Week 1 Assignment Social Support Essay
Social support is an important concept in schools. Schools are not just charged with academic development, they are charged with aiding emotional and physical development as well. Social support systems aid in this development. As noted in your text (Hjalmarson,Chapter 2), this can be an important aspect of a successful school, such as “Los Pen.” In a two- to five-page paper (not including the title and reference pages), describe the value of social support through addressing the following:
· Define the term Social Support and explain what relevant scholarly research states about it.
· Describe your personal experiences with social support systems as student and/or teacher.
· Discuss significance of social support in a school setting.
Be sure to include and reference at least three scholarly sources (not including your textbook) properly cited in APA style. Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
INSTRUCTOR GUIDANCE WEEK 1 INTRODUCTION
*Special thanks to Dr. Patrice Jones for sharing her original guidance in this document.
Welcome to EDU617: School, Family & Community Partnership. Each week before beginning your assignments and initial discussion board post, it is highly recommended that you review the Instructor Guidance, which serves to supplement the required and recommended readings, videos, and multimedia webpages for each week of material. The Instructor Guidance begins with a theoretical foundation of the weekly learning outcomes, progresses to authentic examples, and then concludes with guidance for the discussion board prompt and completing the weekly assignment. The Instructor Guidance can be used to support your discussion posts, responses, and other required assignments.
Figure 1. Encouragement makes a big difference for all kids. Reprinted from Morguefile, by Pippalou, 2013 http://mrg.bz/MDZTaM. Copyright 2016 by Morguefile.
Begin this week by thinking about “how important is parent involvement in the teaching and learning process?” Then, take a look at the Harvard Family Research Project (2014), which has published articles and digests on their Family Involvement Research Digest website that address family involvement across all cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, and grade levels. The overall theme of these studies show a correlation between family-school partnerships and positive student achievement. For example, highlights from African-American and Chinese-American Parent Involvement: The Importance of Race, Class, and Culture (Links to an external site.) indicate that, depending on their cultural background, parents had different levels of home-based involvement. It was recommended that teachers leverage these unique cultural differences to build stronger family and community connections. A summary of the research findings from another article point out that parental involvement serves as a positive driving force behind student achievement post high school graduation. Therefore, teachers need to continue encourage parents’ engagement in their child’s education throughout middle and high school years. To create the best structural foundation for parent and community engagement, a plan of action must be developed and implemented. Specific structures are needed so that teachers, administration, and parents are aware of, and comfortable with, the action plan for involvement and participation. As Hjalmarson (2011) points out, a “school-wide management system” (p. 14) was developed and put into place so that everyone could work together for the best outcome. What practices does your school have in place to engage parents? Is it inclusive of all cultures? If you aren’t yet teaching in a school, think about what practices you might recommend to a school. There is oftentimes an unintended perception that the involved parent usually refers to the mother; however, fathers are an equally important contributor to a child’s education. In the video 8 Ways Fathers Can Reconnect with Their Sons (Links to an external site.) , Geoffrey Canada, educator and social activist, provides a list of examples fathers can do to be active in the education of their child.
Week 1 Discussion Guidance
As you now know, having parents involved in their child’s education promotes academic success throughout grade school and beyond. Hjalmarson (2011) directs teachers to “provide a positive social environment for children while at the same time delivering academic results” (p. xi). For this week’s discussion post, Positive Environment, begin by thinking about the support your parents provided to you while in school, grades K – 12. Did you perceive this support as positive or negative? Do you feel like this support influenced your post high school graduation choices? Please review the discussion board rubric prior to your initial post to ensure you are fully meeting each of the set criteria to earn full credit. Your initial post should include relevant professional, personal, or other real-world experiences in a manner that is rich in thought and provides valuable insight into the topic. Additionally, all elements of the discussion board prompt should be thoroughly addressed with strong and precise connections to previous and/or current course content, or to real-life situations. When substantively replying to your peers’ posts, be sure to provide a thorough and constructive analysis relating the response to relevant course concepts that incorporates pertinent follow-up thoughts or questions about the topic, and demonstrates respect for the diverse opinions of fellow learners.
