Raising Scholastic Achievement in Minority-reached Classes Through Earth Systems Teaching

Abstract

This article studies the effect of an Earth systems Science for All program intervention. This intervention was aimed at cultivating a sense of success and developing cognitive skills among students in classes with a dominant number of students from Ethiopian origin who are characterized by a low scholastic achievement level. The effect the earth systems approach curriculum was studied through a mix of quantitative and qualitative research tools. The battery of qualitative and quantitative research tools that were used in this study, enabled to the collection of data concerning the cognitive and affective outcomes of the implementation of the Earth systems science program. All the different sources of data consistently indicate a very positive influence of the earth systems based science program on the students in both cognitive and emotional domains. These findings were consistently supported by two different sources of information - students and teachers.