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Addressing Student Engagement and Truancy Prevention During the Elementary School Years: A Replication Study of the Check & Connect Model
Abstract
Students who are at risk of dropping out of school can be identified retrospectively as early as third grade on the basis of attendance patterns, academic performance, and behavior. Check & Connect is a model designed to promote student engagement, support regular attendance, and improve the likelihood of school completion. The program has been used successfully with students attending middle school and high school, with and without disabilities, and in suburban and urban settings. An overview of Check & Connect, key components of the model, and an application of the model implemented with students who were referred for excessive attendance problems during elementary school years are described. Results from an evaluation of its effectiveness with students who received intervention for at least 2 years (n = 147) showed increased levels of student participation as evidenced by significant increases in the percentage of students whose absences or tardies dropped to or below 5% of the time. In addition, over 90% of the school staff (n = 123) perceived students were showing increased levels of engagement and 87% of school staff reported parents were more supportive of their child's education. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed in light of rigorous criteria used to examine the effectiveness of social programs. In addition, directions for future research are proposed.
... Moreover, the majority of the literature related to truancy focuses on middle-and high-school students (e.g., Balkis et al., 2016;Gase et al., 2016;Vaughn et al., 2013). However, various individual, family and environmental factors, which contribute to truancy may manifest in much earlier grades (Lehr et al., 2009). ...
... Truancy is a multifaceted, multicausal problem. Identifying causal factors of truancy is crucial to developing preventive methods and effective interventions (Lehr et al., 2009;Vaughn et al., 2013;Veenstra et al., 2010). Though findings regarding the principle causes of truancy vary in the literature, research suggests there are often a combination of home, school, and individual factors involved (Janosz et al., 2013;Maynard et al., 2013;Vaughn et al., 2013). ...
... It is evident that there are early indicators of truancy, which are present during the elementary school years, thus a critical point at which to implement truancy interventions (Lehr et al., 2009). Implementing an intervention during the elementary school years can potentially prevent truancy later in a student's academic experience. ...
There has been a dramatic increase in the rate of truancy cases throughout the United States, and despite truancy reduction efforts, truancy rates remained constant. Truancy is frequently associated with youth’s high-risk behaviors and negative academic and life outcomes. Given the negative impact of truancy, conducting research on school attendance is critical to the success of youth over the life course. The current study examined a sample of 23,459 students referred to the Truancy Assessment and Service Centers (TASC) program to understand the characteristics of elementary school children at risk for truancy by exploring gender differences in the service needs reported by truant children and their families. Results indicate the leading risk factors for truancy include child behavioral problems, educational issues, and parental practices. Also, there were no significant differences between boys and girls related to truancy risk factors nor the types of services children in the TASC program needed.
... First, interventions are not exclusively focused on truancy in itself, but primarily attempt to address the underlying causes of truancy: 'Increasing students' engagement and enthusiasm for school is much more than simply staying in school and, thus, much more than the dropout problem -it involves supporting students to meet the defined academic standards of the school, as well as, underlying social and behavioral standards' (Christenson, Sinclair, Lehr, & Hurley, 2000, p. 21). Second, but related to the first element, authors building on the school bonding perspective typically adopt a long-term perspective and focus on the entire trajectory in secondary education (Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004). Indeed, in this perspective truancy is seen as an important and concrete indication of a process of disengagement that already starts in primary education and, in some cases, ends with early school leaving (Rumberger, 2011). ...
... They did not detect significant changes in truancy after the intervention (Cohens' effect size δ= −.01, p > .05). Research by Lehr et al. (2004) and Christenson, Sinclair, Thurlow, and Evelo (1999), however, showed a decrease of truancy. Maynard et al. (2014) hold that these different outcomes could be related to differences in the duration of the implemented interventions. ...
... Maynard et al. (2014) hold that these different outcomes could be related to differences in the duration of the implemented interventions. In their study, students received the intervention for approximately six months, compared to two years in the studies of Lehr et al. (2004) and Christenson et al. (1999). As discussed before, research indeed suggests that interventions which adopt a long-term perspective have more sustainable effects. ...
It is well established that truancy has a negative impact on pupils’ educational careers. Much more discussion is needed concerning the strategies and interventions that effectively help to remedy truancy. Therefore, this article provides an integrative review of interventions to prevent truancy. Sixteen empirical studies that reported on the effectiveness of an intervention were coded according to the research design, participants, effect size, and outcomes. In addition, attention was paid to implementation fidelity and the theoretical frameworks that underpinned each intervention. The results indicate truant students benefit in particular from interventions that are derived from the school bonding perspective. In the conclusion we elaborate on the implications of our findings and discuss recommendations for practice, policy, and research.
... Students who participated had higher behavioral engagement and reduced poor behavioral outcomes of truancy, tardiness, suspensions, course failures, and dropout ( Anderson et al., 2004;Sinclair, Christenson, & Thurlow, 2005). It was found that the relationship between the adult and student 42 was one of the factors responsible for the positive findings ( Lehr et al., 2004). The quality and closeness of relationships between adults from school and students matter. ...
... Evidence-based intervention for student engagement. In one evidence-based intervention for promoting student engagement called Check & Connect, support from teachers and adults has an integral role in the intervention ( Lehr et al., 2004). In the intervention, students at risk for low engagement are paired with a teacher or adult who serves as their check-in person. ...
... Students who participated had higher behavioral engagement and reduced poor behavioral outcomes of truancy, tardiness, suspensions, course failures, and dropout ( Anderson et al., 2004;Sinclair, Christenson, & Thurlow, 2005). It was found that the relationship between the adult and student was one of the factors responsible for the positive findings ( Lehr et al., 2004). The quality and closeness of relationships between adults from school and students matter. ...
Bullying is a serious, complex problem that affects school-aged youth. Years of research on bullying has provided evidence that bullying victimization is linked with adverse outcomes for youth; however, researchers have yet to fully investigate how bullying victimization and maladjustment is associated with student engagement, and whether teacher support is a protective factor for victimized youth. A social-ecological perspective was used to guide the study given that a person’s bullying behaviors are related and interconnected to a network of systems and relationships in their environment.The purpose of the study was to investigate middle school students’ perspectives on bullying victimization (i.e., verbal/relational and physical), social and emotional maladjustment, student engagement (i.e., affective and cognitive indicators), and teacher support. Participants were 11-14 year-old students from an independent school in a mid-sized Western city. Path analysis was used to analyze five research questions. Bullying victimization and social and emotional maladjustment were correlated with student engagement. Social and emotional maladjustment was evaluated as a mediator between bullying victimization and engagement. Teacher support was evaluated as a moderator of the relationship between bullying victimization and engagement, and teacher support was also examined within a moderated mediation model. The findings indicated that bullying victimization and maladjustment can be risk factors for affective student engagement. Teacher support can be a positive factor foroverall student engagement, and there was limited evidence found that teacher support acts as a protective factor between bullying victimization and student engagement. Victimization and maladjustment tended to be unrelated to cognitive engagement. No evidence was found for mediation of social and emotional maladjustment explaining the relationships between bullying victimization and student engagement. Further, no evidence was found that teacher support moderated the pathways in the mediation model between bullying victimization and maladjustment. These results extend the broader literature on bullying victimization and its associations with school-related variables and may have implications for encouraging bullying prevention and intervention. Study limitations are discussed along with research and clinical implications. Advisor: Susan M. Swearer
... Skipping school is associated with poorer academic performance because students miss out on learning opportunities and later experience problems with catching up on the missed lessons (Arthur, Brown, & Briney, 2006). Truancy can in turn lead to educational disengagement and school dropout (Henry, Knight, & Thornberry, 2012;Lehr, Hansen, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2003;Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004). Its long term effects include poorer employment options and unstable employment (Hancock, Shepherd, Lawrence, & Zubrick, 2013;Rocque, Jennings, Piquero, Ozkan, & Farrington, 2016). ...
... The Check and Connect model is an example of an influential truancy reduction intervention (Lehr et al., 2004). The model started as a quasi-experimental pilot at the University of Minnesota and became a standardised program delivered across schools in the United States (Dembo & Gulledge, 2009a). ...
... The model started as a quasi-experimental pilot at the University of Minnesota and became a standardised program delivered across schools in the United States (Dembo & Gulledge, 2009a). The pilot participants were 147 students aged 5 to 12 with histories of frequent truancy and other behavioural problems, low parental support, and low academic achievement (Lehr et al., 2004). In other words, the participants had weak social bonds with both school and parents. ...
