Grand City faces a plethora of issues in its sector of education. A comparative review of these issues, in relation to the state reveals notable differences in certain areas such as student performance, the educational level of individuals above the age of 25, the percentage of families in need of subsidized preschool as well as daycare, the percentage of children in need of specialized education, inter alia. Such a state of being demonstrates Grand City’s need to invest in measures that improve its educational system focusing on the various factors that undermine its effectiveness. However, of central importance is early childhood education, which focuses on children aged 0-8 years. Based on an informed and objective review of data gathered, the proposed target areas of development that need improvement as pertains to early childhood education are recruitment and selection of teachers, training and development and lastly, curriculum development.
Recruitment and Selection of Teachers
Evidently, when it comes to distribution of employment opportunities for teachers, Grand City does not practice workforce diversity. Data gathered reveals that whites are representative of 83% of Grand City’s teaching staff, while the other minority groups are represented as follows, Asians (4%), Riza (1%), Hispanic/Latino (7%) and lastly, African Americans (4%). These statistics reveals that Grand City’s recruitment and selection strategies for teachers does not embody equal distribution of employment opportunities when it comes to teaching. The low representation of teaching staff from minority communities could be having a significant effect on student outcomes. As an example, only 23.4% of students in grades 3-5 achieved marks that exceeded the state’s benchmark, while 44.6% did not. There is a possibility that the majority of white teaching staff does not use teaching methods appropriate or sufficient enough to advance a professionally based capital when it comes to dealing with a racially diverse student population.
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Understandably, lack of sufficient representation of minority communities in Grand City’s teaching staff could be undermining its realization of a potentially beneficial and reliable human capital system. According to Hargreaves and Fullan (2013), human capital focuses on an individual’s qualities, competencies as well as qualifications. In essence, in a school setting, it measures a teacher’s capacity to provide quality education to students. Having a diverse workforce allows for the existence of different views, which can be assessed and points of convergence identified. Statistics obtained from Grand City show that a high percentage of kindergarteners were from American Indian/Alaska Native and African American communities, which are representative of the minority. Therefore, it is justified for one to state that teachers from these communities are likely to understand the needs of these students better compared to their white counterparts. This brings into the need for social capital, which raises a question such as “To what extent do teachers in this school work in a trusting, collaborative way to focus on learning and the engagement and improvement of student achievement?” (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2013, p. 37). Investing in a mutually inclusive workforce for teachers could help promote better student outcomes not only for early childhood education but also for those in advanced stages of learning.
Training and Development of Teachers
Evident in the data gathered about Grand City is that there is a considerably low population of individuals with graduate or professional degrees. Based on the data, only 4.4% of the individuals aged 25 and above have a graduate or professional degree, while those with a bachelor’s degree or higher stand at 22.2% and those with a high school diploma or higher comprise 61.6%. These statistics tell a story of a city that lacks sufficient access to and supply of qualified personnel in schools. There is a possibility that Grand City’s schools do not have teaching staff competent enough to promote positive student outcomes. Currently, the test scores for English Language Arts for grades 3-5 stand at 25.7%, which is representative of those who have met or exceeded the state’s benchmark. 23.6% have nearly met this benchmark, while a staggering 50% of students do not meet it. These results could be revealing a gap in the competence of teachers in Grand City. In support of this view, Gonzalez-Sancho and Vincent-Lancrin (2016) noted that “While indicators of student achievement remain the most visible type of education data, a wider array of elements reflecting the quality of teaching and learning are also frequently collected as the result of evaluation and assessment practices,” (p. 743). Student test scores are indicators of the quality of teaching and learning in schools. Therefore, Grand City needs to invest in measures that promote training and development of teachers to increase competence and quality of teaching. This could lead to better student outcomes through creating a better foundation for early childhood education.
Curriculum Development
There is an urgent to focus on the nature of the curriculum in Grand City and how it affects the performance of students or rather smooth transition of young pupils as they move from one stage to the next. Notably, the percentage of students living in poverty stands at 24.8%. However, despite that fact, those who have no access to technology at home are represented as follows: 81% own a computer, 53% have internet access, 88% have a smart phone, and 52% have a tablet. There is a possibility that the current curriculum does not support easy integration of technology thereby making it hard for both teachers and students to make optimal use of it. This could be due to gaps in the process of curriculum development. Hargreaves and Fullan (2013) noted that the reason why Finland’s educational system is great is because teachers engage in the process of curriculum development together. Therefore, Grand City needs to adopt a similar approach towards curriculum development. It can invest in measures that promote effective use of technology as a considerable number of homesteads have access to computers, smartphones and tablets. The curriculum could be developed or changed in a manner that does not require internet access as there is limited access to this particular service based on data acquired.
Conclusion
In the event that Grand City invest in the three areas mentioned above, it will realize positive growth in student outcomes. Having an efficient and reliable education system from the start allows kindergarteners and preschool students an opportunity to realize and sharpen their skills, thereby experiencing smooth transition as they move to advanced stages of learning. Consequently, this would lead to an educated society in a few a years to come.
References
Gonzalez-Sancho, C., & Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2013). Transforming education by using a new generation of information systems. Policy Futures in Education, 14 (6), 741-758. DOI: 10.1177/1478210316649287
Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2103). The power of professional capital: With an investment in collaboration, teachers become nation builders. Journal of Staff Development, 34 (3), 36-39.
