Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Educational and school psychology'

U.S. and world communities face the challenges of understanding how children grieve and of giving them sufficient social and educational support. Inner-city minority adolescents have not been represented well in the bereavement and attachment literature. The purpose of the quantitative study was to use the attachment theory to understand the impact of parental bereavement on these adolescents. Data were collected using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), the Piers-Harris Children's Self- Concept Scale (2^nd ed.), and school records. MANOVAs were used to analyze the influence of attachment organization, bereavement status, and gender on self-concept and academic and behavioral functioning in school. Results indicated that securely attached adolescents functioned better across all 3 variables than did insecure and unresolved/disorganized adolescents. There were no differences in functioning in the bereaved group according to attachment organization. Results according to gender indicated that although the female participants experienced more academic success and had fewer behavioral difficulties in school, their self-concept was more negative than was that of their male counterparts. There were no differences in functioning in the bereaved group according to gender, but compared to the entire sample, the bereaved females no longer functioned better than males, academically or behaviorally, and there were no longer differences in self-concept. Possible positive social changes from these findings include improvements in school-related student support such as promoting the use of the AAI, linking educational and clinical environments, and assisting schools in developing safe-base classroom environments that could better meet students' needs according to their attachment organization and bereavement status.

The purpose of this study is to explore and identify flow characteristics in experienced middle school and high school band directors in the context of their teaching. The research was conducted using a qualitative multi-case study through the use of non-participant observations, field notes, and interviews with observational video with stimulated recall to identify the characteristics of flow in a total of five experienced middle school or high school band directors. It was apparent from the findings that every experienced middle school and high school band director experienced flow characteristics at different times while instructing their bands; conditions that facilitated and inhibited characteristics of flow as well as qualities that sustained characteristics of flow also were observed. This research may contribute to improved professional development and preparation of band directors; it may help them to recognize and achieve flow and develop good teaching practices, thereby enabling their students to reach their learning potential.

Poor academic performance and low academic aspirations can lead to involvement with the criminal justice system. Therefore, schools play an important role in mitigating risk factors as they create a supportive, accessible opportunity for intervention delivery. The population impacted most by academic zero-tolerance punishments are African-American students, whose current suspension rate is two to five times that of their White counterparts. This disproportionate representation also exists within the juvenile justice system, with African-American youths almost five times more likely to be detained than White youths. Therefore, finding effective school-based treatment interventions is essential to reducing disproportionate minority punishment and confinement. In order to address this need, a randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine the effectiveness of Rational Emotive Education (REE), a REBT school-based intervention, on the reduction of disruptive behavior amongst at-risk, male, African-American adolescents. Nineteen participants were assigned to either the treatment or the control condition. Data measuring disruptive behavior, anxiety, depression, anger, self-concept, and school engagement was collected for both groups pre-and post-intervention. Overall the results of the study revealed contradictory findings. Although participants assigned to the REE intervention saw a larger reduction in disruptive behavior over the course of treatment than the control group, on self-report measures they reported an increase in symptoms related to depression, anxiety, anger and a decrease in self-concept and school engagement. Treatment implications are discussed.

ABSTRACT BELIEFS AND KNOWLEDGE OF SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS ABOUT GRADE RETENTION DEBRA HARO Grade retention long has been a controversial approach to supporting struggling students. The current study used a survey method to investigate the knowledge and beliefs of school psychologists and school counselors as to the efficacy of grade retention. In total 383 school psychologists and 108 school counselors participated in the survey which consisted of 20 Belief Statements and13 Knowledge questions. Results show that school psychologists? beliefs are more similar to research that has been done over the past several years than the beliefs of the school counselors in the current sample. The results of the Belief portion of the survey indicated that the school counselors in the sample favor retaining students for lack of maturity and poor attendance more than the school psychologists do, with the school psychologists? beliefs being more in line with research. Both groups agreed with the ideas that a student should only be retained once and students who are receiving support from a special education teacher should not be retained. On the Knowledge portion of the survey the school psychologists obtained an average of 67.644 and the average for the school counselors was 44.515, with a statistically significant difference between the means. This indicates that the school psychologists have a significantly higher amount of knowledge on the subject of grade retention. The school psychologists and school counselors were asked to identify their sources of knowledge in order to determine if they were practical or propositional. The school psychologists were fairly split on their responses, with 51 percent indicating that they had obtained their knowledge through a propositional source. The school counselors indicated that 84.3 percent had obtained their knowledge through practical means, which may explain the difference in beliefs and levels of knowledge.

