12.07.2015 Views

The ISSP & Pathways Commission Report - Government of ...

The ISSP & Pathways Commission Report - Government of ...

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Teachers find it increasingly difficult to ignore the diversity <strong>of</strong> learnerswho populate their classrooms. Culture, race, language, economics,gender, motivation to achieve, disability, advanced ability, personalinterests, learning preferences, and presence or absence <strong>of</strong> an adultsupport system are just some <strong>of</strong> the factors that students bring toschool with them in almost stunning variety (P. 1).<strong>The</strong> Ministerial Panel on Educational Delivery in the Classroom (2000) alsorecognized the need <strong>of</strong> at-risk students, and asserted that “<strong>The</strong>re will always besome students who will need extra support and it is incumbent upon schools andschool districts to respond to that need”. While the <strong>Commission</strong> strongly agreesthat this response should be a dominant feature <strong>of</strong> education, it heard little toindicate that such is the case. In contrast, it consistently heard a need foradditional resources to respond to those students who do not have an identifiedexceptionality but, for a variety <strong>of</strong> reasons, are not competent with the curriculum.<strong>The</strong> <strong>Commission</strong> notes particular concern for the unique needs <strong>of</strong> the province’saboriginal students, long recognized as being inherently at-risk. It reviewed arecent study entitled An Educational Pr<strong>of</strong>ile <strong>of</strong> the Learning Needs <strong>of</strong> Innu Youth(Philpott, et al., 2004) as well as heard concern from aboriginal communities andeducators working with aboriginal students. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Commission</strong> recognizes that thisgroup creates unique challenges to the Labrador school district which servicescoastal Labrador. Despite initiatives by these groups to move towards selfmanagement<strong>of</strong> education, the <strong>Commission</strong> feels that they should be prioritizedwithin the at-risk population.<strong>The</strong> <strong>Commission</strong> therefore recommends that:Recommendation 28the Department <strong>of</strong> Education outline procedures to address theneeds <strong>of</strong> all at-risk students.Focusing on Students:A <strong>Report</strong> <strong>of</strong> the <strong>ISSP</strong> & <strong>Pathways</strong> <strong>Commission</strong>66

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