... Indeed, the idea that absence types may serve as a proxy for structural and systemic issues related to family well-being is well supported by the research literature. Both qualitative and quantitative research affirms the notion that students experiencing high numbers of unexcused absences are more likely to come from families facing serious social and economic challenges and families from historically disenfranchized racial and ethnic minority groups (Klerman & Glasscock, 1996;Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004;Romero & Lee, 2008;Sheldon, 2007;Teasley, 2004). ...
... While the current study provides evidence to suggest that there are fundamental differences connoted by excused vs. unexcused absences, there may be similar differences among types of unexcused absences. Because the literature confirms that unexcused absences are caused by a variety of factors, treating them as a unidimensional construct may be as ill-advised as not discriminating between excused and unexcused absences (Chang & Romero, 2008;Jeynes, 2003;Klerman & Glasscock, 1996;Lehr et al., 2004;Maynard et al., 2012;McNeal, 1999;Romero & Lee, 2008;Sheldon, 2007;Teasley, 2004). Establishing a taxonomy of unexcused absences and then determining whether these categories differentially relate to outcomes would be an important contribution to attendance research. ...
In response to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (2015), 36 U.S. states have adopted chronic absenteeism as an indicator of school quality and student success. It is also being increasingly utilized within schools to identify students at risk for future educational problems, as research consistently shows that early absences are related to later achievement issues. By leveraging readily available attendance records, schools can identify students at risk of poor outcomes early in their educational lives and provide them with supports before challenges worsen. Despite its pervasive use, major theoretical assumptions underlying this indicator have never been validated. The current study represents the first empirical test of the most basic assumption of chronic absenteeism—that all absences from school are equally useful in providing diagnostic information to determine future risk status. To test the diagnostic utility of different absence types across the early elementary grades, this study employed ROC analyses with administrative data from a large, urban school district. Findings indicate that only unexcused absences provide diagnostic accuracy in determining future achievement status in the early elementary grades, whereas excused absences provide no diagnostic accuracy and actually dampen the ability of unexcused absences to determine students’ achievement risk status when used in conjunction with them. These results have implications for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners and necessitate additional empirical studies that test the underlying assumptions of chronic absenteeism to ensure that it is being used both effectively and ethically in the early identification of at-risk students.
... Inadequate school attendance can have a negative impact on learning and academic achievement, as well as future professional, sociological, and economic outcomes (Broadhurst et al., 2005;Kane, 2006;Lehr et al., 2004). Students who do not attend school on a regular basis are more likely to have behavioral issues, such as school alienation and the dropping out (Gottfried, 2014;Johnson, 2005). ...
... Previous research has revealed that students who missed more school days were accompanied by emotional and social developmental risks as their academic achievement decreases (Eaton et al., 2008;Gottfried, 2010;Lehr et al., 2004;Ricking & Schulze, 2019). Absenteeism increases the likelihood of academic deterioration and academic achievement delays (Gottfried, 2015). ...
This study examined whether school absenteeism has a mediating effect on the relationship between amotivation and academic achievement. The study sample consisted of 350 middle-school students in Turkey. A path analysis was created to test the relationships between the study variables. Results showed that amotivation had both a direct and indirect effect on students’ academic achievement. Absenteeism had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between amotivation and academic achievement.
... Regular school attendance is an integral developmental behavior that facilitates learning and social connection throughout childhood and adolescence. School attendance problems are associated with a range of short-term and long-term outcomes such as lower educational achievement (Aucejo & Romano, 2016;Gershenson et al., 2017;Gottfried, 2009;Hancock et al., 2017), school disengagement (Lehr et al., 2004), early alcohol and other drug use (Henry & Huizinga, 2007;Henry & Thornberry, 2010), and a higher likelihood of welfare receipt (Collingwood et al., 2019). For these reasons, school attendance problems have been a major focus for schools, education systems, researchers, and policymakers (Tanner-Smith & Wilson, 2013). ...
... The risk factors for student attendance problems are also diverse and are typically grouped into student, parent, family, peer, school, and community factors to reflect bioecological systems (Kearney, 2008b;Melvin et al., 2019). Student risk factors can include health and mental health concerns (Egger et al., 2003), disengagement from the curriculum (Lehr et al., 2004), and disability (Gottfried et al., 2019). Parent risk factors include low parental education and employment (Ingul et al., 2012), low parental involvement in education (Fan & Chen, 2001), and low family socioeconomic status (Morrissey et al., 2014). ...
This study assessed if the association between mental disorders and higher student absences varies across different profiles of risk factors, and estimated the proportion of student absences associated with mental disorders. Data included responses from a nationally representative Australian survey of child and adolescent mental health (Young Minds Matter, N = 5,081). A latent class analysis identified four classes of multiple risk exposure for students and their families, including On Track (55%), Low Resources (22%), Child Concerns (15%), and Overwhelmed (7%). Negative binomial regression models with adjustment for misclassification probabilities showed that absence rate ratios were higher among students classified as Low Resources (1.8 times), Child Concerns (1.7 times), or Overwhelmed (3.0 times) than On Track students. Overall, students with an anxiety or depressive disorder had 1.2 times as many absences as students without a disorder, after adjusting for latent class membership. There was no support for the hypothesis that the association between anxiety/depressive disorder and absences would be greater for students experiencing multiple risk exposures. Behavioral disorders were not associated with higher absences. Mental disorders accounted for approximately 8.6% of absences among secondary students (Years 7–12) and 2.4% of absences among primary students (Years 1–6). The estimated contribution of mental disorders to school absences is not trivial; however, the contribution is about half that estimated by previous research. The educational impacts of mental disorders must be considered in conjunction with the broader social contexts related to both mental disorders and student absences.
... Such negative responses from the school environment may be a cause for future school dropout (Dalton, Glennie, & Ingels, 2009). Children who drop out of school are at risk for engaging in activities that may have negative life consequences, high cost, and additional social-economic burden, such as unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, aggressive behavior, incarceration, and dependence on social services (Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004). ...
... Although attending school on time is an apparent measure of a child's school involvement and achievements (e.g., Lehr et al., 2004;van Lier & Deater-Deckard, 2016), there is limited knowledge about the phenomenon of being late. Most of the existing literature has discussed the issue of time-use in reference to the number of absent days related to school dropout. ...
This study analyzes mothers’ and children's’ executive functions (EF) and daily routine management among children who are late to school and those who are on time.
Participants were 60 children ages 7.0–9.0, 27 defined as being “late” and 33 “on time” for school. Mothers completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) about their children and the self-report adult version, and the Executive Functions and Occupations Rating Scale (EFORTS) about their child’s daily routine.
Significantly poorer EF abilities were found among mothers and children in the "late" group and in children's daily routine management compared to those “on time”. Significant relationships were found between children's EF and their daily routine. Specific mothers’ and child's EF predicted 44 % of the variance in the child's daily routine management above group membership. Understanding the underlying mechanism of being late may lead to interventions to improve mothers' and children's daily functioning.
... Indeed, the idea that absence types may serve as a proxy for structural and systemic issues related to family well-being is well supported by the research literature. Both qualitative and quantitative research affirms the notion that students experiencing high numbers of unexcused absences are more likely to come from families facing serious social and economic challenges and families from historically disenfranchized racial and ethnic minority groups (Klerman & Glasscock, 1996;Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004;Romero & Lee, 2008;Sheldon, 2007;Teasley, 2004). ...
... While the current study provides evidence to suggest that there are fundamental differences connoted by excused vs. unexcused absences, there may be similar differences among types of unexcused absences. Because the literature confirms that unexcused absences are caused by a variety of factors, treating them as a unidimensional construct may be as ill-advised as not discriminating between excused and unexcused absences (Chang & Romero, 2008;Jeynes, 2003;Klerman & Glasscock, 1996;Lehr et al., 2004;Maynard et al., 2012;McNeal, 1999;Romero & Lee, 2008;Sheldon, 2007;Teasley, 2004). Establishing a taxonomy of unexcused absences and then determining whether these categories differentially relate to outcomes would be an important contribution to attendance research. ...