Week 1 Assignment Guidance
Social support is almost as important as academics during elementary school. A recent study by Perez-Felkner (2015) found that students from low-income urban schools, who were predominately Latino, faced non-academic challenges that often impeded their ability to achieve academically. Perez-Felkner suggests the overall positive benefits of a structured support network be implemented by teachers and school staff, for this underrepresented population. She notes that “school regard was associated with students’ persistence through the transition to college — and to stronger colleges — even in the face of academic, socioeconomic, and personal challenges” (Perez-Felkner, 2015, para. 10). For this week’s assignment, Social Support Essay, you will explore the significance of social support in the school setting through independent research and your own personal experiences. Make sure to use the grading rubric as a self-checklist before submitting the final copy of your assignment to confirm you have met or exceeded each required expectation. The highest level of achievement on the rubric is “distinguished,” which is only earned through exceeding posted expectations at the proficiency level. Please remember you are in a masters-level program. Therefore, your writing, research, and content are held to graduate-level expectations.
References and Resources
Diamond, J., Wang, L., & Gomez, K. (2006). African-American and Chinese-American parent involvement: The importance of race, class, and culture (Links to an external site.). Harvard Family Research Project. Retrieved from http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/publications-series/family-involvement-research-digests/african-american-and-chinese-american-parent-involvement-the-importance-of-race-class-and-culture (Links to an external site.)
Harvard Family Research Project. (2014). Family involvement research digests (Links to an external site.) . Retrieved from: http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/publications-series/family-involvement-research-digests
Hjalmarson, F. (2011). Differentiated parent support: Engaging parents in unique ways to increase their involvement in school. San Diego, CA: TurnAround Schools Publishing.
Jones, P. (2015). Week 1 instructor guidance [EDU617: School, family & community partnership]. San Diego, CA: Ashford University
Oprah Winfrey Network. (2013, July 7). 8 ways fathers can reconnect with their sons (Links to an external site.) . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QBPnFboYZM8
Patrikakou, E. (2004, September). Adolescence: Are parents relevant to students’ high school achievement and post-secondary attainment? (Links to an external site.) Harvard Family Research Project. Retrieved from http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/publications-series/family-involvement-research-digests/adolescence-are-parents-relevant-to-students-high-school-achievement-and-post-secondary-attainment
Perez-Felkner, L. (2015, October 15). Researcher: Social support in schools is key to student success (Links to an external site.) . Florida State University. Retrieved from http://news.fsu.edu/More-FSU-News/Researcher-Social-support-in-schools-is-key-to-student-success
Pippalou. (2014). DSCN8260 (Links to an external site.) [photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/857815
Required Resources
1. Read from your text, Differentiated Parent Support: Engaging Parents in Unique Ways to Increase Their Involvement in School:
· Chapter One – Destiny
· Chapter Two – One School’s Story
Recommended Resources
1. Anderson-Butcher, D., Lawson, H. A., Iachini, A., Flaspohler, P., Bean, J., & Wade-Mdivanian, R. (2010). Emergent Evidence in Support of a Community Collaboration Model for School Improvement. Children & Schools, 32(3), 160-171. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
1. This study provides preliminary data resulting from six pilot schools’ implementation of a community collaboration model for school improvement. A mixed-method evaluation design yielded promising results. For example, stakeholders’ perceptions regarding their student support systems increased positively, and overall stakeholders were satisfied with the implementation experience.
· Bryan, J. A. & Griffin, D. (2010). A Multidimensional Study of School-Family-Community Partnership Involvement: School, School Counselor, and Training Factors. Professional School Counseling, 14(1), 75-86. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
1. This article examines the educator’s involvement in school-family partnerships and the factors that go into supporting student success.
· Glogster (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.glogster.com
1. This site allows users to create online posters.
Another unedited example of Week One Assignment: Please note, this is just an example and you still need to include a title and reference page along with using appropriate APA formatting in all assignments.
There are multifarious social supports. Such supports can be informational, network, emotional, esteem, and tangible. Each support acts as a catalyst to implore the recipient towards the accomplishment of a desired outcome. Support can be provided by family, friends, co-workers, or total strangers. Positive supports are linked with mental, emotional, and physical health (Karlsen, 2016). When a student has a positive social support system, he or she has the potential to excel.
What is a social support?
