AY 2023-2024

College of Teacher Education

LEARNING EPISODE 4: Learner Diversity: The Community and Home Environment

Episode 4 provides opportunities for you to have a more in-depth look into the factors that affect the
development of a learner. Focus will be on the early experiences and characteristics of the learner as
described by the family and other significant others. You will also focus on how the teacher links with
the community to maximize the learning and development of students.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this Episode, you must be able to:
● describe the influencing factors in the home environment that affect the students' learning.
seek advice concerning strategies that build relationships with parents/guardians and the
wider community (6.2 1), and
● identify effective strategies on how teachers can work together with the family

REVISIT the Learning Essentials

1. Urie Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model presents the learner within the context of layers of
relationship systems that make up the learner's environment. The layers are:

Microsystem - Mesosystem - the Exosystem - the Macrosystem - Chronosystem -

includes the connection bigger social Outermost layer the element of
structure such as between the system which which includes time, patterns of
one's family, structures in the includes the city cultural values, stability and
school and microsystem government, the customs and laws pacing of the
neighborhood workplace and child's everyday
the: mass media life.

The model helps the teacher look into every aspect in the learner's environment to understand his
behavior. The teacher's important role is not to replace what is missing at home (if any), but to work
so that the school becomes an environment that welcomes and nurtures families. The teacher works to
create a partnership with the family and the community to bring out the best in every learner.

2. Baumrind's Parenting Styles

Authoritarian. Parents are very firm with their children and expect unwavering and unquestioning
obedience. Rules are set by parents and misbehavior is met with withdrawal of affection, physical
punishment or threats.

Permissive. Parents are not firm or controlling. They have few expectations. May be Warm and
caring but appear to be uninvolved and uninterested

Rejecting-Neglecting. Parents are disengaged from children. Neither demanding nor responsive to
children. Provide no structure, supervision, support or guidance,
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Authoritative. Parents achieve a good blend. They are firm yet loving. Have clear and reasonable
expectations and limits for their children. Treat children with respect and warmth. Make children
understand the consequences of their behavior.

Children of:

Authoritarian Parents: are often unhappy, fearful, withdrawn, inhibited, hostile and aggressive.
They have low self-esteem and difficulty with peers.

Permissive Parents: believe that their parents do not care for them. They are often impulsive,
aggressive and lack self-control; may they have low levels of independence and responsibility.

Rejecting-Neglecting Parents: are found to be the least competent in their overall functioning and
adjustment.

Authoritative Parents: are socially competent, self-reliant, and have greater ability to show self-
control. They have higher self-esteem and are better adjusted.
-Based on Child Development by Santrock, 2004.

OBSERVE, ANALYZE, REFLECT

Observing the learner's community and home environment

To realize my Intended Learning Outcomes, I will work my way through these steps:

1. Select a learner from the class which you have previously observed.
2. Interview the teacher about the learner's characteristics and the community.
3. Conduct a home visit to your selected learner's residence.
4. Interview the parents about
a. the rules they implement at home concerning their child's schooling.
b. the learner's activities and behavior while at home.
5. Write the Learner's Profile.
6. Analyze your observation and interview data.
7. Reflect on your observation experience.

Use the activity form provided for you to document your observations.

An Observation/Interview Guide for Home-School Link

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Read the following carefully before you begin to observe/interview. Then write your observation
report on the space provided.

The Learner
1. Make a general observation of the learner. Describe him/her in each of the domains
development:
● physical-body built and height (thin, chubby, underweight, overweight), level of
physical activity (fast, slow, lethargic, active, etc.)
● social-interaction with teachers and classmates (loner, shy, sociable, friendly, gets
into fights, liked by others, etc.)
● emotional moods, temperament, cries easily. loses temper, happy, shows
enthusiasm, excited, indifferent, etc.)
● cognitive (appears to understand lessons, copes with the lessons, excels, lags
behind, shows reasoning skills, turns in assignments and requirements, etc.)