In response to the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015), nearly three-fourths of states in the U.S. have adopted chronic absenteeism—defined as missing 10% of the school year—as a measure of school quality and student success (Jordon, Fothergill, & Rosende, 2018). Due to its widespread adoption and the strong predictive relationship between early absences and negative educational outcomes, chronic absenteeism is increasingly being utilized by schools as an early warning indicator of later problems, such as low academic achievement. As such, chronic absenteeism theoretically allows schools to identify academically at-risk students in the early primary grades using readily available attendance data and provide them with additional resources to prevent later difficulties (Balfanz, Herzog, & Mac Iver, 2007). Given its pervasive use as both an accountability metric and an early warning indicator, the need to ensure the scientific integrity of chronic absenteeism is vital. Major theoretical assumptions underlying this indicator, however, have never been empirically validated. The current study represents the first effort to scientifically test the most basic assumption upon which chronic absenteeism is based—that all absences from school (i.e., both excused and unexcused absences) are equally detrimental to student outcomes and should be utilized to identify at-risk students. The purpose of this study was thus to test whether excused and unexcused absences have comparable diagnostic accuracy in the early identification of academically at-risk students. Using the state-of-the-art receiver operating characteristic (ROC) methodology, this study presented evidence that only unexcused absences provided diagnostic accuracy for academic risk status in math and English achievement for an entire cohort of young students in Philadelphia. This diagnostic accuracy was evident in kindergarten and increased across the early elementary years. Excused absences, on the other hand, provided no diagnostic utility in differentiating between students at risk for academic problems and students on track for success within and across the early elementary grades. The findings presented here indicate that chronic absenteeism could be a more effective early warning indicator for students in large urban school districts by taking absence types into account. These results have further implications for researchers and policymakers, surfacing the need to prioritize additional empirical studies testing the underlying assumptions of chronic absenteeism.
... Students with high absenteeism in elementary school are at greater risk of later school absenteeism, lower academic achievement (Caldas, 1993;Roby, 2004), grade retention (Neild & Balfanz, 2006), eventual dropout (Alexander, Entwisle, & Horsey, 1997;Dreyfoos, 1990;Finn, 1993;Gottfried, 2009;Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004;Neild & Balfanz, 2006;Schoeneberger, 2012), as well as disengagement and poorer socioemotional functioning in and out of the classroom (Ekstrom, Goertz, Pollack, & Rock, 1986;Finn, 1989;Gottfried, 2014;Romero & Lee, 2007). Retroactive examinations of the early absenteeism of school dropouts found predictive absenteeism patterns in third grade (Lehr et al., 2004), and students who were chronically absent in kindergarten have lower academic achievement in first grade than their non-chronically absent peers (Chang & Romero, 2008;Romero & Lee, 2007). ...
... Students with high absenteeism in elementary school are at greater risk of later school absenteeism, lower academic achievement (Caldas, 1993;Roby, 2004), grade retention (Neild & Balfanz, 2006), eventual dropout (Alexander, Entwisle, & Horsey, 1997;Dreyfoos, 1990;Finn, 1993;Gottfried, 2009;Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004;Neild & Balfanz, 2006;Schoeneberger, 2012), as well as disengagement and poorer socioemotional functioning in and out of the classroom (Ekstrom, Goertz, Pollack, & Rock, 1986;Finn, 1989;Gottfried, 2014;Romero & Lee, 2007). Retroactive examinations of the early absenteeism of school dropouts found predictive absenteeism patterns in third grade (Lehr et al., 2004), and students who were chronically absent in kindergarten have lower academic achievement in first grade than their non-chronically absent peers (Chang & Romero, 2008;Romero & Lee, 2007). The negative relationship between absenteeism and academic achievement becomes stronger as students progress through school and find it more difficult to catch up (Gottfried, 2010). ...
... To prevent disengagement and the potential of later school dropout, effort needs to be made in the early years of schooling to maintain the student's sense of belonging, academic engagement and learning (Lehr, Sinclair and Christenson, 2004). Fortunately, indicators of engagement are present early in a student's school life and level of engagement has been shown to be malleable (Fredricks, Filsecker and Lawson, 2016). ...
... Information gathered on student engagement behaviours can help drive changes that will enhance student learning experiences (Reschly and Christenson, 2012). Therefore, it is important to identify levels of engagement, particularly for students deemed at risk, so that preventative measures can be initiated (Lehr, Sinclair, and Christenson, 2004). Carter, Reschly, Lovelace, et al. (2012) recognised this need and developed a student engagement instrument designed for use with elementary students. ...
Student engagement is recognised as being necessary for students to achieve well academically. Much student engagement research is centred on the perceptions of students via self‐assessment or teacher questionnaires. For young students, particularly those with intellectual disability (ID), self‐assessment can be problematic due to their disability. Teacher questionnaires can also be difficult to administer in such students, as often the engagement behaviours or processes to be identified are internal. This study introduces a new student engagement checklist (SEC) developed to rate the observable task, affective and cognitive engagement behaviours of students with ID when working on academic tasks. The SEC was applied to video footage of five junior primary students with ID participating in 20 individual reading lessons. The study used an alternating‐treatments, single‐case design that enabled comparison of levels of engagement in two different lesson formats. This study indicates that the SEC can be used reliably to generate estimates of the task, affective and cognitive engagement components with the students involved. Importantly, the SEC provided relevant information on distinct elements of cognitive engagement, particularly highlighting the low levels of elaboration and monitoring behaviour, elements of cognitive engagement. This information has not been readily available in previous research. This study suggests that the SEC would be useful in further research on engagement with different types of students, not only those with limited language and cognitive delay.
... In the study conducted by Lehr et al., [29] the Check and Connect intervention program has been conducted since 1997 in nine schools by school staff on students with poor school attendance. Among other factors considered in the selection of students were the low level of parental support in learning, history of student's brother's or sister's absenteeism from school, irregular completion of homework, the student's inactive presence in the classroom, and his/her behavioral problems. ...
Background
Dropout is one of the most important social problems in the world and especially in low- and middle-income countries. Efforts to prevent dropouts require giving due attention to different perspectives for applying them. The present study aims to identify the policies and interventions made in previous studies because reviewing evidence-based interventions and learning from their strengths and weaknesses is likely to play an effective role in preventing students from leaving school and returning them to school.
Methods
This scoping review study conducted on all available studies and documents related to students' dropout. The study population includes articles searched in electronic sources that contain information related to the subject of dropout and out-of-school in primary schools. Appropriate keywords were extracted based on Mesh term and EMTREE and their synonyms and searched by a medical librarian. scientific sources and Gray literature published in Persian and English based on PRISMA standard criteria were reviewed.
Results
A review of studies indicated that various interventions such as student interaction with school, educational interventions on students and teachers, family and local community cooperation, free nutrition, behavioral interventions, financial aid, and free education had positive effects on reducing dropout, absenteeism and encouraging students to return to schools. effect size was not reported for school dropout intervention.
Conclusions
The findings have indicated that intervention with a combination of global and targeted strategies can affect dropout in developing countries. However, to confirm the effectiveness of this type of intervention, further research is required to be conducted in different countries and with different cultures.
... In contrast, the more students perceive their teacher as confrontational, the more the students will act aggressively towards each other (ibid.). Previous research also suggests that one of the most effective ways to help vulnerable students is to ensure that they feel connected to at least one caring adult (Lehr et al., 2009). Hence, how teachers interact with and react to EBD students' behavior in class is crucial. ...
Previous research suggests that students with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD) are more vulnerable to becoming directly involved in bullying dynamics. To date, no study has tested the role of teachers' emotional support and positive teacher-student relationship climates in EBD students' bullying involvement. This study tests whether the relationships between students' EBD and students' bullying involvement is mediated by teachers' emotional support and the quality of the teacher-student relationship climate. Results indicate that only teachers' collaborative efforts to improve school relationship climates are important mechanisms for explaining EBD students' bullying involvement. Bullying in schools is an internationally recognized public health problem that severely impacts students' and teachers' mental and physical health (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Devel-opment/OECD, 2019). Even though recipients of bullying are generally perceived as suffering the most, empirical research suggests that bullying behavior negatively impacts the health of everyone directly or indirectly involved, including those in the bullying (Stuart & Jose, 2014) and bystander roles (Rivers et al., 2009), as well as students' and teachers' families (Benatov, 2019; Harcourt et al., 2015). Students with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD) are involved in bullying dynamics to a higher degree than their peers without EBD (Halabi et al., 2018; Kokkinos & Panayiotou, 2004; Swearer et al., 2012). However, there is a research gap on the processes that can explain this higher vulnerability to bullying of EBD students. Given the importance of positive relationships for children's psychosocial development, this study investigates the role of teachers' individual and collective support as mediators of the relationship between students' emotional and behavioral difficulties and their direct bullying involvement. The results guide future research and practice in how to reduce the direct bullying involvement of some of the most vulnerable students.
