Understanding and Supporting the Whole Child: Lessons From the Learner Variability Project

Introduction

Our youngest denizens -- those newly born; tumbling into PreK for the first time; or entering kindergarten wide-eyed -- face a changing world with technological advances occurring so quickly that we aren’t even sure what opportunities will be available for them when they enter the workforce. The World Economic Forum (Krishnan, 2020) explains that:

What we do know, however, are the overarching skills these young children will need as they make their way through school, their community, and society at large. In today’s world, according to the World Economic Forum, the top five most valued skills for workers are: 1) complex problem solving; 2) critical thinking; 3) creativity; 4) people management; and 5) coordinating with others (Gray, 2016). This is a far cry from simply needing a grasp of reading, writing, and arithmetic to be marketable to employers and to lead a happy and productive life. While mastery of the three “Rs” remains critical, it is merely the launching point and no longer the end goal. We need to contextualize these skills and re-think the education system in order to address the diversity of students, elevate equity concerns, and consider job requirements and satisfaction for adults in an increasingly automated, technological, and global world.

This chapter will discuss how understanding each student through a whole child lens and customizing their learning opportunities to meet their unique needs will best prepare young learners for a successful transition to the world of work, community, and personal fulfillment.

Education Yesterday And, For Many, Today

While the narrative of the importance of nurturing skills and abilities that include social-emotional learning and problem solving has continued since that 2016 report, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the urgency to do so. Now, more than ever, there is a call for an even greater shift toward skills that center on critical thinking and analysis, self management, active learning, creativity, and relationship building. The Future of Jobs Report 2020, reports that 94% of business leaders say they expect employees to pick up new skills on the job, a “sharp uptake” from 65% in 2018 (World Economic Forum, 2020). For schools, this means starting early to focus on core factors that underlie success, such as motivation, flexibility, and social awareness. Adult learners who generally understand what it is they need to learn best and have developed these self-awareness and self-advocacy skills during their school years can more successfully learn on the job.

Schools are charged with preparing all learners at every grade level, including students who have historically been marginalized by school and society, for today’s and tomorrow’s jobs. They must be able to meet these new demands by better understanding and addressing the needs of the full diversity of learners in America’s schools to ensure that no one is left behind as the nation pivots to a re-configured job market. Are we ready?

Even before COVID-19 swept across America, education in far too many communities was falling short of providing robust teaching and learning from the early years through high school that supported each student in meeting their potential. A cursory look at learning outcomes data for students in the U.S. shows vast room for improvement in the 2019 national reading, math, and science scores and a particularly concerning gap between high- and low-performing students: