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Labels, such as “at-risk,” often influence the perceptions of educators regarding students’ abilities and influence the relationships between teacher and student. We submit that educational leaders and especially teachers must be cognizant of the impact labels have on students especially in this age of accountability. The emphasis on improving high-stakes test scores has resulted in “discouraged students and overwhelmed schools [that] have produced higher dropout rates … leaving the society to contend with a greater number of young people placed into the growing school-to-prison pipeline” (Darling-Hammond, 2010, p. 67). It is incumbent upon professors who guide and prepare individuals aspiring to leadership positions to recognize and understand the need to ensure equity and support for all students.

Our study was prompted by and built upon the findings of Loomis, (2011) who is one of the authors of this article. He examined the perceptions of ten students at a comprehensive high school where they were labeled as “at-risk” students and were transferred to an alternative high school from which they graduated. As professors of educational leadership, we wanted to learn more from students regarding their self-beliefs. We used Marzano’s model as a framework for this study. Marzano (1998) posited a model of learning consisting of the (a) cognitive system involving processes for utilizing knowledge, (b) metacognitive system for monitoring progress toward goal attainment, and (c) self-system consisting of one’s beliefs about self. Of the three systems, the one most applicable to engagement or disengagement in learning was the self-system. This particular system is divided into the following five categories of beliefs: (a) self-attributes, (b) self and others, (c) nature of the world as existing on a continuum between hostile to friendly, (d) efficacy, and (e) purpose in life. Utilizing these five categories as the central focus, our goal was to examine student perceptions in order to identify ways in which educational leaders, teachers, and those aspiring to leadership positions might become more effective student advocates who promote social justice.

Professors of educational leadership should possess the ability to empower aspiring administrators as they develop the competence and confidence to work with teachers and other stakeholders in promoting the learning of all students, especially the most vulnerable. Insights arising from understanding how beliefs influence learning may help educators work with K-12 students in supportive ways given the current high-stakes driven and curriculum-centered model of schooling in which they currently find themselves immersed.

Overarching research question

What are the perceptions of students labeled “at-risk” regarding their self-systems and engagement in or disengagement from learning?

Historical antecedents and perspectives

According to constructivism, learning is the making sense of experience using one’s existing knowledge base that is primarily dependent on previously interpreted experiences. Interpretations of reality arise within historical and cultural contexts and the use of “high stakes” tests to judge student achievement, teacher and administrator performance, and effectiveness of schools “is based on uncritically grounded constructions of intelligence and performance” (Kincheloe, 2008, p. 15). Therefore, the examination of the origins of ranking and sorting students on the basis of perceived student ability provides an opportunity for understanding the present.

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Source:  OpenStax, Educational leadership and administration: teaching and program development, volume 23, 2011. OpenStax CNX. Sep 08, 2011 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11358/1.4
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