Education and El Salvador’s Strategy (2)

While these recommendations may seem either like boring commonplaces or 
frustratingly vague—there  are three reasons why this report avoids specific 
recommendations to emphasize processes.  
First, the existing reforms that are underway  are “state of the art” and need to be 
given time to have an impact and it would be a mistake to overload implementation 
capacity with a series of new proposals.  
Second, the ability to generate and maintain systemic and substantial progress in the 
quality of education nearly everywhere in Latin America has been stymied by three key 
limitations:  (a) lack of a clear social consensus on performance standards for schools 
around which a viable, durable, political coalition to press for quality improvements can 
be built,  (b) the lack of system of learning assessment linked to  those standards which 
allow monitoring of progress causing difficulty in distinguishing valuable initiatives from
passing fads,  and (c) conflicting relationships between key actors in the system—
particularly teachers and their unions and “technocrats.”  This combination challenges the 
launching and sustaining of reforms that significantly improve classroom practice---many 
reforms either never reach the classroom or there is a continuous stream of new 
“reforms” which are not given sufficient time and effort to bear fruit.  
Third, an increasing number of scholars  and practitioners working on education 
believe that an exclusive emphasis on the  proximate determinants of learning detracts 
from an  institutional  perspective (World Development  Report, 2004).  Nearly every 
educational expert emphasizes this or that particular proximate determinant of learning—
time on task, learning aids,  smaller class sizes, this or that improved pedagogical 
technique—and “recommendations” are an associated project or program to improve that 
feature.  Alternatively some argue that a  simple institutional change like introducing 
“choice” or school vouchers will solve all ills.  Neither of these views have panned out
particularly well in raising quality Latin America, which lags alarmingly behind that of 
the OECD (see below).  

The alternative is an institutional arrangement of school autonomy with management
for performance and accountability.  This is  the path that El Salvador is on, and should 
remain on.  In this approach high quality schooling is the result of individuals within the 
system acting on their information—quality is not a single program or feature and cannot 
be imposed from the top.  While performance can be measured and school teachers and 
administrators can act to improve performance there is no single programmatic magic 
bullet (or set of magic bullets).     
While the temptation of every new government is to launch a new, high profile, 
reform effort in education of one type or another, the time is not propitious for dramatic 
changes of any type.  The challenge will be to stick to the basic efforts in continued 
expansion in enrollments, implementation of  the current efforts to improve quality, and 
sustaining the system of learning assessment that both can assess overall progress and be
used to evaluate interventions.  The aforementioned priorities can form the basis for 
initiating a process for creating the foundations for the next round of reforms. 


Second, how does the overall educational strategy fit with the overall growth strategy 
recommended in this report of continued  integration into the world economy plus 
accelerated efforts to promote innovation? 
Within this topic there are three main messages. 
• Schooling will not constitute an immediate constraint on economic growth—nor
will the expansion in schooling necessarily translate into increased growth
without the implementation of a growth strategy. 
• The returns to schooling are increasing the most at the highest levels.  Economic
changes are leading to higher returns for those with tertiary education.  In a world 
in which the production of ideas and innovations is increasingly important 
because of “skill intensive” changes in production, El Salvador will need ensure 
that those leaving secondary and entering tertiary are both increasing in numbers 
and carrying a substantive skill-set attained though high quality education. 
• The strategy for education, training, and innovation needs to be more closely 
aligned with the growth strategy.  This is not to say that the education system
should extend responsibility to vocational training nor that basic schooling 
should be “job skills” focused.  However, the education system should respond in 
a way that increases the link between the dynamic economic needs of the 
economy and the system of education.

Education and El Salvador’s Strategy (1)

Education and El Salvador’s Strategy 

First, how can the production of universal,  high quality, education be promoted in El 
Salvador?  This is a question primarily about the internal organization of schooling 
within the education sector.  Within the first topic there are five main messages and the
text of the chapter will follow these messages. 
• Education has seen big successes.  There have been many substantial 
improvements in schooling attainment  (including the introduction of EDUCO 
schools). 
• While there are no direct comparisons of  current performance of students in El
Salvador to students internationally  if El Salvador is similar to the rest of Latin
America (and there are good reasons for believing it is) then learning achievement 
lags alarmingly behind that of the industrialized countries and other global 
competitors.  

