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Возможности российских школ для поддержки и развития детей, имеющих трудности в обучении: информационный бюллетень
The problem of working with unsuccessful students is one of the topical issues in the modern educational policy agenda. The article presents an analysis of the results of a survey of parents and teachers conducted as part of the Monitoring of the Economics of Education in 2020/2021. The views of parents and teachers about the reasons of the academic failure of children, and the possibilities for overcoming it, provided by Russian schools, and available to families were the key areas of analysis. The analysis reveals the position in which “unsuccessful” schoolchildren are in comparison with their more academically successful peers.
We pay special attention to the position of the family and its role in overcoming failure, including decision-making by parents and the degree of their involvement in the educational process of the child. We consider practical possibilities of schools in helping students with learning difficulties, the availability of the services offered, and the existing attitudes towards academically unsuccessful children. The data are analyzed in the context of parents’ groups with different performance level of their children and school groups that differ in the proportion of unsuccessful students.
The following significant findings were made as a result of the analysis:
- Parents of the least academically successful children more often note the lack of attention of the school to the problems of children with learning difficulties, the lack of additional classes and support from specialists to overcome difficulties. These parents demonstrate a higher level of readiness to move children to another school.
- The family financial situation and the level of education of parents are related to the child's educational achievements and affect parent’s participation in school life. Parents of academically unsuccessful schoolers are less involved in the child's educational process, which can be explained, among other things, by their low level of skills and competencies required for support.
- Teachers who work in schools with the highest proportion of unsuccessful schoolers are characterized by a lower level of responsibility for the students’ educational results and a higher dissatisfaction level of the profession choice. They are less likely to receive advice from specialists (educational psychologist, speech therapist, school counselor, etc.) than teachers who work with academically successful children. These teachers note the lack of individual training skills for working with problem children and participate in professional development activities in the relevant field more often than other teachers.
- The psychological climate in classrooms and schools with a high proportion of academic unsuccessful children is unfavorable for overcoming school failure. Parents and teachers who experiencing the greatest difficulties in providing quality education feel the greatest lack of supporting resources.
