, such as in many Western nations, tend to view “education as a means of empowering children. The goal is to enable children to grow and respect themselves as individuals. Schools and parents encourage children to develop according to their unique needs and potentialities. Consequently, education systems tend to honor individuality over conformity and individual ability over effort” (Cheng, 1998). I personally experienced the differences in Asian and Western school systems and can attest to the truth of Cheng’s findings. In my Year 10, my grades continued to falter as I started doing my GCSEs. Although I was unhappy about it, I was not assertive enough to speak up. It was a good thing that halfway through that school year, my family decided to move from Maldon to Kent, Ramsgate so that necessitated another transfer of schools. I went to Ellington School for Girls. It was a totally new experience for me to be in an exclusive girls’ school, and I felt more supported there because I was given all kinds of tests to determine my actual placement so they can help me better. Choppin (2010) contends that in recent years, girls do better than boys academically. Evidence for this is manifested in their consistent topping in GSCE examinations (Department of Education, 2013). There are several reasons for this. One is better parental support for girls, and higher expectations for girls in academics that they are motivated to meet so as not to disappoint as found by Kristjansson and Sigfusdottir (2009). Another reason may be girls have been found to work harder at this stage due to the enormous choice of vocation that have opened up to them after years of being relegated to a limited range of career options (Migunde & Odiwuor, 2012). This means, they have more choices in terms of career options now more than in the past and consequently, more chances that they can get into a career that interests them (Patton & Creed, 2007). In the past, there were limited opportunities for girls to work in jobs not related to marriage or their stereotyped roles as women. Since girls attain better results in project associated work than exams, and school curricula at present reflect more progressive methods endorsing more active learning, then it is fair to assume that they achieve more in academics than boys (Choppin, 2010). The Ofsted report for Ellington (2009) identified the factors that contribute to the school’s effectiveness. One is the specialized curriculum for students who have learning difficulties and their regular monitoring so that underachievement is prevented. The high quality care of the staff for their students supports their students’ academic and emotional needs. This ethos of achievement that prevailed in the school was responsible in motivating me to do better. My grades improved and I felt more accepted at school. Although I was still in the bottom set in Science and English, I was able to achieve a grade of C for those subjects, and for Maths I continued to be in the top set and managed to get a B mark for my GCSE. I was able to get into grammar school for sixth form. Majority of my grades were C, with Chinese being an A* and Math being a B. The grammar school I attended was an all-girls’ school but sixth form was mixed-race. I studied Sociology, Business studies, Media studies and Chinese for my A levels. I failed business so I had to re-do AS level as well as doing A2 level at the same time. In terms of agency in adjusting to others, the English National Strategy should be given much credit in facilitating socialization of individuals from various ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic groups. Its vision promotes languages as a lifelong skill which benefits everyone when it comes to business, pleasure, opening up channels of communication and exploration and promotes, encourages and instills a broader cultural understanding (DfES, 2006 a). My friends were all from the working class. I believe people from the same social class tend to be polarized towards each other. I felt that my grades were not affected by gender, race or class, and at that time, it was all down to individual work and effort. Teachers did not give enough help as I would like. Still, at the end, I got BBCC for my A levels which allowed to me enter university. I felt that universities are being more open to more diversification. The concept of diversity has been broadened to include all “individuals who bring unique perspectives or outlooks to the organization” (Schakelford, 2004, p.53). That means, it not only includes the traditional categories of race and gender, but also people with disabilities, gays and lesbians, and other non-traditional categories considered having “diversity of thought” or those from different disciplines, college degrees, socio-economic backgrounds, etc. It was Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. who inspired the concept of diversity when he advocated that people should be judged by their character, not by the colour of their skin. This propelled lawmakers to come up with laws that provide equal opportunity to all (Mor Barak, 2000). These laws have been designed protect anyone from discrimination because of their gender, marital status, ethnic or national origin, color, race, nationality, age, disability, religion, and differing terms of employment, including pay for jobs of equal value. “Equal opportunity” provides everyone equal access in society. “Equal opportunities approach” is guided on the principle that all people can avail of certain rights or privileges such as education, employment, health care or other welfare services without any discrimination or any preference whatsoever. Different organizations now apply various equal opportunity practices, which consist of a number of means used to provide fair conditions for all their members in the process of employment and work (Equal Opportunities, 2006). Upon graduation from secondary school, I took a gap year to earn some extra money for university. I enrolled at the University of Kent, Canterbury and I’m currently completing my degree in Sociology. I am expected to graduate by July, 2014. The modules I have done are mainly feminine. There is a good mixture of ethnic groups at the university, and the students come mainly from the middle to upper class. There are more Chinese students that I interact with and I feel that I belong there not only due to our common first language and culture, but our personalities more often than not, complement each other. I enjoy university life especially because it gives me more opportunities for independent learning. The impact of school efforts to help raise a culturally diverse generation that mutually accepts and respects people from different backgrounds will definitely yield future fruits of harmonious interpersonal relationships in organizations they will be part of. For me, the bottom line is developing a love for learning of various cultural similarities and differences among people so one would learn to cope with whatever or whoever comes their way. What follows after learning about it is acceptance and respect.I feel so blessed that I live in these contemporary times when I, as a Chinese, female foreign student from the working class, am part of a marginalized population whose needs and rights are acknowledged and respected by society. References Cheng, K. (1998) Can education values be borrowed? Looking into cultural differences, Peabody Journal of Education. Vol. 73: 2 Choppin, B. (2010). "Is Education Getting Better?" British Educational Research 7 (1): 11. 412. Department for Education and Skills a (DfES a) (2006) Languages Review, Crown. Department for Education and Skills b (DfES b) (2006) Secondary National Strategy for School Improvement: Pupils Learning English as an Additional Language, Crown. 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Kristjansson, A.L. & Sigfusdottir, I.D. (2009) The Role of Parental Support, Parental Monitoring, and Time Spent With Parents in Adolescent Academic Achievement in Iceland: A Structural Model of Gender Differences, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 53(5): 481-496 McCoach, D.B., O’Connell, A.A., Levitt, H. (2006) “Ability Grouping Across Kindergarten Using an Early Childhood Longitudinal Study”, The Journal of Educational Research, July/August [Vol. 99(No. 6)] Migunde , Q., Agak, J. & Odiwuor, W. (2012) Gender Differences, Career Aspirations and Career Development Barriers of Secondary School Students in Kisumu Municipality, Gender & Behaviour 10(2) Mor Barak, M. E. (2000) The Inclusive Workplace: An Ecosystems Approach to Diversity Management, Social Work, Vol. 45, No. 4 Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) (2013) School Report for Fenstanton and Hilton Primary School, Crown. Patton, W. 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