School Alienation Research Articles

Schools, Peers, and Prejudice in Adolescence.

Adolescents' perceptions of the prejudice in their social environments can factor into their developmental outcomes. The degree to which others in the environment perceive such prejudice-regardless of adolescents' own perceptions-also matters by shedding light on the contextual climate in which adolescents spend their daily lives. Drawing on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study revealed that schoolwide perceptions of peer prejudice, which tap into the interpersonal climate of schools, appeared to be particularly risky for adolescents' academic achievement. In contrast, adolescents' own perceptions of peer prejudice at schools were associated with their feelings of alienation in school. Importantly, these patterns did not vary substantially by several markers of vulnerability to social stigmatization.

Educadores de criança: condições de trabalho e vida

A alienação, o fatalismo e a conscientização no espaço escolar são abordados neste estudo, que teve o objetivo de investigar como trabalhadoras da educação de uma escola pública de educação infantil percebiam as dimensões de seu trabalho nesse contexto. A pesquisa utilizou a abordagem qualitativa, e os dados foram obtidos por meio da análise de 35 questionários preenchidos por professores, monitores e pela equipe gestora de uma escola municipal de educação infantil. Os resultados revelaram que as trabalhadoras, em sua maioria, vivenciam situações de opressão nas relações de poder existentes na escola, o que as tem impedido de, nesse contexto, desenvolver-se como indivíduos construtores de sua própria história e, portanto, como transformadores de sua realidade. Diante disso, entendemos ser fundamental uma ação consciente do psicólogo escolar, intervindo nas relações de poder existentes na escola com o objetivo de assegurar o desenvolvimento pleno e saudável das crianças e dos trabalhadores da educação.

A Multidimensional Assessment of Children in Conflictual Contexts: The Case of Kenya

Children in Kenya’s Kisumu District Primary Schools (N = 430) completed three measures of trauma. Respondents completed the My Worst Experience Scale (MWES; Hyman and Snook 2002) and its supplement, the School Alienation and Trauma Survey (SATS; Hyman and Snook 2002), sharing their worst experiences overall and specifically in schools. Participants also completed the Trauma and Attachment Belief Scale (TABS; Pearlman 2003), addressing their experiences of violence. The study examined children’s perceptions about themselves and others in the aftermath of violent experiences and the relationship between children’s trauma symptoms from experiencing violence and their social and academic functioning. Differences in the presence, frequency, and severity of symptoms emerged, with a large percentage attaining statistical and clinical significance. Research and practice implications are provided.

Upper secondary school students’ perceptions of teacher socialization practices and reports of school adjustment

Lack of adjustment or school failure is of concern to educators, child welfare workers, educational, and school psychologists as well as parents, but there are few studies on this aspect of education, especially among late adolescents. Furthermore, there is a lack of research on teachers as socialization agents as an independent variable in adolescents’ school adjustment. The present study was conducted to explore how upper secondary school students’ perceptions of teacher socialization practices were related to motivation for continued education, school alienation, intention to quit school, truancy, and class absence. The sample consisted of Norwegian adolescents aged 15- to 18-years-old ( n = 564) in vocational and general educational courses from one upper secondary school. Perceptions of teacher socialization practices accounted for unique variances in school adjustment. Of the teacher socialization variables, academic support best explained variances in school adjustment. The findings suggest that the associations between teachers as socializing agents and motivation for continued education were relatively strong, but the other associations were relatively modest. The limitations and implications of this study are discussed.

Perceptions of peers as socialization agents and adjustment in upper secondary school

The purpose of present study was to explore the perceptions of peers as socialization agents in school adjustment among upper secondary school students. The associations were studied in a sample of 564 Norwegian students. Results showed that perceptions of friends and classmates as socialization agents accounted for unique variances in various measures of school adjustment, when controlled for academic achievement, family financial situation, year of schooling, gender and course of study. The unique effect of peer socialization factors on variances in intentions to quit school, truancy, class absence, school alienation and improved motivation for continued education was 7.9%, 7.2%, 6.8%, 6.5% and 5.3% respectively, indicating that late adolescents' school adjustment is statistically significant, but relatively moderately associated with different aspects of peer socialization. School-obstructive regulation was the variable that accounted for most variances in school adjustment, followed by classmate support and school-supportive regulation.

