Data Analysis
Data Analysis
Upon choosing my research question, I believed the answer would be relatively simple. At first, I was only concerned with how teachers and parents could help students learn more outside of the classroom. I imagined that the motives would be the same for both, just wanting the child/children in the family to be successful, thus the motives behind each individual would likely be the same, if not similar too. The only aspect I really imagined being different were strategies teachers might implement compared to strategies the parents might implement. Teachers seemed to have more power on school grounds, so I thought the majority of instruction, or at least the initiative to help the students/children, would come through the parents, with the exception of resources the teacher provided to parents.
As I descended into the depths of my research, I realized I’d stumbled upon a rabbit hole of sorts. My original research question just posed more questions. I decided to generalize my original research question, changing it to, “How can student learning be further supported/increased outside of the classroom?” This allowed me to address the various sources that had a major influence in student instruction once they left school grounds. I discovered that the community, the school itself, and even other students can positively impact instruction outside of school. Furthermore, I realized, especially due to Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement (INSERT CITATION DATE HERE!), that the way each of these sources interacts with another can drastically alter the effectiveness of a student support system. Communication became such a huge part of my research that I could have done all of it on this aspect alone.
Teachers, parents, students, the school, and the community should all take care when interacting with one another. Not only is it just respectful to do so, but sometimes there are subtle implications that the recipient can look into and take it a totally different way. This brought about the importance of making sure your intent aligned with your impact, a common theme in Culturally Responsive Teaching. While it seems like a bias among many teachers that parents do not take enough initiative in their children’s lives, teachers can also be the source of strife in the household when they challenge parental authority, which in turn can make the life more difficult for the child when they essentially get punished again for the same thing the teacher has already punished them in school.
The argument for making sure your intent matched your impact was not a new concept for me, but this research did open up my eyes to how much worse teachers can make the lives of their students. It makes me cringe when I remember telling just one boy this semester that I might have to talk to his mother one day when a substitute was teaching. It was just once, but I took advantage that his mother worked at the school. After conducting this research and thinking back, I could tell that this must have not been anything new for him. Teachers in the past likely threatened him in a similar manner. One of the main reasons I acted this way was due to the fact he cut a little bit of his hair. I recalled doing the same thing at a young age and my teacher handled it by contacting my mother, so I reacted in the same manner, turning away from what I had learned. It is essential that I act differently, dealing with behavioral and instruction matters inside or outside of the classroom to make sure the student is not extra shamed or punished, discouraging them even more from being productive in school. Similarly, I need to take care with everyone I communicate to within the school’s and my own sphere of influence. I should not act off of a reaction like I did with my student but take a moment to conduct myself and think about what is best for the student or whoever I am addressing.
