A Discussion of School and Community Influences on Human Development

Creativity This chapter explores the impact that both schools and communities have on human development. Both authors argue that schools and communities have impact on children’s social-development, education and behavior (Eccles and Roeser, 2005). The chapter focuses on how schools either support or reinforce the developmental capabilities or difficulties of children. Eccles and Roeser also discuss new research examining the impact that neighborhoods and communities have on both positive and negative opportunities for development (2005). This research in this field is important because without an understanding of the impact outside forces have on the growing child it is impossible to understand fully what has shaped their development. Three important research questions considered in this field of study include: What impact does the nature of the school structure have on children? What is the impact of different instructional methods on the development of children and adolescence? How do peers and peer relationships influence human development? I have examined three articles that attempt to answer these questions. Kindermann (1993) attempts to discover if children’s natural peer selection is reflective of the motivation to learn in school, and whether the motivation changes over time. In a study by Midgley, Anderman and Hicks (1995) different teaching styles, transition from elementary to middle school and goal orientation were examined to see if the changes would define how motivation to learn is negatively impacted in early adolescence. In a longitudinal research study by Madon, et al. (2001) teacher expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies are explored to see the impact on the developing child. Analysis In this chapter the authors use the section on Schools and Human Development seeks to develop our understanding of how the “ecology” of the classroom impacts the developing child. It is an examination of the school as a whole instead of the more typical research into family and the child’s peers (Eccles and Roeser, 2005). The authors premise their discussion of school environment on four assumptions: that school is based on multiple levels of regulation, that everything with school environment is inter-related, that there is a dynamic relationship between the levels, and that school processes change throughout a child’s (educational) life (Eccles and Roeser, 2005). The authors divide school organization into six levels, with the third level split into three sub-levels. Within these levels the authors stress that there are various ways in which these organizations interact to shape the experiences not only of children and adolescences but also of teachers; and that systematic differences within the organizations explain the differences in teachers’ behavior and children’s development (Eccles and Roeser, 2005). Within the Teacher Belief’s section of the chapter Eccles and Roeser explore teacher expectations on student achievement, and how the different perceptions that teachers have of the student impact both the student’s learning and behavioral development (2005). In one of the studies cited in the chapter Madon et al. examines the role of teacher expectations on the development of self-fulfilling prophecies (2001). This field is important to researchers because teacher expectations on student’s abilities may effect how students view themselves. Such influence may impact future the academic pursuits and occupational goals of the student (Madon et al, 2001). Self-fulfilling prophecies defined as “false beliefs that lead to their own fulfillment” (Madon et al. 1215) and self-verification theory, the notion that individuals seek out information that is consistent with their own self-concepts, form the basis of their study. They wanted to learn whether or not, if both students and teachers had access to highly reliable information, would self-fulfilling prophecies and self-verification occur simultaneously (Madon et al., 2001). This study is based on longitudinal data gathered from public school math classrooms in Southeastern Michigan; initially the data was gathered as part of the Michigan Study of Adolescent Life Transitions (Eccles, 1988 as cited in Madon et al. 2001). Analyses for the current study used data from 108 teachers and 1,692 students; during the year each student remained with the same math teacher, and each teacher taught only one math class (Madon et al., 2001). Questionnaires were distributed to both teachers and students. The teachers rated individual student’s ability and motivation in math by responding to three questions that were then made into a teacher perception scale for each time and internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha. For Time 1(October of Grade 6) it was .87 and .85 for Time 2 (March of Grade 6) (Madon et al., 2001). The students answered two questions on their perceived ability and in math and questions on their interest in math, and the usefulness of math, questionnaires were completed in September or October and again in March of Sixth Grade (Madon et al., 2001). The students scores from their questionnaires were used to create a self-concept scale for each point in time. Cronbach’s alpha for the students’ self-concept scale for Time 1 equaled .79 and Time 2 equaled .84 (Madon et al., 2001). Students final grade for 5th grade math and percentile scores from standardized math test taken during 5th grade or at the start of 6th grade were the measures of previous student achievement used (Madon, 2001). The Self-fulfilling prophecy hypothesis, that a teacher’s belief about a student’s ability at Time 1 should impact the student’s self-concepts at Time 2, was shown to be true, but it was also shown that the self-verification hypothesis was also true, and that student’s own self concept at Time 1 did change teacher perceptions at Time 2 (Madon, 2001). The research also demonstrated that knowing the test scores and the student’s previous years final grades influence the teacher’s beliefs about the student’s ability, as it also influenced the student’s own beliefs about their own abilities. The limitations of this study include that it is only based on a single year of teacher-student interactions, only focused on ability and motivation and that as with “naturalistic studies, there is always the possibility that a relevant predictor was omitted from the study include a small sample size, possible teacher bias and the weight of the importance of specific people in the peer group was not considered. In the chapter the authors also discuss neighborhood influences and free-time activities. The nature and range of neighborhood influences change as a child develops. During a child’s early life it is the neighborhood’s influence on their parents that has the most impact on the child’s development. This is indirect influence, but as they age the children become directly influenced through activities such as sport and their peers (Eccles and Roeser, 2005). The authors also note the difficulties researching in this area, for example, how would one prove that the neighborhood is impacting a child’s grades and not the parent’s educational level or income? Free-time activities are the interactions that children have outside of school and home environments. Although not discussed in detail in the chapter the role of leisure activities has changed rapidly over the past two decades. This is due to in part to the impact of computers and video games changing how children spend their free time. The authors do discuss the impact that organized extra-curricular activities can have development; for the most part these activities promote positive development, however, depending on the peer group the behaviors, smoking and drinking for example, can be risky and have a negative impact on the child (Eccles and Roeser, 2005). In conclusion, it is important for teachers, parents and other community members provide important access to positive normative development routes within the school and community environments.
Professional/Practical:
The results of the three articles examined show the importance of schools and communities to human development. We can see from Midgley, Anderman and Hicks (1995) as well as Madon et al., that the role of teacher can have significant impact on the developing child. This can be either positive or negative depending on the adult and peers interactions on the child. Kindermann’s article reminds us that children select their peers, and that they do so based on their academic motivations (1993). It is through motivation that all of the articles tie together. Students motivation and self-belief can prevent them from teacher expectations and encourage good and supportive peer choices. A teacher that motivates, encourages understanding over grade acquisition can motivate children to learn and develop. Our role, as professionals within the school system, has to be more than simply the presenter of information; in many cases we are one of the few consistent adults in the life of a child in our school. A quote by Eccles and Roeser from the chapter reminds us of the importance of school:
Schools hold a central place in the "developmental agenda" set forth for children in almost all nations. They are the longest organized and sustained extra familial context for children and adolescents: From the time they first enter school until they complete their formal schooling, children and adolescents spend more time in schools than in any other place outside their homes. (513- 514) Eccles and Roeser have, through this chapter, forced open a door to see the impact of the community and school on human development and called for more interdisciplinary research so that we can better support childrens development. We are in a very special position within the school and community environment, being able to interact with children and adolescents on a regular basis is a both a blessing and responsibility that we cannot take lightly. It is our role as adults within the community to ensure that biases and beliefs do not negatively impact the children we come into contact with and that we provide developmentally appropriate activities to motivate children, both academically and socially, to make positive choices for their futures. It is our privilege as the adults of the community to provide our children with as many positive experiences as possible, and to motivate them to become exceptional members of their communities.

References
Eccles, J.S. and Roeser, R.W. (1995) School and Community Influences on Human Development. In M. H. Bornstein, & M. E. Lamb, (Eds.), Developmental science: an advanced textbook (pp. 513-555). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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