... 48 Низка дослідників доводить, що позитивний шкільний клімат має потужний вплив на учителів та учнів, і демонструють його прямий зв'язок із навчальними успіхами учнів на всіх етапах навчання (MacNeil, Prater and Busch, 2009;Stewart, 2008). Конструктивні стосунки вчителів і учнів, які пов'язані зі шкільним кліматом, не лише впливають на навчання і викладання, а й упливають на інші чинники, наприклад, попередження насильства і булінгу в школі (Eliot et al., 2010), мотивацію учнів до навчання (Eccles et al., 1993), упевненість учителів у своїх можливостях впливати на те, як навчаються учні (Оy and Woolfolk, 1993), запобігання професійному вигорянню (Fulton, Yoon and Lee, 2005;Weiss, 1999 (Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004;Sinclair, Christenson, & Thurlow, 2005). ...
The book presents cross-cultural comparisons in different school aspects:
school culture, school leadership, and teachers’ self-efficacy and job satisfaction.
The author compare the data predominantly gained in TALIS і PISA, focusing on
Ukraine and participating EU countries. The findings result in the conclusions on
what should be taken into consideration in the New Ukrainian School Reform. The
book is prepared as part of the project of the Ukrainian Educational Research
Association «European Educational Research Quality for Empowering Educators
in Ukraine»within Erasmus + Jean Monnet Support to Association Programme
which is co-funded by European Commission. The content of this publication does
not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility for the
information and views expressed in the book lies entirely with the authors.
... Coupling relaxation skills training with a mentor program supporting skill enactment throughout the school day might overcome these threats to generalization. Mentor programs such as Check-In/Check-Out (Todd et al., 2008); Check, Connect, and Expect (Cheney et al., 2009); and Check and Connect (Lehr et al., 2004) are widely used in schools as targeted interventions for students with externalizing behaviors. ...
The Calm Cat Program was developed in response to the need for intervention approaches that target internalizing symptoms, are developmentally appropriate for early elementary students, and are feasible for school-based implementation by staff without specialized training. The Calm Cat Program is a brief Tier 2 intervention combining behavioral skills training and mentor-based coaching. In this initial study, the Calm Cat Program was evaluated in a cluster-randomized controlled trial of 72 student participants in nine elementary schools. Over a 5-week period, school counselors implemented small-group skills training sessions, and classroom teachers provided daily coaching on targeted relaxation skills. Overall, program participation was associated with small- to medium-sized gains in relaxation skill knowledge and reductions in self-reported anxiety symptoms. In addition, both staff implementers and student participants reported generally positive perceptions of the program’s usability. Additional research is needed to ensure the program’s efficiency and effectiveness as an early intervention approach within multi-tiered frameworks.
... Having said that, there are successful models at other school levels that may be useful to future program development. One such successful elementary school model assigned monitors to engage with both families and school staff to increase attendance; this type of model may be particularly useful in Head Start, which already strives to increase parent-center communication, but has not yet been tested in the preschool years (Lehr et al., 2004). Other work has revealed a number of promising strategies to reduce preschool absences. ...
Introduction
Children who are absent from school, including preschool, do not make the same academic gains as their non-absent peers. However, we know little about what predicts absenteeism among preschool-attending children.
Methods
We used the Family and Child Experiences Study - 2009, a nationally representative sample of Head Start attendees ( n = 2,842), to test the associations between a comprehensive set of child, family, and center factors, and children’s levels of absenteeism across the preschool year.
Results
Our findings highlight the multi-faceted nature of absenteeism. Family necessity, family routines, and center-level characteristics were all associated with absenteeism.
Discussion
Reducing preschool absenteeism requires a comprehensive approach as the factors that shape absences are varied. Our findings suggest that center-level strategies focused on outreach and classroom quality are important future directions.
... Truancy can be operationally defined as 'the habitual engagement in unexcused absences from school' (Zhang et al., 2007, p. 245). The act of continuous absenteeism has been identified as a precursor to criminality (Lehr et al., 2004;Loeber and Farrington, 2000;McCluskey et al., 2004). Furthermore, disengagement with the educational process is associated with lower levels of achievement within the classroom (Havik et al., 2015), and various social, emotional and behavioural difficulties once widely referred to as 'maladjustment' (Carroll, 2013;Henry, 2007;Lim and Lee, 2016). ...
This qualitative study considers the development of adolescent offending and examines a range of potential causes rooted in the issues of truancy, peer pressure, and educational and parental disengagement. Ten adult offenders recently released from prison were accessed through a probation service in the North West of England. Participants (M age = 35.2, S.D = 8.51) were interviewed about the indictable offences that they perpetrated between the ages of 12-16. Thematic analysis uncovered several key themes related to substance misuse and broader enjoyment of risk-taking behaviours, financial gain and the desire to develop a recognised criminal status, alongside fear and rejection of authority. In general, educational disengagement led to stronger associations with antisocial peers from whom acceptance was sought and offending identities were constructed around. Longer-term consequences of time spent with antisocial peers included substance abuse, more serious criminality, and increased risk-taking behaviour. The implications of the findings are discussed in the context of early interventions.
... One of the most frequently mentioned risk factors for dropping out is poor school attendance (Bornsheuer, Polonyi, Andrews, Fore, & Onwuegbuzie, 2011). Attendance as early as kindergarten is significant in predicting rates of attendance in middle and high school (Hickman, Bartholomew, Mathwig, & Heinrich, 2008;Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004). Suspensions from school increased the likelihood of dropping out by a factor of three (Zablocki & Krezmien, 2013) compared to individuals who were not suspended. ...
Students with Emotional Disturbance (ED) graduate from high school with a standard diploma at rates far below their peers. The present study utilised archival data of former high school students with ED and a nondisabled comparison group to examine graduation-related predictor variables. The results indicated that grade point average and extracurricular activity participation positively predicted high school graduation while the number of years spent in 9th grade negatively predicted graduation for both groups of interest. For students with ED, the percentage of student attendance at special education meetings throughout high school was also statistically significant for predicting graduation. Educational implications related to adolescents with ED are discussed.
... Among dropout prevention interventions reviewed by the U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse, Check & Connect is the only program found to have strong evidence of positive effects on staying in school (Institute of Education Sciences, 2015). To date, findings from three randomized trials and four replication studies of K-12 students with and without disabilities have indicated the success of this program (Anderson et al., 2004;Kaibel et al., 2008;Lehr et al., 2004;Sinclair et al., 1998;Sinclair et al., 2005;Sinclair & Kaibel, 2002). This program relies on a monitor, whose primary goal is to promote regular school participation and to keep education a salient issue for students, parents, and teachers. ...
... Previous researches suggest that unauthorized chronic absenteeism is highly correlated with the completion of schooling. Truancy is a known predictor of students leaving school prior to graduation (9) ; unauthorized truancy is considered as one of the earliest signals of a prospective school dropout decision and truants are 37.4 percent more likely to drop out of school than regular school attendees (10) ; truancy is a good predictor of dropping out from elementary school (11) ; there is a high correlation between truancy and dropping out from school (12) ; truants are 37.4 percent more likely to drop out of school than regular school attendees (10) . ...
Background/Objectives: Regular attendance at school is essential for all-round development of students. The fundamental objective of this study was to utilize low-cost technology of cell phones to report to parents/guardians about the attendance of their children at schools and ascertain the impacts of cell phone calls on the attendance of Middle School students placed at risk of Drop out. Methods/Statistical analysis: This study was Experimental with a Pretest-Posttest Control Group by design and descriptive by purpose. The participants were 30 eight graders belonging to a Public Middle School of District Shaheed Benazirabad in Pakistan. These participants were then randomly assigned to Control and Experimental Groups (15 each). For intervention of making cell phone calls to parents/guardians to inform and ask them about the reason for the absence of their child, a teacher in each participating school was assigned this responsibility. The intervention lasted for 3 months. The data was analyzed using SPSS repeated measure t-test to calculate the significance of the impact of intervention. Findings: Results of the present study indicated that the attendance of Experimental Group on Posttest (75.07 %) was significantly higher than that on Pretest (62.87%). Novelty : This study utilizes existing technology available to almost everyone and bridges the parents and school administration to get the best outcome quickly; mobile-based intervention is simple and docile to regulate students' performance at school level; it also improves the safety of the students.
... Programs targeting improved student engagement have provided a modicum of success preventing school dropout (e.g., Wilson and Tanner-Smith 2013) and truancy (e.g., Lehr et al. 2004). For the most part, these interventions target the individual student in an effort to improve academic skills and instill greater motivation for academic achievement. ...
