Essay Example on Educational Setting: A Fundamental Pillar of Modern Society

Introduction

The educational setting plays an essential role in the developmental process of any individual living in today’s modern society. Schooling has become a basic need, and it is even illegal for a parent or guardian to deny their children or those under their custody access to this fundamental necessity. The average person today spends approximately 23 years of their life on average in the school-based education learning environment. As a result, there is the necessity to ensure that the organizational management of schools in the country and worldwide is such that, it drives and facilitates the learners to become the best versions of themselves in their future development.

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For or against FSA High Stakes Testing

Today, various states have come up with different assessment approaches to help in the evaluation process on the learner’s capabilities and brilliance in the formal education sector. Florida is one state that came up with the Florida Standards Assessment, i.e. (FSA) which gets administered in grades 3 – 10 every year and the Florida students also take the end of course exams (EOC’s), in various subjects (Sebastian, Hochbein & Cunningham, 2019). The FSA was introduced as an accountability component aimed at enhancing performance for students, teachers and school administrators. School districts are mandated by the state to administer these examinations which are essential determinants for various schooling procedures such as; school grade progression, graduation, school funding among other crucial aspects of the educational system settings.

I stand against the FSA high stakes testing as these tests do not measure merit based on a learner’s giftedness in various areas of the curriculum and the criteria mounts unexplained pressure on the learners across the state of Florida. According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, belongingness, and love needs are among the essential developmental needs of any individual. The FSA is a high stake testing approach that studies have indicated to have adverse effects on learners who fail to pass or meet the required merit standards. Learners who fail in the FSA experience a feeling of lack of self-worth, and this may be worsened by parents who may be harsh on their children for failing to pass these examinations. The FSA high stake testing has also affected the esteem needs of an individual which is another outlined developmental requirement in the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. A key reason why these exams should be eliminated is that students who fail in the tests may lack the feeling of prestige and development.

In the light of Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory, it is stated that “an individual will behave or act in a certain way because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over others due to what they expect the result of that selected behavior will be”( Irby, Meyers & Salisbury, 2020). Relating the Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory with the FSA, high stake assessment tests indicate that, some students may fail in the examinations not because they are not capable of passing in the trial but because they lack the necessary motivation. These tests, therefore, fail to meet the various educational goals of testing based on ability and personal motivations. For instance, a student who excels in extra-curricular activities may fail to get credit just because they fail to get tested in their area of expertise.

Parents and other stakeholders in the educational sector have, therefore expressed their displeasure in the FSA’s assessment method. Many parents and teachers have associated the Florida Standards Assessment with the development of negative learning environment in the classroom setting. Teachers have sighted the high stake assessment exams as a distraction to the real learning aspects in the classroom. This is because the teachers and the learners are spending more time preparing for exams rather than the actual aims and objectives of the learning process. Consequently, students have complained that due to test anxiety, they no longer enjoy studies due to the pressure that has been mounted on them. There is a necessity to come up with better evaluation approaches that will help to ensure that there is the creation of a conducive learning environment. Strategies such as the FSA are unsuitable, given that they have been established to have adverse effects on the learners as well as the teachers as the facilitators of learning.

With the above-presented evidence, Lawmakers look to revise graduate requirements to eliminate the FSA and replace the standardized exam with subject area assessments in grades 3through 5, and subject tests and end-of-course exams for students in grades 6 through 12. Rom a situational theory leadership point of view, it is up to the organizational management of schools systems to develop appropriate evaluation methods that are not only comprehensive but also facilitate learner motivation and an ambient learning environment.

Boosting Morale and Educational Productivity

Institutional policies and slogans are essential in the maintenance of top productivity in any organizational setting. The learning environment, for instance, is an interactive setting where coordination of the interaction between the learners and the teachers is essential for satisfactory learning outcomes. As the new principal of M.J Elementary School, various challenges need to be addressed, including, settling into a new working environment and the development of a new working culture. Another challenge id the graying staff who have been identified to be lacking in motivation (Runhaar, Bouwmans & Vermeulen, 2019).

According to the Abraham Maslow hierarchy of needs, the concept of "esteem needs fulfilment," i.e. prestige and a feeling of accomplishment is an inherent need that every individual possesses (Ulstad, Halvari & Deci, 2019). This concept could be used to motivate the graying staff, where I could try to appeal to them to leave behind a legacy that will be remembered overtime at the M.J Elementary school. For instance, members of staff who show excellence in their areas of learning facilitation could be recognized and appreciated with prizes for their hard work. Consequently, members of the team experiencing difficulties in their areas of teaching could be provided with assistance and guidelines to help them in the overall improvement of the learning outcomes in the respective disciplines. Measures such as the use of student engagement practices in learning activities are among other motivational approaches that could be utilized for the greying staff and the learners as well.

The necessity to improve morale and bring achievement in line with ability id another obligation that the superintendent deemed necessary for the M.J Elementary school. Bringing performance in line with ability will require a collaborative approach from both the students and the teachers as the learning facilitators. As the new principal, it is my responsibility to set the precedence for a conducive learning environment. The critical step, therefore, lies in identifying the various challenges that have adversely affected learning. For the staff, it is necessary to ensure that the working environment and conditions provided are conducive (Roure, Kermarrec & Pasco, 2019).

Conclusion

Consequently, for the learners, access to learning materials and a hospitable learning environment should be availed. Based on the Elton Mayo research, the learning environment is an essential area of focus as it determines whether learners can maintain an attentive approach to the learning process. Any distractors in the M.J Elementary school learning environment should get eliminated to ensure that the learners can pay adequate attention to the ongoing learning activities.

The organizational management of schools is an essential aspect of learning that plays a massive role in facilitating and developing positive learning outcomes.

References

Sebastian, Hochbein, C., & Cunningham, M. (2019). Principal leadership and school performance: An examination of instructional leadership and organizational management. Administration and Policy in Schools, 18(4), 591-613.

Runhaar, P., Bouwmans, M., & Vermeulen, M. (2019). Exploring teachers’ career self-management. Considering the roles of organizational career management, occupational self-efficacy, and learning goal orientation. Human Resource Development International, 22(4), 364-384.

Irby, D. J., Meyers, C. V., & Salisbury, J. D. (2020). Improving schools by strategically connecting equity leadership and organizational improvement perspectives: Introduction to a particular issue. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPER), 25(2), 101-106.

Roure, C., Kermarrec, G., & Pasco, D. (2019). Effects of situational interest dimensions on students’ learning strategies in physical education. European Physical Education Review, 25(2), 327-340.

Ulstad, S. O., Halvari, H., & Deci, E. L. (2019). The role of students’ and teachers’ ratings of autonomous motivation in a self-determination theory model predicting participation in education. Scandinavian journal of educational research, 63(7), 1086-1101.