School Disengagement Research Articles

Gifted students’ experiences with participation in enrichment programs at talent centers in Norway

ABSTRACT Gifted students may be at risk of school disengagement due to lacking intellectual challenges. Four talent centers were established to offer makerspace enrichment programs, because makerspace activities promote engagement and science, mathematics, and technology learning. In the current study, we investigated gifted students’ experiences with makerspace enrichment programs in Norway in terms of social aspects, learning aspects and teacher support aspects. We conducted semistructured interviews with 15 participants (15–16 years) from four different talent centers across the country. Findings suggested that the informants had an overall positive experience of participation and that most were more engaged at talent centers than at their home schools. In addition, the makerspace approaches seemed to suit gifted learners’ need for more complex subject content and facilitate interaction with peers and teachers with similar content knowledge/interest. We concluded that makerspace activities at talent centers constitute an important supplement to ordinary school for gifted students.

How peer status and ability track shape behavioral disengagement over the transition from primary to secondary school.

The transition from primary to secondary school is often associated with an increase in behavioral disengagement, which undermines students' academic development. Prior studies examined the average development of behavioral disengagement across school transitions. This study examined how students' peer status in primary school and ability track in secondary school relate to trajectories of behavioral disengagement. We followed n = 1564 students who transitioned to secondary school across three time points: February/March, and May/June in students' final year of primary school and January/February, roughly 6 months after students transited to secondary school. Latent Growth Curve Analyses showed that on average, behavioral disengagement increased, but this increase mostly occurred before transitioning to secondary school. Peer status and track related to students' initial levels of behavioral disengagement, but not to their development in behavioral disengagement over the transition. Specifically, students who were viewed as more popular by peers, and students who ended up in the lowest track showed more behavioral disengagement in primary school, whereas students who were more accepted by peers were less disengaged in primary school.

A Peer-Supported School Engagement Intervention for Youth with Attention Problems: Development and Implementation

Youth with attention problems are at increased risk for school disengagement (Booster et al., JAD 16:179–189, 2012; DuPaul & Langberg, in: Barkley (ed), Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment, Guilford, New York, 2014), which portends risk for poor outcomes (Bond et al., JAH 40:357.e9–357, 2007; Carter et al., JA 30:51–62, 2007; Fredricks et al., RER 74:59–109, 2004). Interventions that target school engagement may benefit from peer delivery because peers are widely available in schools and potentially more credible than adults. In this study, a peer-supported school-based school engagement intervention for middle school students with attention problems, Together Engaging and Achieving Meaningfully (TEAM) was developed with educators and students. In initial development (Study One), community development team meetings with partners (N = 9 school staff and students) were conducted. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes used to refine TEAM. In Study Two, a single-case pilot with one student with attention problems and one peer coach was conducted. Measures of fidelity, attendance, acceptability, and satisfaction were collected. Results were used to refine TEAM. Then in pilot implementation (Study Three), a non-randomized pilot was conducted with 10 fifth- through seventh-grade students with attention problems (n = 6 in the intervention group) and six eighth-grade coaches. Measures of fidelity, attendance, acceptability, satisfaction, and clinician-required time for implementation were collected. Cohen’s d mean difference effect sizes were calculated between and within groups over implementation. Feedback from partners highlighted barriers and aspects that were acceptable and feasible. Results from implementation suggested high attendance, high coach fidelity with revised implementation support, and low clinician-required time. Lessons learned and avenues for future development and research are discussed.

Using Action Research and Logic Modeling to Promote Young People's Engagement, Resilience and Wellbeing in Middle Schooling

An approach to action research of innovative and disruptive socioecological understandings of young people's wellbeing, resilience, and engagement in middle school was piloted with a coalition of school principals, lead teachers, police, and community development professionals by an RMIT research team. This coalition was built around the Hume-Whittlesea Local Learning and Employment Network and the Whittlesea Youth Commitment Committee in outer northern Melbourne, Australia. Action research facilitated the collaborative design of interventions for reducing middle school disengagement. These were then expressed in logic model terms to guide implementation and subsequent evaluation. Logic models clarified how local innovations, situated in an authorizing environment, can develop promising practices that contribute to system reform. Our project involved characterizing ecologies of young people's engagement, resilience, and wellbeing as part of a place-based strategy.

