Issue in Children Learning in Australia-Free-Samples-Myassignment

Question: Write a report on a current issue affecting children's learning and development in Australia primary school. Answer: Introduction The current assignment focuses on the different contemporary factors which affect the learning and development of the Australian children within a primary school setting. The contemporary issues can be defined as a present day topic, idea, opinion or practise which has a profound effect on the process of teaching and learning. For the current assignment societal and other dominant contemporary issues have been taken into considerations which have a serious impact on the development. The assignment particularly focuses on the concept of bullying in schools which particularly affects the psychology and the mind of the children. Issue and supporting theories In the current assignment the aspect of bullying had been chosen as one of the contemporary issues which produce serious consequences in the learning and development processes of an individual. As commented by Newton et al. (2014), bullying can have negative consequences on the development and learning process within a school. The present context measures the effect of bullying within a primary school setting. Some of the adverse effects of the phenomenon are increased risk of depression and anxiety in the child. As commented by Fan et al. (2016), bullying can result in withdrawal symptoms where the child may feel less connected with the learning environment. As per the National centre for educational statistics (2016), one out of every five children reports being bullied. The Bronfenbenners ecological theory could be used in order to analyse the effect of the macro and the micro environments on the learning and development of children in a primary school setting (Mansfield Beltman, 2014). The theory could be divided into five major components such as microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem. The microsystem is the one closest to the individual such as home, school and workplace. Thus, any disruption within the school environment can have a profound effect on the mind of a child. The mesosystem depicts the relationship between different Microsystems to which the individual is exposed. The exosystem refers to the components which have no direct relation with the subject but can have serious consequences on the health of an individual. As mentioned by Basford Bath (2014), the bystanders of bullying can also feel withdrawn from the school and learning environment. The macrosystem covers the cultural and political aspects which have a direct ef fect on the learning and developmental needs of the child. Figure1: Bronfenbenners ecological theory (Source: Mansfield Beltman, 2014) Rationale supporting understanding of the situation by the teachers The sufficient amount of participation from the teachers in the learning and the development of a child can have a profound effect. As mentioned by Paliadelis et al.( 2015), generating sufficient amount of awareness in the teacher regrading the micro and the meso environments which can impact the development of the children can be instrumental. Bullying is one of the pre-dominant social evils affecting the learning needs of the children within a primary school setting. Recent developments within education policies and the legal framework accommodates for the implementation of the Emergency and Security Management Unit (ESMU). The implementation of such systems helps in controlling the amount of such untoward incidents in school. The ESMU acts as a single reference point for assisting in responding to settling down of emergency issues. As mentioned by Dinham (2015), the teachers can use specific tool for the reporting of such critical incidents in school which is further shared with the National centre for Education statistics (2016). This helps in provision of quick responses and appropriate measures being taken for the rederessal of the concerns. The teacher could use a number of theories within the classroom environment for enhancing the learning and developmental process of the children. In this respect, Gardners multiple intelligence theory could be used by the teacher within the school environment. The theory could be divided into seven different parameters which have an effect on the learning of the children. The parameters have been expanded below such as linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, body-kinaesthetic, musical-rhythmic, intrapersonal and interpersonal factors. The intrapersonal and the interpersonal factors are particularly important for the purpose of understanding the grievances faced by the child. The interpersonal factors comprises of the communication aspect and the development of healthy relationships with the co-students. However, as argued by Eleftheriadou et al. (2013), in the context of bullying the child feels little attraction for the schools and has little or no bonding with his fellow classmates. The intrapersonal factor consists of a state of understanding ones own emotions and presence of sufficient motivation within the child (Brten et al. 2017). In the context of primary or school children application of the theories are faced with several challenges. The children of such ages have an impressionate mind and are easily affected by negative forces. Therefore, the teachers can inculcate such measures within the classroom to access the behaviour change in the students. Figure2: Gardners multiple intelligence theory (Source: Adcock, 2014) Discussion of key points The involvement of the teachers in responding to the bullying incidents within the school environment can have positive consequences in down regulating the occurrence of such incidents. Out of 64 % students bullied only 36% reported the same, due to fear of being tormented any further (Spurling, 2017). The effects of such negative forces on the minds of children are disputable and can vary in consequences. Sometimes the consequences can be severe such that forcing a child to commit suicide. Therefore an effective measurement and assessment system needs to be implemented within the learning environment which would help in reducing the chances of such incidents. Apart from bullying in school, the children could also be exposed to a number of disruptive features within their meso environment, which can have serious consequences upon their mental health and development. Thus, some of the effective measures which could be implemented over here are organising regular meetings with the parents of the school children. This helps in the establishment of an open channel of communication between the children, their respective guardians and the school. As mentioned by Lee et al.