A large part of the students keep up with what the curriculum requires, another part of them permanently lose in terms of accumulation in knowledge. Some students lose pace from primary school, and by eighth grade the differences are getting worse. The organisation of remedial activities has a significant impact on school life, with the objective of changing the attitude towards each child who may have learning difficulties at some point. Students should be supported in assisted homework, school recovery activities and improvement of learning difficulties, as well as in extracurricular activities for educational purposes.
Remedial education needs to be applied at both group and individual level. Individualized intervention involves: identifying weaknesses and strengths, setting learning priorities, the choice of the most appropriate methods and strategies, the recording of the student’s progress, as well as the evaluation of the intervention. The aim of remedial education is to prevent early school leaving and improve the school success rate for children from disadvantaged groups. Such activities aim at a change in attitude of teachers, parents, pupils and representatives of public institutions towards disadvantaged communities and groups.
Because of the conditions at home children cannot focus on a longer period of time, leaning towards running away from class or finding other concerns, the motivation for learning is very low, the self-image is poor. Children are insecure, and even when they perform in an acceptable field, they are not aware and convinced of their success; they have difficulty being honest and fair to others.
In order for the remedial education activities to be effective, several aspects are pursued: the diversity, accessibility and aesthetics of the teaching material presented, the change of the work location, the application of cooperative learning strategies as methods to promote social harmony, the feedback of parents during the conduct of remedial activities, the involvement of the school mediator in the proper conduct of the remedial education activity.
It is important to meet with parents who need to understand that their role is to be their child’s educators, that sometimes they have to learn from their child, but also that the school is always close to them in the training and education of their child, offers them counselling and collaborating with them.
Because children are different, the way they learn is different. Students prefer the learning experiences in which they are actively involved, so they will achieve better results and succeed at school. They learn faster when new purchases are useful and practiced in everyday life as well as in the future. Students who know their learning style are more engaged in the learning process, trust in them, feel more independent, retain with less effort and they are able to achieve increased school performances in less time.
Learning style refers to the preference for the method by which we learn and remember what we have learned. Some students are intuitive, do not get confused in details, others collect, analyse, conclude, for some everything must be a logical structure and for others nothing has value if it cannot be put into practice; focused on experiences and solutions.
The child’s curiosity is the energy source needed for the efficient learning process. Student must not be a mere participant but must actively contribute to the line he draws in the course of learning.
Those who participate in remedial education activities get better grades, increase self-esteem, can help themselves in the different learning situations they encounter on a daily basis, become self-sufficient, decrease the risk of dropping out of school, increase participation in school and extra-curricular activities.
A large proportion of students live in disorganized and poor families, they are not supervised and helped in solving school tasks. Remedial education must take into account the educational needs of each child, namely: learning to read and write, mathematical calculation, forming a positive self-image, organizing their activity, effective involvement in all activities involving all other children.
The methods and strategies applied must take into account children`s age, their pleasure in communicating and moving, they can be based on play, movement, interaction with other colleagues and discussions that seem free, but which are properly guided by the teacher in order to achieve the objective of that activity. In order to achieve the best results, certain changes and teaching strategies are necessary according to the individual learning style of the student and the use of the appropriate teaching material.
Picture cards representing animals, plants and things known from the students’ environment can be a starting point for frontal discussions, developing attention, creativity and language and encouraging individual work. The computer helps students see what they can’t see in their usual living environment through Power Point presentations. Games can be used to teach knowledge, to fix and update it.
The use role-playing, dramatization, the use of stories stimulates intellectual functions, shape affective-motivational processes. Through the game the student assumes roles either from everyday life or from stories, feels responsible for solving the problem imposed by the game.
Group work offers a wide range of relationships that support learning and highlight its social role. The arrangement of the desks will be based on the anticipated interaction needs of the teacher, the space available and the number of students.
Using interactive methods: brainstorming, clusters, the cube, the five-minute essay, creative conflict resolution in the children’s group are strategies for increasing self-esteem and self-confidence. Collaboration with family helps to support the intervention.
Children participating in remedial education activities can be taught to appreciate their successes as a result of their own effort or abilities and to avoid putting their successes at chance. They must be taught to attribute failure to causes such as difficulty of work load or insufficient effort.
Children need to be taught to think positively when faced with a difficult activity. They should say to themselves „It’s hard, but I’m able to succeed!” and do not judge themselves too severely when they’re wrong.
Early identification of the needs of children from disadvantaged communities involves finding a solution to develop an educational tool for prevention, protection and reintegration, with a complex approaching of the educational act, which can take place in the educational community area, ensuring integrative activities, accessible in particular to children from disadvantaged social categories, to develop a curriculum specific to school remediation activities and to promote equal opportunities, creating an overview in the area of remedial education.
Bibliography
1.Cherchez, N., Mateescu, E., „Elements of School Management„, Spiru Haret Publishing House, Iasi, 2005
2. Thursday Elena, „Educational Management. Teacher manager: roles and methodology„, Iasi, Ed. Polirom, 2000
3. Paralescu Sebastian, Işfan Ion, Gîrdu Constantin Cristinel, Elena Ion (coordinators), „Guide to remedial education„, Măiastra Publishing House, Târgu Jiu, 2012