There are several definitions for social support. Seeman (2008) defines social support as assistance that people receive from others and is generally comprised into three categories: emotional, informational, and tangible. Emotional support could be an encouraging word during a stressful situation. Informational support could consist of sharing available resources to a family in need of food or clothing. Tangible support could be providing free child care for a family member or friend that cannot afford to pay for childcare. Each of these supports assist the recipient in a manner which is conducive to a desired overall outcome of any situation.
Personal experience with social support as a student.
A parent, teacher, or an individual in the community that demonstrates genuine concern for a student is a potent ingredient in nurturing personal and academic growth (Pathways to College Network, 2007). I can certainly attest to this statement as it relates to my personal and academic growth. I had a rocky start academically. I missed an excessive amount of days due to the prognosis of a heart disease at the age of four. Because of the absences, I did not get a good academic foundation on basic content. When I did attend school, I was grouped with my peers homogeneously. I cannot recall one teacher trying to help me to get on grade level between Kindergarten to third grades. In fourth grade, my teacher tried, but I can always sense her frustration at my inability to grasp the content. There were many days that I would go home depleted and dreading another school day. My mother was a constant support during this time. She would often tell me how smart I was and how I had so much potential. She would often ask me what I wanted to be when I “grow-up” and would inform me that my career choices would come to fruition with my graduating high school and attending college. I did not believe I would ever go to college. However, my fifth-grade year, I encountered a social supporter, my teacher. She asked if I could stay after school for tutoring. I asked my mother and she excitedly said yes. My teacher tutored me each day, Monday through Thursday for an hour. She was patient and very kind. The result of this support was rewarding. I made my first “A” in the fifth grade. I was ecstatic! I wanted to learn any and everything once I realized that I could learn. With the support of my fifth-grade teacher and my mother, I did 360 degrees turn academically.
Personal experience with social support as a teacher
I have witnessed the lack of parental support with high school students since I began teaching two years ago. Teachers should communicate regularly with parents so they are co-collaborators in reinforcing high expectation for their children’s education (Pathways to College Network, 2007). However, despite how many times I call and leave messages on a parent’s phone, I still become hurt, disappointed, and frustrated when he or she neglects to contact me back. Many of these calls are regarding the lack of the student’s efforts and a few times the student has been at risk for not graduating. One would think that a high school senior’s parents would be an active, visible individual of this phase of their child’s academic journey. Moreover, when I inform my students that I am going to call parents, these students respond, without fail, “My mama don’t care. She ain’t gonna do nothing.” This breaks my heart and I see that I must step up and do for these students what my fifth-grade teacher did for me. I have learned in these two years of teaching that the students with no to very little support are the ones that do not do well academically. However, I have also learned that when I become a little more supportive, these students will put forth more effort.
Significance of social support in school setting
Social supports in the school is important because students come from diverse backgrounds with various needs. Having counselors, social workers, caring teachers, administrators, family and friends can assist a student to meet some or all his life goals. When students have social supports in the school setting, the results are rewarding. Social supports provide a foundation for learning and enhances a student’s ability to succeed in school, careers, and life (Weissberg, 2016). Students with social supports have been found to know and manage themselves, understand the perspectives of others, and make logical personal and social decisions. When students have positive social supports they are more apt to graduate high school and attend post-secondary institutes (Seeman, 2008).
Conclusion
There are several definitions for social support. However, despite the definition the action and the desired outcome is the same. With social supports, students can perform well in school, prepare for post high school decisions, such as college, military, or going to the workforce. Students that have these positive supports make life decisions that can alter their lives for the better. Contrary, students that lack these supports make unwise decisions that can have an adverse effect on their lives.
References
Karlsen, Micaela. 2016. The Benefits of Social Support for Your Healthy Lifestyle. Center for Nutrition Studies. 4(23) pgs. 23-27. Retrieved on May 7, 2018
Pathways to College Network. 2007. Social Supports: an essential ingredient to success. Retrieved from http://www.adlit.org/article/32509/ (Links to an external site.)
Seeman, Teresa. 2008. Social Support. Journal of Health & Social Behavior. 3(27) pg.317-331. Retrieved from http://www.macses.ucsf.edu/research/psychosocial/socsupp.php (Links to an external site.)
Weissberg, Roger. (2016, February 15). Why Social and Emotional Learning is Essential forStudents. Retrieved from www.edutopia.org/blog/why-sel-essential-for-students-weissberg-durlak-domitrovich-gullotta
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