PBL Podcast Background Info
Defeatist Attitudes in Students in a Post-COVID World
What do you know about the problem?
It doesn’t matter if a student is truly “defeated” or not, it’s the mindset that ruins their chances
Defeatism is the mentality that, no matter how much things progress, they will never actually get better
This is a learned response
Increases in anxiety and depression (relating to financial and social health) can lead to a more defeatist mentality
Not much is said in research about defeatism and high school students
Much is said about hopelessness in secondary education
You can’t discuss hopelessness/defeatism without taking external factors into account
All the results I’ve found for why students feel defeated/hopeless do not seem satisfactory
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1068744
https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/jscp.2007.26.7.751
What do we need to know in order to solve the problem?
Research and random sampling would need to be conducted to fully understand defeatism in students, particularly as it relates to life post-COVID
Who does the problem effect/affect?
Students, teachers, administration, parents
Suicide rates, depression and anxiety increases
Unemployment, job satisfaction, productivity
Dropout rates, graduation percentages, college attendance
Problem Statement
Defeatist attitudes in students appear to be on the rise, especially in relation to returning to schools after a global pandemic. Even before COVID-19, increases of depression in adolescents and young adults were visible, accompanied by an increase in suicide within these age groups. Now, feelings of dissatisfaction and hopelessness among students are more palpable than ever. Further research needs to be conducted in order to address the levels of dissatisfaction and hopelessness in students, in addition to investigating the sources of these emotions. Most likely, interviewing random samples of students would provide insight into these questions.
Solutions
(8) Liveable wages → students often work on top of going to school, whether to save for college or help support their family
(6) Fairly priced college → students need to worry less about saving money and going into debt
(9) Free or reduced price in resources → students spend a lot of money on materials for school
(7) Shorter school days → students have more time for things like sleep and socialization
(4) Destigmatizing the need for therapy → students feel welcome to seek help when they need it
(3) Empathy workshops/Deescalating competition → students feel more secure in their roles and less pressure to climb social ladders, instead being free to move at their own pace
Completely restructure the education system → the current state of education is adapted for an outdated mode of oppression based in the industrial period to best mold people into machines and funnel them into categories based on innate ability while never truly fostering knowledge. The best way to maintain this system of oppression was to give the illusion to the bottom majority that they share in the knowledge that the upper minority while using this “privilege” of education to widen the gap between the two groups
(1) Work from the ground up → examine a multitude of studies on the hindrances of learning in a traditional classroom, use select school to begin reforming and stick with the process, considering all possible angles for improvement
(2)Curriculum cohesion→ get all teachers on the same page for each school as to what expectations are for students, free from threat of defunding. Assist teachers in finding resources to further/deepen student learning. Compliment learning between classes and reinforce learning on all fronts
(5) Teacher assistance→ provide resources for teachers to help them through the school week in terms of curriculum building/planning; encourage collaboration and comradery; create open and clear communication pathways between students, teachers, parts, extracurriculars, and administration
What feels weird to me in schools?
Hallways → students shuffling back and forth, having to dodge each other and rush to make it to class on time
Temperature → the temperature throughout the school and between classrooms is never consistent
Free periods → all students are accounted for at all times and never have the option to choose whose study all they want to go to
Student desks → aren’t comfortable and often stagnant, not conducive to a comfortable learning environment, often clumped together and students are practically on top of each other
Teacher desks → often visibly separate from students, also do not get a lot of space for all their resources
Treat Students Like They Matter
Action
Available grants
https://teach.com/what/teachers-change-lives/grants-for-teachers/
Funds for classroom enrichment and student achievement
https://www.weareteachers.com/education-grants/
DonorsChoose
Ezra Jack Keats Foundation
Believe In Reading
Good Sports
Likely Solution(s)
Work From the Ground Up
Education reform cannot and will not start all at once. There are too many things to tackle. The outcome of better education should always be evolving, revised, and changing. Students should first be examined to address students’ overall life satisfaction, examining stressors and how to best address and alleviate them. Through education reform, reformation in other industries is likely to follow. Learning should, as much as possible, be about understanding. Students should be encouraged to ask why and seek out the answers. If students are required, by law, to attend school, all resources necessary should be provided and not at the student’s or teacher’s expense.
Curriculum Cohesion
Schools and classrooms should not necessarily be strictly interdisciplinary, but should, at the very least, compliment each other in terms of what students are learning as best as possible. This may not be needed for all content areas, and may even be impossible for others, but collaboration between teachers should be encouraged and possibly even regulated to better facilitate student learning across multiple areas.
Resources to study defeatism/hopelessness
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1068744
https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/jscp.2007.26.7.751
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