Publication year
2014
Citation Title
Understanding teaching and learning with military students in public school contexts: Insights from the perspectives of teachers.
Journal Name
Children & Schools
Journal Volume
36
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
e9-e17
DOI
10.1093/cs/cdt044
Summary
Educators from elementary schools near large military installations participated in focus groups and interviews and completed questionnaires regarding the knowledge, skills, and dispositions teachers perceive as being critical for supporting military students’ academic and social development. Educators’ awareness of military culture, targeted academic supports, and appropriate sociocultural supports were cited as the three salient categories recommended for culturally-relevant teaching and counseling of military students.
Key Findings
Basic knowledge of military conventions, structures, functions, events, and socio-occupational practices were identified as being integral to understanding and teaching military students.
Teachers recognized the need for flexibility with academic expectations and requirements due to variations between school districts attended by highly mobile military students.
Building personal connections with military students and fostering peer relationships between military and civilian children were strategies used by educators to support the specific social-emotional needs of military students.
Educators may struggle to identify military students in their classroom as they present no outwardly visible attributes or characteristics that immediately indicate a difference in culture.
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide professional development to educate school faculty and staff working with military families about military culture
Work with school liaisons to facilitate communication and negotiation of expectations for military students
Publicize targeted academic resources for military students to schools with military student populations to improve the academic transitions for students new to the school
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue efforts to support mobile military children as they transition between schools
Recommend training for school personnel about the needs, experiences, and challenges faced by military youth
Support the adoption of the Common Core State Standards to make school transitions for military youth more seamless
Methods
Data for the current study are part of a larger study looking at the academic and socio-emotional needs of military students from eight schools near large military installations.
Snowball sampling was utilized to identify schools and educators that served military youth.
Educators participated in focus groups and completed questionnaires; individual interviews were conducted with principals and counselors.
Participants
Seventy-four educators participated; 55 were teachers and 19 were counselors or principals.
Students from military families comprised between 15% and 99% of the populations of the schools included, and all service branches were represented in the sample.
No demographic data for participants were provided.
Limitations
Participants were recruited using snowball sampling, which may result in a sample that may not accurately represent the larger population.
Detailed information about the participants (demographics, years of teaching experience, etc.) were not provided and could influence results.
Only K-5 schools were included in the study with no data drawn from schools with relatively few military students.
Avenues for Future Research
Explore the specific academic and social supports found to be most effective for military students
Expand this study to all ages of military children, as this study only included K-5 schools
Supplement these findings by seeking perspectives of military children and parents themselves to evaluate how students’ perspectives compare to those found in this investigation of educators and administrators
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Life experiences relating to mobility and deployment may intersect with mainstream school cultures and affect the progress of military students. How K–12 teachers of military students construe and negotiate these intersections has not yet been substantively considered. Data from interviews and focus groups with 74 educators in eight U.S. public schools with large populations of military students were analyzed using a grounded theory approach to identify teacher knowledge, skills, and dispositions perceived by participants as critical for support of military students’ academic and social development in the school context. Findings inform the development of relevant interventions that effectively serve military and other students through collaborations among service providers and instructional personnel in public school settings.
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