Why Study Learner Needs

Why bother studying learner needs at all? Because a school has limited time and should spend it where it counts. Children already enjoy a great deal of educational development from their interaction in the home and the community. The school does not need to duplicate those experiences. It should focus its efforts on filling the gaps in learners’ present development.

Why the gaps matter

This reframes the school’s job. The school is not the only place a child learns; it is the place that should supply what the home and community do not. So the studies that identify gaps, the educational needs, are necessary studies. They provide a basis for choosing which objectives to emphasise in any educational program.

A study of learners has three parts, following directly from the definition of need:

1. Getting to know the acceptable norms, the standard of what should be.
2. Finding out the present status of the learners, what actually is.
3. Comparing the present status to the norms to identify the gaps, or needs.

The objectives a school emphasises should target those gaps. Spending effort on what learners already get elsewhere wastes the school’s limited time.

Flashcard

What are the three parts of a study of learners?

Tap to reveal

Answer

Know the norms, find the present status, compare them to find the gaps

The acceptable norms are what should be; the present status is what is; the gap between them is the need. Objectives should target those gaps rather than duplicate home learning.

Dividing life into aspects

A school quickly hits a difficulty. Learner needs can fall in any aspect of life, such as health or education, and no single study can cover all of life at once. The suggestion is to divide life into some major aspects, analyse each aspect carefully, and investigate each one separately.

For an elementary school, the possible aspects for investigation might include:

1. Health.
2. Social relationships, such as life in the family and with friends.
3. Socio-civic relationships, the civic life of the school and community.
4. Occupational life.
5. Recreational life.

These are not the only aspects that could be studied, but they show how to break the whole of a young person’s life into manageable parts for investigation. Within each aspect, the study looks at learners’ practices, their knowledge and ideas, their attitudes, and their interests.

A health study, for example, would look at food habits; habits around rest, relaxation, and cleanliness; practices for protecting the health of others; present health knowledge and misconceptions; attitudes toward personal health; a sense of responsibility for others’ health; and interest in learning more about health. The study reveals the present status on health, which is compared with desired norms, the serious gaps are identified, and those gaps suggest educational objectives.

Flashcard

How does a developer handle the fact that learner needs span all of life?

Tap to reveal

Answer

Divide life into major aspects and investigate each one separately

Aspects such as health, social relationships, socio-civic life, occupation, and recreation. Within each, the study examines learners’ practices, knowledge, attitudes, and interests.