Macro-Issues Affect Student Learning

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a. What macro-issues affect student learning? There are several issues that affect student learning, including educational funding, current events, resource availability, common curriculum, standardized testing, politics, immigration reform/status, staff effectiveness, social media, attendance, ethical and legal concerns, mental health and institutionalized discrimination (Erford, 2014). Any one of these issues could significantly impact the abilities of a student, school, or district. Unfortunately, our students are not typically experiencing just one of these issues.
According to Erford (2014), these issues impact students at every level, from the individual level, with issues such as mental health, to the public level, with concerns such as school safety. Schools which lack funding, resources, and competent staff may have poorer student performance. Concisely, schools and their students are typically at the mercy of funding, public opinion, and societal context. For example, lack of awareness for the need for school counselors may reduce the chance that a school will receive adequate funding to have sufficient student/counselor ratios, which could impact student learning. A general lack of funding and resources leads to fewer student …show more content…

Specifically, they suggest adjusting the manner of instruction to better accommodate different cultures and English language levels and encouraging group interaction within the classroom. They also mention the need for school staff to be sensitive to the needs of immigrant students in particular, as they are often living in two very different worlds. Perhaps their most empowering suggestion, and one through which school counselors could have a profound impact, is helping families of the nondominant culture gain social capital in order to maneuver the education

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