A Phenomenology of Alienation in High School: The Experiences of Five Male Non-completers

This phenomenological study examined the experiences of males aged 16–19 who self-identified as being alienated from their school system. Five participants engaged in three semi-structured interviews and one perception check. Descriptions revealed common themes throughout the structure of the experience. These themes were: (1) need to build relationships despite negative consequences, (2) loss of trust in school adults, and (3) fear of failure and of disappointing self and family. The invariant structure (essence) that emerged was the interrelationship among these themes as related to belonging, trust, and self-worth.

A Phenomenology of Alienation in High School: The Experiences of Five Male Non-completers

This phenomenological study examined the experiences of males aged 16–19 who self-identified as being alienated from their school system. Five participants engaged in three semi-structured interviews and one perception check. Descriptions revealed common themes throughout the structure of the experience. These themes were: (1) need to build relationships despite negative consequences, (2) loss of trust in school adults, and (3) fear of failure and of disappointing self and family. The invariant structure (essence) that emerged was the interrelationship among these themes as related to belonging, trust, and self-worth.

Der Schul(miss)erfolg der Jungen

This paper combines different approaches to explain the gender gap in educational success. Under control of the impacts of social origin and teacher’ support, peer group as resource, school alienation as well as gender role patterns are analysed. Basis of the analyses is a standardised paper-pencil survey among 872 school students in grade 8 in the Kanton Berne (Switzerland). First, differences in school success and in sociological and social psychological explanatory factors of school success are analysed using descriptive and bivariate methods. Then OLS regression models are estimated to explain school success. Finally, the dependencies between explanatory factors of school success will be explored more detailed by estimating a Structural Equation Model. Results show that the gender gap in educational success is mainly caused by boys being more alienated from school. The higher school alienation is, among other things, influenced by a rather negative attitude towards schools among peers—which applies to boys’ peers in particular.

若年ゲイ男性の学校内外での関係づくり : 学校空間が持つ排除と分断の政治の検討にむけて( と教育)

若年ゲイ男性の学校内外での関係づくり : 学校空間が持つ排除と分断の政治の検討にむけて( と教育)

Teacher Support, School Goal Structures, and Teenage Mothers' School Engagement

This study investigates how perceptions of teacher support and achievement goal structures in the school environment correlate with school engagement, and whether depressive symptoms mediate or moderate this association, among 64 low-income teenage mothers. Controlling for prior grades, perceptions of teacher support correlate with higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect about school. Perceptions of an emphasis on mastery goals in the school environment correlate with higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of school alienation. In contrast, perceptions of an emphasis on performance goals in the school environment correlate with higher levels of negative affect and school alienation. Perceptions of performance goals are especially detrimental to teenage mothers with higher levels of depressive symptoms.

Games of subversion and sabotage: issues of power, masculinity, class, rurality and schooling

This paper presents a longitudinal insight into the experiences of ‘Adam’, a young boy who lives with his single‐parent father (a farmer and builder) in a rural working‐class community on the outskirts of a provincial town in Tasmania, Australia. Adam’s story juxtaposes my representations of him as an eight year old in 1999 and as a 12 year old in 2003. Such longitudinal analysis highlights how increasing mismatches between Adam’s home and school life, and mismatches between hegemonic masculinity and formal schooling, interact to amplify issues of school disengagement and alienation. Adam’s external expressions of masculinity, and in particular his concerted efforts to subvert and sabotage official school cultures and practices, are explored as issues of power, masculinity, class and rurality.