Are Video Games and School Conflictual or Complementary Contexts for Affording Psychological Need Fulfillment? Implications for Adolescents’ Problematic Gaming and School Adjustment

Abstract According to the need density hypothesis, adolescents are at risk for problematic gaming when they only experience satisfaction of their basic psychological needs within, but not outside, the gaming context. This cross-sectional study among daily gamers (N = 309, M age = 15.63, 94.8% boys) is the first to examine this hypothesis in adolescence, thereby comparing adolescents’ need fulfillment between the contexts of video games and school and examining the role of need fulfilment in both contexts in relation to problematic gaming and school outcomes. Response surface analysis showed that adolescents’ overall need satisfaction (across the two contexts) was related to lower problematic gaming and less maladaptive school outcomes. Consistent with the need density hypothesis, adolescents reported more problematic gaming, school disengagement and school burnout when high need satisfaction in the gaming context co-occurred with either low need satisfaction or high need frustration at school. Directions for future research are discussed.

Neural Reward Anticipation Moderates Longitudinal Relation between Parents' Familism Values and Latinx American Youth's School Disengagement.

Parents' familism values predict a variety of Latinx American youth's academic adjustment. However, it is unclear how cultural values such as familism interact with youth's brain development, which is sensitive to sociocultural input, to shape their academic adjustment. Using a sample of 1916 Latinx American youth (mean age = 9.90 years, SD = .63 years; 50% girls) and their primary caregivers (mean age = 38.43 years, SD = 6.81 years; 90% mothers) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, this study examined the longitudinal relation between parents' familism values and youth's school disengagement, as well as the moderating role of youth's neural sensitivity to personal reward. Parents' familism values predicted youth's decreased school disengagement 1 year later, adjusting for their baseline school disengagement and demographic covariates. Notably, this association was more salient among youth who showed lower (vs. higher) neural activation in the ventral striatum and the lateral OFC during the anticipation of a personal reward. These findings underscore the protective role of familism for Latinx American youth, highlighting the necessity of developing culturally informed interventions that take into consideration a youth's brain development.

Does work experience matter when training teachers to deal with school disengagement?

BACKGROUND: BACKGROUND: Traditionally, teachers with less work experience receive more training in non-academic areas such as school disengagement. This circumstance affects a school’s readiness when attempting to create a student-focused environment. Teachers need to have a consistent approach when dealing with disengaged students. OBJECTIVE: The study examines the relationship between work experience on the decision relating to in-service training needs to cope with school disengagement. This study focuses on the schools from Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. METHODS: The method consists of several steps. The first step is to identify a general set of non-academic training needs. The next step is to distribute the survey to teachers. Finally, statistical analysis is applied to examine the impacts from work experience. RESULTS: Based on the surveys completed by 147 teachers who are categorized into four work-experience groups. The findings show that work experience does not affect the decisions regarding training needs. Thus, younger as well as older teachers alike should be provided with similar training programs to deal disengaged students. CONCLUSIONS: Work experience should not be used as a criterion when selecting teachers when providing in-service training for non-academic areas. Consistent practice by teachers is needed when creating a student-focused environment.

The Moderating Effects of Smart Phone Addiction on the Relationship between Life Satisfaction, Sleep Quality and Academic Achievement among College Students: A Systematic Review

This systematic review investigated the intricate dynamics between smartphone addiction and the well-being of college students, specifically examining its moderating effects on the relationships between life satisfaction, sleep quality, and academic achievement. This review further strengthens the evidence presented in previous studies that emphasize the negative influence of excessive smartphone usage on sleep quality and academic performance. The study employed quantitative observational studies that were obtained from five databases. During the selection process, PRISMA guidelines were followed, and the study incorporated studies from various countries globally, all of which were in English. The studies enrolled 31678 people, with females ranging from 33.1% to 75.5%; studies quality ranged from low to moderate. The results show that life satisfaction is positively associated with perceived academic achievement and also sleep quality is positively associated with the initial level of pre-sleep cognitive arousal, which hence leads to good academic performance. In contrast, Smartphone addiction was positively associated with daytime sleepiness and school disengagement while also negatively associated with Grade Point Average (GPA). Therefore, this study shows excessive use of smartphones among the youth, which in correlation affects the relationship between their life satisfaction, sleep quality and academic achievement. An extensive amount of studies needs to be done on smartphone addiction so that better plans can be made for preventive measures.

