Adolescence and Education

Tan Hong Sheng

What is Secondary Education ?
• Transition into further/higher education or labour market.
• Objective : Produce students that is
Reflective Good citizen Able to engage in work Healthy Ethical (moral)
• Responsibility of school
1. Life skill education
2. Well-being (state of being healthy or happy)
3. Health provision (such as sexual health advice)
4. Involvement in sport and art.
5. Continuing education for parents
In this new era………..
• “Knowledge” vs “skill” vs “attitude”
• What’s a student envisaged (think/aspect)
• “this day and age” (what do the world nowadays want)

Gender equal labour Broader vision of learning Experiential and Practical

Curriculum Revised
General Challenges in Education now
• “Late modernity”
1. More complex transition from school to work.
2. Slower to get financial independent
3. School leaving age become higher.

• High drop-out rate

1. Vocational Education (Germany)
2. Open education and Training system
• Inequalities in Education

1. Race and Ethnicity

2. Social Class
3. Gender
4. Geographical and historical context.
Transition to secondary school
Primary Secondary
Less school work More school work
Fewer or just one teacher More teacher (almost all subject
have a teacher)
Smaller School is larger, different class may
in different place
“SAFER” Take times to know more new
friends, may got BULLY

Interesting Facts : Girls are likely one year more in advance compare to
boys between 11-13
Theory to help in adaption
• “Rite of passage”
1. A ceremony/event designed specifically
2. To let a student know he/she has to enter a new stage

• Continuities and discontinuities

1. Discontinuities can be a turning points
2. More discontinuities can result in getting more problem
• “Stage-environment fit”
1. When one getting more matured, they will experience changing
cognitive, emotional and social needs.

2. School system need to change to suit ????. If not, young people will
become progressively more disenchanted with education.

School should suit the student or the student should suit the school ?
Classroom climate and school Ethos
• Classroom climate
Pygmalion in the
Sense of efficacy
Teacher student relation classroom
Physical of classroom
Classroom management

• School ethos
The value or belief of school (slogan, mission, vision)
Classroom management
• Ability to organize structure for smooth running.
• Use suitable teaching method(person-environment fit
• Use suitable way for assessment

School Level of Anti-social

Ethos trauncy behaviour
School and Well being
• Well-being
Good mental health
High Life Satifisation
Sense of meaning and purpose
Willing to socialize
Happy

What can the school do to

improve students well being?
 1 in 5 Malaysian students undergoing
mental health in year 2016

• Coleman (2009  〕 School as an agent of promoting student

well being, however, has no clear definition on it
Skill in Absence of
Characteristics
Happiness emotional mental ill-
and coping
literacy health

Hence, should have a clearer guideline

How to identify does student well being being promted ?

• First tier
Students’ performance in school

• Second tier
1. Does student feel safe ?
2. Does school provide teaching on emotional health ?
3. Does school actively discourage smoking/alcohol/other risky
behavior?
4. Does school provide appropriate pastoral care ?
 Environment contribute to student well being

Part of school to address bullying

• Many pupil face the threat of being bullied in transition to
secondary school
• One-third of pupils experience harassment and bullying in USA
• 7 out of 10 Malaysian students worry about threat to be bullied
• 54% of them felt that their voice never being heard
• This kind of bullied will cause in poor performance in academic
and social skill
 Concern on pupils stress
• Small amount of stress can be motivation.
• High level of stress will not promote well-being
• In Britian, 60% of boys 70% girls feel stress in homework
• In Malaysia, 9.6% of Malaysian student feeling stress
• Suggested that teacher should teach on topic such as
emotional health.

What is the point of promoting pupils

well-being if do not promote teacher
well being
 School and adolescence development
• School in facilitating and hindering adolescence
development

 Relationship between adult and pupils

 Strict timetable
 Assessing Progress

Adolescence are not passive receipent, they will

think and filter !
School for experience
• School should not only teaching but provide wide range of experience
• Research question ： What is the happiest experience
i. being with friend
ii. Meeting new friend

• Research question ： What is the least happy experience

i. Homework, test

School are about social experience, not

just education goal
Key Element as a good school
• School can influence Emotional health

1. Demonstrate commitment to its students, provide good deal in

flexibility
2. Constantly monitor student progress, make use on all the feed back
3. Engaged with community,
School in empowering Adolescence
• Give adolescence autonomy in teaching
• Making curriculum related to “real world”
• Provide feedback to teacher performance
• Ask students to teach younger pupils
• Involving student in school organization.
• Use technology
Conclusion
1. Young people have a lot uncertainty, school responsible to guide,
parents need to play a role too.
2. School Ethos, classroom climates, teacher attitude behavior can
affect student engagement in school
3. Adolescence need to “feel-safe” in school, hence bullying issues
need to be settled.
4. School should aimed to create an environment where pupils feel a
scence of ownership.