Everyday classism in medical school: experiencing marginality and resistance

To explore the medical school experiences of students who self-identify as coming from a working-class or impoverished family background. A questionnaire was administered to Year 3 medical students at a Canadian medical school and in-depth interviews were held with 25 of these students (cohort 1). The same methods were repeated with another Year 3 class 3 years later (cohort 2). While having (or not having) money was the most obvious impact of social class differences, students also discussed more subtle signs of class that made it easier or more difficult to fit in at medical school. Students from working-class or impoverished backgrounds were significantly less likely to report that they fitted in well, and more likely to report that their class background had a negative impact in school. They were also more likely to indicate awareness that a patient's social class may affect their health care treatment. Students from working-class or impoverished backgrounds may experience alienation in medical school. Through the commonplace interactions of 'everyday classism' they may experience marginalisation, isolation, disrespect and unintentional slights. At the same time, they suggest that their experiences of exclusion may strengthen their clinical practice.

Health promotion as school development

Background: Data obtained from international studies of health behaviour among school-age children show evidence of strong relationships between alienation from school and health behaviour such as smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and food choices. This article discusses these connections between health problems and underachievement. Objective: The aim is to raise the question of whether, and if so, how school development could be a way to handle both the alienation and the health problems. Design and Results: Interviews and observations were accomplished in association with an evaluation study of ‘‘health-promoting school’’ projects at 15 compulsory schools in central Sweden. Different kinds of encounters between health promotion work and school development were distinguished. Conclusions: The empirical data indicate possibilities in health promotion projects to develop deliberation and dialogical teaching methods, which include possibilities for di alogue and enhanced learning among underachieving students. These approaches to health promotion could be thought of as salutogenesis or empowerment and are not dissimilar to, and could even be confused with, school development. Keywords: democracy; empowerment; health behaviour; participation; salutogenesis; school alienation

Health promotion as school development

Background: Data obtained from international studies of health behaviour among school-age children show evidence of strong relationships between alienation from school and health behaviour such as smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and food choices. This article discusses these connections between health problems and underachievement. Objective: The aim is to raise the question of whether, and if so, how school development could be a way to handle both the alienation and the health problems. Design and Results: Interviews and observations were accomplished in association with an evaluation study of ‘‘health-promoting school’’ projects at 15 compulsory schools in central Sweden. Different kinds of encounters between health promotion work and school development were distinguished. Conclusions: The empirical data indicate possibilities in health promotion projects to develop deliberation and dialogical teaching methods, which include possibilities for di alogue and enhanced learning among underachieving students. These approaches to health promotion could be thought of as salutogenesis or empowerment and are not dissimilar to, and could even be confused with, school development. Keywords: democracy; empowerment; health behaviour; participation; salutogenesis; school alienation

Effects of the Learning Together Model of Cooperative Learning on English as a Foreign Language Reading Achievement, Academic Self-Esteem, and Feelings of School Alienation

This study investigated the effects of the Learning Together cooperative learning model in improving English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading achievement and academic self-esteem and in decreasing feelings of school alienation. Fifty-six Lebanese high school learners of EFL participated in the study, and a pretest-posttest control group experimental design was employed. The results indicated no statistically significant differences between the control and experimental groups on the dependent variables of academic self-esteem and feelings of school alienation. However, the results revealed a statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group on the variable of EFL reading achievement. The author discusses pedagogical implications and suggests recommendations for further research.

Peer Tutoring and At-Risk Students: An Exploratory Study

This study examined how participation as a mathematics tutor would affect middle school students identified as at-risk for dropping out of school. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative techniques in a quasi-experimental design, the study examined how tutoring affected students identified as at-risk due to low socioeconomic status and one or more factors previously identified in the literature for students dropping out of school. Additionally, this study examined how tutoring affected other factors that may put students at-risk, such as perceptions of the relevance of school, perceptions of success in school, and feelings of alienation in school. When at-risk students who participated in a six-week tutoring project were compared to at-risk students who did not participate, significant differences were found in academic performance in math class and on the state standardized test of mathematical performance. The qualitative data indicated positive effects on the tutors' attendance, classroom behavior, perceptions of success in school, and sense of belonging to the school community.

