Part 1 of the TESOL 2012 Colloquium on Promoting Excellence: Perspectives on ELLs with Limited/Interrupted Schooling Jeffra Flaitz discusses the importance of valuing the prior school experience and “school view” of learners whose education has been limited or interrupted to facilitate their transition to U.S. schools.

1. The
Nature
of
Schools
and
Schooling
in
the
Developing
World
JEFFRA
FLAITZ
TESOL
*
Philadelphia,
PA
*
March
29,
2012

2. School
View
assumptions expectations understandings
possibilities probabilities interpretations
rules opinions beliefs
ideas / ideals norms perceptions
Frame of Reference

4. The
Nature
of
Schools
and
Schooling
in
the
Developing
World
JEFFRA
FLAITZ
TESOL
*
Philadelphia,
PA
*
March
29,
2012

5. Classrooms, School Buildings
Recurrent & School Grounds
Themes Curriculum
Learning & Teaching Practices
Students & Teachers
Parents & Families
Outside of Class
THE
HIDDEN
CURRICULUM

6. Classrooms,
School
Building
&
Grounds
• overcrowded, in disrepair, maintained by
students and parents
Eritrea
• plainly decorated
• chronic shortage of
school supplies
Russia

7. Classrooms,
School
Building
&
Grounds
• no health rooms, Burma
gymnasiums,
computer labs,
cafeterias,
libraries
Dem.
Rep.
of
Congo
• private schools
better equipped
than
public schools

8. Curriculum
• free, compulsory education from 6 to 14 years
of age
• few pre-school or kindergarten programs
• recent national Somalia
educational reform
plan

9. Curriculum
• academic and vo-tech tracks
• high academic standards, heavy homework,
regular accountability, high stakes
• infrequent exams
Iraq
Dem.
Rep.
of
Congo

10. Learning
&
Teaching
PracFces
• teacher-centered methodology
• copious note-taking,
memorization, Cuba
recitation,
use of copybooks
Iraq

11. Learning
&
Teaching
PracFces
• little praise Eritrea
• strict discipline
• cheating
• “helping”
Vietnam

12. Teachers
• primary certification obtained in high school
• lowest paid professionals
• revered, respected, feared
• may have more Vietnam
authority
than parents
• teachers’ day
celebrations

13. Students
• positive attitudes toward education
• stable cohort from year to year
• male enrollment higher than female enrollment
• bilingual or multilingual
Iran
Somalia

14. Parents
&
Family
• reluctant to “co-manage” children’s education
with teachers
• few teacher-parent conferences
• oral tradition Bhutan

15. Outside
of
Class
• childcare, housework, fieldwork
• few extra-curricular activities
• long distance between home and school
India
Bhutan