Attending to At-

risk and

Marginalised/

Disadvantaged

Children
PROF. MADYA DR. MOHD IZHAM MOHD HAMZAH

DR KHAIRUL JAMALUDIN
 Who are

marginalized /

disadvantaged

children?
 A marginalized children is a group of children that’s

marginalized confined to the lower or peripheral edge of the society.

Such a group is denied involvement in mainstream economic,

children political, cultural and social activities.

children of low-income immigrants, those aging out of

foster c a r e , t h o s e i n t h e j u s t i c e s y s t e m , t h o s e w i t h
disabilities , t h o s e w h o dropped out o f s c h o o l , a n d t h o s e
w h o bear responsibility f o r r a i s i n g y o u n g c h i l d r e n — a r e

much less likely than other young adults to experience a

successful transition to adulthood.

They are children largely born into poverty and income

disparity (with the vulnerability operating largely through

associated s ocial exclusi on and di s cri mi nat i on ) .

 have low incomes and experience
economic hardships, and they are
disproportionately likely to be
disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities
GENERAL are likely to have disabilities , trauma
histories , and mental health and
CHARACTERISTICS
substance abuse problems; to engage in
Institute of Medicine & risky behaviors, and to become victims of
National Research
physical and/or sexual violence
enter adulthood with limited education and
Council of the National
work experience
Academies are estranged from their families or have
https://www.nap.edu/resource/18869/MarginalizedYAs.pdf

problematic family relationships and few

positive adult connections on which to rely.
often face the consequences of stigma
and discrimination
Who are at-

risk

children?
 "children from abusive homes , w i t h unique needs
at-risk ( h a n d i c a p p e d ) , t h e gifted b u t a r e n o t a d e q u a t e l y s u p p o r t e d

in school"

children

"Any child who is unlikely to graduate , on schedule, with

both the skills and self-esteem necessary to exercise

meaningful options in the areas of work, leisure, culture,

civic affairs, and inter/intrapersonal relationships" (Sagor

& Cox, 2004)

the terrible consequences of poverty, abuse, physical

handicaps, and personal or family chemical dependency.

Think and Do Exercise—

Identifying Characteristics of

Successful and At-Risk

Students

Think of two friends that you know.

One who was clearly headed for
success , and
Another who seemed destined for
failure .
Now recall the “observable behaviors”
that led to your prediction and write
them on the chart below
Basic Psychological

Needs of At-Risk

Children
the innate need for satisfaction of our
Overview
basic humanof the project
psychological needs
 competence
usefulness
Overview of the project

ESSENTIAL
FEELINGS

belonging potency

optimism
 competence

Consider now the fact that the “work” of school-age children is

encompassed in their role as learners .
It is in this role that they are asked to focus their attention and energy
for six or seven hours per day while at school and with homework each
night.
When viewed from that perspective, it shouldn’t seem surprising that
students who constantly receive feedback on their academic
incompetence will later decide to withdraw , both literally and
psychologically , from the classroom.
 belonging

As much as we adults need acceptance , youth are even more

dependent in this area.
we frequently consumed by thoughts of “in” groups and “out” groups
and assessing which of their friends is and is not “popular” at any
given moment.

I don’t
belong
to it
 Usefulness

This feeling of usefulness may be the reinforcement most responsible

for our decision to stick with our choice.
A teacher’s feelings of usefulness are so powerful that they can
explain why our bodies rarely break down during the school year (a
time when we’re most needed).
students derive this sense from their work as teacher helpers, student
council representatives, or as athletes.
 potency

Overwhelmingly we find our at-risk youth on the externalizer end of

the continuum.
When they find themselves in trouble , they explain it away as
someone else’s fault ; the mean teacher, or the unfair principal.

imagine yourself as a child.

Potency is the power and influence
Imagine you feel inadequate as a
that a person, action, or idea has to

affect or change people's lives,

student, unwanted by friends,
feelings, or beliefs.
unneeded by society, and
powerless over your life. If you
were in that situation what would
motivate you to behave positively
and continue to persevere at
school?
 Optimism

students who continuously received feedback on their competence ,

belonging , usefulness and potency have good reason to be
optimistic
They believe that if they simply do what is expected: complete school,
attend college, and stay away from trouble, their future will be bright.
Likewise, those students who have repeatedly been told that they are
failures , that they don’t fit in, and that they aren’t in control of their
lives, will likely develop a pessimistic view of their future.
Characteristics of discouraged students
low in self-confidence
and have a deeply held sense of
personal impotency, helplessness,
and lack of self-worth.
distrustful of adults
avoiders
and adult institutions
avoid school because it is unfair, unresponsive, or even
demanding and/or threatening , abusive—mentally, intellectually,
or confusing and unresponsive and/or physically.
to their needs.
avoid contact and confrontation
with other students and adults,
for they are not confident of
themselves.
avoid classes because they are
“ behind ” and because there is
often a more satisfying short-
run payoff to skipping school
than going to class
Characteristics of discouraged students
limited notion of the
future
do not see the future as either
bright or positive.
have good reason to
be discouraged
are behind others in academic
skills
usually lack adequate reading,
writing, and math skills and
have come to see themselves
often as “ dumb ” rather than
unskilled.
parents often suffer
similar characteristics
Some of these fragile parents
don’t care, treat sons and
daughters with hostility, and even
engage in serious physical and
sexual abuse.
Characteristics of discouraged students

"adequate" peer do not see a relationship

impatient with routine
relationships between effort and achievement

Some are powerfully lonely;
others have friends that meet
many emotional needs; caring, fun
to be with, similar interests,
supportive.
often seen as disruptive when see success as a matter of luck or
they demonstrate their ease of the task.
impatience, or when they ask
the intelligent question, “Why
do we have to do this?”