Gaining insights from the bottom-up approach for teacher training needs- case study for school disengagement

Gaining insights from the bottom-up approach for teacher training needs- case study for school disengagement

Gaining insights from the bottom-up approach for teacher training needs: case study for school disengagement

Gaining insights from the bottom-up approach for teacher training needs: case study for school disengagement

Conceptualising social inclusion and examining its relationship with social competence

Previous research has attempted to examine specific social aspects of the school inclusion of students with vision impairment, such as the development of social relationships with their teachers and peers and their participation in school activities. Based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system theory, this article presents a socio-ecological model that aims to embrace the different elements of social inclusion in school. Considering the components of this socio-ecological model, the findings of an empirical study that examined the school engagement of adolescents with vision impairment and its effect on their social competence are presented. Thirty-seven adolescents, with and without vision impairment, aged 12–14 years, participated in this study. Adolescents were divided into three groups: adolescents with severe sight impairment (previously ‘blindness’), adolescents with sight impairment (previously ‘low vision’) and sighted adolescents. Participants completed a questionnaire about their school engagement and disengagement, and their parents completed a quantitative scale about their children’s social competence. There were no significant differences found between the three participant groups in terms of school engagement, disengagement and social competence. Neither school engagement nor disengagement was a significant predictor of social competence. The findings of this empirical study revealed remarkable similarities in school engagement and social competence between adolescents with and without vision impairment. These findings may also suggest that other clinical and social factors, independent of visual functioning, affect the school inclusion and social competence of adolescents with vision impairment. Overall, the socio-ecological model developed for the purposes of this research can lead to the development of evidence-based interventions that will aim to improve the social inclusion of adolescents with vision impairment. Furthermore, the rationale of the empirical study may promote further investigation of the critical role of promoting less-intrusive classroom interventions to facilitate the school inclusion of students with vision impairment.

Child protection services and youth experiencing homelessness: Findings of the 2019 national youth homelessness survey in Canada

Youth leaving or being discharged from child protection services (CPS) are a particularly vulnerable population in Canada that could be at an increased risk of homelessness, which has many adverse consequences including declining physical and mental health, school disengagement, involvement with the justice system, and substance use disorders. In this paper, we examine the extent to which youth accessing homelessness services with a history of involvement with CPS differ from their peers who have not interacted with CPS using the 2019 Without a Home: The National Youth Homelessness Survey—which is by far the largest study ever administered in Canada on youth homelessness (n = 1375). This examination includes a diverse range of life circumstances and outcomes, including quality of life, relationships with friends and family, criminal records, education, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Furthermore, controlling for demographic characteristics, we present risk factors that are likely to be correlated with youth homelessness, including ACEs and the CPS history, and conclude by discussing policy implications and proposing future research avenues.

Exploring learners’ sense of belonging in Port Elizabeth low-income primary schools in South Africa: A narrative inquiry

ABSTRACT This study explored the narratives of low-income school learners’ sense of belonging in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It provided a historical overview of the South African Apartheid system. The study employed the narrative inquiry approach of the qualitative research design and is hinged on the constructivist paradigm. Purposive sampling was used in selecting a school, and learners in Grade 8 and 9 consisted of 8 boys and 8 girls each. Data (narratives of the learners) were collected through Focus Group Discussion and analysed using the three-dimensional space inquiry tools – broadening, burrowing, and storying and re-storying. Findings revealed the prevalence of poverty, school disengagement, and stigmatisation among learners in low-income schools. Thus, the effects of poverty on learners lead to their feelings of desolation and futility as they experience what is known as a low-control-of-effects syndrome. The hope that education may change their lives seems to be superseded and dampened by what transpires in their poor homes and schools.

