SME 3023 TRENDS AND ISSUES

Topic 1 :

Discussion issues on the disparities in

achievement of students (rural- urban,

cultural influences etc).

Group Members:-

1) Paul Vosko Anak Ranged (D20121059016)

2) Nor Azila Binti Razak (D20112052105)

3) Dg Norhayati Binti Mahamad (D20112052103)

WHAT IS URBAN?

An urban area is characterized

by higher population density

and vast human features in

comparison to the areas

surrounding it. Urban areas

may be cities, towns or

conurbations, but the term is

not commonly extended to

rural settlements such as

villages and hamlets.

EXAMPLE OF URBAN

SK Puncak Alam, Selangor

SMK Bandar Puchong

WHAT IS RURAL

The nature of the term 'rural' varies from place to place. It often refers

to areas in the country concerned which are less densely populated.

There are different types of rural areas, depending on how accessible

they are from urban areas.

EXAMPLE OF RURAL

Sk Darau, Kota Kinabalu,

Sabah

Sk Serian, Sarawak

RURAL-URBAN DIFFERENCES IN STUDENT

ACHIEVEMENT?

1. A comparison of the performance on standardized achievement tests

of students from small, usually rural, schools with those form larger,

often urban, institutions has not produced definitive results.

2. In research completed in the state of New York, Monk and Haller

(1986) found that students from smaller (often rural) schools achieved

as well as students from larger schools.

3. Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR)

4. Moreover, in one New Mexico study, which looked at factors affecting

performance of selected high school students, those attending schools

in rural areas performed as well as those in urban locales (Ward and

Murray, 1985).

NEXT

PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO (PTR)

Figure 3: 1997 Pupil Teacher Ratios by location and school ownership

Source: Education Statistics Report, Government of Botswana, 1997

BACK

EFFECTS DO PARENTS AND COMMUNITY HAVE ON THE

ATTAINMENT OF RURAL STUDENTS?

One of the negative aspects found in most

accounts is that rural communities possess a much

more limited view of existing occupational roles for

rural youth, who then understandably restrict

themselves when going on the job market and on to

higher education (Downey, 1980).

Smaller communities do tend to generate more

community support for the school, with the school

becoming a center for community activity.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN RURAL SCHOOLS

Student achievement is greatly affected by the area in which a student

lives. Reasons for the variations in achievement are geographic

location, resources, availability of technology, and quality of teachers.

The small size of rural schools helps to assuage and combat poverty.

In rural areas where both the schools and students have access to high

quality instruction, safe atmosphere, and communal support,

achievement tends to be better than in states where the students do not

have access to these crucial resources (Lee & McIntire, 2000).

Currently, a national rural versus non-rural mathematics achievement

gap does not exist (www.nea.org).

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN RURAL

SCHOOLS

The majority of students that attend urban schools are from minority

families who live below the poverty line. Most often they are from

single-parent families where the parent is usually holding more then

one job to support the family and so little attention is given to the child.

Many urban students are less concerned with learning and achieving a

positive self-image then they are about obtaining food or safety. This

has a large and lasting affect on their student achievement.

In spite of the overwhelming lack of student achievement in urban

schools, there are still a significant amount of students that despite the

circumstances overcome the obstacles and manage to succeed.

Characteristics of Students

Ethnicity

Family Socioeconomic

Status

Family Structure

With respect to the effect of ethnicity, we follow Lim and

Saleh (2002),

non-Malay natives and immigrants will have significantly

higher scores in educational performance than Malay

Natives.

For eg, immigrants whose native language is not

English; the research demonstrates that quality bilingual

programs can close academic achievement gaps

between language minority and majority children

Research in U.S. (Rosenthal et al. 1983; Fernandez and

Nielsen 1986; Portes and Schauffler 1994; Schmid 2001)

emphasized differences in medium and instruction and

language ability as a primary determinant of the gaps in

educational performance

Ethnicity

Family Structure

With respect to the effect of family composition and

structure, we follow McLanahan and Sandefur (1994)’s

Students from single-parent and stepparent families

have significantly lower scores in educational

performance than those from two-parent families

For eg, Students who have a disruptive and

unstable home life can have it much more difficult

on the school front when it comes to higher

achievement.

Family Socioeconomic

Status (SES)

With respect to the effect of parent’s education, we follow

Sewell and Shah(1968) and Muller (1995)’s

Parental education is positively related to educational

performance achievement Teachman 1987; Ho and

Willms 1996,

Certain types of parent involvement, such as parental

discussions with the children about school-related

topics, such as the importance of getting an

education, benefit students because these students

show higher rates of homework completion and

academic achievement in the middle and high school

years