• The MINED has launched a set of inter-related reforms aimed at increasing
schooling quality, which since they only began in 2001 are in the early stages of 
implementation.   
• Continuity in implementing the ongoing efforts to increase enrollments (including 
EDUCO) and especially continued effort in implementing the new programs to 
improve quality is essential.  Though tempting, launching a qualitatively new and 
different set of reforms of basic education is not desirable at this time.   
• Experience around the world has shown that improving quality is a very 
challenging business.  Continued progress in the quality of education is essential 
and for that it is important that the existing system of continuous evaluation—both 
of overall, system wide, progress and of innovations be maintained. 
• The new reforms--which emphasize the school as the locus of action for 
improving education—will generate experiences from which new ideas for 
improving quality will emerge.  It is essential that MINED maintain an analytical
capability to assess the impact of innovations and their potential for replication.
Systems of promoting learning must themselves be performance driven learning 
systems.  

• The next rounds of education reforms (and “fine tuning” of existing reforms)
should be solidly based on the evidence that emerges from the evaluations and 
experiments in the first  period and on an extensive period of factually and 
experientially based discussion with key stakeholders.  This is particularly true of 
the reforms needed to improve teaching as a profession.

Rights to enforce school discipline.

Rights to enforce school discipline

Main articles: School discipline and School punishment

Throughout the history of education the most common form of school disciple was corporal punishment. While a child was in school, a teacher was expected to act as a subtitute parent, with all the normal forms of parental discipline open to them.

Medieval schoolboy birched on the bare buttocks.

In past times, corporal punishment (spanking or paddling or caning or strapping or birching the student in order to cause physical pain) was one of the most common forms of school discipline throughout much of the world. Most Western countries, and some others, have now banned it, but it remains lawful in the United States following a US Supreme Court decision in 1977 which held that paddling did not violate the US Constitution.

30 US states have banned corporal punishment, the others (mostly in the South) have not. It is still used to a significant (though declining) degree in some public schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Private schools in these and most other states may also use it. Corporal punishment in American schools is administered to the seat of the student's trousers or skirt with a specially made wooden paddle. This often used to take place in the classroom or hallway, but nowadays the punishment is usually given privately in the principal's office.

Official corporal punishment, often by caning, remains commonplace in schools in some Asian, African and Caribbean countries. For details of individual countries see School corporal punishment.

Currently detention is one of the most common punishments in schools in the United States, the UK, Ireland, Singapore and other countries. It requires the pupil to remain in school at a given time in the school day (such as lunch, recess or after school); or even to attend school on a non-school day, e.g. "Saturday detention" held at some US schools. During detention, students normally have to sit in a classroom and do work, write lines or a punishment essay, or sit quietly.

A modern example of school discipline in North America and Western Europe relies upon the idea of an assertive teacher who is prepared to impose their will upon a class. Positive reinforcement is balanced with immediate and fair punishment for misbehavior and firm, clear boundaries define what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Teachers are expected to respect their students, and sarcasm and attempts to humiliate pupils are seen as falling outside of what constitutes reasonable discipline.

Whilst this is the consensus viewpoint amongst the majority of academics, some teachers and parents advocate a more assertive and confrontational style of discipline.Such individuals claim that many problems with modern schooling stem from the weakness in school discipline and if teachers exercised firm control over the classroom they would be able to teach more efficiently. This viewpoint is supported by the educational attainment of countries—in East Asia for instance—that combine strict discipline with high standards of education.

It's not clear, however that this stereotypical view reflects the reality of East Asian classrooms or that the educational goals in these countries are commensurable with those in Western countries. In Japan, for example, although average attainment on standardized tests may exceed those in Western countries, classroom discipline and behavior is highly problematic. Although, officially, schools have extremely rigid codes of behavior, in practice many teachers find the students unmanageable and do not enforce discipline at all.

Where school class sizes are typically 40 to 50 students, maintaining order in the classroom can divert the teacher from instruction, leaving little opportunity for concentration and focus on what is being taught. In response, teachers may concentrate their attention on motivated students, ignoring attention-seeking and disruptive students. The result of this is that motivated students, facing demanding university entrance examinations, receive disproportionate resources. Given the emphasis on attainment of university places, administrators and governors may regard this policy as appropriate.

