School years memorykeeper5/30/2023 In this environment, students learn at their own rate and advance to the next stage when they have mastered the required skills without the restriction of grade-level labeling. It is important for parents and teachers to become aware of some of the alternatives to retention. In one study, the teachers who leaned toward physiological readiness also leaned towards retention, while the other teachers were more likely to change their teaching methods to meet the individual child's needs (Cooke & Stammer, 1985).Īnother difficulty for a teacher or parent, as he or she assesses the possibilities for the child, is the basic dilemma of choosing from the options that are available in their school or community. Some teachers believe that children mature and develop school readiness along with physiological unfolding, while other teachers believe that any child of legal age is teachable if the program is adapted to fit that child's individual needs. There are also some philosophical differences among professional educators. Also, the practice of retention gives the appearance of a school's being accountable about a problem and enforcing standards but may neglect the underlying cause of a student's failure (Sakowicz, 1996, p. But teachers lacked real feedback on how well students were doing as they moved through school (Smith & Shepard, 1987, p. They believed that retention in early grades prevented problems or the stigma of failure later on. Professors Smith and Shepard at the University of Colorado found that teachers frequently exaggerated the perceived benefits of retention. In view of the larger body of research on retention, the continued use of retention is one of the clearest examples of poor communication between research and practice (Sakowicz, 1996, p. "Even more staggering is the fact that being held back twice makes dropping out of school a virtual certainty" (Setencich, 1994, p. Research has shown that children view the thought of flunking a grade to be almost as stressful as the death of a parent or blindness (Sevener, 1990, p. In addition to the conclusions that NASP has drawn from the research, the weakened self-esteem that usually accompanies retention plays a role in how well the child may cope in the future. Students who are held back tend to get into trouble, dislike school, and feel badly about themselves more often than children who go on to the next grade.Although some retained students do better at first, these children often fall behind again in later grades.Most children do not "catch up" when held back.The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP, n.d.) notes the following among the negative effects: However, cumulative research on the effects of retention shows that the negative effects usually outweigh the positive effects. Some teachers and parents believe that appropriate placement encompasses retention and that certain children will benefit from the maturity gained from an extra year in the same grade. Research from the Gesell Institute suggests that children benefit from careful developmental assessment and placement in the early grades (Keirns, 1991). Therapists are Standing By to Treat Your Depression, Anxiety or Other Mental Health Needs
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