Category Archives: Socioemotional and Psychological Development in Adolescence

Classroom Climate

Socioemotional and Psychological Development in Adolescence

“…adolescents’ perceptions of how caring their teachers are predict gains and losses in their feelings of self-esteem, school belong, and positive affect in school.” (Eccles & Roeser, 2011, p. 229)

In my opinion, teachers fail to acknowledge the fact that they have a lot to do with how a student does in their academic tasks and overall school career. It’s obvious that, or at least you would think that teachers should get to know their student’s different backgrounds, cultures, and family situations to help form a relationship with them. But, I’ve seen and known of many teachers that don’t even try to get to know their students, so aside from getting to know them, what I want to get across is, teachers should at least try to create a classroom environment where everyone feels like they belong. How? Well, it’s fair to say that students can perceive if a teacher cares about them, if a teacher shows a “lack of enthusiasm or enjoyment” it could negatively affect a student’s emotional status (“anxiety, shame, and hopelessness”) as described in the article, but also, maybe they should pick another profession. It’s important to do our part as teachers and the rest is a domino effect. I’m interested in learning more on how to make student’s feel like they belong while in class and being responsible of my “classroom climate.”

Is Fatphobia Preventing Adolescent Women from Reaching their Full Potential in School?

Socioemotional and Psychological Development in Adolescence

“In general, girls who are obese are less likely to enter college, more likely to fail courses, more likely to be truant, and more likely to show mental health problems, net of other relevant individual and family background characteristics, than girls who are not. By and large these relationships were not evident for boys. But more importantly for this section, the associations of obesity with college attendance and truancy were stronger for girls who attended high school with very few obese students, suggesting that the stigma associated with obesity varies by gender and by the proportion of the student body that is obese.”

Eccles & Roeser (2011) “Schools as Developmental Contexts During Adolescence,” pg. 232

This section really struck a chord with me. For the past year or so, I have dabbled in the world of body positivity, learning about how people become victimized by a society that constantly discriminates against larger, softer bodies and bodies with “undesirable” shapes. When I think of young women being unable to reach their potential due to something as superficial as the size or shape of their bodies, as if there is no capable mind or beautiful soul underneath, I feel sad and angry. Continue reading Is Fatphobia Preventing Adolescent Women from Reaching their Full Potential in School? →

Encouraging Independence

Socioemotional and Psychological Development in Adolescence, Urban Adolescents

Authoritative parenting is less prevalent among African American, Asian American, or Hispanic American families than among White families, no doubt reflecting the fact that parenting practices are often linked to cultural values and beliefs[…] Research also has indicated that authoritarian parenting is more prevalent among ethnic minority than among White families, even after taking ethnic differences in socioeconomic status into account. (Collins & Steinberg 2008)

Given that students from ethnic minorities over represent in low-income urban schools, I wonder how much the teaching styles at these schools reflect the parenting that these students are subjected to, as described in the quote.  Continue reading Encouraging Independence →

Uncommon Sense? What is the norm?

Socioemotional and Psychological Development in Adolescence, Urban Adolescents

“Unfortunately, the likelihood of having well-qualified teachers differs across socially defined groups in the United States: Large proportions of the teaching staff in poor schools are made up of noncredentialed or unqualified teachers. Substitutes also regularly fill the places of full-time teachers in these schools, staff turnover is great, and there is often little support for English language learners (Fashola, Slavin, Calderon, & Duran, 2001; Peske & Haycock, 2006). Thus, poor and language minority students are much more likely to be exposed to unqualified teachers, with implications for their intellectual development.” (ECCLES AND ROESER, 225-6) Ok this pissed me off in all kinds of ways. I have only ever taught in Title I schools for the past 27 years, and the faculty and support staff have always been the most dedicated, highly-qualified, and hardest working educators. Maybe I just live in a bubble of my own experiences; maybe the schools I have worked in have not been the norm. This blanket statement was just offensive. It made me curious about the sample schools this study researched.

Ironically, the remainder of the observations, conclusions, and critiques of this study were spot on in reference to my personal beliefs and practices in relation to the efficacy of teachers and the responsibilities we as educators have as a major influential part of adolescent development. Much of what was said seemed common sense to me. “Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown that the quality of teacher – student relationships and students’ feelings of classroom belonging predict changes in students’ academic motivation, engagement and learning, and social – emotional well-being in school.” (Burchinal et al., 2008; Deci & Ryan, 2002; Hattie, 2009; NRC/IOM, 2004; Roeser et al., 2000; Wentzel & Wigfield, 2007) It baffles me that these pedagogical tenets and practices are not the standard. I have seen it first-hand; kids perform better when they believe that their teachers genuinely care about them as individuals and believe in them and their ability to succeed, regardless of their previous academic “records”.  Not only have I only taught in Title I schools, but I have developed an affinity for creating a classroom in which at-risk students, kids who have failed elsewhere and are on the verge of dropping out, turn their lives around, not only graduating high school (many the first in their family to do so), but also going on to succeed in college. I am not unique to this experience; most of my professional colleagues are of the same convictions and competences essential to adolescent development and achievement.