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Alternative education
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05.02
Alternative education
Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, includes a
number of approaches to teaching and learning
separate from what is offered by mainstream or traditional education.
Educational alternatives are often rooted in various philosophies
that are fundamentally different from those of mainstream or traditional
education. While some alternatives have strong political, scholarly,
or philosophical
orientations, others are started by informal associations of teachers and
students dissatisfied with some aspect of mainstream or traditional education.
Educational alternatives, which include charter schools,
alternative schools,
independent schools,
and home-based learning
vary widely, but often emphasize the values of small class sizes, close
relationships between students and teachers, and a strong sense of community.
Terminology
Alternative education refers to any
type of education which does not match the conventional standard. The public
school system frequently sets this standard, although public schools use
alternative approaches in some cases, as well. Other words used in place of
"alternative" include "non-traditional,"
"non-conventional," or "non-standardized," although these
terms are used less frequently and may have negative connotations or multiple
meanings. Those involved in forms of education which differ in their
educational philosophy (as opposed to their intended pupil base) often use
words such as "authentic," "holistic," and "progressive."
However, these words have different meanings which are either more specific or
more ambiguous than the term "alternative."
Origins
"Alternative education"
presupposes a kind of tradition to which the "alternative" is
opposed. In general, this limits the term to the last two or perhaps three
centuries, with the rise of standardized and, later, compulsory education at
the primary and secondary levels. Many critics during this period suggested
that the education of young people should be undertaken in radically different
ways than the one in practice. In the 19th century, the Swiss humanitarian Johann Heinrich
Pestalozzi; the American transcendentalists Amos Bronson Alcott,
Ralph Waldo Emerson,
and Henry David Thoreau;
the founders of progressive education,
John Dewey and Francis Parker;
and educational pioneers, such as Friedrich Fröbel,
Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner (founder of the Waldorf schools); among others, all insisted that
education should be understood as the art of cultivating the moral,
emotional, physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of the developing child. Anarchists such as Leo Tolstoy and Francisco Ferrer y
Guardia emphasized education as a force for political liberation,
secularism, and elimination of class distinctions. After World War II
alternative approaches to early childhood education were developed in Reggio
Emilia, Italy; this is known as the Reggio Emilia approach.
More recently, social critics such as John Caldwell Holt,
Paul Goodman,
Frederick Mayer, George Dennison and Ivan Illich have examined education from more individualist, anarchist, and libertarian perspectives, that is, critiques of
the ways that they feel conventional education subverts democracy by molding
young people's understandings. Other writers, from the revolutionary Paulo Freire to American educators like Herbert Kohl
and Jonathan Kozol, have criticized mainstream Western
education from the viewpoint of their varied left-liberal and radical politics. The argument
for an approach that caters more to the personal interest and learning style of
each individual is supported by recent research that suggest that
learner-responsible models prove to be more effective than the traditional
teacher-responsible models.Ron Miller has identified five core elements
common to many contemporary educational alternatives:
- Respect for every person
- Balance
- Decentralization of authority
- Noninterference between political, economic, and cultural spheres of society
- A holistic worldview
Modern forms
A wide variety of educational
alternatives exist at the elementary, secondary,
and tertiary
levels of education. These generally fall into four major categories: school choice, alternative school, independent school, and home-based education. These general categories can
be further broken down into more specific practices and methodologies.
School choice
Public school alternatives include
entirely separate schools in their own settings, as well as classes, programs,
and even semi-autonomous "schools within schools." Public school choice options are open to all students in
their communities, though some have waiting lists. Among these are charter schools, combining private initiatives and
state funding; and magnet schools,
which attract students to particular themes, such as performing arts.
Alternative school
An alternative school is an
educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are
nontraditional.
Many such schools were founded in
the United States in the 1970s as an alternative to mainstream or traditional
classroom structure.A wide range of philosophies and teaching methods are
offered by alternative schools; some have strong political, scholarly, or
philosophical orientations, while others are more ad-hoc assemblies of
teachers and students dissatisfied with some aspect of mainstream or
traditional education. In 2003 there were approximately 70
alternative schools in the United Kingdom.
In the UK public funding is not available for alternative schools and therefore
alternative schools are usually fee-paying institutions.In the USA an
increasing number of public school systems are offering alternative streams
(language immersion, Montessori, Waldorf), but the majority of alternative schools
are still independent and thus without financial support from the government.