(2015), implementation of additional features such as the installation of CCTV cameras which are connected with the staff room can act as precautionary measures. Factors contributing to the issue There are a number of factors which can act as direct or indirect contributing factors promulgating developmentally unfavourable environment in school. Some of the factors which form the basis of such bullying in school are gender, race, class, ethnicity and socio-economic status of an individual. As commented by Sumsion et al. (2014), race, ethnicity and socio-economic status of an individual can act as some of the major forms of discrimination. This could be attributed to difference in cultural beliefs along with language barriers. Out of the 71 % of the Australian school enrolments, 21 % have been found to belong to different nationalities (Spurling, 2017). This often results in communication gaps within the school premises, where the children coming from varied geospatial regions are seen as intruders and not one among the few. Additionally, detailed report and analysis have pointed out that every year 0.5 % of the children belonging to the Australian aboriginal and Torres islander drop out of school due to increased rates of discrimination. As per the Australian Psychological society, 65% the bullying behaviour is mostly depicted by individuals who have had previous experiences of being bullied. Additionally, encouragement in any form by the bystanders who support the bullying behaviour can also have a profound effect on the learning and development environment. As commented by Lynch Redpath (2014), such dominating feelings within an individual are often generated due to greater emotional instability and unrest that an individual may be subjected to. Theoretical approaches A number of theoretical approaches may be implemented for the purpose of providing effective counselling or emotional support to the ones experiencing bullying in schools and colleges. The target population being primary school children implementation of person centred approach could help in catering to the care requirements. The person centred approach helps the teachers in applying empathy, love and care for understanding the mental dilemmas faced by the children. Additionally, the implementation of the psychodynamic theory allows the counsellor to evaluate the past and childhood experiences of the child, which plays a critical role in shaping the future behaviour of the child. As commented by Tanrikulu Campbell (2015), the application of the theory is based upon the development of a strong relationship between the student and the attending teacher or counsellor. This is particularly useful in understanding the effect of independent events in the mind of a child. The events may develop into future insecurities and anxieties within the child and further shape the behaviour and development of the child. As commented by Tanrikulu Campbell (2015), application of the transactional theory which amalgamates the humanistic, cognitive behavioural and psychodynamic theory can help in bringing about positive behavioural changes within an individual. As commented by Karimi et al.(2014), parental counselling can also act as an important measure preventing the development of negative feelings within a child. Potential effects of the issue of bullying on learning and development Bullying can have a number of effects on the learning and development of a child. The bullying could be divided into several types such as cyber bullying, physical bullying, verbal bullying, and relational bullying being some of the few. Sometimes such power play and depiction of a strong commanding behaviour can lead to severe consequences in the development of a child. The physical bullying can be defined in the form of hard push or pull or intentionally hurting someone. As commented by Kaiser (2016), such incidents can lead to development of extreme fear and anxiety within the children. This can have a profound effect on the learning and development of the child. Moreover, the deep rooted fear can also affect the cognition and learning power of an individual. The mental bullying has similar consequences and is much fatal in nature, where the decision making power of an individual is often lost. In the context, of the primary school environment the children project a very impressionate mind. Therefore, presentation of false facts and myths to a child can make him distressed, uncanny, irrational. As mentioned by Kwan et al. (2013), extreme cases often results in development of submissive or defensive behaviour in the child. On the contrary, relational bullying can also be mentioned over here where the development of power play or dominating behaviour in an individual often goes unnoticed. This is particularly observed in case of children who have siblings and often display a commanding attitude over them. As mentioned by Healy et al.(2015), parental counselling can play an effective role in checking the progression of such behaviour in the child. Reports and evidences have suggested that increased risk of relational aggression have been found to be associated with early dropouts from school and inclination to abusive substances within a youth or a growing up child. Some of these events results in the development of a number of a plethora of events or changes within the growth and behaviour of a child. As commented by Kaiser (2016), some of these might develop into serious mental illnesses within an individual. The children may portray increased risk of depression and anxiety. The depressive feelings can further affect the learning patterns of an individual. Moreover, changes in sleeping patterns along with increased feelings of sadness and loneliness have been reported in the children facing such bullying activities in school. Some of them have reported detachment from parents and their favourite hobby or activities. As commented by Healy et al (2015), comparatively low levels of psychological well being and social intermixing have been reported in the children with past history of abuses or victimization. Additionally, such incidents can also affect the learning patterns and progression of the child. Thus, some of these might be reflected as consistently low grades of the children, disinterest to learn along with low self esteem. Some of these can have long term effect on the physical and mental well being of the child. Recommendations A number of suitable methods could be suggested for coping up with the contemporary issues of bullying faced within the Australian primary school scenario. Some of these are implementation of effective measures such as emergency and security management unit. The ESMU helps in the prevention of untoward incidents within a learning environment. Additionally, implementation of CCTV cameras can also help in checking incidents of physical and mental bullying. The application of effective counselling sessions and theoretical approaches can further help in analysing the current situation and providing effective measures. Some of the measures such as the transactional theory and the psychodynamic approaches help in the evaluation of the current behaviour patterns depicted by both the bullied and the bully. Additionally, involvement of parents within the counselling process can help in supporting the child care needs. Conclusion The assignment focuses on the concept of contemporary issues and their effects upon learning and development. For the current assignment we have taken into consideration the aspect of child learning and development. Therefore, a number of theories and approaches have been focussed upon in the present model which includes Bonfenbrenners ecological theory along with the Gardners multiples intelligences theory. The theories and the approaches help in the evaluation of the different factors including the growth and the development environment of the child, which have a profound effect on the learning. The inculcation of precautionary measures such as ESMU along with greater involvement of the parents and the teachers can help redressing the care concerns of the child. References Adcock, P. K. (2014). 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