Interview the Teacher

1. What are the most noticeable characteristics of the learner? (emotional disposition,
behavior and discipline, sense of responsibility, study habits, academic performance,
relationship with peers, relationship with adults, social adjustment)
2. How does the teacher communicate with the parents? How often? What do they discuss?
How do they decide of the best course of action to resolve issues or problems?
3. How does the teacher utilize resources in the community to support the teaching-learning
process? How does the teacher work with the community to meet the needs of the learners?

Interview with Parents

1. Conduct a home visit. Once there, observe the home set-up. (Home is orderly, family
pictures in the living room, etc.)
2. Use the Interview Questions on the next page. Just ask the questions with which you feel
comfortable.

Suggested Parent Interview Guide

Name of Learner: Michelle Anne Guitierrez
Date of Birth: July 15, 2013 Age: 10
Grade/Year Level:Grade 5 Gender:Female
Number of Siblings: none
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Birth Order: 1

Mother: Anziel A. Guitierrez

Age: 40 Occupation: Assistant Canteen Educational Attainment: Under- grad College
Father: NOne Occupation: None Educational Attainment: None

Learner's Physical Aspect:

Health
1. Mother's Health during pregnancy with the learner NORMAL
2. Ailments or health problems of the learner as a child: NORMAL
3. Age of the learner when he started to walk/talk: ONE (1)
4. Food preferences of the learner as a child and at present: TAHO, CEREAL/ HEALTHY
FOODS
5. Who took care of him/her as a child? MOTHER

Leamer's Social Aspect

1. Describe your child's sociability (friendly, outgoing or shy, loner). FRIENDLY
2. Who were the learner's playmates? FRIENDS/ CLASSMATES
3. As a child then, was he/she allowed to play outside? NO, when especially weekend
4. Is he/she allowed to go out with friends? No when i don’t know who’s she’s with
5. Do you have rules for him/ her to follow regarding going out? Sometimes
6. What are these rules? She should go home on time, I need to know where she’s going or
she’s with

Emotional-Moral
1. What are your expectations of your child? My daughter wants to be a doctor sometimes a
nurse or a teacher but i just want her to be a successful and have a better future
2. How do you provide a nurturing environment for your child? More on just inside of the
house
3. Does your child go to you when she/he feels down or has a problem? What do you do to
meet his/her emotional needs? Yes, sometimes she feels grumpy. Ask and help her solve
the problem as long she need my help
4. What do you do when he/she is not successful in something? Study hard, focus on what she
is lacking, try and try until she succeed

How do you discipline your children?

1. Do you have rules in the house? What are they? Washing the dishes every saturday and
sunday and if there is no class at school
2. How do you impose the rules? No cellphone
3. What are the consequences of breaking the rules? She will be scolded by her grandfather

Leamer's Cognitive Aspect:

1. What are the child's interests? Online games/ toys
2. What is he/she good at in school? English
3. In what subject/s does he/she have difficulty? Math
4. How do you monitor his/her performance in school? How do you motivate him/her? Study
hard, push her dreams. In school she’s freely to do anything
5. Do you have rules at home to help him develop good study habits? No cellphone
6. What are these rules? How are they implemented? When she didn’t do her chores like
washing the dishes she will not have her phone like that
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After you have gathered all the necessary data, Write the learner’s development profile using the
outline below.

THE LEARNER’S DEVELOPMENT PROFILE

Name of Learner: Michelle Anne Guitirrez

Date of Birth: July 15, 2013 Age: 10
Grade/Year Level: Grade 5 Gender: Female
Number of Siblings: none
Birth Order: 1

Physical Development
Michelle is 138.4 cm, 35 kilogram, active girl who loves to play outdoor
games like badminton and hide and seek. She's starting to grow as an
adolescent with her angelic voice and clingy side. She’s not conscious of her
weight and always likes to eat with her peers. She’s now focused on sports like
volleyball and badminton, which help enhance his agility and coordination.