This study examined relations between student engagement and drug use using data obtained from the statewide biennial California Healthy Kids Survey. Latent variable modeling with confirmatory factor analysis indicated four conceptually distinct and psychometrically sound factors capturing academic motivation, school connectedness, caring relations, and meaningful participation. Further tests indicated relative invariance of the measurement models across grade (7th, 9th, and 11th) and gender. Structural equation models indicated unique prediction of drug use from the four engagement factors with academic motivation providing the largest magnitude of effect. Evidence of suppression was corrected statistically to show consistent prediction across the four constructs. The relative magnitude of regression coefficients diminished considerably with the introduction of relevant covariates. Results are discussed in terms of designing educational programs that emphasize multiple facets of engagement while at the same time also addressing pedagogical means to boost student academic motivation.
... Researchers have noted engagement to have many positive consequences that usually relate to effective and successful study pathways (e.g., Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, & Whitt, 2005;Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004). Interestingly, engagement is also connected with resilience, when defined as the ability to stick to studies when facing challenges (see Bethell, Newacheck, Hawes, & Halfon, 2014). ...
In this study, we assessed how Finnish teachers’ professional actions support their students’ engagement and positive self-image at school. This qualitative multimethod study is comprised of three sub-studies: (1) the research Data Set A included pedagogical reflective journals, observations of, and interviews with, two Finnish teachers and their classes (2nd and 4th grades); (2) the research Data Set B involved interviews with, and observations of, two Finnish co-teachers (a class teacher and a special education teacher) and their combined 1st and 2nd grade class; and (3) the research Data Set C consisted of individual interviews with four Finnish elementary school teachers working in the 1st and 2nd grades. Our findings identified practices to enhance students’ choice and sense of agency; teachers’ actions to support students’ perceptions of themselves as transformable and developing learners; and teachers’ practices where their students can make friends and form positive relationships. In conclusion, we conceptualized the findings of this study within the theory of inclusive pedagogy to enhance the understanding of the teacher competences necessary to build pupils’ self-image and engagement with their studies.
... Conducting a study in elementary and middle school in the USA, Lehr et al. (2004) have cited lower attendance rates as detrimental to learning and academic achievement. They have argued that chronic absences may be predictive of higher risk factors in both concurrent and future years of education. ...
... Moreover, there is accumulating evidence of a variety of factors that increase the risk for actual school dropout, including poor academic self-efficacy (Caprara et al., 2008), poor cognitive and educational achievement (Alexander et al., 1997;Balfanz, Herzog, & Iver, 2007;Bowers, 2010;Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004), low educational expectations (Driscoll, 1999), disruptiveness in school (Vitaro, Larocque, Janosz, & Tremblay, 2001), weak identification with school (Fall & Roberts, 2012), a lack of school friends (Ellenbogen & Chamberland, 1997), school disengagement (Henry, Knight, & Thornberry, 2012;Janosz, Archambault, Morizot, & Pagani, 2008), and low socio-economic status (Battin-Pearson et al., 2000;Chapman, Laird, Ifill, & KewalRamani, 2012). For review studies, see for instance Christenson and Thurlow (2004), De Witte et al. (2013), Doll et al. (2013), Rosenthal (1998), Rumberger (1987), and Rumberger and Lim (2008). ...
Prior studies have noted several risk and protective factors for school dropout; however, only a few have examined longer-term vulnerabilities alongside temporary risk and protective factors. Consequently, we focused on the role that both stable and time-varying psychosocial risk and protective factors play in dropout intentions and actual dropout, using a 4-year longitudinal design. We investigated to what extent dropout intentions and dropout can be predicted by an interplay between negative life events, general self-efficacy, and perceived social support. We distinguished between time-averaged levels of self-efficacy and social support, and within-person change in self-efficacy and social support over time. This enabled us to establish whether dropout intentions and dropout were sensitive to fluctuations in perceived self-efficacy and social support over time when controlling for person-specific levels of these psychosocial resources. Calculating multilevel models with data from a prospective cohort study (N = 4,956, 43% male), we found that negative life events were significantly associated with an increase in dropout intentions and the likelihood of school dropout. Furthermore, time-averaged levels of self-efficacy and social support, and a within-person (situational) increase in these characteristics relative to their time-averaged levels, were related to lower levels of dropout intentions but did not prevent dropout. The positive relationship between negative life events and dropout intentions was attenuated for individuals who perceived higher levels of self-efficacy than usual. Our findings suggest future research should further investigate time-averaged and situational psychosocial drivers of school dropout in combination.
... Many studies focus on high school students and their decisions about the value of attending school, and where absences are often taken as an indicator of being disengaged from education in general (Kearney, 2008a(Kearney, , 2008bReid, 2005;Rosenkranz, de la Torre, Stevens, & Allensworth, 2014), though studies are increasingly examining absences among younger students (Ehrlich, Gwynne, Pareja, & Allensworth, 2014;Gottfried, 2009;Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004). Other studies recognise that students can miss school for multiple reasons and use broad terms, like irregular attendance (Jones, Toma, & Zimmer, 2008) or persistent absenteeism (Department for Education, 2011). ...
Understanding different reasons for student absences, how these reasons vary across students, and how the absence-achievement relationship varies by reason for absence represents a significant gap in attendance research and policy. This thesis addressed these gaps using administrative data for students attending government schools in Western Australia from 2013 to 2016. Results showed that (1) understanding variation in absence types is essential when assessing student outcomes, (2) unexplained absences require more policy attention, and (3) the negative absence-achievement association is larger for high-achieving than low-achieving students. These findings provide important insights for policy-makers, schools, students and families concerning student absences.
... Considerable empirical evidence has accumulated supporting the conceptualization of engagement as a malleable characteristic (see Upadyaya & Salmela-Aro, 2013, for a review) that can be cultivated in the school context (Wang & Eccles, 2013). Thus, researchers have been seeking targets for early interventions, given that levels of behavioral school engagement as early as third grade have been identified as predictors of potential dropout in high school (Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004). Accordingly, behavioral school engagement has been emphasized in previous research with elementary students (De Laet et al., 2015;Guo et al., 2015). ...
... However, as maintained by Mac Iver and Mac Iver (2010) these do not address the integration of the components of each intervention into a cohesive model. Further, multi-tiered intervention support may be effective in reducing attrition rates, and minimal experimental research, as noted by Freeman and Simonsen (2015), Lee and Burkam (2003), Lehr, Sinclair, and Christenson (2004) and Mac Iver (2011) tends to support this recommendation. Current empirical research is also considered by Dynarski et al. (2008) and Mac Iver and Mac Iver (2010) to be limited in guidance to schools and policy makers in regards to integrating effective interventions into a multi-tiered framework, addressing the student needs. ...
An examination of student educational aspirations, low socioeconomic student attrition and retention and intervention programs designed to increase university participation.
Engagement is critical to satisfaction and performance in a number of domains but is challenging to measure and sustain. Thus, there is considerable interest in developing affective computing technologies to automatically measure and enhance engagement, especially in the wild and at scale. This article provides an accessible introduction to affective computing research on engagement detection and enhancement using educational applications as an application domain. We begin with defining engagement as a multicomponential construct (i.e., a conceptual entity) situated within a context and bounded by time and review how the past six years of research has conceptualized it. Next, we examine traditional and affective computing methods for measuring engagement and discuss their relative strengths and limitations. Then, we move to a review of proactive and reactive approaches to enhancing engagement toward improving the learning experience and outcomes. We underscore key concerns in engagement measurement and enhancement, especially in digitally enhanced learning contexts, and conclude with several open questions and promising opportunities for future work.
In 2021, the global video game industry was estimated to be worth more than $178 billion. That year, there were more than 2.9 billion active gamers in the world who spent an average of 12 hours a week playing video games. What if we could get our students as invested in their coursework as they are in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare? The purpose of this study was to examine whether gamification techniques could be employed in a criminal justice course and to assess student engagement and attitudes towards the gamified course structure. Class observations and survey data suggested that the gamified structure of the course was received favorably by the students and increased student engagement with the course material. The findings indicate that gamifi-cation made the learning experience unique and resulted in a layer of meaning and engagement to the students' classroom experience. ARTICLE HISTORY
In this chapter, the possible causes of SUDs are discussed. The evidence from different socio-cultural contexts confirms that multiple factors contribute to their development. None of the elements nor set of factors affect all individuals in the same way or explain substance use comprehensively because of the multifactorial nature of SUDs. At the end of the chapter, machine-generated summaries of five relevant scientific papers are included.