Educational psychology

Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizatios. Educational psychology is concerned with how students learn and develop, often focusing on subgroups such as gifted children and those subject to specific disabilities. Although the terms "educational psychology" and "school psychology" are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified in the US and Canada as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists. This distinction is however not made in the UK, where the generic term for practitioners is "educational psychologist."

Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by sychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology. Educational psychology in turn informs a wide range of specialities within educational studies, including instructional desing, educational technology , curriculum development, organizational learning, learning special, special education  and classroom management. Educational psychology both draws from and contributes to cognitive science and the learning sciences. In universities, departments of educational psychology are usually housed within faculties of education, possibly accounting for the lack of representation of educational psychology content in introductory psychology textbooks.

Pedagogy and teaching

Pedagogy and teaching

Dutch schoolmaster and children, 1662

A primary school teacher in northern Laos.

The teacher-student-monument in Rostock, Germany, honours teachers.

In education, teachers facilitate student learning, often in a school or academy or perhaps in another environment such as outdoors. A teacher who teaches on an individual basis may be described as a tutor

GDR "village teacher" (a teacher teaching students of all age groups in one class) in 1951.

The objective is typically accomplished through either an informal or formal approach to learning, including a course of study and lesson plan that teaches skills,knowledge and/or thinking skills. Different ways to teach are often referred to as pedagogy. When deciding what teaching method to use teachers consider students' background knowledge, environment, and their learning goals as well as standardized curricula as determined by the relevant authority. Many times, teachers assist in learning outside of the classroom by accompanying students on field trips. The increasing use of technology, specifically the rise of the internet over the past decade, has begun to shape the way teachers approach their roles in the classroom.

The objetive is typically a course of study, lesson plan, or a practical skill. A teacher may follow standardized curricula as determined by the relevant authority. The teacher may interact with students of different ages, from infants to adults, students with different abilities and students with learning disabilities.

Teaching using pedagogy also involve assessing the educational levels of the students on particular skills. Understanding the pedagogy of the students in a classroom involves using differentiated instruction as well as supervision to meet the needs of all students in the classroom. Pedagogy can be thought of in two manners. First, teaching itself can be taught in many different ways, hence, using a pedagogy of teaching styles. Second, the pedagogy of the learners comes into play when a teacher assesses the pedagogic diversity of his/her students and differentiates for the individual students accordingly.

Perhaps the most significant difference between primary schooll and secondary school teaching is the relationship between teachers and children. In primary schools each class has a teacher who stays with them for most of the week and will teach them the whole curriculum. In secondary schools they will be taught by different subject specialists each session during the week and may have 10 or more different teachers. The relationship between children and their teachers tends to be closer in the primary school where they act as form tutor, specialist teacher and surrogate parent during the course of the day.

This is true throughout most of the United States as well. However, alternative approaches for primary education do exist. One of these, sometimes referred to as a "platoon" system, involves placing a group of students together in one class that moves from one specialist to another for every subject. The advantage here is that students learn from teachers who specialize in one subject and who tend to be more knowledgeable in that one area than a teacher who teaches many subjects. Students still derive a strong sense of security by staying with the same group of peers for all classes.

Co-teaching has also become a new trend amongst educational institutions. Co-teaching is defined as two or more teachers working harmoniously to fulfill the needs of every student in the classroom. Co-teaching focuses the student on learning by providing a social networking support that allows them to reach their full cognitive potential. Co-teachers work in sync with one another to create a climate of learning.

Child Development Tips To Enhance The Lives Of Your Young Ones

Child Development shows its hand in many forms as a baby grows through those very early years. As all parents know, children have a natural curiosity about them. This curiosity begins at a very early age and from the time your baby can crawl it seems as if things around them will draw their attention.

This natural intuition can be a gift, but for parents it can also become a bit of a headache at times. It is rewarding to see a child with a natural curiosity and as parents we should encourage that curiosity, not hinder. Parents need to encourage child development by building self-esteem and teaching values that will aid their children in later in life.