Jerry Conrath (1986)

Cognitive
Dissonance
(Festinger, 1957)
People continually seek to bring order or
meaning to their learning by developing routines
& opinions that may give rise to irrational &
sometimes maladaptivebehaviour

When these routines are disrupted / opinions are

contradicted , the individual starts to feel
uncomfortable (cognitive dissonance)

**CD makes someone with a strong conviction

unlikely to change opinion even they are
presented with a rational argument
3 important assumptions:

1. People are sensitive to

inconsistencies between action and
belief
2. Recognition of these inconsistencies
will cause dissonance which the
individual will motivate to resolve
3. Dissonance can be resolved by
either:
Changing their beliefs
Changing their actions
Changing their perception of
action
adressing

this issue
"CBUPO"
 The Mastery Learning Model
(Bloom (1976)
"CBUPO"
1. Motivation
The Importance of 2. Prerequisite Skills
Developing One’s 3. Quality Instruction
4. Adequate Time
Feelings of
Competence at he pointed out that when four
School variables are taken into account, the
learning of any content is within the
reach of any of our students
 Motivation

“horse can be led to water, but

not made to drink”
students must want to learn if he
or she is actually going to learn

As a teacher, ask yourself

Had we made the purpose of the unit clear enough?
Had we made its relevance known? Apparently we hadn’t, or why
would this otherwise rational student be choosing ignorance over
knowledge?
“What could we have done differently to make possessing these
skills or acquiring this knowledge a desirable end for this innately
curious child?”
Prerequisite Skills

avoid place barriers before students that need

not have been in their way
avoid selling our students short by accepting
excuses for poor performance

As a teacher, identify essential building

block to learning
acknowledge the essential fact /
knowledge/ skills that the students must
have mastery
Quality Instruction

designing a qulity teaching

instruction must be appropriate for them. It must
respect their learning style, their culture (learning
style and culture as well as their cognitive level

acknowledge differences and support

them
ensuring the teaching and learning
process is engaging and celebrating
differences
 Adequate Time

viewing intelligence
reject the view that intelligence is innate, God
given, or inherited

keep in mind that learning rate is not a

euphemism for intelligence
Learning rate appears to be content
specific. Your fastest math learner may
actually be your slowest reader. Your
fastest artist may be your slowest
mathematician.
 Extending Membership to All:
avoid abandoning one’s culture,

"CBUPO" values, and beliefs.

always ask:
̈ Does this school understand and
HELPING
appreciate students and where they
STUDENTS come from?
̈ Will participation in this school
DEVELOP A
program helps them in the future?
SENSE OF
BELONGING Valuing Students by Valuing Their
Interests:
cover as much material when we are
buildinging instruction around
student interest
 Problem Based Learning and
Student-Directed Inquiry:

"CB UPO" Usefulness is not something that is

experienced in isolation but rather in
a relationship to others.
HELPING
STUDENTS BUILD
FEELINGS OF Encourage self-directed and
USEFULNESS collaborative learning:
students are to work in different
settings that encourage self-driven
learning and working with team
members.
 Choice Theory (Glasser, 1998)
"CBU PO" Choice theory is built on the premise
that we humans are innately driven
DEVELOPING A to maximize the satisfaction of a
specific set of genetically ingrained
SENSE OF
needs.
PERSONAL
POTENCY & The five basic needs, according to
OPTIMISM Glasser are:
̈ survival,
̈ belonging and love,
Potency is the power and ̈ power,
influence that a person, action,

or idea has to affect or change

̈ the drive to have fun, and
people's lives, feelings, or beliefs.
- freedom.
COVINGTON’S SELF-WORTH THEORY (1992)
Self-worth: The need for students to maintain a positive image of themselves and their ability.

individuals learn that when individuals are Success enhances the

society values people faced with the sense of worth .
because of their possibility of failure , However, if a person
accomplishments . they will avoid the fails at a task, the
situation or develop feedback evokes the
strategies to prevent possibility of a lack of
any inferences to a lack ability and creates
of their ability. feelings of unworthiness
and self-rejection.
It is this fear of failure
and not lack of caring or
interest in the subject
matter that often leads
to inappropriate
academic behavior.
How about
parental

involvement?
Why parental involvement?
schools that
devote their
energy to sharing
specific aspiration
academic with
focus students

01 02 03 04 05
Phase 03

draw involvement encourage

attention has positive continous
and energy correlations support- ath
away from with student home for
the school’s achievement learning
essential
academic
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change
the world. 15
Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.
(Rumi)