Of all years of elementary school, kindergartners and first graders are disproportionately absent. To address this, there is a growing effort among both research and policy communities to identify and develop which school resources might be leveraged to improve absenteeism. This study contributes in this domain, by examining whether serving school breakfast in the classroom (as opposed to elsewhere at school) might be linked to better attendance outcomes for students in both kindergarten and first grade. Using nationally representative data (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Class of 2010-11) and controlling for unobserved confounding individual-level factors, our study finds that when schools moved breakfast into the classroom (from the cafeteria, for instance), children had fewer days absent as well as a decrease in the likelihood of being chronically absent. The results were not differentiated by specific student or school characteristics, thereby suggesting a generalizability across all students in the sample. These findings should motivate a policy conversation around ways to best leverage and change existing school settings to reduce children’s absenteeism.
Research and policy dialogue surrounding absenteeism has predominately focused on the school when it comes to reducing student absences, with little focus on the classroom. Further, there has also been minimal attention paid to effects of absenteeism beyond achievement outcomes. To address both, we focused on the classroom and asked whether classrooms with typically higher rates of absenteeism were linked to students’ individual achievement, executive function, and social skills. We used a nationally representative dataset of children who started in kindergarten in 2010–2011 (N = 18,170) – when absenteeism is at its highest point not seen again until adolescence. Using school and student fixed effects, our findings revealed that as the percent of absent classmates increases, individual student performance worsens consistently across achievement and executive function domains. Evidence for links between classmate absenteeism and student performance in socio-behavioral domains was less conclusive. Finally, the findings were unique to different student groups.
The term ‘non-cognitive skills’ refers to a set of attitudes, behaviours, and strategies that are thought to underpin success in school and at work, such as motivation, perseverance, and self-control. They are usually contrasted with the ‘hard skills’ of cognitive ability in areas such as literacy and numeracy, which are measured by academic tests. Non-cognitive skills are increasingly considered to be as important as, or even more important than, cognitive skills or IQ in explaining academic and employment outcomes. Indeed, there is now growing attention from policymakers on how such ‘character’ or ‘soft’ skills can be developed in children and young people. However, despite growing interest in this topic, the causal relationship between non-cognitive skills and later outcomes is not well established. This rapid literature review is intended to summarise the existing evidence on how ‘non-cognitive skills’ can be defined and measured; assess the evidence that such skills have a causal impact on later outcomes; and the role of select interventions that aim to improve non-cognitive skills in children and young people. It has been jointly funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and Cabinet Office to inform future work in this area.
This research was conducted to investigate the causes and remedies of students' absenteeism in classes ata South Asian Government College naming Government Teachers' Training College, Sylhet in Bangladesh. The study was qualitative followed by interview schedule, FGD and observation. The identified major factors responsible for students' absenteeism were as students' financial crisis, long distance between students' residence and institution, unsafe public transport, sometimes teacher absenteeism, and a prime lacking rooted in the education policy. The recommendations were to provide transport services, increase accommodation and other related facilities for the students, make class attendance mandatory and execute a proper penalty system, be college administration more active, and facilitate teachers through all logistic supports and training to reduce absenteeism.
BACKGROUND
Improving the academic achievement of youth in the United States is an area of interest and a critical indicator of the future success of the youth. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a comprehensive school physical activity and healthy eating program on 5th‐grade students' academic achievement, specifically reading and math.
METHODS
Overall, 628 (intervention: 377, 54% girls; comparison: 251, 49% girls) 5th‐grade children participated across the 6 schools in a year‐long comprehensive health intervention, completing curriculum‐based academic achievement measures at 2 time‐points.
RESULTS
Results showed that even after controlling for class clustering, age, sex, race, and T1 reading and math variables, students' T2 reading and math achievement were significantly higher in the intervention group than the comparison group.
CONCLUSIONS
Comprehensive health programming can enhance the health and academic achievement of youth.
Children in kindergarten and first grade are missing more school than at any other point during the elementary years. While some research has examined what schoolwide programs might help to reduce absences, limited work has focused on the role of teachers. We are the first known study to examine kindergarten and first grade teachers, and none have done so vis-à-vis teacher preparation. We collected statewide data on elementary school teachers graduating from teacher preparation programs in the 2017–18 year in California. For teachers entering kindergarten or first grade classrooms, we find that kindergarten and first grade teachers had a greater perceived understanding of chronic absenteeism when they perceived their licensure requirement and placements as being helpful in preparing to teach. We also find that teachers felt better prepared to address absenteeism when they felt stronger support from their university supervisors. In contrast, there are null findings for new teachers entering second through fifth grade classrooms. This is meaningful given that teachers who feel the most prepared are entering classrooms where students are the most likely to be absent. Implications are discussed.
In response to budget problems, many urban school systems reduced resources for getting students to come to school, such as truancy officers. Chicago, for instance, in 1991, went from 150 truancy officers down to a total of zero. Is that a good idea? In this study, we explore the effects of increased support by a pro‐social adult, or “social capital,” delivered through a structured student monitoring and mentoring program called Check & Connect (C&C). We carried out a large‐scale randomized controlled trial with C&C in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to students in grades 1 to 8. Program participation decreased absences in grades 5 to 7 by 4.2 days, or 22.9 percent, but had no detectable effects on students in grades 1 to 4. We also did not find statistically significant effects on learning outcomes such as test scores or GPA, or any detectable spillovers to other students within the schools where the program was administered. The modest impacts per dollar spent, compared to previous evidence on either low‐cost “nudges” or relatively intensive, higher‐cost interventions, raise the possibility that, for very disadvantaged students, there may be decreasing returns that are then followed by increasing returns to program intensity for the problem of student disengagement.
This thesis aims to present evidence regarding the role of school in the formation and development of skills using Brazilian data, attempting to reconcile the different lines of theoretical discussion regarding socioemotional competences in light of the empirical results of the econometric models. Skills here are considered to be those competencies with some level of malleability during life. It can be divided into two groups: cognitive skills (or hard skills), which have as their closest measure IQ and are related to intelligence, as reasoning ability and logic, for example; Socioemotional skills, also known as non-cognitive skills or soft skills, which are personality traits that are related to motivation, perseverance, creativity and selfesteem, for example. Several empirical evidence from the literature on socioemotional competences and their different theoretical approaches to classification are presented, as well as a panorama concerning Brazilian education in recent years and how the imminent importance of socioemotional competences has been absorbed. Using data from the SENNA (2013) and Prova Brasil (2013), estimates were made regarding the training and development of these skills in school. We used the Propensity Score Matching, Least Squares Weighted by Propensity Scores and Finite Mixture Model methodologies to account for selection bias by observable variables, variables related to student performance, and unobserved heterogeneity in the estimation of impact of attendance on early childhood education. Positive and significant effects were found for the preschool in the 5th year on cognitive dimensions. Positive effects of preschool were found on the locus of control, emotional stability and openness to new experiences for fifth graders, including evidence of the development of mathematical skills in daycare. Taking into account the particular characteristic of the educational data, to contain the same grouping structure, a Multilevel Hierarchical Model was used, considering the student, class and school levels, with the objective of obtain evidence of formation and development of skills in the school context. Evidence was found that there is a great malleability in the alteration of socioemotional competences at the level of the classes in the first year of high school and at the level of the school in the third year of high school. Kindness and emotional stability seem especially malleable at the level of the class in the third year of high school. Negative associations of illiterate mothers, schools with infrastructure problems (bad libraries, bad blocks, bad laboratories and bad classrooms) and levels of socioemotional skills were found. Positive results were found for the levels of conscientiousness and kindness among Bolsa-Família beneficiaries who meet minimum requirements such as attending classes. Also, evidence was found that once a minimum basic level has been reached, socioeconomic level is not only not relevant as it has negative association with all competences, especially in the first year of high school.
This mixed-methods study examined student engagement and the development of twenty-first-century learning skills of collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking for Grade 3 students who used immersive game-based learning activities using Breakout EDU strategies compared to students who used traditional small-group methods. BOEDU is an escape room for the classroom. There were 76 Grade 3 students in the study. There were 40 students in the immersive game-based learning group and 36 students in the tradition small-group learning group. The overall quantitative results showed no significant results for engagement or the development of twenty-first-century learning skills of students who participated using BOEDU strategies versus students who did not participate in BOEDU strategies. However, the subgroup of non-ELL students showed significant results for behavioural engagement and overall disaffection. In addition, the overall qualitative results showed teamwork, challenge and fun as the most frequent themes of motivational engagement triggers. The students who participated in the focus group interviews, both the engaged students and the disaffection students, stated they enjoyed this method of learning and wanted to do it more often.