The history of equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) is visited in this dissertation, as well as different types of equestrian therapy programs that are being used in a variety of settings. Although there is limited research available regarding these types of studies, the research that does exist promotes an awareness and need for different therapeutic treatments, while acknowledging and promoting the benefits of equestrian psychotherapy. The purpose of this applied research study was to develop a proposed EAP school-based intervention program designed to work as a collaborative therapeutic program, using mental health workers, school personnel, and other paraprofessionals, working with children with emotional and behavioral disorders, in rural community public school settings. An evaluation of the program's efficacy by validity judges concluded that this program is potentially effective for working with these populations in this setting.

Although districts and schools have implemented several types of parental engagement programs, numerous programs fail to meet the needs of African American parents, especially during the high school years. One reason may be the lack of awareness and sensitivity toward the needs of African American parents. Using a two-part conceptual framework informed by Hoover-Dempsey Sandler’s (1995, 1997) model of parental engagement and critical race theory, this qualitative case study examined how African American parents defined parental engagement during the high school years. This study also explored parents’ role construction and self-efficacy, and if and how parents understood district parental engagement policies. Data were collected from documents and semi-structured interviews from 15 African American parents of high school children. Data were analyzed using thematic network analysis (Attride-Stirling, 2001) and a variation of constant comparative analysis (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Study findings revealed that parents described high school parental engagement as a fluid process that changed over time to best fit the academic and nonacademic needs of their children. This impacted parents’ parental engagement behaviors and practices. Whereas parents were unfamiliar with the district’s parental engagement policies, they were familiar with other school practices and policies that impacted their engagement behaviors. Parents defined their role in broad terms, such as being their children’s protector, teacher, and advocate. Parents’ self-efficacy was mainly based on their children’s academic performance in school and a village of supporters. Parents reported creating informal information networks to access information and services to assist them in supporting their child academically during high school. Although parents reported engaging in school-based activities, the primary method of engagement was home-based engagement practices.

This dissertation argues that bullying is a fundamental response to bullies’ feelings of insecurity. Past research has found factors associated with bullying to include socioeconomic status and propensities towards violent behavior. Contextual factors posited here that produce the feelings of insecurity, which lead to bullying, include peer group dynamics, school climates, and teaching.

In relationship to peer groups, the theoretical framework of this dissertation draws primarily from the theories of Robert E. Crosnoe and Dorte M. Sondergaard. The assumption is that students are socially embedded in peer groups in which they struggle for social status (Crosnoe 2011) and in many cases experience the threat of social marginalization (Sondergaard 2012). Sondergaard, in particular, theorizes that the more insecure students feel about their social status in peer groups, the more likely they are to resort to bullying behavior.

All multivariate analyses in this dissertation are limited to white, black, and Latino boys. The resulting sample comprises N=6,491 student observations nested within 153 schools. The nested sampling structure requires multi-level modeling (MLM) for the calculation of unbiased estimates.

I find that individual-level student background characteristics are stronger predictors of bully identification than the school context, as measured by student body composition and teaching style factors. In addition, social status insecurity is a mediating factor for many of the student- and school-level predictors of bullying.

The dissertation distinguishes four types of schools, each of which is above or below average on two major dimensions. The first dimension is academic support (i.e., how caring and responsive teachers are), while the other is academic press (i.e., how strict and demanding they are).

I find that black male students are more likely to self-identify as bullies in schools that are below average on both academic support and academic press, compared to those that are above average on both. The pattern for Latino boys is different. For them, self-reported bullying is higher when the school rates high on academic support, but low on academic press.

I find no statistically significant role for teaching styles in predicting the amount of bully identification among white males.

