Definition of at-risk students.
These are students that require intervention in order for them to succeed in school. They are the kinds of students that cannot be left to work on their academic in a normal way like the other students because they will most likely end up failing terribly. Their main characteristics are that they have some emotional and behavioral problems that make them not easily interact with other students in class as well as their instructors which eventually causes them to perform poorly academically.
What are some of the factors that contribute to their problem?
Poverty- It is the main contributor to the problem because it comes with a baggage of issues that negatively affect the lives of children. Numerous studies that have been conducted in the country shows that poverty is a contributor to substance abuse and violence among the students. With such kind of vices a student that was good ends up becoming an at-risk student and unless there is an intervention in school they may end up wasting their academic years.
Family instability- The issue of separation and divorce ends up affecting the children psychologically. Students that were performing well academically all of a sudden starts dropping drastically and unless there is intervention, it becomes the end of their academic success. Family instability also causes drug abuse among the children as a way of dealing with trauma and because of the fact that the parents are not present to guide them.
Programs offered by higher institutions in the US to cater to at-risk students.
- Remediation programs.
These are programs that are offered to students who are not faring well in the typical classroom setting. The programs are set in such a manner that they will meet their need in a better and a more comprehensive way. It is important to note that these programs are not similar to special education. They are similar to the normal education programs for ordinary students only that there is more one on one interaction between the student and the instructor. The idea behind introducing remediation programs in higher institutions of learning in the US is to help bridge the gap that is there between at-risk students and the rest of the students.
- Mentorship programs.
Many higher institutions of learning have introduced mentorship programs in the aim of helping at-risk students. These programs cover issues that affect them which could be destructing them from academic work. For example, a mentor could offer advice on the students on how to deal with the problem of divorce and separations among parents. The aim is to show them that they have a life to live even if their parents have separated and as such, they should forget about the problems at their home and focus on their education.
Mentorship programs inspire and motivate the students to focus more on what is important in their life at the moment which is their education. Most of the colleges and universities have the department of guidance and counseling which is the heart of the mentorship programs. This department is run by professionals who have gone through training in psychology thus making them offer the best advice possible. There are also a number of times when the institution invites mentors from outside to speak with the students which contribute to a massive improvement to at-risk students.
- Substance abuse awareness programs.
As pointed out earlier, one of the main cause of at-risk student is drugs and substance abuse. At the college and university level, a huge sign of students are teenagers; a stage where they want to try everything in life. There is a lot of peer pressure amongst the students which contribute to the abusing drugs and negatively impacting them academically. Unless awareness is created on the dangers of substance abuse, many of the students may end up throwing their lives in the pit.
It is because of this that many colleges and universities have started programs that aim at discouraging the use of drugs. Life skill lessons have also been incorporated into the syllabus as a way of cultivating important skills such as self-control that would enable them to keep away from using drugs. There are also drugs awareness campaigns that are conducted in every semester as a way of mobilizing students to keep off from drug abuse. Creating awareness of the dangers of using drugs and educating students on ways to stop their addiction has greatly enabled at-risk students to start improving academically after the stop abusing drugs.
Ways of detecting at-risk students.
Before even offering programs to help at-risk students, it is important that the instructors first identify them. There are a number of ways that include poor performance and absenteeism as well as disruptive behaviors.
Poor performance- when a student all over sudden starts dropping in performance constantly compared to their previous scores, there is a likelihood there is something that is bothering them and such as a student is at risk and will need intervention.
Absenteeism- Students that frequently miss classes and have no good reason to give as to why they were absent, there is a high likelihood that there are going through something terrible and will require intervention program such as mentorship to help them.
Disruptive behaviors- Sometimes the students may start violence behavior with other students something that they never did in the past. Such behavior is an indication that they are at-risk and the cause could be mental problems or even drugs abuse. They will require intervention.
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