In addition to schools providing an
academic alternative, some states in the U.S. have established alternative
schools for students who have had disciplinary or social challenges. These
schools are organized to have a strong punitive aspect emphasizing discipline
and providing a greatly inferior education. It is common in some states for
children found to be delinquent by courts to be sentenced to alternative school
as a punishment.It is also common in the United States for public school
systems to operate alternative schools as a place to segregate special needs
students, such as students with emotional disabilities. These students are thus
often mixed with delinquents.
Certain alternative education
initiatives have been created for Alternative Schools to help students achieve.
These programs are found in separate alternative schools, and in separated
school programs within a mainstream school:
Alternative Education of At-Risk Students and Drop Out Prevention
Advocates of programs designed to
prevent, or discourage, students from dropping out before they graduate
(usually from high school) believe that leaving school without a diploma
negatively impacts an individual's professional and personal life.
Collectively, this negatively impacts society.
Professionally, income is a direct
reflection of educational attainment. The difference in income between those
who have obtained a diploma or degree and those who have not is large. The
average annual income of high school dropouts in 2007 was $8,358, while
students with a high school diploma earned $14,601 and those with a college
degree accrued close to three times as much ($24,797).
Their personal lives are also in
jeopardy because dropping out of high school correlates with incarceration
rates. When focusing on black males in particular, around one in 10 high school
dropouts enter the prison system. As a whole, high school dropouts were 63
times more likely to be institutionalized than four-year college graduates in
2006-2007.
Advocates also argue that dropping
out of school has a negative societal impact. The U.S. is losing economic
viability from having fewer educated citizens. For example, the state of
Georgia lost nearly $16 billion of lifetime earnings solely from the 61,500
students who did not graduate in 2010.
Possible Causes for Dropping Out
Data on determining risk factors
can serve as predicting variables for students dropping out. Moreover, high
risk students in alternative schools encounter formidable challenges that can
further increase their risk. Finn discusses risk factors in his 1989 work,
"Withdrawing from School" (as cited by Dynarski & Gleason, 2002).
He creates two theoretical models in his attempt to examine the reasons
students leave school without high school diplomas. In his
“frustration-self-esteem model,” poor past academic performance leads to an
“impaired self-view,” and "negative emotions" caused by this
eventually cause the student to leave school (Dynarski & Gleason, 2002
p. 45).
Other possible causes have been
examined in various studies. Gleason and Dynarksi cited studies finding that a
student’s family income, socioeconomic status,
and parental level of schooling are correlated with early school withdrawal.
Limited English ability, membership to a family which receives welfare,
neglect, having caregivers with drug addictions, other family members dropping
out of school, needing to support family, and personal safety issues may also
be correlated with the act of leaving school without a diploma. Non-profit
organizations like the Association for High School Innovation, originally the
Alternative High School Initiative, and Diploma Plus, Inc. have developed as a response to
the growing national trend of diminishing graduation rates, especially as they
impacted the United States' low income, minority youth.
Drop Out Prevention Methods
Individual schools in the U.S. have
tried to tackle the problem through their own program initiatives. Three that
have been used and studied for success are: the Check & Connect program;
the Career Academies initiative; and the Talent Development High School model.
These programs are designed to work with high risk students before they drop
out of school.
The Check & Connect Program
This alternative is a dropout
prevention model that was developed in Minnesota through a partnership with the
University of Minnesota, the local public schools and community service
organizations. It was used in the Minneapolis public schools, specifically
focusing in on students with learning, emotional and behavioral disabilities.
The “Check” portion pairs each student with a mentor, deemed a “monitor”. This
mentor figure assesses attendance, academics and overall performance with
regular discussions about twice a month. The “Connect” aspect utilizes this
individualized attention to connect this student with school personnel, family
and community service providers that can intervene to keep the student on track.
Effectiveness: A 1998 study conducted by Sinclair and colleagues shows overall
positive effects on 94 high school students from Minneapolis public schools in
the Check & Connect program. The study found that students enrolled in the
program were significantly less likely to have dropped out of school after the
end of freshman year (9% compared with 30%). This positive outcome remained
after the final check-up at the end of senior year—39% of students enrolled
dropped out of high school compared to 58% of those not enrolled. In addition
to actually staying in school, the study also found the students’ progress in
school to be positive as well; Check & Connect students earned more course
credits in their night-grade year than non-intervention students.
