Eileen Brinkman

Dr. Boury

Elisa Program

Social Cohesion and the Fachschule

This past semester has been one of new experiences, growth, and expanding my

knowledge of teaching. My time at the Fachschule has been filled with learning and pushing

myself in new ways. Through interactions with the students and guidance from my cooperating

teacher, Barbara, I have learned so many things about English as a second language classrooms

and how to interact with ESL students. In every school there is opportunity for social cohesion.

Social cohesion deals with the cooperation between students and faculty and the good of the

school. Different factors contribute to social cohesion in schools. Four elements that form this

cooperation between students and faculty are curriculum, school climate, perceptions of fair

treatment of one’s children and mechanisms to adjudicate community differences (Heyneman,

2002/03, Pg. 86). Although there were aspects of each of these four elements at the Fachschule,

the one I want to focus on for my semester in Austria is “perceptions of fair treatment of one’s

child.”

Before discussing the specifics of how this component was seen and incorporated into the

school I was shadowing at, it is important to know what “perfection of fairness to one’s children”

is. Perception of fairness to one’s children is when the school community shows and treats each

student with the same attention and provides them with the opportunities needed to succeed and

grow in school. One way in which schools do not practice this component is when the

community at a certain school is biased to favor a given social class, ethic group, or other social

group. (Heyneman, 2002/03, Pg. 88). This perception is greatly influenced by state and district
policies, but the school has an obligation to promote the fair treatment of every student. Things

outside of the school also influence the perception of equal opportunity; things such as the

media, social networks among adults and the environment of society. It is up to the school to be

the ones to implement social cohesion through this way.

There were many different examples I experienced this semester but the first one I want

to focus on is the presence of refugees in my classroom. The classroom I shadowed in consisted

of about twenty-five students. Most of the students were native Austrians except for the three

refugees from Afghanistan. These three girls spoke little German and even less English. They

had to deal with much more than the other girls in the classroom. It can be intimidating moving

to a new school but moving to a new country is even more overwhelming. This component of

social cohesion deals with different social classes as well as ethic groups. The Fachschule does a

very good job integrating the refugees. There are opportunities for them to do exactly what the

other students do. Even though they are still learning German they are expected to complete the

classwork. My teacher, Barbara, especially worked to incorporate them and make them feel

welcomed in the classroom. The Fachschule definitely carries out fairness to each student

through its recognition of social classes and integration.

The Fachschule is an interesting place because of the type of school it is. At this school

students learn how to do many different things such as how to cook, sew, garden, and speak

English. It is not the typical American high school where students learn the same subjects and

have the same schedule everyday. Because of this environment, the school is more likely to

accomplish the component of “perception of fairness to one’s children.” In regular schools there

are often issues with grouping students depending on their intelligence or ability to learn.

Separation by ability usually starts in middle school for classes such as mathematics and foreign
language. (Heyneman, 2002/03, Pg. 88). Although this benefits the students who learn well, this

can cause a decrease of confidence for those who are not in the higher-level class. The

Fachschule has the unique opportunity of not having to separate the classes by how fast they

learn. Learning every day skills is important to everyone and there is no need to separate the

students. In this way, each student is given the same opportunity and their parents can see how

they have progressed by their interactions at home.

The third action I observed the school make which helped promote social cohesion

involved the services they provide their students. Being fair means giving the students the same

opportunities to succeed when attending school. Inclusive practices in student activities outside

of the classroom are important to their success. (Heyneman, 2002/03, Pg. 88).) Outside of the

classroom, the Fachschule aims to provide the students with what they need. Each morning there

is breakfast offered for the students. Some students live at the school during the week because of

how far their homes are while some of them commute each morning. Having the opportunity to

eat breakfast and have energy for the day is essential for school. Having it as an option for every

student promotes a positive environment for the students and gives them the same opportunity

every morning.

The final example of social cohesion found in my school is the integration between

classes. In one of my other examples I pointed out that students were not separated based on their

intelligence level. Student are however mixed with different students for different classes. For

example, there are two classes for each grade at the Fachschule and for certain courses the two

classes are mixed with each other. This promotes social cohesion as well as a sort of fairness

among the students because it provides multiple opportunities for interactions between students.

These interactions will form the students into better citizens and members of society. The mixing
of classes also provides many opportunities for different types of learning. Different people bring

different personalities and learning with a variety of groups creates positive influences.

Overall this semester has been such a great experience of what the future holds in

becoming a teacher. I am thankful for the lessons I have sat in on and the information presented

during them. Social cohesion has so many components to it and when they are worked on the

school can provide a positive environment for their students to grow in intelligence and good

citizenship. I look forward to using this experience when I do my next field experience as well as

student teach and when I eventually have my own classroom.

 Works Cited

Heyneman, Stephen P. (2002/03, Winter). Defining the Influence of Education on

Social Cohesion. International Journal of Educational Policy, Research, and Practice.