Through their eyes

Hockey culture has been demonstrated to be a site of racism, homophobia, misogyny and other forms of domination which keep men’s ice hockey stuck with hypermasculine narratives as young hockey boys chase a place within this culture. This study, conducted with an Elite U18 male ice hockey team in Western Canada, used photovoice as a means to enquire into young male athlete experiences in schools and the tension between being celebrated as a hockey boy and the domination of hypermasculinity in their everyday lives. Photovoice was used to open up conversations with images participants took during their days at a specialized sport academy regarding their feelings of disengagement in school. The findings show the weight of the hypermasculine narratives on hockey boys including toughness, homophobia, and classism as well as the implications on their mental health and risk of violent acts from being in an isolated and exclusive white patriarchal community. Young male athletes, desiring to continue to play elite hockey, unknowingly find themselves within a masculine moral paradox by becoming both constrained by and consenting to the hypermasculine narratives, further ensconcing hypermasculinity within hockey culture. The article brings together Connell’s hegemonic masculinity, Eisner’s three curricula, and Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction as a means to generate awareness of the ways in which the entrenchment of masculine (hegemony) domination is deeply engrained in the fields of education, hockey culture, and the home.

The effect of problematic smartphone use on school engagement and disengagement among middle school students: The mediating role of academic procrastination and sleep quality.

Although a few research have tried to explore the relationship between problematic smartphone use (PSU) and school engagement, most of them are limited to relatively simple correlation, and the mechanism needs to be further explored. This research focused on the relationship between PSU and school engagement/disengagement, and intended to verify two mediation paths. We conducted two studies in 2019 at a middle school in China. 289 students (44.6% girls), aged 11-18 (Mage = 13.25, standard deviation [SD] = 1.73), participated in Study 1, a longitudinal cross-lag analysis intend to verify the relationship between PSU and school engagement/disengagement. Using a separate sample, Study 2 explored the mediating roles of academic procrastination and sleep quality. Four hundred thirty-two students aged 11-19 (42.1% girls, Mage = 16.11, SD = 1.56) participated in this cross-sectional study. In both studies, all participants completed self-report measures in classrooms during regular school hours. In Study 1, the results showed that PSU (T1) could significantly predict school engagement/disengagement (T2), but school engagement/disengagement (T1) could not predict PSU (T2). In Study 2, we found that academic procrastination could mediate the effect of PSU on school engagement, and sleep quality could mediate the effect of PSU on both school engagement and disengagement. Results highlighted that the school engagement/disengagement of adolescents can be influenced by PSU through several different ways, through which we can protect adolescents from the negative effects of PSU.

The adolescent behavioral index: Identifying students at risk for disengagement in high school

BACKGROUND: Proposed frameworks of college and career readiness include aspects of school climate perceptions and behavioral engagement. School climate initiatives emphasize the importance of healthy learning environments; while behavioral indicators tend to be used to identify students at-risk for disengagement, established early warning systems include few, if any, behavioral indicators. A promising and useful screening mechanism that combines behavioral indicators along with school climate perceptions may enhance identification of adolescents at risk for disengagement, academic failure, and dropout, and may ultimately improve college and career readiness. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-reported adolescent perceptions of school climate and extant high school academic and behavioral data to create an index score which could be used as an early warning system for student disengagement. METHODS: To accomplish the stated objective, we employed structural equation modeling to estimate a multiple indicators multiple causes model using a sample of high school students (n = 5039) with and without disabilities. Extant school data included grade point average, attendance, tardies, and office discipline referrals, while school climate was measured using the Georgia Brief School Climate survey. RESULTS: Findings show evidence of a robust Adolescent Behavioral Index when controlled for disability status as those with disabilities are expected to have lower index scores indicating greater risk for school disengagement. CONCLUSION: Implications for research and practice are focused on the Adolescent Behavioral Index as a mechanism for systematic data collection that may underlie early warning systems in high schools specifically when designing college and career readiness interventions for adolescents and when identifying students who may be at risk for disengagement.