Social Development
She’s very close to her friends and likes to hang out with them always,
especially at school. She's friendly but sometimes loses her temper easily. She
cares for her friends so much and helps them in any way she can. She’s very
independent and self-reliant, as she grew up with his mom only.

Emotional-Moral Development
She easily loses her temper when she is unable to get or achieve
something she wants. She’s aggressive and tends to lose control when she’s
mad. However, she is very smart in making decisions, as he always thinks about
what is right and wrong. Sometimes, she asks for advice from her mom or friends
in situations she can’t handle easily.

Cognitive Development
Michelle loves to play drums and loves to dance. She joins various school
dancing competitions. She is considered an average student who can cope easily
with the lesson, especially in English. She hates mathematics. Her mother
motivates him by giving him a reward for his achievements. She also reminds
him to read her lessons and accomplish her homework first before playing online
games. She gives her child space for recreation and his hobbies.

Findings

Conclusions

Recommendations
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Your findings and recommendations in the Learner Development Profile will help you answer the
questions here.

1. From your home visit and interview, what do you think is the style of parenting experienced by the
learner? Explain your answer.

Based on the data I have gathered from interviewing her mother and my
home visitation, the parent is authoritative. She has clear expectations for her
child, but she does not pressure or nag her to do what she wants. Instead, she
lets her child excel on her own. As evidently seen in the child, she is happy,
respectful, and self-reliant. Even though she was raised by a single parent, she
grew up socially competent and very independent.

2. Relating your data with what you learned from child development, what family factors do you think
contribute to the development and overall adjustment of the learner in school?

From how she performs in school, one factor that influences her
development as a learner is how she was treated by her mom. Her mom is very
supportive and motivates her effectively. Although sometimes she gets
disappointed by her daughter’s mistake, she ensures that she gives meaningful
advice with optimism. Michelle is very friendly and respectful with her teachers
and peers. Furthermore, how her mom reminds her about her responsibility as
a student also helped Michelle to be disciplined with her task and role as a
student.

3. Does the communication between the home-school have an effect on the learner? If yes, what are
these effects?

Communication between the home and school has a direct effect on the learner. If the home-school
has built a harmonious relationship through constant consultation, feedback, and monitoring, the
child will also feel that the school is like his home, where she is welcomed, safe, and accepted. If
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the school understands how her home nurtures the child, they can also determine what they should
do to provide what the child needs. And eventually, the home will provide continuous support to the
school in helping the learner develop and succeed in his learning.

4. How can the teacher partner with the community to contribute to the development and learning of
the students? Who are the people or which institutions can the teacher tap to seek advice regarding the
development and learning of students

For the teacher and community to contribute to the development of the students’ learning, they must
establish a good relationship with each other through collaboration(community-teacher
collaboration). Teachers may tap the parents of the students as well as the local organizations in the
community to develop intervention programs and incorporate their knowledge into the curriculum.
The teacher may also ask the parents to provide the best learning environment in their home and
find opportunities for teachers to conduct home visitation.

1. Reflect on your own development as a child. What type of parenting did you experience?
How did it affect you?

My mother is strict. She didn’t allow me to play outside with my friends unless
someone was watching me. Somehow, that affects my social skills. I grew up
with only a few friends, and sometimes I had difficulties maintaining good
relationships with them. But I’ve never blamed my mother for that. I knew that
she was protective of me. In fact, I’m thankful that my mother is strict because
that really helped me to be responsible. I grew up very studious because my
mom always checked my quizzes and test scores. She gives me rewards when I
get the highest scores. But sometimes she scolds me for getting a low score on
my exams. It really motivates me to do well next time because of the thought
that she might scold me again if I fail. However, my mother is very supportive
of the things that I love to do. My mom always supports me on my journey. She
lets me join every opportunity in school every year and always roots for me.
I’m really grateful for how my mother raised me; because of her, I am the
person I am today.

2. As a future teacher, how would you establish good home-school collaboration? How can you
work well with the parents? How can you help them? How can they help you?

● I will invite the parents in a meeting to discuss the learning development of the students
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