The academic achievement gap between African American and Caucasian students continues to be a major concern for policymakers and educators. This gap started to shrink in the 1970s and 1980s with integration, but the 1990s showed the achievement gap was on the rise again. The characteristics of the neighborhoods where children live and attend school have a great impact on their academic performances. This research study examined the relationship between poverty, community violence and the academic performance of elementary school age children, especially African American students. Seventy-eight public elementary schools were randomly chosen in Los Angeles County that had at least 10% African American students who completed the reading achievement test in each primary grade level (2-5 grade levels) in April 2012. The results showed that poverty and community violence had a significant negative impact on reading achievement test scores for African American students. Furthermore, the impact of community violence was twice that of poverty on academic performance. On the other hand, Caucasian students’ test scores were significantly impacted by poverty and not community violence. One explanation for this difference was that African American students experienced twice as much community violence in their neighborhoods as compared to Caucasian students. Since educators cannot change neighborhood characteristics, they need to focus on developing educational models that mitigate the impact of community violence and trauma on African American students.

As defined by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL, 2012), social-emotional learning (SEL) involves the acquisition of skills necessary to: identify and manage one’s emotions, relate to and establish relationships with others, and make positive and healthy decisions. With only 40% of kindergarten students demonstrating the social-emotional skills needed to be both academically and socially successful upon school entrance (Yates et al., 2008), explicit instruction targeting SEL is needed. As this instruction requires systems-level implementation and decision-making practices, members of these decision-making bodies can include several different school personnel, who may have varying levels of familiarity and previous use of SEL programs. Because the school principal is responsible for overseeing the implementation of school-wide programs (NYS Education Department, 2014), obtaining information regarding their familiarity and use of SEL programs, as well as their decision-making practices is needed. Consequently, the present study examined the extent to which principals participate in SEL decision-making practices; the selection procedures and decision making methods they use to select SEL programs; and their levels of familiarity, past use, and current use of CASEL approved SEL programs. The relationship between principal demographic characteristics and familiarity and use of SEL programs was also evaluated using survey methods. Analysis of descriptive statistics, frequency data, and three multiple regression analyses indicated that most NYS elementary school principals participate in SEL program decision-making. Additionally, they use a variety of methods for learning about programs and deciding upon programs. Overall, however, NYS elementary school principals have little familiarity, past use, or current use with CASEL-approved programs, suggesting a need for increased dissemination and professional development regarding these programs and resources.

Children and adolescents arrive at schools with more than just academic needs. Unfortunately, accountability is paramount in the minds of legislators, thus making test scores top priority for most public educators. For decades, pet therapy and pet assisted activities have been quite successful in mental health institutions, hospitals, and nursing homes. However, the body of work concerning pet therapy and pet assisted activities in public education is limited. The purpose of this case study was to determine if pet therapy is successful in a southwest Missouri school district and to examine how teachers and administrators employ their pet therapy dog. A mixed methods design was utilized using a qualitative case study approach and quantitative methods to determine the consensus of teachers and administrators involved with pet therapy. The data were collected and then triangulated to procure commonalities with interviews, surveys, and research. Administrators and counselors in the district were interviewed to determine their perceptions on pet therapy. A survey was made available to teachers in the building to assess their opinions of the pet therapy program. The results of the study concluded pet therapy is successful in the participating rural southwest Missouri school district. The district utilizes pet therapy in every possible way from assisting with their special educational program, to applying it to their reading programs, even using their pet therapy dog with PTA fund raising projects. In conclusion, it was determined pet therapy is a positive academic, social, and mental tool in the public school setting.

Over the past fifty years, cheating among high school students increased substantially and affected the morale of students (Simha, Armstrong, & Albert, 2012). According to a nationally representative survey of 36,000 U.S. adolescents, some 60% of high school students confessed to cheating on a test during the previous school year, and that the behavior among these students had spiked over the past 50 years (Murdock, Beauchamp, & Hinton, 2008). Armenian high school students agree that cheating is morally wrong; however, their actions do not reflect this belief (Bowers, 1964; McCabe & Trevino, 1996; Semerci, 2006). The study aims to address gaps in the literature by using Kohlberg’s (1958) theory of moral development (as cited in Hannah, Lester, & Lester, 2005) to examine how academic dishonesty, such as cheating, is associated with the moral development level of Armenian private high school students in Southern California, and the extent to which, if at all, this relationship is moderated by the degree of students’ performance orientation. No prior research is known to have been done with this specific cultural group in a high school setting.

