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Identifying and supporting young adolescent academic underachievers in Year 7 and 8 classrooms

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posted on 2023-05-20, 02:50 authored by Ludicke, P, Tracey MuirTracey Muir, Karen SwabeyKaren Swabey
Academic underachievement in young adolescents has been a concern for teachers, schools and systems for some time. In Australian schools, curriculum reforms and middle years programs have been implemented to improve the educational outcomes of young adolescents, and address underachievement, with limited continuity and consistency. This study used a mixed methods approach within a collective case study to investigate characteristics and practices of secondary school teachers when identifying and dealing with academic underachievers in Years 7 and 8. Findings revealed that teachers identified the following as primary indicators of an academic underachiever: literacy and numeracy barriers; absences; family background factors; and, a lack of engagement, participation and confidence in learning. These teachers implemented specific practices to help address student underachievement including attempting to improve pedagogical relationships, collaboration with colleagues, aides and parents, and adjusting and modifying curriculum. The findings showed that these practices were not consistently informed by learner-centred or middle years educational models, but tended to be practical responses provided to assist underachieving students participate in learning activities and assessment and to meet age and stage curriculum standards. Teachers believed their practices were negatively influenced and limited by lack of time, system support and resources. While recognising that academic underachievers had complex needs, the practices teachers employed in the classroom were generally remedial and did not necessarily encourage the development of learner confidence in their students.

History

Publication title

Issues in Educational Research

Volume

29

Pagination

458-484

ISSN

1837-6290

Department/School

Faculty of Education

Publisher

Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc.

Place of publication

Australia

Rights statement

Copyright 2019 The Authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Pedagogy

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