The Positive Impact of Development Education in the Community

Developmental education programs in Appalachia are beneficial to the community as well. Developmental education programs are often only thought of in terms of students and educators However, developmental education programs are important for the community around them, Students in developmental education programs, like every other student, will eventually graduate from their school system and move on to get a job in their area of study. Without the developmental education programs students would likely fail many of their higher level courses that they struggle immensely with The developmental education programs, as aforementioned, help the students to more easily transition into their higher level courses With the courses in developmental education these students can pass their higher level classes and proceed to eventually graduate and get jobs, When students graduate and get jobs they contribute to the community Developmental education programs also instill a sense of obligation to do better for one’s self and in turn to do better for others.

When a student takes courses in developmental education they learn to help themselves and others which they will carry on in their lives.

With this sense of doing better they are more likely to reach out in their communities and help others Developmental education programs often reach out to students before they are in the program and help them to realize their potentiaL For example, a program called the Eighth-Grade Transition Program is a developmental education awareness program that reaches out to eighth graders that score low in areas of testing to help them to be able to transition into high school with ease.

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This program served twenty-two communities in south central and eastern Kentucky. The Eighth»Grade Transition Program helped several students to realize slew of resources available to them, This program also paired students with mentors within the community that had either recently graduated or were experienced in teaching valuable skills to help these students study or be interested in what they were studying.

The US. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2010) stated, “The unemployment rate in the 22- county service region ranges from 8,5485%, with 185% being the highest county unemployment rate in Kentucky” (pg.2), Developmental education programs help the community by preparing students for the work force When students struggle the developmental education programs help them to understand the necessary materials to continue on in their higher level courses These students come out of the courses prepared and pass their other courses because of the developmental education programs; they then move on to obtain jobs which keep the rates of unemployment down in their communities With the increasing rates of poverty and unemployment it is essential for education systems to send students into the work force fully prepared to obtain jobs and contribute to their communities. Developmental education courses do just that by giving students the confidence that they need to succeed in their other courses. A study done in West Virginia in 2008 showed that students in developmental education courses were more likely to progress into credit-bearing courses, persist in college, accumulate credits that count toward a credential, and make learning gains on basic skills tests.

Developmental education courses additionally help students to be more willing to help people that are struggling in courses that they do well in. Students in developmental education courses have educators and other students that are readily available to them at nearly any time of the day that they need them, and having people available to help these students at any time makes them feel like they need to give back to others as much as they can when they get the opportunity, These developmental education course students feel pride in helping others within their school or community because of the amount of help that they receive within the developmental education courses. Developmental education courses help the parents within the community to better understand what their children are going through as wellt.

Developmental education educators are more likely to reach out to their pupils’ parents about each pupil‘s struggle in the courses that they are teaching This keeps parents aware of how well their children are doing, and it helps parents to understand what they need to do to help their child outside of school in each subject area Often students lie to their parents about their grades until it is too late for their parents to help them in any way. At the time that the parents find out how poorly their child is doing in their courses the school year has dwindled and the student is failing. In the Appalachian region, recent changes to statutory guidance for early education highlights the need for parents to be working with their children, progress checks, and continuous observation of children in developmental education courses.

The Early Years Developmental Journal, an early support tool primarily aimed at families, aims to support early identification and assessment for children with developmental education needs (Mengoni, StE., & Oates, Jr, 2014) Programs such as the support tool used by The Early Years Developmental Journal are needed to keep the balance between schools and communities Involving parents in these programs can help to determine if, when, and how often skills are demonstrated by the students. Without programs like this students’ grades would drop and the communities that they are in would see higher rates of unemployment due to the lack of knowledge needed to obtain jobs. Furthermore, students would not feel the need to contribute to their community if they did not do well in school. They would not feel the need to contribute to their communities because they would not understand the amount of pride that one receives from helping others and giving back to their individual communities