Learning In The Face Of Adversity

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) operates one of the largest nongovernmental school systems in the Middle East. Palestine refugees in UNRWA schools are achieving higher-than-average learning outcomes in spite of the adverse circumstances they live under. This study uses a mixed methods research approach to address the complexity of the research question and its exploratory nature, namely, How do UNRWA schools continually and consistently outperform public schools? This study used the following data collection techniques: econometric techniques to analyze learning achievement data from international and national assessments; the Systems Approach for Better Education Results tools were used to assess different system components, such as teacher effectiveness, school autonomy, and student assessments; Stallings classroom observations provided a structured method to compare teachers' and students' interactions; qualitative data collected through interviews captured the lived experiences of a sample of students. Contrary to what might be expected from a resource-constrained administration serving refugee students who continually face a multitude of adversities, UNRWA students outperform public schools in the three regions-- West Bank and Gaza and Jordan-- by a year's worth of learning. The achievement is a result of the way these schools recruit, prepare, and support teachers; because of instructional practices and pedagogy in the classroom; and because of school leadership, accountability, and mutual support. This has created a distinguished learning community centered on the student. Of note: • UNRWA selects, prepares, and supports its education staff to pursue high learning outcomes. • Time-on-task is high in UNRWA schools, and is used more effectively than in public schools.

Written for principals, administrators, and educators, this book identifies seven habits of highly effective education leaders, and offers strategies and guidelines for establishing them. Major points are illustrated with case studies reflecting the experiences of elementary, middle, and high school educators. Checklists, feedback inventories, and other forms are supplied. The authors teach elementary education and educational leadership at the University of Alabama. There is no index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

"You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it." —Maya Angelou Adversity is all around us. Although we can′t always avoid it, we can prepare ourselves and our students to respond in a healthy and hopeful way. Teaching and Learning in the Face of Adversity is a practical and heartfelt book that empowers educators with applicable strategies to respond to challenges, inspire students, and foster a positive school environment. The authors share the critical skills that educators and students can cultivate to elevate the ability to respond to barriers, challenges, and setbacks, plus: Practical strategies, insights, and reflection prompts Menus of practices to promote student agency, belonging, relationships, and repair harm The voices of real teachers, caregivers, and students The range of challenges that can arise in our work and effective ways to respond Adversity may be ever-present, but with the resources in this book, we can empower ourselves, our colleagues, and our students to persevere in the face of it.

Resilient School Leaders answers a fundamental question: "How can leaders move ahead in the face of adversity?" Every education leader faces difficult situations and seemingly impossible odds. Where do they find the confidence and energy to keep working for what they believe in, despite setbacks and opposition? Drawing on current research in a variety of disciplines, including performance psychology, physiology, and education, Jerry L. Patterson and Paul Kelleher first outline the three sources of resilience capacity: personal values, efficacy, and energy. Then they share the personal insights of 25 highly regarded educational leaders, including Gene Carter, Roland Barth, and Michael Fullan. These insights illustrate how leaders can increase their own resilience. Patterson and Kelleher, lifelong educators themselves, distill their research into the six strengths that enable resilient leaders to powerfully influence organizational culture: * Accurate assessment of the past and current reality * Positive views of the future * True commitment to personal values * Strong sense of personal efficacy * Wise investment of personal energy * Courage to act on convictions Premised on a belief in hope and optimism in the face of life's storms, Resilient School Leaders offers a reliable road map for navigating through the modern-day challenges in our schools. You ll come away from this book with renewed confidence in your ability to achieve your goals, no matter what obstacles you encounter along the way.

Use trauma-informed strategies to give students the skills and support they need to succeed in school and life Nearly half of all children have been exposed to at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE), such as poverty, divorce, neglect, homelessness, substance abuse, domestic violence, or parent incarceration. These students often enter school with behaviors that don’t blend well with the typical school environment. How can a school community come together and work as a whole to establish a healthy social-emotional climate for students and the staff who support them? This workbook-style resource shows K-12 educators how to make a whole-school change, where strategies are integrated from curb to classroom. Readers will learn how to integrate trauma-informed strategies into daily instructional practice through expanded focus on: The different experiences and unique challenges of students impacted by ACEs in urban, suburban, and rural schools, including suicidal tendencies, cyberbullying, and drugs Behavior as a form of communication and how to explicitly teach new behaviors How to mitigate trauma and build innate resiliency through a read, reflect, and respond model Let this book be the tool that helps your teams move students away from the school-to-prison pipeline and toward a life rich with educational and career choices. "I cannot think of a book more needed than this one. It gives us the tools to support our students who have the most need while practicing the self-care necessary to continue to serve them." —Lydia Adegbola, Chair of English Department New Rochelle High School, NY "This book highlights the impact of trauma on children and the adults who work with them, while providing relevant and practical strategies to understand and address it through reflective practices." —Marine Avagyan, Director, Curriculum and Instruction Saugus Union School District, Sunland, CA

Looks at town-gown relationships with a focus on African Americans.

The world is committed to sending us messages to feel smaller than we were created to be. We are constantly bombarded with messages of not being enough. We live in an age where others have unlimited access to our lives and our minds. I have learned that even when we think it is not affecting us, it is. If you can win the battle within, what they say won't matter. If you can take the time to create your "DEFINING WHYS" (your reasoning for whatever lasting change, you want to make) abandoning YOU will never be an option. Join me on this journey exploring the how's in LEARNING TO STAND TALL in the FACE of LIFE'S ADVERSITIES. We know that they are coming, SO LET'S GET INTO POSITION! . I want you to know that it won't always be easy, but anything that comes easy, will leave easy. I want you to make the commitment to yourself. I want you to feel the fear and do it anyway! ENJOY THE RIDE! See yourself driving to the place you want to go and stay on that road......NO MATTER WHAT! You may have a couple of storms, some car repairs, some unexpected construction zones.... BUT STAY ON THE ROAD! Only you can DO WHAT YOU DO, THE WAY YOU DO IT! THE WORLD NEEDS YOU, SO GET IN THE CAR AND START DRIVING TO THE PLACE WHERE YOU CAN STAND THE TALLEST. YOU'LL HAVE NO REGRETS BECAUSE THE VIEW IS AMAZING.

This book examines how young people who struggle with life's worst conditions somehow manage to overcome adversity, identifying significant factors that contribute to their resilience. The book presents information and decision making skills students need to make good decisions in the face of adversity; learning strategies and teaching techniques that facilitate student acquisition of good decision making skills; vignettes and specific examples of what a resilient youth looks like; real-world portraits of school communities that support resilience; and specific guidelines for creating conditions for resilience in the classroom. There are nine chapters in two parts. Part 1, "Supporting Evidence for Resilience," includes: (1) "The Limitations of a Risk Orientation"; (2)"Understanding the Human Capacity for Healthy Adaptation"; and (3) "Applying a Resilience Approach to Education." Part 2, "The PORT-able Approach to Resilience Education," includes: (4) "Educating through Participation, Observation, Reflection, and Transformation"; (5) "Participation: Authentic, Active Engagement"; (6) "Observation: Noting Your Experience"; (7) "Reflection: Interpreting Your Experience"; (8) "Transformation: Being Aware of and Responsible for Change"; and (9) "Bringing It All Together." (Contains 108 references.) (SM)