Guardian's Supervision and Academic Performance.
Posted: Thursday, April 06, 2006
by Dr Ozair Chaudhry
Research Scientist/ Educator
Introduction:
Recent introduction of 4 different curricula in North American secondary education system, provides variety of choices ranging from very basic to very advanced preparation such as:
- AP (Advance Placement Program in vogue in North America),
- International Baccalaureate (An advance competitive curriculum offered by Institution in
Florida USA, and is widely recognised in Europe and North American Universities.),
- University bound Academic Course,
- College directed applied course,
- Work place bound applied course.
-Induced motivation works as the driving force that encourages our G-12 students to accept higher academic challenges. Selected groups of students with different ethnic backgrounds were selected in the last 4 semesters to average a trend in a set school population. Student parents attitude was recorded to conclude the factors responsible for the induced motivation that prepare students readiness to accept the challenges and lead in academic goals befitting way.
Our sample students were newly immigrated first generation families (1-2 Years) Vs 2-3 generation settled families. The experimented students were primarily from South East Asia and Far East Asian origin.
I observed that the students from neo-immigrated families reflected different working habits. They demonstrated cool and cooperative classroom behavior both with peers and teachers. Their homework habits were exemplary. Even the academically marginal students had lust for registering university bound courses. Interviews with their parents on parent teachers meetings revealed that the parental frustration for not having higher salaried professional job was becoming a catalyst behind their children to set higher goal to win the competition that their parents had lost due to several reasons, some will be discussed later.
DOES FAMILY INFLUENCE ACT AS A MOTIVATION FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE?
My analysis revealed that most neo-immigrants underwent screening criteria right from the time of their visa application where higher qualification and high demand skill was the base for their pick and grant of immigration. Now, post landing, immigration phases such as job search and then challenge to accept under employment, efforts to employers satisfaction to grip the job and quest for achieving professional avenues gave collective stress to the entire family. Where students are one component that receive the incremental shocks. With a few exceptions, most neo-immigrants could not establish in their high esteem expertise for one or the other reason. Now they were determined to accomplish their miss fortune be achieved through their children in schools as they had time (age) and energies to exploit the resources.
HOW BEST EXPLOITATION OF RESOURCES STUDENTS COULD HAVE?
Although there has been resource constraint in term of teacher student ratio (classroom size), a limitation in school utility purchases since economic crisis after 1990, there have been still manipulation made to achieve high standards. The sample students belonged to under developed or so-called developing countries and they rated Canadian school education adequate and enormously facilitative to set competitiveness. To them Canadian excellence in education is not only the school infrastructure, rich library and internet resource, free course text books rather the provision of world class competitive certified teachers staffed in the learning places offer remediation (one-on-one) academic interaction. This itself cater enrichment for induced motivation.
The group of students under study when received opportunities coupled with parental influence demonstrated high academic achievement. I observed dozens of students surpassing the average class standards with barely minimal support of teacher in weeks and months. This indicates their self-effort and supervised parental interaction. In parent-teacher interaction, it was recorded that the inherited traditions of Asian culture where respect for teacher as saint and parental sense of sharing responsibility in the grooming of their children was the one main contribution factor. The other factor was parent’s deprival in new society that they were trying to achieve through exploiting their child’s intellect. Most parents wanted to see their children take advance science courses to achieve highest target of competitiveness. They wanted their children choose medicine, engineering and computer related trades. They were willing to share any responsibility to have their child seen achieve the career goal.
On the contrary, most of the locally native 3rd generation of immigrants recorded opposite response. Their parents believed that lower academic standards of their children were the solo responsibility of the schools to fix. They limit their role as the taxpayers. Neither they own any responsibility nor their child stands accountable. However, exceptions were there willing to devote in the uplift of their child’s performance.
CONCLUSION:
It’s the attitude of the society in general that reflects of nations. A productive society is built with blocks of thoughtful communities. The scholars in academia lay down the futuristic approaches and visions that societies adopt. This has been the tradition and historical criterion how human cultures and values were evolved and universally accepted. Are these two important pillars displaying their role in Canadian society? From the above survey, I observed mixed feeling perhaps because the cultures are mixed in this particular multicultural society of greater Toronto. From society perspective there is lack of interest and lack of sharing responsibility as parent in one background and of-course, there is a wonderful parental cooperation from others. Who can bridge this gap of lacks? The answer lies with other pillar, the academia groups as they can launch a professional and social campaign that can increase awareness among the parents to pay their due share in the building process where parents become partners in the up lift of their child’s academic performance. Academic standards set by the society and not the educational institutions alone, will reward our children achieve the best. It is the quality education that is enticed with brighter future and mentally productive nation.
Author: Dr. Ozair Chaudhry, B.Ed., M.Sc., MS., Ph.D., MOCT (C)
Instructor, Biology & Environmental Science.
Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute, (N.S Con. Ed.) Toronto Ontario. Canada.
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