The 2006 and 2015 What Works Clearinghouse reviews of dropout prevention programs found Check & Connect to have positive effects on staying and progressing in school. In this chapter, the student engagement intervention, Check & Connect, is described in terms of what it is (i.e., components and elements), how it is implemented (i.e., preparation and implementation steps), and its effectiveness with different samples of students in different educational settings. Lessons learned across the various implementations of Check & Connect with elementary and secondary students with and without disabilities in suburban and urban school districts conclude the chapter.
Öğrenci devamsızlıkları eğitimde hedeflenen çıktılara ulaşılması önün-deki en büyük engellerden biridir. Akademik ve sosyal yönleriyle okul yaşamına eksiksiz olarak katılan çocuklar daha başarılı olmalarının yanında okul terki gibi dezavantaj yaratan durumlarla da daha az karşılaşmaktadırlar. Bir okul yılının en az %10'unun kaçırılması olarak ortaya çıkan ve kronik devamsızlık olarak ifade edilen bu olguyla mücadele etmek için, bireyden topluma kadar geniş bir ölçüde planlanan ve uygulanan müdahalelere ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır. Nitekim devamsızlığı yaratan durumların bireyden topluma hatta kültüre dek uzayan bir yapıda ortaya çıktığı öngörülmektedir. Temel eğitim dönemindeki çocuklar için devamsızlıkla mücadele edecek uygulamalar okul, bölgesel ya da ulusal düzeyde geliştirilebileceği gibi uluslararası uygulamaların Türk eğitim sistemine uyarlaması da yapılabilir. Bu çalışma ile Bronfenbrenner'ın ekolojik sistem yaklaşımı perspektifinde kronik devamsızlık ile mücadele eden uluslararası uygulama örneklerinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yaklaşım temelinde okul devamsızlığı ile mücadele eden ülkelerde geliştirilmiş programlara ve bu programların uygulamalarının sonuçlarına odaklanılmıştır.
This study used a prospective longitudinal sample of American children from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 1326) to consider the educational, social, and behavioral correlates of absenteeism. More specifically, this study examined: (a) the extent to which absenteeism in the early elementary school years is associated with absenteeism in the later school years; (b) the degree to which absenteeism in the first decade of children's education is associated with their academic achievement and social-behavioral outcomes at age 15; (c) whether the timing of absenteeism matters for outcomes at age 15; and (d) whether early absenteeism has indirect effects on outcomes at age 15 via later absenteeism. Results indicated that school absenteeism was fairly stable throughout children's educational careers and although few children were chronically absent, children who had a weaker attendance record in the early years, in turn, had weaker attendance later on. Ultimately, absenteeism during the earliest years of school was linked with less optimal academic and social-behavioral outcomes at age 15 because children were more likely to be absent later on in their educational careers.
A report on the research behind approaches to reducing chronic absenteeism.
Extensive studies have been conducted to diagnose and predict students' academic performance by analyzing a large amount of data related to their learning behaviors in a blended learning environment. But there is a lack of research examining how individualized learning interventions could improve students' academic performance in such a learning context. In this study, a quasi-experiment was designed to investigate the effect of an individualized intervention approach on students’ course performance and learning behaviors in a blended course. Forty-nine Chinese tertiary students undertaking the course were randomly assigned into two groups – the experimental and control groups. During the course, the experimental group received individualized interventions, while the control group received undifferentiated interventions. The data about these participants’ learning behaviors were collected over 15 weeks. The results indicated that, compared with the control group, the experimental group showed significantly better academic performance, a higher level of learning motivation, attitude and self-efficacy, more active learning behaviors, and fewer passive learning behaviors. The control group revealed similar online learning time, but significantly more resource utilization and forum access. It is concluded that personalized learning intervention can effectively improve students’ learning behaviors, attitude, motivation, self-efficacy, and academic performance in a blended learning environment.
In this study, we explore how high schools, through their structures and organization, may influence students’ decisions to stay in school or drop out. Traditional explanations for dropout behavior have focused on students’ social background and academic behaviors. What high schools might do to push out or hold students has received less empirical scrutiny. Using a sample of 3,840 students in 190 urban and suburban high schools from the High School Effectiveness Supplement of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, we apply multilevel methods to explore schools’ influence on dropping out, taking into account students’ academic and social background. Our findings center on schools’ curriculum, size, and social relations. In schools that offer mainly academic courses and few nonacademic courses, students are less likely to drop out. Similarly, students in schools enrolling fewer than 1,500 students more often stay in school. Most important, students are less likely to drop out of high schools where relationships between teachers and students are positive. The impact of positive relations, however, is contingent on the organizational and structural characteristics of high schools.
We discuss the decline in early adolescents' academic motivation after the transition to middle grade schools and review work on how school and classroom environments in traditional middle grade schools could be responsible for these declines. We suggest that there is often a mismatch between characteristics of the classroom environment in traditional middle grade schools and early adolescents' developmental level. We present results of a comprehensive longitudinal study examining the influence of school and classroom environmental factors such as teacher discipline and control practices, teacher-student relations, opportunities for student decision making, teachers' sense of efficacy, and between-classroom ability grouping on student motivation. In general, results indicated that middle grade school math teachers, in comparison to sixth-grade elementary school teachers, control students more, provide them fewer decision-making opportunities, and feel less efficacious. Between-classroom ability grouping also increased in middle grade schools. Many of these changes related to declines observed in students' motivation in middle school.
In 1996, the American Psychological Association (APA) recommended that the association work to "increase the participation of psychology and psychologists in assisting in national, state, and local efforts to prevent school drop-out" (APA, 1996). The purpose of this special issue is to describe the psychological scholarship that must underlie these efforts, as it has been reflected in the work of an Interdivisional Task Force on School Dropout Prevention. This article describes the complex understanding of high school completion that emerged from Task Force discussions, and the implications this has for efforts to prevent school dropout and promote school completion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Prior studies report a variety of demographic, school, individual, and family characteristics that are related to high school drop out. This study utilizes data from a 19-year prospective longitudinal study of “at-risk” children to explore multiple predictors of high school dropouts across development. The proposed model of dropping out emphasizes the importance of the early home environment and the quality of early caregiving influencing subsequent development. The results of this study demonstrate the association of the early home environment, the quality of early caregiving, socioeconomic status, IQ, behavior problems, academic achievement, peer relations, and parent involvement with dropping out of high school at age 19. These results are consistent with the view of dropping out as a dynamic developmental process that begins before children enter elementary school. Psychosocial variables prior to school entry predicted dropping out with power equal to later IQ and school achievement test scores. In our efforts to better understand processes influencing dropping out prior to high school graduation, early developmental features warrant further emphasis.
Prior research on dropouts has often focused on high schools and examined the issue from either the individual perspective or the institutional perspective. Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988 and a new form of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), this study focuses on dropouts from middle school and examines the issue from both individual and institutional perspectives. At the individual level, the results identified a number of family and school experience factors that influence the decision to leave school, with grade retention being the single most powerful predictor. But disaggregating the analysis also revealed that there are widespread differences in the effects of these factors on White, Black, and Hispanic students. At the institutional level, the results revealed that mean dropout rates vary widely between schools and that most of the variation can be explained by differences in the background characteristics of students. But restricting the analysis to lower SES schools shows widespread differences in both mean dropout rates and social class differentiation among such schools. Moreover, much of the variation among those schools can be explained by social composition of students and by several structural features of schools and school climate.
Using the most comprehensive data set on school dropouts that we have to date, the High School and Beyond study, Ruth Ekstrom, Margaret Goertz, Judith Pollack, and Donald Rock provide an analysis of the salient characteristics of the dropout population.
Research on dropping out of school has focused on characteristics of the individual or institution that correlate with the dropout decision. Many of these characteristics are nonmanipulable, and all are measured at one point in time, late in the youngster’s school career. This paper describes two models for understanding dropping out as a developmental process that may begin in the earliest grades. The frustration-self-esteem model has been used for years in the study of juvenile delinquency; it identifies school failure as the starting point in a cycle that may culminate in the student’s rejecting, or being rejected by, the school. The participation-identification model focuses on students’ “involvement in schooling,” with both behavioral and emotional components. According to this formulation, the likelihood that a youngster will successfully complete 12 years of schooling is maximized if he or she maintains multiple, expanding forms of participation in school-relevant activities. The failure of a youngster to participate in school and class activities, or to develop a sense of identification with school, may have significant deleterious consequences. The ability to manipulate modes of participation poses promising avenues for further research as well as for intervention efforts.
