A Comprehension and Cognitive Development Approach to School Reform

Abstract

Increasingly, it is recognized that we must regard students', especially minority-group students', dropping out of educational pipeline as symptom of institutional rather than individual pathology. All too often these enter school feeling good about themselves but exit with damaged self-concepts. Researchers such as Catterall (1987), Kagan (1988), and Ogbu (1987) have all suggested that this disengagement from school because schools systematically alienate these students. Kagan (1990) has called for line of research designed to identify alienating processes within classroom and schools, noting need for a theoretical foundation for this approach drawn from two sources: (a) labeling theory, and (b) evidence that cognitive activity is interwoven with environmental context in which it occurs (p. 107). Kagan assumes that (1) the labels teachers assign to affects how teachers perceive classroom events and how they respond to (p. 109), and (2) students do not necessarily use cognitive skills they possess unless provided with appropriate motivating factors (p. 112). Unless are provided an appropriate foundation for learning-one that recognizes potential of each child and that allows children's knowledge to be activated in meaningful ways so that they can comprehend text-and unless teachers utilize instructional interventions in ways that allow for collaborative learning, may not engage academically. The implications of line of research Kagan recommends are that cognitive activity may indeed be found to be socially defined, thus reinforcing need for teachers and educators who can not only maintain high expectations for all but also translate these expectations within social context of classroom. Authors such as Hilliard (1991) passionately argue for just such teaching of African American students-teaching that reflects both cognitive and affective use of instructional mediation (i.e., instruction that provides basis for learning through historical and thematic research focused on improving self-concepts as well as cognitive performance of students). The need for comprehensive and systemwide reform focused on instruction has been recognized by organizations and groups charged