The existence of urban schools with lack of resources - whether of a human or material nature - in which the quality of the students' performances (according to the standard test system) is degraded is not a new problem at all. What is new is, on the one hand, an awareness of the extent of the phenomenon and, on the other hand, the growing willingness of education professionals to be slowed down. This will is even more intense because the situation of the members of the disadvantaged urban schools is, in some cases, worrisome, and because the intervention of the public authorities often develops under the pressure of urgency.
Stopping the degradation of these schools can not be done without a strong and prolonged action by the public authorities aimed at improving the learning conditions in these schools, favoring the integration and inclusion of all their students, meeting their needs and guaranteeing education. quality. The local public administrations are the first calls to face this challenge.
The means of intervention available from public administrations are multiple. With a different weight, the improvement of infrastructures and facilities, the creation of activities for the school community and of quality educational development, the promotion of the active participation of parents in the school life and the improvement of public services offered in these areas are among the measures adopted by various countries in this area.
On the other hand, we must not forget that prevention is always easier than cure. The effective measures applied in urban schools can be applied to other schools, in order to avoid the creation of "contagions" that entail the degradation of the living conditions and the segregation of the members of those school communities.
It is more about creating in these urban school communities an active and dynamic system for the active parent engagement with a huge variety of activities, so as to favor the integration of all the members of these communities and to accompany them in their efforts of social reintegration. The "reforms" and experiences are structured around the following axes:
- Make the parent activities closest to the the school community members, and therefore more accessible from all points of view;
- Respond better to the specific needs of the students of these urban schools;
- Improve efficiency in order to avoid wasting resources and the lack of control of the school budget.
In short, the reforms undertaken in the field of public urban schools offered in other areas should also be articulated around three axes: more proximity, better adaptation to needs and more efficiency.
The social factor
At the "internal" level, the poor school life conditions of the affected schools implied a reduction in quality, which obviously attracted families with low educational resources and expectations. This negative selection worsened the teaching conditions and the scope was closed in this way.
At the "external" level, relations between members of urban school communities and the rest of the population have become increasingly tense: Different conditions and unequal opportunities have often led to isolation, marginalization and of blaming students and members of urban schools with difficulties. The reaction of these has been the rejection of the values of the majority and the provocation, which, in turn, has reinforced the marginalization.
In addition, in some schools there are ethnic influences that increase the isolation and self-isolation of the inhabitants and, therefore, create an additional barrier between them and the rest of the population.
The economic factor
A large part of urban schools belong to neighborhoods or working districts of large cities. The general economic reconversion is not the only factor that has generated the economic decline of these areas. Indeed, economic development needs particular conditions that are often not found in these educational centers (infrastructures and services). Another important factor affects the general climate of insecurity.
The economic decline, which implies a further reduction in income, has condemned small merchants and has further degraded the economic level of disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The inhabitants of these neighborhoods complain precisely about the inequality of opportunities in the labor market: often ineffective educational and training systems offer them little job prospects in a situation in which the unemployment rate is high. To this are added the prejudices
existing against the inhabitants of these neighborhoods, and even discrimination when hiring them because of ethnic origin, which further reduce their chances of finding a job.
Faced with these problems in the labor market, some members of urban schools are tempted to reject this system en bloc and to look for other schools in more "favored" areas and, eventually, the transfer to other schools with better reputation.
This reinforces the stigmatization of those who are victims and the distrust of potential teachers and educators, which only increases the barriers to hiring personnel for the school.
its students, which constitutes a not insignificant threat on the development of learning, and especially the one that develops in this type of centers.
The political-educational factor
Students in urban schools are underperforming, so they are not considered "good" in the district's school categories and therefore receive less aid.
Some, such as recent migrant students or those who have not completed the necessary procedures, do not obtain even the minimum, which contributes to lowering the general average of the school. In fact, these schools are clearly
margin of the political process. There is a risk of a complete rejection of the political system byIt even happens that some administrators and teachers fall into the trap of the collective blaming of these students (especially for lack of support and understanding of the educational activity) and try to interpret them as feelings of rejection. Widely mediated, such an attitude can only reinforce the feeling of marginalization and the distrust of the students of these educational centers.
Possible measures:
- Better delimit the covered areas
- Formation in sociological and psychological studies
- Verify the possibility of having a flexible definition at the national/state/local level of these areas
- Reform services in order to take responsibility for people, and not for problems
- Specialize the Administration according to the needs of students and school community members.
- Improve the accessibility of services.
- Reform services from a global, integrated perspective
- Improve the exchange of information.
- Search for synergies
- Guarantee coordination and cooperation, both horizontally and vertically, between public administrations.
- Associate and maintain relationships with educational entities in the environment as well as parent associations, for example.
- Respond to specific needs
- Apply reception programs for students with needs, encourage non-profit private initiatives in this field and participate in them.
- Improve the framework of the urban school community
- Improve education and professional development systems
- Strengthen and stimulate communication with all members of the community as well as the use of information technologies
- Apply effective participatory systems
The development of a specific and comprehensive policy for disadvantaged urban schools should be one of the priorities of public authorities, in the context of urban policies of the 21st century. This policy for these centers should be presided over by a strategic vision, encompassing, connecting
and coordinate all sectoral actions on these areas (education, services to students and families, parent engagement programs,...) and at the same time requires coordinated action by all public and private powers to achieve the greatest possible synergy, coherence of the actions and a saving of scarce resources. Only in this way will it be possible to remove its inhabitants from the "vicious" social, economic and political that grips them and that reciprocally feed each other.
References:
References:
- http://www.rtinetwork.org/learn/diversity/urban-school-challenges
- http://www.rtinetwork.org/learn/diversity/cultural-adaptations-when-implementing-rti-in-urban-settings
- http://www.rtinetwork.org/learn/diversity/promising-examples-of-rti-practices-for-urban-schools
