Should schools pay poor kids to do well? - Pagar jovens para bons resultados escolares?

“Paying  kids to do well in school gets low marks from many experts.But hiring them as paid mentors or to assist in local research projects — essentially giving them a school-based, part-time job so they can help out their families — is worth exploring, they say.“Paying for grades, it’s something that just sounds like a bribe,” said Jeff Kugler, executive director of the Centre for Urban Schooling at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.“I think that if it’s part of a project or process they’re involved in with the school, or if they’re mentoring another kid in the building, that’s work, and people do that for money anyway.”

Chris Spence, director of education for the Toronto District School Board, recently floated the idea of giving needy kids cash for doing well in school.He’s created an anti-poverty task force to look at a variety of options to help at-risk youth. Spence has also suggested paying parents for things like getting a library card. But the success of such programs has been limited. In New York, a three-year pilot that gave parents money to take their children to the dentist or paid children for good attendance — up to $50 a month — saw no improvements in grades or attendance. High school students who were already doing well did better on standardized tests and earned more credits, but those who were falling behind saw no gains. Philip Oreopoulos, a University of Toronto economics professor currently teaching at Harvard University, conducted research on incentives for post-secondary students at a Canadian university.

One group was offered a scholarship worth anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 if they earned certain grades; another group received academic support, course review sessions and mentoring; another group received both, and the final group, none.

“The results were coming from the women,” he said. “The men did not respond to any of the initiatives.” More at: http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/education/article/892697--should-schools-pay-poor-kids-to-do-well

Kristin Rushowy

EDUCATION REPORTER

Parentalcentral.ca

Devem as escolas pagar aos estudantes despriviligiados?

Pagar crianças pobres para se esforçarem e terem boas notas é uma ideia que não tem recebido apoio dos especialistas na área do ensino.

Porem, contratar estudantes como mentores que serão pagos para ajudarem outros alunos em projectos de pesquisa – dando-lhes essencialmente um programa escolar baseado num trabalho em part-time para que com o dinheiro ganho possam ajudar as suas famílias - é uma ideia que vale a pena explorar

           

 "Compensar os jovens para que tenham boas notas incentivando o empenho na qualidade e nas suas capacidades, é subornar um individuo ", defende a propósito Jeff Kugler, diretor-executivo do Centro Urbano de Escolaridade no Instituto de Estudos em Educação da Universidade de Toronto.

"Acho que se houver um programa misto que seja parte de um projecto ou no qual os estudantes estejam envolvidas com a escola, ou onde eles desempenhem algum trabalho tutório ajudando outra criança concordo e é um trabalho, que as  pessoas já fazem por dinheiro. "