Final Report – December 6, 2011 - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Final Report – December 6, 2011the Lincy institute fellowship research awardGwen C. MarchandAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Educational research, cognition, and development

Understanding Student Disaffection through the Lens of Alternative EducationSlide2

Project IntroductionSlide3

What is this project all about? Partnership between Student Support Services Division (SSSD) in Clark County School District (CCSD) who administer to alternative schools and UNLV Grew from desire to know:More about the demographics and academic history of alternative school population being served by SSSD

Student perspectives of educational experience leading to alternative school placementHow to better identify needs and target current and early intervention servicesSlide4

Alternative Education in Clark CountyAlternative Education in Clark CountyBehavior Schools – 9 weeksContinuation Schools – 18 weeksAlso called consequence schools

Alternative schools served 5,690 students in 2009-201030% received multiple referrals18% had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)Slide5

Need for ProjectAlternative school may be last stop before dropping out entirelySome alternative schools have dropout rates exceeding 50% (www.nevadareportcard.com)Why focus on special education students in alternative education?

Students in alternative education are predominately male, minority, and a substantial percentage are eligible for special education services.Students of color are overrepresented in special education (Shealey

&

Lue

, 2006 &

Ferri

, & Connor, 2005

)

Many students placed in special education also face other challenges, such as few economic resources

(

Shealey & Lue, 2006) Taken together, special education students may have increased risk for academic disaffection leading to alternative education.Slide6

Relevant LiteratureAlternative education Deficit-thinking paradigm dominates limited literature on alternative educationSuggests individual factors, rather than systemic factors, are responsible for student failures and disaffectionAlternative settings may offer caring environment but lack academic rigor

(Kim & Taylor, 2008)Limited research on student trajectories to alternative education and student educational experiences in alternative educationSlide7

Relevant LiteratureStudent disaffectionDisaffection is characterized by active withdrawal from academic activities and is reflective of maladaptive motivational states (Skinner, Furrer

, Marchand, & Kindermann, 2008)

Negative emotions, disruptive or unproductive behavior, reduced cognitive engagement

Transactions between the individual and the educational system may contribute

to disaffection

Dearth of

information about systemic factors, such as provision of services, teacher quality, transition plans, curriculum continuity, school culture, etc. that may contribute to

disaffected behaviors

leading to alternative enrollmentSlide8

Relevant LiteratureSchool transitionsTransitions may be a period of vulnerability for academically at-risk studentsScheduled transitions Students may be unprepared for increased demands of middle and high school and may lack appropriate structure to help them succeed

Unscheduled transitionsFrequent mobility associated with achievement loss (Alspaugh

, 1998;

Engec

, 2006) and high school completion (

Rumberger

, & Larson 1998)Slide9

Project GoalsResearchUse existing data sources to identify patterns of academic life leading to enrollment and recidivism in alternative education for students receiving special education services.Conduct a series of interviews to understand student experiences in general and alternative education, particularly during transition periods.

PartnershipDevelop partnership with the Clark County School District (CCSD) Student Support Services Division (SSSD) staff responsible for serving alternative education schools.

Support SSSD in developing capacity for understanding and using data to…

better target existing services

e

stablish evidence and guidance for early intervention programsSlide10

Research ActivitiesSlide11

Design

Mixed Methods Sequential Explanatory Design

(Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007)Slide12

Quantitative MethodsSecondary data sources:Count day file 2009-10 = demographicsEnrollment history Annual discipline countsAnnual attendance

State standardized testing data (CRT; Grades 3, 5, 8)

Academic Year

Data Source

03-04

04-05

05-06

06-07

07-08

08-09

09-10

Annual Attendance

X

X

X

X

Annual Discipline Counts

X

X

X

CRT

(3, 5, 8)

X

X

X

X

X

X

 Slide13

Quantitative Methods

Participants – all 8-12

th

grade students designated as having a learning disability or other health impairment (ADHD) enrolled and showing evidence of attendance as of 2009 count day (September 2009) AND having available enrollment history dataSlide14

Quantitative Descriptive FindingsFrequency of alternative enrollment665 students (61.7%) = 1 enrollment217 students (20.1%) = 2 enrollments196 students (18.2%) = 3 or more enrollments

Within-year mobility during elementary schoolAlternative group: Average of 1.17 transitions (SD = 1.53)

Non-alternative group: Average of .63 transitions

(

SD

=

1.16)Slide15

Academic PerformanceAcademic performance historySlide16

AttendanceAverage annual absences from 2006-07 thru 2009-10

Excused

Absences

Unexcused

Absences

Days

Enrolled

n

Mean (SD)

Mean (SD)

Mean (SD)

Grade 8 Alt

114

14.44 (8.23)

7.95 (6.89)

170.72 (8.84)

Grade 8 Non-alt

1403

6.08 (5.29)

4.52 (5.10)

173.92 (9.75)

Grade 9 Alt

230

15.74 (9.26)

11.53 (9.53)

169.69 (15.89)

Grade 9 Non-alt

1560

6.82 (6.40)

6.07 (7.89)

174.51 (13.03)

