Introduction
Students or rather children, in general, forms one of the most vulnerable social groups in any one society; a factor that necessitates a lot of care, concern, and guidance on the part of parents, guardians and those directly responsible for their general well being (Feng & Carledge 117). Ideally, the environment in which children grow greatly impacts both their present and future life.
It is important therefore that individuals bestowed with the child care be fully aware of the factors that influence the children psychological, physical, social and the general school life (whether negatively or positively) so as to be effective in ensuring that the latter exists in the best environment. According to Feng & Carledge (119), parents must understand that the environment in which their children grow is multifaceted, diverse and highly dynamic.
The multivariate factors in environment consequently may either directly or indirectly, positively or negatively affect a child’s physical, psychological social and/or academic well-being. This paper therefore seeks to find out how the environmental factors influence the physical, psychological, emotional, academic, and the general social wellness of the students.
Academic Adjustment and Psychological Wellness of Students
Substantial research reveals that the student’s academic success is greatly influenced by the students’ psychological situation. Although the effects of psychological factors are lower compared to other environmental factors, empirical surveys show that the effects of emotional stability and overall psychological wellness have a statistically significant relationship with the students’ academic wellness (Uget, Habibah, Jegak & Turiman, 17).
A survey was done by the University of Malaysia in 2000, aimed at finding out the general academic wellness and effects of students when they changed schools. The study was on 120 students from fifteen schools in several states in the US. It was found out that the academic performance of the majority of students (83.7%) had been negatively affected by the change of one’s school, with some taking up to three months to adjust to the new school environment (Uget, Habibah, Jegak & Turiman, 18).
Such factors as discrimination by the other students, having to undertake a new syllabus as well as the general newness of the learning environment and the psychological imbalance that comes with it are greatly attributed to the deterioration in academic performance of the affected students. Academic adjustment affects the psychological and emotional well-being of students thus derailing their respective academic performance (Uget, Habibah, Jegak & Turiman 7).
According to the latter, the psychological comfort results from successful change in attitude and behavior in order for an individual to effectively handle the challenges presented to him by the diversity of the environmental factors. This involves the new student improving his interpersonal relations with the existing students and getting accustomed to the new environment. Those close to the students therefore must aid in faster adjustment of the students to the new environment within the shortest time possible to prevent further effects on the student’s psychological and academic wellness (Tom 3).
A fully adjusted student will have learned to live and relate with the other students. In addition, the student will have become well acquainted with the academic schedule of the new learning environment. Accordingly, such a student is bound to emotionally stabilize and exhibit high degree of confidence, a reliable display of psychological wellness on the part of the student.
Role of Educators on the Student’s Social and Academic Wellness
When students go to school, it must be understood that it is a continuation of life; hence conditions that are necessary for a healthy living and the general students well being must not be overlooked. Although it is usually said that help actually begins at home and thus child care is mainly the role of the parents, teachers or educators must understand that the quality of a child’s school life greatly depends on them (Richard 2). It is clear cut that the role of teachers is to foster a positive environment for the wellness of the student’s physical, emotional, psychological and social status.
As a result, the teacher must understand the general environment in which the students live. The teacher must then recognize the effects of the various factors related to the student’s life, and comprehend that success in education is the cornerstone of the child’s life. In fact, teachers must first realize that the school is a form of a social setup that plays a very crucial role in the child’s social development as well as the realization of the social concept (Tom 3).
According to Richards (1), teachers must understand that a child’s social wellness largely determines the child’s academic success. However, irrespective of the success that the student might be enjoying in the classroom the level of social success the student goes through will ultimately influence his or her attitude towards the learning institution; and can be a recipe to either failure of the student in the academics ( Simpson, Smith, & Sasso , 2001; Richard 2).
Students in learning institutions may find themselves facing rejection from their classmates, being ridiculed, bullied, being isolated or rather being left out of the school’s social aspects (Richard 2). Additionally, students may even fail to fit in certain social classes or stratifications established by students based on varying characteristics and falling short of popularity, all of which might lead to emotional psychological stress on the part of the students thus affecting their social and academic wellness (Richards 2). In order to avert such scenarios, the teachers have a very important role to play. For instance, students with learning difficulties often find themselves being discriminated against, isolated, or rejected by others forcing them to operate as an isolated subgroup within the students’ fraternity. While such a case is only likely to cause psychological/ emotional suffering to the student(s) it has the potential of worsening the child’s learning ability.
