School failure and mathematics education in Dodecanese islands: A case study Charoula Stathopoulou, Petros Chaviaris [e-mail];[e-mail]

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School failure and mathematics education in
Dodecanese islands A case studyCharoula
Stathopoulou, Petros Chaviarisstath_at_rhodes.aegean
.grchaviaris_at_rhodes.aegan.gr

• The interaction between mathematics education
  and school failure in island areas
  interpretation and confrontation in the case of
  Dodecanese Islands (Pythagoras, Aegean
  University) This research program is co-financed
  by 3rd CSF of EEC

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This project is in progress and attempts to study
the interaction of mathematic education with
school failure through and holistic explanatory
perception for the phenomenology of mathematic
education focusing in the investigation of
relations of school community, educational
community, family and wider local society of
target-regions. The objective of this project is
the development of sufficient criteria for the
selection of variables in order to propose
reparative actions. We try to study the
students school failure phenomenon in a well
defined region, in which specific sociocultural
and territorial characteristics have an important
influence on the students choices.
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Our project concerns the interaction between
mathematics education and school failure in
Dodecanese (Dodecanese 12 islands) area in
Greece. Dodecanese constitutes of twelve
islands, with a wide population diversity as well
as diversity in educational structures in every
island. The main focus of the research program
is to explore the role of the family and the
society on the students aptitude as well as on
the students personal school-routes as variables
of the study of the relation between mathematics
education and school failure.
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The main part of the data is collected by
interviews with students, teachers and members of
students families. Through the semi-structured
interviews the above members of a micro culture,
state their beliefs about the following the
education system, the mathematics education,
their own role and the role of others regarding
school failure as well as failure in mathematics.
What is going to be presented in this report is
the result of a case study, concerning a student
with an experience in school failure, who was
obligated to migrate on different islands and
change educational orientation in order to be
able to continue school.
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• Expressions of school failure
• the low school aptitude,
• the interruption of schooling or
• the continuation in schools with lower standards
  (evening schools).
• The rhetorical intent of State for the obligatory
  education is impressed in the law of 985
  (1566/85-15(3)), where it is reported that
  "schooling is obligatory in the primary school
  and in the high school, in the case student has
  not exceeded the 16 year of his age. Whoever has
  the assiduity of the student and omits his
  registration or his monitoring regarding his
  schools attendance he is punished according to
  the article of 458 Penal Code ".

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The law is supplemented by the article of 458
penal code "the person that intentionally
offends against the law is punished . ".
This rhetorical intention of the State however
is not accompanied by corresponding practices
since until today there have been no reported
cases of parents who have been punished by the
state because of their students defective
schooling.
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An important percentage of children recorded in
the phenomenon of school failure in Greece did
not have good performance in Mathematics. The
problem of low performance in mathematics is
important because it imposes restrictions in the
educational occasions and in the occasions for
the later labour employment of the individual.
High rates of school escape are presented in
semi-urban and rural regions and particularly in
the islander regions. The morphology of
territory in Greece with main characteristics
mountainous volumes but also the big number of
islander regions appears to be an important
parameter in the configuration of school dropping
out. Particularly Thrace (12,88) and islander
regions Crete (10,32), Aegean Islands (8,34),
Ionian Islands (8,45) are the regions with the
highest school dropping out .
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• Stages of research
• The research was developed in three stages
• the recording of existing situation in the
  schools of Dodecanese,
• b) study of phenomenon of school failure in the
  evening schools, c) case studies of students
• A) In the initial stages of research carried out
  recording and study of school drooping out in the
  high schools of particular regions of Dodecanese
  through the inventory bulletins of beginning and
  expiry of school years and then through students
  lists (recent three-year period)..

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The data were completed through
informationcharacteristics of their school
route, absences, aptitudes of particular students
in the mathematics, profession of parents,
etc.selected of students lists regarding their
next step. Namely, it was examined whether
students continued school or they interrupted
their attendance. Eventually students were
categorized depending on their course transfer
in other unit, interruption of schooling due to
their low aptitude etc.
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The first parameter that was studied was the
school route in order to see if students had to
move on their island, on another island for any
level of education and the relation of this
movement to their school aptitudes.
III)




So each route constitutes a particular case study
for the investigation of the relation between
mathematics education and school failure, because
of the different opportunities for education that
each route offers.

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?) In the next stage a pre-research was conducted
in evening schools and lyceums through the
completion of questionnaires by students where
they stated their opinions about education,
teachers, mathematic education. The results of
this inquiring activity led to the choice of
different case studies of students (different
educational way, sex of student, interruption of
schooling). The reason why we focused on the
students of evening schools is the fact that it
attracts students with low aptitude, who usually
have interrupted the schooling for some interval
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• G) In the cases study, which is in progress, they
  are examined
• the case history of school route of
  students-target (kindergarten High school,
  not compulsory education),
• the connection between this rout and mathematics
  education and students as well as
• his parents point view about school operation
  and mathematics education.