Here are some tips to enhance the lives of children through their developmental years:

1. Strive to be a good role model. When children are young they look up to their parents as role models. How you act and how you react is how they will learn to do the same. As a result, it is imperative that as parents we set a good example for them. Everything we say and do is reflected in how they will think about the world later on in life. If we look at the world with harsh eyes, then our children will grow up with that same attitude toward the world. The greatest imitators in the world are children. Being a good role model is essential in child development.

2. Be a good listener at all times.

Teach your children that they can come to you anytime they need to talk. So many times parents will become annoyed with their children for asking questions simply because to them they sound silly. However, to a child, what might sound silly to an adult, is actually a very sincere question that they are searching for an answer to. Would you not prefer they be given the correct answer by you, than the wrong answer by someone else? If you develop open lines of communication with your child at an early age, then as they grow older chances are these lines of communication will continue to grow. Giving your child the respect they deserve is another element of child development.

3. Share your emotions.

Children are like little adults. Whether you want to believe it or not, they can tell when you are happy as well as sad. Do not be ashamed to cry in front of your children. On the other hand, when you are happy allow your children to rejoice in your happiness along with you. Share with your children what has made you happy, which in turn will teach your child about the things in life that are enjoyable.

4. Enjoying nature together.

Teach your children to respect others as well as nature. The planet is theirs, but it is up to us as parents to teach them how to treat it. This starts with teaching them something as simple as the proper place to throw away their trash instead of down on the ground. Nature can be your child’s friend or their enemy and there are many facets to nature that a child should learn to appreciate. As their parent, it is up to you to ensure they enjoy nature at its best by teaching them.

5. Setting rules and guidelines.

Children need discipline in their lives and parents might be surprised to know that many children actually want and need these rules. Rules do not have to be strict, but they do need to be enforced if parents expect children to follow them. This is a huge step in teaching your child right from wrong as well as about boundaries. As they grow, then these rules need to be adjusted according to their age. This is a huge part in your child’s development.

Taking the time to focus on the elements involved in child development can not only enhance the lives of your child, but also build a bond between the two of you as well. Remember, your child will learn more in their early years from watching you than from anyone else in their life. The early formative years from 0 – 7 years are the most important in the upbringing of a child.

There are several ways you can stimulate your child's growth and development through play time.

There are several ways you can stimulate your child's growth and development through play time.

Babies love to play. This is their chance to socialize with the people they care the most about. To them, it's just a great time. Little do they know they are actually learning skills they will need later on in life as they play.

Babies can be stimulated even before birth. Some parents read or sing to their child before their arrival. Mothers have testified that the baby actually recognizes a song that was sang to them sometime after birth. After birth, babies like more hands-on type of activities to stimulate their minds.

First and formost, a parent or caregiver must create a safe learning enviroment. Be sure to keep a close eye on the child at all times. It only takes a second for a child, no matter the age, to get into something potentially harmful to him or her. Be sure the the enivoment is condusive to learning as well. Be readily available to assist your child in an activity that requires you. And remember to conduct activities that are at the child's stage of develoment. If for some reason, the child is unresponsive to an activity you have chosen, move on to something elso or try again later.

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Secondly, picking the right toys for your child is key. Parents can spend a lot of money on toys not knowing what a really good toy consists of. Consider this when purchasing toys for your child:

Durablilty

Toys must be able to withstand a beating from toddlers. You want the toy to last, so pick something strong and durable.

Safety

Be sure the toy has no sharp corners, small parts, or paints that can be chewed off. Remember, that small parts can be easily choked on. Only use toys suited for your child's age group.

Versatility

Picking a toy that has many different uses is a good idea. The child then has many differnt ways to stimulate his or her mind through imaginative play.

Different kinds of toys develop different skills. Activities such as crawling, walking, running, and catching are all large motor-skills. Toys that help stimulate these skills are climbing toys, kiddie cars, wagons, and balls. Small motor-skills are required for finger movements. Puzzles, crayons, nesting blocks, sorting toys, and bath toys help to develop this skill. And as an added bonus, your child's mind is stimulated, too.

Be sure to add plenty of time in the day for music and books. Children love to be sang and read to. They love to look at large colorful pictures and to sing songs that have a memorable rhythum to them. Reading and singing help to develop a child's memory and it's fun, too.

Keep in mind that a toy need not necessarily be expensive to be a "good toy". Think about what uses the toy has before purchase and if it will truely benifit your child's development.