The reputation of being slow learners might live to haunt the affected student throughout his or her school life; translating to poor results. The teacher therefore must do everything that will make the other students change their attitude towards the slow learners. However, teachers should refrain from punishing the discriminative students but should use other means to enhance such a student’s acceptance. This is because punishment will result in further bitterness by the classmate towards the other student worsening the matter.
According to Richards (2002) educators must lead from the forefront by showing love, affection and the highest degree of appreciation to the isolated students, keep on offering psychological counseling to them and offering the highest degree of encouragement to the affected students. In addition, the teacher must seek to understand the points of the students’ strengths, hobbies and interests either through interviews or through other means and hence depict them to the other students in an explicit manner, a move that could permanently change the classmate’s attitude towards the student.
Peer Interactions and Influence of Behavior among Adolescents
Students (most of who are in their adolescence age) are greatly influenced by peers and thus are more vulnerable to getting involved in negative behavior such as alcohol, drug-taking and immoralities. As a result, the role of teachers, parents and other responsible adults in mentoring the students is deemed crucial (Simpson, Smith & Sasso, 2001). According to Richard (2002), school-going age is very delicate; a factor that warrants ultimate care by those responsible for the children’s lives both in school and at home.
Psychological counseling and consistent mentoring are of essence here, so as to equip the students with adequate knowledge and resilience to effectively face the challenges presented to them. During adolescence, it is also crucial that the student gets full acceptance by the peers both in the school environment and other social circles. Rejection is most cases makes them develop low self-esteem and thus making the student’s school life miserable. Parents of adolescents as well as high school teachers must be very careful when handling adolescents.
Especially those who are faced with imminent rejection of isolation by classmates, as this may mean total failure in the students’ academics and future life. School life can be frustrating to an adolescent especially if he or she is not succeeding in what they are doing. However, teachers via their critical emotional and psychological support must prevent such hopelessness among the students.
Family Environment and Academics
According to Richard (2002), there are factors outside the school or beyond the control of the teachers, which affect the psychological stability of students. These factors sometimes have a far-reaching effect on the child’s school life. Issues such as a student being raised in an unstable family, single parenthood and/or violence-prone environments are likely to suffer psychological problems, rejection in schools and eventually poor performance in academics. In a research carried out by Simpson, Smith, & Sasso in 2001, it was found that children who were brought up in stable families by both parents had a more comfortable life in school than their opposite counterparts. Perhaps this is due to the psychological trauma that the latter goes through. In addition, the stable family child was found to likely belong to certain social class in the school environment than the child of the single-parent family.
Conclusion
The environment in which children and youths grow is very diverse and multifaceted. Since youths and students are in constant interaction with the environment, the environmental variables greatly influence their psychological, physical, emotional, social and academic well-being. For instance, a student who finds himself or herself in a new school is likely to undergo a lot of emotional success trying to adjust to a new environment. In the same way, a student with a learning disability is likely to be rejected, isolated or physically harassed by classmates thus making him or she undergo emotional problems that could lead to failure in academics.
Furthermore, the adolescents who are very vulnerable to engaging in negative behavior and peer influence are direct subjects of environmental influence. As a result, the teachers, parents and all the responsible adults entrusted with a student have a role of offering children, students and youth consistent emotional and psychological support to endure the challenges presented by the multivariate environment that they consistently interact with.
Works Cited
Feng, H. & Carledge, G. Social Skill Assessment of Inner City Asian, African and European American Students: School Psychology Review, volume 25, pages 227-238, 2006.
Melloy, K. Davis, Wehby, Murry & Leiber, Developing Social Competence in Children and Youth with Challenging Behaviors: Youths Psychological Reviews (1998).
Richard Lavoie. “The Teachers’ Role in Developing Social Skills” (2002).
Simpson, R. Smith-Myles, & Sasso Kamps, “Social Skills for Students with Autism” (2nd Ed.) (2001) Web.
Tom McIntyre. “Teaching Social Skills to Kids Who Don’t Have them” (2005) Web.
Uget Apayo, Habibah Elias Jegak Uli & Turiman Suadi, Academic Adjustment And Psychological Wellbeing Among Students In An International School In Malaysia (2006), University Of Malaysia. Web.