Impact of School Environment on Child Development
The Impact of School Environment on Heightened Sensitivities and Child Development
by Safaras Kadughothel*,
- Published in Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education, E-ISSN: 2230-7540
Volume 3, Issue No. 5, Jan 2012, Pages 0 - 0 (0)
Published by: Ignited Minds Journals
ABSTRACT
Many,individuals experience various types of heightened awareness and may seem overly sensitive. These sensitivities may be to physical senses such as sight,sound, smell, movement and touch. For example, they may be extremelyuncomfortable when they have a wrinkle in their sock, or unable to concentrate because of the sound of a clock ticking on the other side of the room.Sensitivities of the , are often to mental and emotional over-awareness. Forexample, picking up on the of someone close to them, having extreme sensitivity to their own internal emotions, and taking in external information at a significantly higher rate than those around them.
KEYWORD
school environment, child development, heightened awareness, sensitivities, physical senses, mental and emotional over-awareness, external information, sight, sound, smell
---------------------------♦----------------------------- INTRODUCTION
The school environment plays an important part in the development of a child. The research findings agree that the school environment which give healthful satisfaction to the children who maintain a healthy relation with schools, has a good effect on the development as successful adult. Loree has stressed on environmental influences on learning. The course of learning is influenced by the environmental context within which ongoing learning occurs. Some schools appear with warm and pleasant atmosphere where students feel independent. But in some other schools it is hostile and prison like, where students and teachers are in strain at all times. There are schools with good building, play ground, good Library and Laboratory facilities, and they provide many opportunities to the students to participate in activities according to their taste and thus they can develop their talents. On the other hand there are schools where some or all these facilities are denied to the students. Such a difference in the school atmosphere can have serious effects on students, attitude towards schools and their achievement.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
OFTEN THE EARLIEST identification of children takes place by simple observation of the child's behaviour by an educational professional, a parent or friend. Far from undermined by being subjective, identification by characteristic traits is generally accurate, and is less intrusive or conspicuous than other methods. It also readily allows types, to be detected, and is often valuably used with young children. Nonetheless subjective elements are certainly involved particularly in comparisons with other children of the same age. The following lists were adapted from one compiled from various sources. Note it is not expected that any, child will show all the traits listed in any section. Characteristic traits are listed by broad category of, ness. These are:
- general intellectual ability
- specific academic aptitude
- creative thinking and production
- leadership
- psychomotor ability
- visual and performing arts
For many years, psychometricians and psychologists, following in the footsteps of Lewis Terman in 1916, equated high IQ. This "legacy" survives to the present day, in that high IQ continue to be equated in some conceptions of, ness. Since that early time, however, other researchers (e.g., Cattell, Guilford, and Thurstone) have argued that intellect cannot be expressed in such a unitary manner, and have suggested more multifaceted approaches to intelligence. Research conducted in the 1980s and 1990s has provided data which support notions of multiple components to intelligence. This is particularly evident in the reexamination by Sternberg and Davidson in their edited Conceptions. The many different conceptions presented, although distinct, are interrelated in several ways. Most of the investigators define in terms of multiple qualities, not all of which
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broadened conceptions. Joseph Renzulli's (1978) "three ring" definition, is one well-researched conceptualization of, ness. Renzulli’s definition, which defines, behaviors rather than, individuals, is composed of three components as follows: , behavior consists of behaviors that reflect an interaction among three basic clusters of human traits—above average ability, high levels of task commitment, and high levels of creativity. Individuals capable of developing, behavior are those possessing or capable of developing this composite set of traits and applying them to any potentially valuable area of human performance. Persons who manifest or are capable of developing an interaction among the three clusters require a wide variety of educational opportunities and services that are not ordinarily provided through regular instructional programs. In Identifying, Children: A Practical Guide, Susan K. Johnsen explains that , children all exhibit the potential for high performance in the areas included in the United States' federal definition of , and talented students: “The term talented" when used in respect to students, children, or youth means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop such capabilities." (P.L. 103–382, Title XIV, p. 388)” This definition has been adopted partially or completely by the majority of the states in the United States. The majority of them have some definition similar to that used in the State of Texas, whose definition states “[The phrase] ", and talented student" means a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment, and who
- exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;
- possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or excels in a specific academic field." (74th legislature of the State of Texas, Chapter 29, Subchapter D, Section 29.121)”
The major characteristics of these definitions are (a) the diversity of areas in which performance may be exhibited (e.g., intellectual, creativity, artistic, leadership, academically), (b) the comparison with other groups (e.g., those in general education classrooms or of the same age, experience, or
MATERIAL AND METHOD
IQ scores can vary for the same person, so a person does not always belong to the same IQ score range each time the person is tested. (IQ score table data and pupil pseudonyms adapted from description of KABC-II norming study cited in Kaufman 2009. Many schools use a variety of assessments of students' capability and potential when identifying, children. These may include portfolios of student work, classroom observations, achievement tests, and IQ test scores. Most educational professionals accept that no single criterion can be used in isolation to accurately identify a, child. One of the criteria used in identification may be an IQ test score. Until the late 1960s, when “,ness” was defined by an IQ score, a school district simply set an arbitrary score (usually in the 130 range) and a student either did or did not “make the cut”. It is no longer accepted today in academic circles; however, it's still used by many school districts because it is simple and not entirely without merit. Although a high IQ may have fallen out of favor as a measure to define ,ness, the fact remains that, if a student has a very high IQ, it is a significant indicator of a student’s academic potential (Gross, 2004). Correspondingly, if a student scores highly on an IQ test, but performs
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IQ test classifications vary from one publisher to another. IQ tests do not have validity for determining test-takers' rank order at higher IQ levels, and are perhaps only effective at determining whether a student is , rather than distinguishing among levels of ,ness. The Wechsler tests have a standard score ceiling of 150. Today, the Wechsler Intelligence Adult Scale or WAIS is used by most hospitals, government agencies, schools, and military. Someone with a 180 or more Stanford-Binet or Cattell IQ test may only score in lower to mid-140's on the WAIS. This has prompted some authors on identification of , children to promote the Stanford-Binet form L-M, which has long been obsolete, as the only test with a sufficient ceiling to identify the exceptionally and profoundly ,, despite the Stanford-Binet L-M never having been normed on a representative national sample. Because the instrument is outdated, current results derived from the Stanford-Binet L-M generate inflated and inaccurate scores.
