student perspectives

This article identifies as a primary challenge to educators in the 21st century: 'how best to meet the needs of children living in a world of almost ubiquitous information and communication-related digital technologies.' In this new global economic environment, education plays a crucial role in

maintaining prosperity and stimulating economic growth (Stevens & Weale,

2003). Competitive advantage for a region, state, or nation is now built on

the skills and knowledge of its general workforce and its capacity to innovate

new markets. Critical to that competitive advantage is the quality of education

acquired in middle and secondary schools. Within the context of North Caro-

lina’s ambitious educational reform agenda, surveys have been administered that

target views (e.g., teachers, business community) about how the educational

system needs to change in order to meet 21st century needs. Noticeably absent

from the dialogue are student perspectives. Students are growing up with evolv-

ing technologies and often adapt to them more quickly than educators who are

trying to develop new, innovative ways to teach. We believe that student per-

spectives are particularly important given the unique historical context in which

we live today. The objective of this study, therefore, was to highlight middle

school student perspectives about what they need to be engaged and achieve in

school settings. ' (p.498)

Data was collected from the study of middle school children. Findings were: 86% found information on the internet rather than books; that students felt that teachers were not aware of the importance of technology in students lives; that they want to be engaged by teachers; that students wanted learning based on everyday technologies related to things they would need for future employment; that students wanted to engage in technologies that link to real world problems; and that students want their school to reflect the world in which they live.

Having Our Say: Middle Grade Student Perspectives on School, Technologies, and Academic Engagement Hiller A. Spires, John K. Lee, and Kimberly A. Turner North Carolina State University Retrieved Fromhttp://ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=32589309&site=ehost-live