Lien entre sources proximales de soutien social et désengagement scolaire : le sentiment de privation relative comme signal d’alerte

IntroductionYouth school disengagement is a matter for concern. The contribution of the present argumentation is to articulate research from educational psychology on the links between sources of social support and school engagement with some models from social psychology on social stigmatization in order to propose an integrative view of school disengagement. A section will be devoted to the link between each of the student's proximal sources of social support (teachers, peers, parents and family group memberships) and school engagement. It will then be argued that this link could be mediated by feelings of relative deprivation, i.e., feelings of being unfairly treated compared to more advantaged classmates. DiscussionThe articulation of research in educational psychology and social psychology allows to argue that if a student feels less well treated than his or her classmates by parents, peers, teachers or because of group membership, he or she is likely to withdraw mentally from school (or disengage psychologically) and to disengage academically by engaging in disruptive behaviors. ConclusionThe feelings of relative deprivation experienced by the student who feels deprived in the perceived social support related to his or her school life could serve as a warning signal of school disengagement risk.

The indirect association between moral disengagement and bystander behaviors in school bullying through motivation: Structural equation modelling and mediation analysis

Guided by the social-cognitive theory and self-determination theory, this study examined whether moral disengagement is indirectly associated with pro-bullying, passive bystanding, and defending, mediated by autonomous motivation, introjected motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation to defend victims of bullying among early adolescents. Participants were 901 upper elementary students from 43 school classes at 15 public schools in Sweden who completed a questionnaire in their classrooms. The results showed that students who were less inclined to morally disengage in peer bullying tended to be more autonomously motivated to take the victim’s side, which in turn was associated with greater defending and fewer pro-bullying behaviors. Introjected motivation to defend negatively mediated the association between moral disengagement and defending, and positively mediated moral disengagement’s associations with passive bystanding and pro-bullying behavior. Extrinsic motivation to defend mediated moral disengagement’s associations with passive bystanding and pro-bullying behavior. Finally, students who were more prone to morally disengage in peer bullying tended to be more amotivated to take the victim’s side, which in turn was associated with greater pro-bullying behavior and less defending.

Adolescents at risk of mental health problems in the COVID‐19 pandemic: A prospective population‐based study of the effects of government mandates and school closures

AbstractThere is increasing evidence that the COVID‐19 pandemic has had substantial mental health impacts for adolescents. Yet, few definitive studies have investigated which adolescents were at higher risk of poor mental health and well‐being during the pandemic. Data were drawn from the Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study, a prospective cohort study of students in Australia (N = 1211). Prevalence of mental health outcomes (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, self‐harm and good subjective well‐being) was estimated in school Years 5–12, where Years 11 (2020) and 12 (2021) coincided with the pandemic. The age‐ and sex‐adjusted relative risk of each mental health outcome for each priority group during the pandemic were estimated. During the pandemic, over 50% of study participants reported depressive symptoms, and one quarter reported anxiety symptoms. There was a decrease in good subjective well‐being compared with pre‐pandemic years, while self‐harm prevalence remained similar. History of mental health problems, school disengagement and frequent peer victimisation increased the risk of experiencing mental health problems during the pandemic. Schools play a central role in maintaining the mental health and good subjective well‐being of students, and this is particularly important during periods of social disruption, such as the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Parental Involvement in Child’s Education as Correlate of School Disengagement Among Primary School Pupils in Liberia

School disengagement is a challenging educational issue in Liberia, despite its wide-ranging social effects. There has been minimal research on psychological factors that may affect students’ academic performance, and these variables have primarily been blamed for this school disengagement. Parental involvement in child’s education and school disengagement in Liberia were examined in this study. Palkovitz’s parental involvement theory guided the research. Correlational research was used. Targeted population were 636 fifth graders and 636 parents. Proportionate sampling picked five public schools, while simple random sample selected 246 fifth graders and 242 parents. A parental involvement instrument was modified for data collection. The researcher used standard scale questionnaires with 14 items for students and 17 for parents. Research instruments were tested in a pilot study. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were utilised in SPSS version 25 to evaluate and characterise the data. Results were displayed in frequency tables. The data demonstrated a positive but non-significant association between parental involvement in child’s education and school disengagement (r =.27, p > 0.05). School administrators should urge parents to monitor and participate in their children’s education, according to the report. School administrators and legislators could use the findings to enhance academic attainment efforts.