Research suggests that Latino adolescents, both native and foreign born, are at increased risk for the development of school, behavioral, and psychological problems. It also identifies a variety of factors associated with both risk and resilience in this population. There is, however, a scarcity of research that specifically examines risk and resiliency in recent Latino immigrant adolescents who have unique circumstances that may affect their functioning. This study was conducted to address this gap in the research literature by investigating the relationship between a sense of school belonging and internalizing, externalizing, and school problems in adolescent immigrants. Participants included 78 Latino adolescent immigrants between the ages of 11 and 18 who completed a number of instruments to assess their level of connectedness to their schools; internalizing, externalizing, and school problems; and overall psychological adjustment. One teacher for each student also completed a measure of academic effectiveness. Results showed that participants who reported a higher sense of school belonging indicated lower levels of depressive symptoms and higher overall psychological adjustment. Significant relationships between school belonging and anxiety symptoms, school/academic problems, and externalizing behaviors were not found. These findings have implications for school psychologists and other school mental health staff who are in a position to support youngsters in need and to foster a supportive and inclusive school environment for immigrant children.

Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is a pathological preoccupation with muscularity, more common in men than in women. MD is estimated to affect several hundreds of thousands of individuals. There has been little research related to MD in the male adolescent population and the prevalence is unknown. The mean age of onset of MD is estimated to be 19 years, and sports participation increases the risk for developing MD as well as other psychological difficulties. The pilot study revealed a potential relationship between MD symptoms and athletic and academic performance, low levels of self-esteem, high levels of perfectionist qualities, and use of performance-enhancing drugs. This study was conducted to substantiate previous findings and to understand MD symptomatology among male adolescent student athletes and its relation to athletic and academic performance as well as media influence, low levels of self-esteem, high levels of perfectionist qualities, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Participants included 67 male student athletes ages 14 through 18 who completed a four-page questionnaire. Results showed that MD symptomatology is prevalent among male high school athletes and is positively correlated with perfectionism and media influence. Current findings indicate the need for school programs and treatments to address MD symptoms. Further, the results offer important implications for school psychologists to make meaningful contributions in the school system through professional development to staff, counseling for students, and collaboration with parents.

The purpose of this study is to assist state, district, and high school educational leadership in understanding the influences of the Idaho high school students’ postsecondary decision-making. The literature review established five categories that influence students’ postsecondary decision-making: postsecondary and career awareness, postsecondary and career admissions process, academic readiness for postsecondary education and careers, postsecondary monetary cost, and social capital influence for postsecondary education. The theoretical framework for the study was the work of Perna’s proposed conceptual model of students’ college choice. Descriptive quantitative research methods were used to survey 566 high school seniors from south western Idaho during their fall 2014 semester. Participants selected social capital influence for postsecondary education as the greatest influence on their college decision-making. Correlations were run to find if any relationship existed between students’ postsecondary plans and income, counseling services, and parental educational level. All three categories demonstrated statistical significance, however, none achieved practical significance. Participant responses pertaining to counseling services indicated that many students were not satisfied or were unsure about the services their school counselor provided.

Urban middle school students experience poor self-efficacy and poor attitudes toward school climates after being retained. Previous research has indicated that grade-level retention in primary and secondary education might cause long-term achievement gaps, school failure, and high school dropout rates. However, current research has yet to examine relationships between archival data retrieved on retained middle school students’ achievement outcomes and perceptions of school climate. The purpose of this nonexperimental, quantitative study was to assess the relationships between retained middle school students’ self-efficacy as measured by the School Climate Survey and their performance outcomes as measured by PowerSchool^®. Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy maintains that an individual must have the belief, motivation, determination, and drive to persevere when challenged. The archival data were collected from 1 northeastern urban middle school in the United States representing underachieving participants (N = 45) enrolled in the Postive Academic and Behavioral Support Program during the academic school years of 2017 and 2018. Population groups of female and male students ranged in age between 11–14 years old. A repeated measure design analyzed the same participants over a 6-month period by measuring archival data on achievement outcomes from GPAs, attendance, and demographics (sex and age). Results showed significant increases in GPAs and significant increases in males’ positive perceptions of school over the school years of 2017 and 2018. The results of this study can be used to promote positive social change for education professionals working in urban school districts providing support services to at-risk students facing school failure.

