TEACHERS' SUPPORT FOR AT-RISK STUDENTS

How can teachers effectively support at-risk students who struggle with literacy?

Abstract

This dissertation is based on the topic of “How can teachers effectively support at-risk students who struggle with literacy?” The first chapter provides an introduction to the topic including the purpose and significance of the study. The second chapter covers the methodology for this study, followed by the findings in the third chapter. The discussion of findings is presented in the fourth chapter. The fifth chapter concludes the dissertation, providing implications and useful recommendations for further research.

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT2

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION5

Background5

Purpose5

Problem Statement6

Objectives6

Research Question6

Significance7

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY8

Literature Selection Criteria10

Search Technique10

Keywords Used10

Theoretical Framework10

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS12

At-Risk Outcomes12

Absences12

Grade Retention12

Low Achievement13

Dropping Out14

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION16

Significance of Relationships Between Teachers and Children16

Understanding Relationships17

Instructional Approaches for Students and Educators17

Service Delivery Settings18

Instructional Approaches19

Teaching Methods20

Scaffolded Instruction20

Guided Practice20

Modeling20

Reciprocal Questioning21

Feedback21

Devices to Improve Learning21

Graphic Devices22

Verbal Devices22

Memory Devices22

Grouping Variations23

Learning Strategy Instruction23

CHAPTER 5: IMPLICATIONS25

Summary25

Implications26

Conclusion27

REFERENCES29

How can teachers effectively support at-risk students who struggle with literacy?

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background

Who is an “at-risk” learner? When and why is a student considered to be “at risk?” The label “at risk” gained prominence in the taxonomy of educational research in the 1980s subsequent to the publication of the commissioned report “A Nation at Risk.” This document both evidenced and lamented the status of the United States' educational system in comparison to the school systems of other industrialized nations around the world. America's schoolchildren, it argued, were falling behind the children in other technological-rich countries. Years after the publication of that landmark report, the at-risk label has been more liberally applied as a moniker to describe certain types of students. A politically loaded term, “at risk” is often used as a code word for various groups of less fortunate and dispossessed students in the United States. “At risk” primarily refers to those students from families and communities with limited resources corresponding to low educational outcomes. That is, at-risk students are those most likely to fail or drop out of school due to the challenges of poverty, broken homes, violence, limited English language proficiency, and other disadvantages in the family and community context.

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance of effective support provided by teachers to at-risk learners, struggling with literacy.

Problem Statement

The associations among race, ethnicity, and low academic performance and/or school failure are positive, increasingly at risk has become code or synonyms for low-income (or poor) and racial and ethnic minority students. The two groups are not the same, however, despite the correlations. Perceived by some thinkers as a pejorative label of students believed to be “culturally deprived,” the term is laden with historical, political, and social meanings. A survey of the term's usages shows that its meaning varies.

Objectives

Developing an understanding of the nature of teacher-child relationships and how these relationships impact development is critical for researchers and practitioners in the field of education. The aims and objectives of this study are to provide an overview of:

(1) Relevant theory that informs the study of teacher-child relationships.

(2) Factors that have been found to influence ...