The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a sustained dropout prevention procedure that incorporated monitoring and school engagement strategies. Ninety-four students with learning and emotional/behavioral disabilities received interventions in Grades 7 and 8; half of the students (treatment group) continued to receive intervention through Grade 9. Results of this experimental study indicated that, for two of three measures, students in the treatment group were significantly more likely to be engaged in school than were control group students. The overall performance of both treatment and control students, however, points to the need for early and sustained support for students with learning and behavioral disabilities to attain academic and behavioral standards.
This article provides an integrative review of prevention and intervention studies addressing dropout or school completion described in professional journals. Forty-five intervention studies were coded according to research design, participants, interventions, and outcomes to describe the range of data-based programs and approaches available in the literature. In addition, effect sizes were calculated for dependent variables in 17 studies. The extent to which intervention studies reflect current conceptualizations of dropout are examined, and the degree to which the studies incorporate sound methodology is critically analyzed. The article concludes with recommendations for advancing intervention and prevention research to promote school completion. Implications for school psychologists, and related professionals and disciplines, to shift from a focus on dropout towards promoting school completion are explicated.
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We used the records from students entering two high schools in 1981 to classify students as dropouts, graduates, nongraduates returning for a fifth year, add non-graduates who did not continue. Using data from the students’ permanent records, we found numerous significant differences among these groups, some evident as early as the third grade. Cutoffs were determined on several measures, indicating that dropouts could be differentiated with 66% accuracy in the third grade and with 85% accuracy by the ninth grade. Nongraduates, a group roughly equal in size to the dropouts, could be identified with 77% accuracy by the ninth grade. Various implications for intervention programs are discussed.
A hierurchical lineur model analysis (Raz~denbz~sh & Bryk, 1986) is used to inve.~tigate directly the efects of structz~rul and normative features of schools on both the probuhility of dropping out und the strongest behuvioral predictor of dropping out, uhsenteeism. We hypothesized (hut high levels of internal difirentiat ion ~vithin high schools and weak normative environ- ments contrih~lte to the prohlems of absenteeism and dropping out. Con- versely, these stz~dent behaviors shoz~ld be less problematic in school contexts where there is less dflerentiation among students and strong normution. The empiricul res~llts reported in this puper support these hypo these.^. No single factor makes schools effective in sustuining student interest and commitment. Rather, u constellation of both strltct~lrul und normative features uppeurs to be involved. The anulyses also provide some s~lpport Jbr the contention thut special henefits accrue to disudvuntuged and at-risk youth from attending certain kinds ofschools.
This book discusses the prevention of problems and the promotion of success for school children today. Chapters include: (1) "Preventing Aggression and Violence" (George G. Bear, Carolyn Webster-Stratton, Michael J. Furlong, and Sabrina Rhee); (2) "Promoting Social and Emotional Competence in Children" (Joseph E. Zins, Maurice J. Elias, Mark T. Greenberg, and Roger P. Weissberg); (3) "Promoting School Readiness" (Janet E. Panter and Bruce A. Bracken); (4) "Promoting Achievement Motivation" (Anastasia S. Morrone and Paul A. Schutz); (5) "Preventing Academic Failure" (Nancy Waldron and James McLeskey); (6) "Promoting Successful School Completion" (Sandra L. Christenson, Mary F. Sinclair, Camilla A. Lehr, and Christine M. Hurley); (7) "Preventing Substance Use and Abuse" (Gilbert J. Botvin and Kenneth W. Griffin); (8) "Preventing Early Sexual Behavior: Sociopolitical Issues and the Design of Empirically Supportable School Based Interventions" (Adena B. Meyers and Steven Landau); (9) "Promoting Physical Health" (Ruth Saunders and Russell Pate); and (10) "Preventing School Problems and Promoting School Success through Family-School-Community Collaboration" (Kathleen M. Minke). (Contains 2 figures, 38 tables, and over 800 references.) (JDM)
This study, part of the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students, compares the postschool experiences of a group of almost 2,000 youth (those who were already out of secondary school in 1987) when they had been out of school less than 2 years with their accomplishments 3 years later. Chapters in the report have the following titles and authors: "A Second Look" (Mary Wagner); "Analytic Overview: NLTS Design and Longitudinal Analysis Approach" (Mary Wagner); "Education after Secondary School" (Camille Marder); "Trends in Employment among Out-of-School Youth with Disabilities" (Ronald D'Amico and Jose Blackorby); "A Place To Call Home: Residential Arrangements of Out-of-School Youth with Disabilities" (Lynn Newman); "'A Little Help from My Friends': The Social Involvement of Young People with Disabilities" (Mary Wagner); "More Than the Sum of the Parts: Life Profiles of Out-of-School Youth with Disabilities" (Mary Wagner); and "Transition: Changes, Challenges, Cautions" (Mary Wagner). Almost 60 tables and over 50 figures graphically depict the study findings, and references accompany each chapter. Findings indicated that youth with disabilities who dropped out of high school were less likely than others to return to high school or to earn high school equivalency degrees; over the 3-year period, there were increases in overall employment and in full-time employment, but youth with disabilities continued to hold relatively low-status jobs. Appendixes provide background information on the NLTS sample, variable specifications, supplementary statistical tables, and a list of products available from the NLTS. (JDD)
Intended for teachers and administrators, this book examines systematic observation of reading behaviors and reading recovery procedures to help children with reading problems. Part one deals with systematic observation, beginning with a discussion of the reading process and reading programs. Following that, it describes the use of the diagnostic survey--including strategies both for using the "running record" and for testing--and concludes with strategies for summarizing the diagnostic survey results. Part two focuses on reading recovery--a program for early intervention--and includes chapters on organizing to prevent reading failure, reducing reading difficulties with a second chance to learn, understanding the various aspects of the reading recovery program, reading recovery teaching procedures, and deciding when to discontinue children from the program. The final chapter contains summaries of six projects that make up the program and a summary of the entire reading recovery program. The appendixes contain summary sheets, test score sheets, reading recovery teaching sheets (for New Zealand children), and a stanine score summary sheet. (EL)
Data on dropout trends over time are combined with data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey to give a picture of the dropout situation in the United States and the aspirations of students who have dropped out. In 1993, about 381,000 students dropped out of high school. In economic terms the consequences of dropping out can be demonstrated by the fact that, in 1992, dropouts earned about $6,000 a year less than those who completed high school. By all measures, the percentage of students dropping out of high school is declining. Even in large urban school districts, where dropout rates have been highest, they are improving. In 1992-93 the median 4-year dropout rate was 28%. Black and Hispanic American students are still somewhat more likely to drop out than Whites and Asian Americans. Thirty percent of girls who dropped out did so because of pregnancy. Many dropouts remain optimistic about their prospects. Only 15% of dropouts indicated that they expected to attain less than a high school education in their lifetimes, with about a fifth planning to attend a vocational or trade school. One third planned to attend college. (Contains 20 figures, 5 tables, and 10 references.) (SLD)
Research on dropping out of school has focused on characteristics of the individual or institution that correlate with the dropout decision. Many of these characteristics are nonmanipulable, and all are measured at one point in time, late in the youngster’s school career. This paper describes two models for understanding dropping out as a developmental process that may begin in the earliest grades. The frustration-self-esteem model has been used for years in the study of juvenile delinquency; it identifies school failure as the starting point in a cycle that may culminate in the student’s rejecting, or being rejected by, the school. The participation-identification model focuses on students’ “involvement in schooling,” with both behavioral and emotional components. According to this formulation, the likelihood that a youngster will successfully complete 12 years of schooling is maximized if he or she maintains multiple, expanding forms of participation in school-relevant activities. The failure of a youngster to participate in school and class activities, or to develop a sense of identification with school, may have significant deleterious consequences. The ability to manipulate modes of participation poses promising avenues for further research as well as for intervention efforts.
Our nation's secondary school dropout rate of 17–25% is at a historic low. Nevertheless, considerable concern exists about the enormous losses to individuals, families, and society associated with not completing high school. School, race, gender, and economic and family qualities associated with dropouts are reviewed briefly. General prevention principals are proposed together with more specific strategies involving youth, schools, family, and community. The goals are two pronged: (a) to provide systems that enable adequate achievement and achievement motivation, passing grades, feelings of affiliation with school and peers, and a stable support systems from peers, family, and the community; and (b) to be free of impediments that diminish suitable educational outcomes, including unsuitable school qualities, premature entrance into adulthood, and qualities that adversely affect students' physical and mental health.
School engagement and students at risk
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Promoting school readiness
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Dakota County: Elementary Check & Connect 2000 summary re-port
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Educating young students at risk of school failure: Research, practice and policy
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Every child, every school: Success for All
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Schools and students at risk: Context and framework for positive change
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Promoting social and emotional competence in children
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