School-Related Stress Experience as a Risk Factor for Bullying Behavior

Associations between bullying behavior and school-related stress experience, self-efficacy, social support, and decision control were explored in a study of 885 Norwegian adolescents aged 13–15 years. Information was based on self-reports. The psychosocial factors were represented by an average of scores on 3–12 single items, each with 5 possible response categories. Bullying behavior was defined as bullying other pupils sometimes or more often during the term. The prevalence of bullying behavior was 9.2%, but significantly higher among boys than girls. Odds ratios of bullying behavior according to psychosocial factors were calculated in a multiple logistic regression analysis. Increasing school alienation was associated with an increased risk of bullying, whereas increasing support from teachers and peers decreased the risk. Increasing self-efficacy was associated with a significant increase in risk only among 14-year-old pupils, but a similar tendency was seen for 15-year-old pupils. No significant association was seen with decision control.

Quality of School Life. A Cross‐cultural Study of Greek and Scottish Secondary School Pupils

A. KARATZIAS, V. PAPADIOTI-ATHANASIOU, K. G. POWER V Goodenow & Grady, 1992), greater motivation to learn (Keys F Ekstrom et al., 1986) and higher achievement accordingto one’s ability (Voekl, 1995). Pupils who perceive their school positively are alsoless likely to experience health problems (Jessor, 1991; Nutbeam & Aaro, 1991).Lower levels of school satisfaction have been found to be linked to behaviouralproblems, poor school achievement (Baker, 1998), school alienation (Fine, 1986)and development of unhealthy behaviour (Samdal et al., 1998), since pupils tendto rebel against the school authority and may turn to ‘marginalised’ peer groups(Perry et al., 1993).Why Compare Scotland and Greece?Scotland and Greece differ in their life style and culture. Greece is a collectivistculture, because of its Eastern influences, whereas Scotland is an individualisticone. Furthermore, Scotland has a well-established secondary educational system,whereas in Greece there have been major reforms recently (e.g. entrance system tohigher education). There has been much protest by Greek pupils and teachersabout secondary and higher education recently. As noted in Cameron et al. (1983),the educational system in Greece has followed the traditional model (classicalstudies, moral education), which may not satisfy the needs of pupils and theirparents or those of modern life (e.g. scientific progress). Secondary educationEuropean Journal of Education, Vol. 36, No. 1, 2001

School-related stress and psychosomatic symptoms among school adolescents.

Associations between psychosomatic symptoms and school-induced stress, and personal and social resources were analyzed among 862 Norwegian adolescents ages 13-15 years participating in the WHO project, "Health Promoting Schools." Stress-related factors were represented by the average of scores of 3-12 items. Both in combined and separate analyses of each psychosomatic symptom, increasing school distress, the most direct measure of stress experience, was associated with increased risk. A similar relationship was found with school alienation, though not significant for all symptoms. Social support from the teacher decreased the risk among girls, whereas social support from other pupils reduced the risk among both genders, but in particular among boys. No consistent associations were seen between psychosomatic complaints and general or school-related self-efficacy or decision control. In some analyses, however, these factors seemed to modify the association with school distress or school alienation.

The social context of risk: Status and motivational predictors of alienation in middle school.

This study investigated the relations among 2 sociological predictors of risk for school leaving (race and social class), motivational context, and behavioral indicators of withdrawal from school in a sample of 405 7th grade students. Students completed questionnaires to assess their perceptions of the 3 aspects of their school motivational context, including the academic expectations and support of teachers and peers and the economic opportunity structure. Behavioral indicators of alienation were teachers' ratings of engagement and students' disciplinary problems. Students with more indicators of potential risk (i.e., low-income, African American, or both) were less engaged, had more disciplinary problems, and perceived their motivational contexts as more negative than students with fewer risk factors. Motivational context variables were stronger predictors of alienation than were status variables and partially mediated the relations between status indicators of potential risk and signs of alienation from school.