The IQ assessment of younger children remains debated. Also, those who are more, in areas such as the arts and literature tend to do poorly on IQ tests, which are generally verbal- and mathematical-skills related. While many people believe, ness is a strictly quantitative difference, measurable by IQ tests, a number of people have described, ness as a fundamentally different way of perceiving the world, which in turn affects every experience had by the , individual. This view is doubted by some scholars who have closely studied, children longitudinally.
SAVANTISM
Savants are individuals who perform exceptionally in a single field of learning. More often savant and savantism describes people with a single field of learning well beyond what is considered normal, even among the , community. Savantism refers to the exceptional abilities occasionally exhibited by people with autism or other pervasive developmental disorders. The term was introduced in a 1978 article in Psychology Today describing this condition.
CHARACTERISTICS GOVT. AND PRIVATE SCHOOL CHILDREN
Generally, Private School Children learn more quickly, deeply, and broadly than their peers. , children may learn to read early and operate at the same level as normal children who are significantly older. The , tend to demonstrate high reasoning ability, creativity, curiosity, a large vocabulary, and an excellent memory. They can often master concepts with few
relating to or communicating with their peers because of disparities in vocabulary size (especially in the early years), personality, interests, and motivation. As children, they may prefer the company of older children or adults.
,ness is frequently not evenly distributed throughout all intellectual spheres; an individual may excel in solving logic problems and yet be a poor speller; another , individual may be able to read and write at a far above average level and yet have trouble with mathematics. It is possible there are different types, with their own unique features, just as there are different types of developmental delay. ,ness may become noticeable in individuals at different points of development. While early development (i.e. speaking or reading at a very young age) usually comes with ,ness, it is not a determinant of ,ness. The preschool years are when most, children begin to show the distinctive characteristics mentioned above. As the child becomes older, classes that are 'too easy' and emotional issues may slow or obstruct the rate of intellectual development. Many, individuals experience various types of heightened awareness and may seem overly sensitive. These sensitivities may be to physical senses such as sight, sound, smell, movement and touch. For example, they may be extremely uncomfortable when they have a wrinkle in their sock, or unable to concentrate because of the sound of a clock ticking on the other side of the room. Sensitivities of the , are often to mental and emotional over-awareness. For example, picking up on the feelings of someone close to them, having extreme sensitivity to their own internal emotions, and taking in external information at a significantly higher rate than those around them. These various kinds of sensitivities often mean that the more , an individual is, the more input and awareness they experience, leading to the contradiction of them needing more time to process than others who are not ,.
CONCLUSION
Hypersensitivity to external or internal stimuli can resemble a proneness to "sensory overload", which can cause such persons to avoid highly stimulating, chaotic or crowded environments. This kind of highly sensitive nature has also been called "overexcitability" by Kazimierz Dabrowski. Some are able to tune out such unwanted stimulation as they focus on their chosen task or on their own thoughts. In many cases, awareness may fluctuate between conditions of hyperstimulation and of withdrawal. (An
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These conditions may appear to be very similar to symptoms of hyperactivity, bipolar disorder, ADHD, autism-spectrum conditions, and other psychological disorders, but are often explained by , education professionals by reference to Kazimierz Dabrowskis theory of Positive Disintegration. Some researchers focus on the study of overexcitabilities. Overexcitabilities refer to ways people, both children and adults, understand and experience the world around them (Gross 2008). The more channels of overexcitabilities that are open to receive the information or stimulus, the stronger or more intense the experience is. According to Gross (2008), an individual response to a stimulus is determined by his/her dominant overexcitability. Overexcitabilities are expressed in five dimensions: psychomotor, sensual, intellectual, imaginational, and emotional. These dominant channels of acquiring information differ by quantity in some individuals.
REFERENCES
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