Centre for Inclusive Education presented results of National Representative Survey on attitudes of students in 6th grade
Students in 6th grade realize why the school is important. Accumulation of new knowledge (33%), finding a job (21%), meeting with friends (10%), future realization (9%) are the factors which motivate children to go to school. This data is presented in the first national survey on attitudes of sixth graders, ordered by
Centre for Inclusive Education and executed by G Consulting.
The survey was presented on a special event in Peroto litterature club at the National Palace of Culture. The event was visited by representatives of Ministry of Education and Science, non-government organizations, universities, schools and companies.
“With this research we wanted to verify and analyze children’s expectations. We chose 6th grade because this is a key age when they form their concepts for life, start to think consciously about their future and exists a risk for decrease in their motivation to go to school. The lack of good example at home, unemployment, uncertainty to plan and dream are factors which contribute to their demotivation. We believe that by showing the connection between school and the successful finding a job through cooperation with local business, children from economically and socially struggling rural regions will widen their horizons and will find meaning to continue going to school despite the obstacles they meet on their way.”, Iva Boneva, Executive Director of Centre for Inclusive Education said.
It could be concluded from the research that the conventional education system doesn’t respond to the contemporary requirements of children for accumulation of new knowledge. Favourite subjects include Physical Education and Sports (76%), Fine Art (58%) and Information Technology (57%), where in the teaching style dominates learning through experience. The subjects of History and Civilization (43%), Mathematics (40%) Geography and Economics (35%) and English (31%) are the least liked by children. Precisely the subject which should open their horizons are perceived as difficult (59%), and 46% of children consider them as uninteresting. They are taught in the frame of the conventional education system.
“And the most motivated kid needs to success. If all subjects show you that you are not good enough, what kind of motivation we could expect. It is important teacher to explain regularly to his students why it is important to study”, Jivko Georgiev, sociоlogists shared.
79% of children in sixth grade like more or less their teachers. According to them the best is the one who treats children well (38%), provides and explains in a comprehensible way the study material (23%), helps with difficulties and encourages (11%).
It is also important to notice that 96% of sixth graders have Internet access. 52% of them are looking for information on the We and only at 8th place in their answers, they declare they use it for school projects. 58% of children are engaged in various extracurricular activities. Under equal conditions, attendance at study hall reduces by at least 30% the possibility of the child to be at risk.
Despite some positive trends, around 30-35% of the surveyed children are at risk in terms of motivation to learn, continuing learning, and the quality of their education. Most easily they can be identified by several criteria: their Grade Point Average is under Good (4.00), the main reason why they go to school are friends, the ability to play and communicate with peers, they like only 1 or 2 subjects, and encounter serious difficulties in the main subjects, at least half of them have serious difficulties with the Bulgarian language.
The survey shows that 18% of sixth graders have problems with Bulgarian language because the daily language in their environment is other which is a serious factor for their demotivation and early school dropout.
Other factors that threaten children to stay in the classroom are: the family environment where there is no one to help and motivate them, their early professional orientation directs them to professions that do not require high level of education (driver, athlete, hairdresser, Chef), they do not see connection between what they learn and the professional roles their environment conducts them.
The problem with these children is increased by the fact that we usually find them in socially depressed areas (with high unemployment, poverty, undeveloped infrastructure), in schools with limited financial resources, neglected facilities, demotivated teachers and low educational standards.
The survey registers successful measures and efforts, preventing early school dropout such as: development of extracurricular activities with focus on Sports or some arts, activities in study halls, practice of asking children on matters which are important to them, opportunities for children to organize alone events at school, counteractions to aggression, discrimination and double standards in attitude towards children, efforts on early and practical professional orientation. When the family and the school lack of capacity to fulfil their socializing role, the local community could help. This is an extremely effective local strategy for depressive towns and villages and municipalities where schools are under conditions of strive for survival and marginalization.
The survey’s results support the conclusion that when the school opens to the world around itself and this world enters in it with its positive patterns, perspectives, knowledge and skills, increases the possibility for children at risk to find something intriguing, interesting, useful in school.
The national representative survey is organized within
Looking Forward My Future – School Makes Sense programme which is realized with the financial support of Velux Foundations. Centre for Inclusive Education aims with it to encourage school and local community to help children to realize the connection between school and their own realization. The programme is implemented among all six grade students in two consecutive school years, in two partner schools in Brezovo and Teteven and serves as a basis for developing an online platform that links schools with local entrepreneurs and professionals.