Grade 10 Alt

331

17.69 (12.12)

11.76 (9.87)

170.51 (15.97)

Grade 10 Non-alt

1664

7.06 (6.41)

6.76 (7.74)

174.62 (12.43)

Grade 11 Alt

219

16.69 (11.01)

9.64 (7.34)

170.12 (16.22)

Grade 11 Non-alt

1240

7.12 (6.70)

5.86 (6.82)

174.20 (13.32)

Grade 12 Alt

171

15.21 (10.22)

8.44 (8.01)

170.72 (17.52)

Grade 12 Non-alt

1040

7.26 (7.01)

4.90 (5.62)

175.23 (12.89)Slide17

Discipline 9th Grade Student Discipline Data for Grades 6, 7, and 9Slide18

Discipline 10th Grade Student Discipline Data for Grades 7, 8, and 10.Slide19

Quantitative Summary and Next StepsConsistent pattern of negative adjustment indicators for students who eventually enroll in alternative programsAt what grade do these indicators begin to diverge?Are there threshold points of increased vulnerability?

What role does elementary mobility play as a risk factor?Middle school may be a time of increasing disparityReceipt of additional data and more in-depth analyses of existing data to investigate

Student trajectories

Statistical differences and effect sizes between groups

Predictors of risk Slide20

Qualitative MethodsPurposeful sampling with following criteria:Students with learning disabilitiesStudents enrolled in behavior or continuation school for initial interviewStudents recidivated into alternative education

11 student participants enrolled in one of 4 alternative schools (2 behavior; 2 continuation)10 males2 8th

graders; 2 9

th

graders; 3 10

th

graders; 1 11

th

grader; 3 12

th

gradersSlide21

Qualitative MethodsInterview protocol loosely based on Seidman’s (2006) life history approachIn-depth interviews

Open ended and conversational styleQuestions based on general topic areas2 interviews of each child Interview 1: during alternative school enrollment

Interview 2: following transition back to comprehensive campus

Interview last between 20 minutes and over an hour

Interview one

Focus on student experiences since first enrollment in CCSD

General motivation and engagement; support systems; school behavior; experiences during transitions

Interview two

Student reflections and meaning-making of recent experience of alternative and general

ed

settings and transition between the twoSlide22

Qualitative Findings5 general themes/domains emerged from analysis of coded dataPersonal attributesPerceptions of social relationshipsProblem solving activitiesProcessing of school environment

Processing of school events Slide23

Personal AttributesStudent behavioral proclivities, beliefs, perceptions of reasons for engaging or disengaging in school, emotional orientations toward schoolEmerged from discussions of factors that facilitated or inhibited school adjustment and behavior issuesInterest and activities and peers commonly discussed as reason for coming to school and stay out of troubleSlide24

Personal AttributesStudent negative emotional orientations, such as anger or boredom, common source of problemsI: You said that you threw scissors at a teacher, what made you do that?

S: Like my anger and stuff like that. Like when I get angry I use to get angry and there was no stopping me. Like anything you told me not to do, I would do

.

Beliefs about self and behavior leads to conflicts in academic situations

I: How would you describe yourself as a student?

S

: …I’m a good student, but it’s just I’m just here because like I feel like whenever somebody

disrespect

me I

gotta

disrespect them back…Slide25

Social RelationshipsSpecific discussions related to interactions with social partners, such as teachers or peersEmerged from discussion of facilitative and inhibitive factorsPeers both source of school engagement as well as source of problems

Students insightful as to role of peers in behavioral influence Example from student describing experience during new school transitionI: Do you think that the curriculum was easier? Was there anything that you could attribute to

your

better

performance?

S

: It was easier but then I

ain’t

have no friends there so I was just like going to class on time

doing

my work.Slide26

Social RelationshipsSchool staff interactions featured heavily in discussionsSome students felt alternative teachers were more attentive but others did not; non-classroom teachers often mentioned as supports: coaches, counselors, sped Example of when interactions with teacher influenced behavior

When I ask for help, they ignore me; but when I raise my hand, like, they’re <like> “put your

hand

down, I’m not answering no questions right now.” Like, when teachers they’ll get mad like

before

they get to school and like, they take it out on the students....or they like come over

there

like "what you want" or something like that. Like, when they get all in my face like "what

you

want," I won't even ask '

em

for nothing anymore. I won't ask them a question for like a

week

.Slide27

How Students Approach Problems Students discussed how they dealt with challenging situations, such as transitioning to new school or with academic challengesStrategies and awareness of resourcesDifferences in student willingness to use problem solving strategies in classroom and knowledge of strategies

General low level of how to access help or even when help neededExtreme end – student comes to school for social reasons, gets by through copying from smart people, does not participate and avoids situations to expose her to failure

Other students more positive and mention going to teachers, special

ed

facilitators, classmates for

hellpSlide28

Environment ProcessingTheme emerged from discussions about how students understand specific school settings, such as alternative schoolsFocused heavily in transition discussionsApprehension toward alternative school based on past experience common theme

Fear of getting further behind due to curricular differences or environmental challenges S: These kids…<they interfere with the education the student is trying to get>…’

cuz

they always

disrupting

the teacher or something, yelling or something,

doin

’ some stupid thing…and then

like

the teacher get disrupted and she

gonna

deal with them and that’s

takin

us out of hour.Slide29

Environment Processing Change in environment and school culture often helpful in forming new relationships or academic adjustment S: …they some fun teachers because they like to do activities and stuff in the class…and they

teach a lot too.I

: …and was it easy for you to get to know teachers <at the new school>?