Cost Efficiency: According to the Dakota County schools in Minnesota, the cost of
implementing the Check & Connect program is around $1,400 per student in
2001-2002.[10] This model is very cost-inefficient,
and now in 2011, the total may even be costlier.
The Career Academies Initiative
This alternative intervenes to
target the most at-risk students. The Career Academies is a
school-within-a-school model with a career-themed approach to learning.
Developed 35 years ago, this alternative has evolved and around 2,500 academies
are operated nationwide.It tends to be found in larger high schools and helps
create a smaller community by keeping students with the same teachers for three
or fours years of high school. The program requires students to take the
career-related courses with the “Academy” in subjects such as finance or
technology and even partners with local employers to offer internship
opportunities.
Effectiveness: A 2000 study conducted by Kemple and Snipes shows overall positive
effects for 1,700 high school students in nine different Career Academies. The study
found that the most at-risk students participating in the program produced
significantly fewer dropouts (21% compared with 32%).When assessing progress in
school, the high-risk students earned more credits by their senior year and 40%
had earned enough credits to graduate, as opposed to only 25% of
non-intervention students, posting positive results for the program.
Cost Efficiency: According to the California Partnership Academies, average cost
estimates for the Career Academies intervention are $600 more per pupil than
the average cost for a non-Academy student in 2004.This figure does not include
additional costs of intensive services for high-risk students.
The Talent Development High
School Model
This alternative was developed in
1994 by The Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk and
initiated at Patterson High School in Baltimore, Maryland. The Talent
Development High School (TDHS) approach is an entire reform intervention, with
dropout prevention as one component. It includes breaking the larger high
school into smaller learning communities, like Career Academies, but is more
extensive.There is a separate ninth grade academy, a career academy for the
upper grades and an additional “Twilight School” afterschool program for those
with chronic discipline and attendance issues. This model homes in on reforming
students’ low expectations and schools’ poor academic preparation through a
college-preparatory sequence in ninth and tenth grade as well as increased
focus on English and Math courses.
Effectiveness: A 2005 study conducted by Kemple, Herlihy, and Smith, which followed
30 cohorts of participants for four years in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, shows
positive effects of the Talent Development High School (TDHS) model, primarily
on academic progress. The study found that students using this model earned
more course credits over the first two years of high school than those not in
the program (9.5 credits compared with 8.6 credits). These students were also
more likely to move onto the tenth grade (68% compared with 60%).
Cost Efficiency: According to Johns Hopkins University 's Center for the Social
Organization of Schools (CSOS), the developer of the initiative, average costs
for a student participating in the Talent Development High School model run an
additional $350 a year per student. This estimate includes the cost of
materials and ongoing technical assistance.
These are just three of many
possible alternative education models to help at-risk students.
The matter has also gained national
attention. On March 1, 2010, President Barack Obama called on states to
identify and focus on schools with graduation rates below 60 percent. Those
districts could be eligible for federal aid as his budget proposal includes
$900 million in "school turnaround grants" on top of $3.5 billion in
federal dollars the administration has committed to persistently low-performing
schools. With respect to keeping students engaged and on-track to graduation
specifically, he committed $50 million to the Graduation Promise Fund.
Popular education
Popular education was related in
the 19th century to the workers' movement.Such
experiences have been continued throughout the 20th century, such as the folk high schools in Scandinavian countries, or
the "popular universities" in France.
Independent school
Independent,
or private, schools have more flexibility in staff selection and educational
approach. The most plentiful of these are Montessori schools, Waldorf schools (the latter are also called Steiner schools after their founder), and Friends schools.
Other independent schools include democratic, or free schools such as Sands School, Summerhill School and Sudbury Valley School,
Krishnamurti schools,
open classroom schools, those based on experiential education,
as well as schools which teach using international curriculum such as the International
Baccalaureate and Round Square
schools. An increasing number of traditionally independent school forms now
also exist within state-run, public education; this is especially true of the Waldorf and Montessori schools. The majority of independent
schools offer at least partial scholarships.
Homeschooling
Families who seek alternatives
based on educational, philosophical, or religious reasons, or if there appears
to be no nearby educational alternative can decide to have home-based education. Some call themselves unschoolers, for they follow an approach based on
interest, rather than a set curriculum. Others enroll in umbrella schools which provide a curriculum to
follow. Many choose this alternative for religious-based reasons, but
practitioners of home-based education are of all backgrounds and philosophies.
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