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• The case of John
• In this particular presentation we will discuss
  the case of John (17 years old) who studies in
  the Third class of evening High school in Rhodes.
  
• ?) The profile of student
• John is the intermediate among three boys of a
  family with a mediocre economic situation.
• He attended the primary school in Kalymnos, a
  small island near to Rhodes.
• He finished primary school with low grades.
• Regarding mathematics, as he answered his
  aptitude was by no means, nothing.
• For three years he interrupted school attendance.
  
• After these three years the family moved in order
  to facilitate him to attend secondary school.

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- For which reasons did you interrupt/ didnt you
continue school? - ? Your schoolmates went
regularly to the high school, why didn't you
go? - I still did not want to enter
. - How does your family speak (what
they say) about school - At the beginning they
pressed me to go, but I used to say no I dont
like it. So my mother decided to come with me
and still we go together. - Do you attend the
same class? - Yes - How did they react when you
said that you are not going to continue school,
what did they do, did they distress? - A
little! - And what they do?
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- i do not remember It is also interesting to
examine his opinion for himself (self-image,
self-assessment), regarding his aptitude
specifically in mathematics. The main relating
notice concerns his conviction that he couldnt
manage anything at school. - In the courses I
never accomplish anything and although my teacher
explains everything to me several times, still I
dont manage to understand and do anything. -
Which courses do you prefer? ( and why?) - You
mean, which courses DID I prefer!!! - Why, now
you dont?
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• - Regarding mathematics. I manage to do
  something for a school year in the primary school
  because a teacher helped me so much.
• - This course was the one you prefer?
• - For one year, one year I had learned perfect,
  but afterwards .. it finished.
• - The reason you liked them this year was the
  fact you were good?
• Yes, I had managed with them so much!
• The objectives of John, rather his only objective
  from school are not the acquisition of knowledge
  but simply and only the paperqualification ,
  as clearly he declares it.

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- In which case do you feel, generally, satisfied
cheerfully, in the school? - Nothing, simply I
go only for the paper - There isn't anything
that offers to you any joy? - E, no only when
we make something funny -
Do you remember any experience from Mathematics
course that gave you great satisfaction - That
is to say? .. - I had learned multiplication
table and I was glad! - Do you remember any
negative experience regarding mathematics? - The
examinations - Why didnt you go well in exams? -
I used to write my name and .white paper.
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• -Why?
• Because I havent learnt anything and Im never
  going to do.
• Through the discussion it appeared that John
  didnt blame his teachers. Furthermore he spoke
  enthusiastically for the primary school teacher
  who had accomplished to make him active through
  individualised teaching. But this finished when
  he changed class.
• In order to survive in this hostile for him place
  he chose to withdraw in a corner, waiting just to
  take the paper '
• When I go there I seat in a corner and I dont
  speak to anyone nor anyone speaks to me.

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Johns mother appeared to be interested in her
sons schooling through the fact that she decided
to attend school with her son as well as because
she decided to move all the family from Kalymnos
to Rhodes where evening school exists. These
kinds of schools in Greece are addressed mainly
in older persons who have incidentally
interrupted their studies for various reasons and
also in students of low school performance who
hose them because are considered of low
difficulty. His mother, who was so much
interested in her sons schooling considered that
school didnt contribute to his professional life
but helped him to socialize to be with other
children, to communicate, to be introduced to
groups, to do things that he didnt do with me.
.
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Through questions regarding the cases where a
teacher is good it appeared that she considered
teachers ability to enter in the soul of child
important. Moreover she pointed out the need for
the schoolteacher to be specialised so that he
can face special cases of students "it must be
more specialised, something more than simple
schoolteacher" She considered her suns
negativism for school an important reason for
schooling interruption. It must be marked that
both had contact with psychologists, who attended
the student from the time he was at primary
school. But as he was in Athens, consequently
there wasnt existed possibility for sufficient
follow-up due to the distance and the
difficulties in moving. The school failure of
John was considered as a problem for all the
family and she thought that evening school was a
saving solution. As she stated it was the only
thing for us, the only solution
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• Some Concluding remarks
• Through this particular case study it results
  firstly the connection of interruption of study
  with the choices of school route by the student.
  The fact that on the island evening high school
  doesnt exist and the student felt insufficient
  to study in regular school had as a consequence
  to be out of school for three years.
• By his attitude for the evening high school the
  direct relation of school failure and evening
  high school is confirmed. the connection of
  school failure with students self image is also
  obvious. The answers he gave reveal his low
  expectations from school and particularly from
  mathematics In school I do not accomplish
  anything.
• Finally the discussion with his mother and with
  him reveals the importance of mathematics since
  it is considered to be directly connected to his
  professional establishment. (mathematics
  necessary for his professional life)

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