A Workplace Story (ETEC 530)
Applying the theory of Constructivism to my Workplace – reflecting on ETEC 530
One of the lasting stories in my school district is that we spend over 6 million dollars every year on education assistants. This expenditure on EAs is among the highest in the province. Does this represent an over-reliance on EAs? Why are EAs appearing to be the staff who are working with our most vulnerable populations? Why do EAs know more about these children than the teacher of the class?
Like the four district principals before me, I wanted to do right by these children and their teachers and support staff. I vowed that I would explore options to make this a better situation.
Through an assignment in this course I examined the different forms of constructivism in order to get a better handle on this story and to create a response.
Faces of Constructivism
To put faces on the issue at hand I set out to visit schools, talk to students and discuss educational programs with teachers, EAs and principals. I also had the opportunity to talk with parents who insisted that we needed more EAs.
Trivial Constructivism
In the school district there are over 1500 children with an identified Ministry of Education special needs designations. There are Ministerial Orders, Bills and Labour Relations Rulings spelling out how many of these children with special needs that a teacher can have in his/her class. There are new rules and regulations identifying supports that are required for classroom teachers regarding class size and composition.
Radical Constructivism
I visited a school that claimed 20% of their student population had an identified special need. I visited classrooms and observed children and was asked if I could identify them in the classrooms. I entered a few of the classes and walked around. I chatted with a few students and asked questions about their work. I stopped by the desk of a student who had an EA sitting in a chair that was pulled-up close beside the student. They were doing completely different work. I asked the student a question but I couldn’t decipher the response even after a few attempts. When I left the classroom I asked the principal about the student with the EA and to my surprise I was told that he was a very bright student who didn’t have any oral language. Not what I was expecting!
- Constructing knowledge is a process of ever-changing adaptations to our thinking based upon our experiences. This knowledge construction is not necessarily indicative of the “real” world.
Social Constructivism
After a number of school visits it was time to attend a principal’s meeting. At the meeting they were working in groups and discussing various issues related to staffing at their schools. I visited various tables and asked principals about how they felt EA staffing was working for them in their schools. They each had ideas about how it could be better. CUPE contract language was identified as a barrier to supporting children and it appeared to hinder consistency in EA staffing at particular schools from year to year.
After a short time I had an opportunity to address the entire group of principals and review the EA staffing process. At this time I also provided some context for questions that came up while I was meeting with individual tables.
- Principals were learning from one another at this meeting in their small groups.
- Principals participated in learning as a collective when I addressed the entire group and entered them into a large group discussion.
- If we maintained this practice at each monthly principal’s meeting we would be able to strengthen our relationships and practice over time.
Cultural Constructivism
If we look at EAs as providing tools to assist teachers and students and we reflect on our thinking and use of those tools we can begin to see how the use of EAs in our educational system has become culturally based. It is a sad commentary on our system that in some (not all) classrooms that the child with special needs is viewed as belonging to the EA. Somehow our cultural context has placed our most needy and most vulnerable student population with our sometimes most inexperienced and least trained staff. It becomes the role of the EA to plan the child’s day; make decisions about their learning and seek out their course content. What does this tell us about the cultural value we place on individuals with disabilities?
It is true that the reliance of EAs is shaped by our practice. It doesn’t mean that we have to accept it! Cobern (1993) as cited in Dougiamas (1998) tells us that there are competing conceptual constructs at play here regarding “adaptation” and “survival of the fittest”. We must reconsider the importance of this EA support in terms of the student and the content that the student is to learn.
Critical Constructivism – formulating my response to the issue
As time progressed I began to second-guess myself as I reflected upon the 40 schools in the district, their varying levels of need and the students and staff that I’ve come to know. I began to feel uneasy about making comprehensive district-wide statements about over-reliance on EAs. What right did I have to cast such generalizations when I wasn’t in the schools all day every day working in the front line?
As a bit more time passed I began to think about how I could reallocate the EA resource to schools in a re-invented formula taking more factors into account. I brought small groups of principals together to work with me on this and I would then later rework the formula, but I still couldn’t get it right!
In my office I have some photos of children who have special needs that their moms gave me so I wouldn’t forget my purpose in my role at district office. I stared at the photos and student art work. Then it came to me! It isn’t about making a better formula; it is about the children and their specific needs. I had to figure out a way that would account for each child’s individual needs.
Reflection
I believe that the power in constructivism is in reflection because it is through reflection that we connect the dots and make sense of our interactions in the world.
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