In nearly every profession, there is a general understanding that decisions should be informed and driven by data. Even in situations where individuals may not have a clear understanding of what data are needed, people have an innate understanding that more information will normally result in a more desirable outcome. Nowhere should the promise of data-based, high-quality decisions be realized more than in public schools that have answered the call to provide school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of data in the implementation of SWPBIS in a large elementary school in a Northern California school district. This study assessed school personnel’s ability to access and use student data contained in the district’s data system. The study also assessed the impact of providing training to school personnel focused on accessing and using student behavior, attendance, and achievement data available in the district’s data system. A mixed methods, embedded design of a primarily quantitative quasi-experimental, one-group pretest-posttest design supplemented by qualitative data comprised the methodology for this study.

The results presented in this study contribute to research literature on the use of data in schools to improve student outcomes by providing strong support for increased data training of school personnel. There was variability between participants’ ratings of data accessibility and usefulness. Additionally, there were significant increases in participants’ ratings regarding the accessibility and usability of data points related to student behavior, attendance, and achievement as a result of data-focused professional development.

Increased awareness regarding the effectiveness of educational programs has been generated from recent legislative mandates. Given the significance of kindergarten as the foundation for academic learning, it is critical to evaluate whether district-created programs for entering students who are identified as at-risk are effectively meeting their needs. The current program evaluation study investigated the immediate and long-term effects of an extended-day intervention for kindergarten students identified as at-risk in one school district. Through archival data analysis, students who participated in the extended-day kindergarten (EDK; n=26) intervention beginning in the fall of 2000 and 2001 were compared with a control group of gender- and age-matched students who attended half-day kindergarten (HDK; n=26) on a number of school-related measures, including academic achievement, IQ, behavior ratings, attendance, and referral to and participation in additional school supports. The intervention incorporated some evidence-based strategies for students who are at-risk, such as lower student to teacher ratio and small group reading support with a phonics-focus. Findings indicate that students who participated in the intervention were not significantly different from comparison students on the majority of academic achievement and behavior variables. Differences, however, emerged on group achievement test scores across short-term (ITBS reading and language, NYS ELA), intermediate (ELA and math), and long-term outcomes (ELA and science) on which the intervention group scored lower. A significantly higher percentage of intervention students received remediation in reading during the early and intermediate grades, remediation in math during middle and high school, special education services, and were classified as students with learning disabilities. On group IQ tests, the intervention group scored lower on verbal and quantitative scales, but no differences emerged on nonverbal scales. The district's kindergarten screening appears to be effectively identifying students who are at-risk for learning difficulties. Future research might address limitations of this study by including a matched, at-risk comparison group and more specific behavioral ratings. Implications for the district highlight the predictive validity of kindergarten screening and early intervention effectiveness. Implications for the field of school psychology focus on data-based decision making, training in program evaluation, screening, and service delivery for this population.

Researchers have stressed the importance of addressing the social/emotional needs of early childhood (EC) children, including the development of resilience; however, some U.S. school personnel focus more on academics than on these needs. When young children possess these skills, they can handle social/emotional challenges later in life. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to explore school social workers’ (SWs) perspectives about resilience in EC settings. Research questions focused on knowledge of existing programs, participants’ perceptions of the successes and challenges of working with EC students, and their recommendations to improve EC students’ education. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and O’Neill’s and Gopnik’s work on needs of young children informed this study. Five elementary school SWs with at least 6 years’ experience from 5 districts in the U.S. Midwest participated in 2 semistructured individual interviews. Interpretive phenomenological analysis, involving first-cycle, transition, and second cycle coding, was used to identify themes. SWs’ experiences indicated a need for a clear definition of resilience, and needs of young children, including EC programs that develop psychological resilience of children’s thoughts and an increase in adults to promote resilience. Additional research may expand and enhance educators’ and families’ understanding of resilience and help develop research-based preventive programs and strategies to foster psychological resilience in young children. These endeavors may enhance positive social change by adding components of psychological resilience to EC programs for school personnel and students and in parent/family workshops, which may result in sound mental health practices that enable them to become productive members of society.