Less Acceptable Terms for Students Glossary

Less Acceptable Terms for Students

 

These terms have been used to describe students but are now designated as “less acceptable” since they are binary and factually inaccurate. In the future, these terms may be designated as unacceptable for use. A few glossary terms are included that help explain why the other terms were designated as less acceptable. The use of many of these words was explored in Terms of Endearment: Words that Help Define and Guide Developmental Education (Arendale, 2005) and Words Make a Difference: The Influence of Language on Public Perception (Arendale, 2007). Electronic links to both articles are available in the reference section at the end of the glossary.

 

Before using a term to describe a group of students who share a characteristic, ask yourself if you would use the same term when speaking directly with a single student from this group. An extreme example is, “Steve, your problem is that you are learning disabled.” Instead, the conversation could begin, “Steve, let’s have a conversation about some of the different ways you learn.” Steve has already been living with his challenges, probably tested numerous times, and has heard the label of his academic capability. He probably would like to problem-solve his situation with a caring and knowledgeable professional. A preferred term could be learning differences. This example is not intended to judge the professional. Instead, it examines the conversation from the student’s perspective. That perspective is their truth and reality. 

 

The following provides a rationale for not using binary language to label students as developmental:

The relative need and usefulness of learning assistance for an individual student depend on the overall academic rigor of the institution, the subject matter studied, or even how one faculty member teaches a particular course compared with another from the same academic department. Therefore, the same individual could be a major consumer of learning assistance at one institution and not at another or even in one academic department and not another in the same institution. The need for learning assistance services is not a characteristic or universal defining attribute of the student; it depends on the conditions and expectations of the specific learning environment for a particular course. All college students are on a continuum between novice and master learner. Learning assistance serves students located along this continuum through a wide range of activities and services. The same student is often located at different places on multiple continuum lines simultaneously, one for each academic context and skill area (Arendale, 2010, p. 2).

 

academically underprepared student

1. Definition: A less acceptable term for a student who is projected to have academic difficulty in a particular college-level course. APA (2020) advises positioning the person first and utilizing non-stigmatizing language when describing them. The term is BINARY because it labels the student in one overall category or the other. The term is inaccurate because students have varying English, mathematics, and reading skills. The underprepared area should be clearly stated. Few students are underprepared in all academic content areas and skills.

2. Examples: Steve is academically underprepared for success in a college-level mathematics course while he is prepared for other classes.

3. Compare with BINARY CLASSIFICATION OF PEOPLE, DEFICIT LANGUAGE, DEVELOPMENTAL STUDENT, REMEDIAL STUDENT, STEREOTYPE THREAT, and STIGMA.

 

binary classification of people

1. Definition: Categorizing individuals into one discrete group or another. Such division of people is seldom accurate due to their DIVERSITY and can create impl