S

: Yes.

I

: Okay good. What made them easier to approach? What was it about their demeanor?

S

:

Cuz

like the other school I was going to

, <old school>,

it’s like a ghetto school…and

<

the

new

school> is like a corny school…like lame. (student continued to divulge how the teachers

kept

the students on track at this “corny” school and that helped him)Slide30

Event Processing Students reflected on important life events that influenced school experience and illustrated student behavioral and psychological adaptation Change in belief about school importance stemming from scheduled school transitions

S (02): It’s high-school, like it counts…all your credits and stuff like you’re not just doing all your work for nothing. Like middle school and elementary, it’s like you’re doing work for

nothing..So

that’s

why I think like most people don’t really try.

S

(S03): …So when I finally did start asking for the help and getting what I needed, it

kinda

made

it

easier to transition into high school,

ya

know, to understand that now you have to have not this

kid

set of mind, but more of a mature, teenage-adult mind; you have to set your standards

higher

;

you

have to put the bar up there; “you have to think about the next step before you just do

it

this time,” (chuckles)

ya

know, ‘

cuz

now you’re thinking “there’s a consequence for

everything

soooo

now that I know that (chuckles,) I may want to think about this before I do it;”Slide31

Event ProcessingStudent responses to life events, such as parental divorce or within-year mobility, was that this is “just the way things are” and seemed to become the status quo for many studentsRevised expectations for school and behavior downwardNot a big deal if not having a positive experience or doing well, because that is not the expectation for self

Students form beliefs about why others respond to them in certain ways after attending alternative schoolStudents discussing experiences with teachers at gen

ed

campus

S: They don’t talk as much to you as other people because I think they like know that I’m a fighter

and

stuff, yeah.Slide32

Qualitative SummarySchool supports and student personal resources and perceptions interact to influence student adjustment in schoolStudents may not have sufficient knowledge of problem solving strategies to succeed and may not view the system as open for assistanceThis is one avenue for possible intervention

School staff and peers are key partners in facilitating or inhibiting adjustmentHistory of negative or null experiences contribute to downward revision of expectations of self and othersSlide33

Qualitative Next StepsThings to considerCurricular coherenceMore overlapSchool climateDistinctions/similarities between school types

TransitionsSupports for effective within-year transitionsDifferent structural transitions may have different meanings

Where have students remained engaged? Where have they withdrawn?Slide34

Qualitative Next StepsContinue to collect data for initial and follow-up interviewsRefine coding scheme and search for new themesDevelop narratives:For common and disparate history of experience

For common and disparate meaning-making over alterative to general ed transitionFor individual stories spanning both eventsSlide35

Research SummaryPreliminary results from mixed-methods study are intriguing and ripe for follow-upBoth quantitative and qualitative components indicate that early school experience influences subsequent student behavior leading to alternative school placementMiddle school may be a time of increased vulnerability due to lack of supports, decreased monitoring, low academic competence

Student mobility may be important indicator for early intervention servicesSlide36

Partnership ActivitiesSlide37

Completed ActivitiesOngoing meetings to share findings and discuss ways to use dataWork together to devise materials for collection of behavior plan data to improve service provisionSSSD perceptions of partnership:

“As part of a proactive process the Student Support Services Division will be able to work with students to identify patterns that will potentially lead to future behavior difficulties and eventually to student disaffection if they are not

addressed….

The benefits of having this information are unlimited for how to prevent students from eventually being referred to a consequence school. School decision making teams will have less of a disconnection when determining supports for students. Currently when students are sent to a consequence school, the referring school has very little understanding of how this impacts the student educationally and emotionally. The information gained from this project will be beneficial for future training to make teachers at all levels aware of how the decisions that are made for students at all levels can impact their future educational success

.”Slide38

Ongoing Activities Developing training partnership to assist behavior mentors at schools in consistently collecting and using data about information in behavior plansNo-cost evaluation of new program provided by SSSD to alternative schoolsContinued development of research activities to provide SSSD with useful and relevant data to guide decision making and determine effectiveness of servicesSlide39

ConclusionsSlide40

Moving ForwardProject will continue past Lincy Award thanks support from Shulman Family Foundation

The APA Division 15 Early Career AwardA great CCSD partnerPreliminary results from the interview portion of the project already committed to publication in book chapter in 2012.Slide41

Acknowledgements Lincy Institute staffJoanne Vattiato, Stephanie Simmons, Katja Hermes,

Kamille Bryner at SSSDParticipating schools and students

Tireless UNLV student assistants:

Kayana

Sanders, Christie Higgins, Kyle

Kaalberg

COE and Department of Educational Research, Cognition, and Development Slide42

Questions????