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New educational research led by Dimon Professor Pedro Noguera has gone beyond the standard examination of high-school reform and student success. With direct student participation from 10 Boston and Cambridge area schools, the yearlong Pathways for Student Success research project aims to understand the ways in which the achievement and social development of students is affected by the organization and culture of school. "By following 15 students at each of the schools," explains Noguera, "we hope to gain insights into ways in which the reforms pursued are affecting students."
The Pathways research led to a student conference at the Harvard Graduate School of Education this spring, after students from the participating high schools determined that potential benefits might result from sharing ideas and concerns amongst themselves. The youth conference, in which 100 students took part, exemplified the unique nature of the Pathways project. Rather than focusing on conclusions established by researchers, high-school students bore the responsibility of defining academic, demographic, and social factors that challenge their ultimate levels of achievement in school. Active Engagement in the Classroom
From Noguera's perspective, the conference achieved its goal of engaging students and providing them with a forum to share their thoughts and concerns about education. A frequently voiced concern was that of a lack of attention from principals and teachers to student notions about their own academic experiences. Noguera sums this concern up as follows: "Students wanted more active intellectual learning engagement in their classrooms rather than passive learning. The students also wanted greater voice in the development of school rules and in the evaluation of teachers." Deputy superintendent of the Boston Public Schools, Janet Williams, attended a portion of the conference. To the student participants, her presence signaled a new willingness and effort to hear their perspectives on schools and learning. The Pathways researchers share the superintendent's interest. "We wanted to know," explains Noguera, "what kind of school—including curriculum and teacher-student relationships—would be most conducive to getting [the students] inspired about learning." With such information, investigators can continue their search for a school environment that includes the necessary means for the highest possible level of student learning. In the fall, Noguera hopes to develop another youth conference to allow a still larger group of students to share their own perspectives on their education. When asked about the challenges they face while seeking a complete and balanced educational experience, current student participants in Noguera's research cite the MCAS exam, teacher inexperience, lack of student involvement in decision-making, poor student-teacher relationships, limited teacher knowledge, arbitrary rules, and narrow graduation requirements. According to Noguera, these challenges lead to poorly utilized class time and a high level of student disengagement and boredom. These findings are partial, however, pending the researchers' completion of the analysis of the data they have obtained.
About the Conference
For More Information
HGSE News, Harvard Graduate School of Education
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