Learning and participation in schools are influenced by various factors. They range from personal to societal. They can be positive or negative. When they are negative, they create barriers to effective learning and participation. Knowledge of these barriers can help educators and parents/guardians to reshape the learning experience of students facing them.
Table of Contents
Motivation
In learning, motivation is loosely defined as the “availability to learn”. It is the first and most common barrier that most students face in their learning experience. For effective learning to take place, a student must be motivated to learn. Both internal and external motivational factors play a big role. If the student doesn’t see the benefit of learning, they will not participate fully in the learning process. Therefore, teachers and parents/guardians need to awaken the motivation of students to succeed in learning.
Emotional barrier
Mental health has become a subject that affects the learning process. If a student’s mental health is unstable, you can be sure that no learning will take place. Students need to be assured of their mental safety for them to learn. Anything that affects them emotionally reduces their learning experience. This is why regular counseling sessions are important for learners to improve their mental health wellbeing.
Societal barriers
Some students cannot access education because of societal barriers. Social interaction is an important tool that improves the learning process. If a student cannot interact with his/her peers, then the learning experience will be hampered. They will constantly feel left out in class and withdraw from class activities. Teachers and parents should be able to recognize any sign that shows a student is unable to interact with his/her peers. As such, they should act professionally through a counselor to help the child feel interact with his/her peers.
Communication barriers
Because we live in a global world, you are likely to find that a single class has students from various linguistic backgrounds. This factor alone makes it hard for students to communicate in class. Therefore, they cannot access the curriculum and the learning activities like other students. Schools can include measures that target to minimize language barriers in classrooms.
Infrastructural barriers
Some students cannot access learning activities because they lack the basic resources needed. This has a lot to do with the socioeconomic background of the student. However, schools should try to offer assistance to search learners so that they feel included in the learning activities. As such, teachers can also be sponsored to attend an ACLS PALS course to attend to learners’ medical problems to reduce any health barrier that may be there.