School Disengagement Research Articles

Examining the validity of the Early Identification System – Student Version for screening in an elementary school sample

As many as 1 in 5 youth in the United States experience social, emotional, and behavioral problems. However, many students with mental health concerns are unidentified and do not receive adequate care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure, measurement invariance, and the concurrent and predictive validity of the Early Identification System-Student Report (EIS-SR), a screener for social, emotional, and behavioral problems, using a sample of over 5000 students from Grades 3 to 5. The EIS-SR was developed by using extant literature on the risk indicators that lead to social, emotional, and behavioral challenges among children and youth. As expected, seven subscales were identified as having adequate factor loadings. Furthermore, the measure was determined to be invariant across grade level (n = 5005), gender (n = 5005), and between Black and White students (n = 1582). The concurrent validity of the Internalizing Behavior, Attention and Academic Issues, Emotion Dysregulation, and School Disengagement subscales was supported by correlations with comparable subscales of the Behavior Assessment System for Children-3rd Edition (BASC-3; n = 382). Additionally, the EIS-SR subscales administered in the fall of the school year were predictive of important outcomes in spring, including attendance (n = 4780), disciplinary referrals (n = 4938), bully victimization (n = 4670), math academic achievement scores (n = 4736), and reading (n = 4772) academic achievement scores. The EIS-SR holds promise as a feasible and technically adequate screening tool for use in elementary schools.

School Disengagement and Mental Health Service Intensity Need Among Clinically Referred Students Utilizing the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health Assessment Instrument.

Although mental health challenges are widespread, impacting 1 in 5 children and youth, only 25% of these young people receive the required mental health supports. Unmet mental health needs are strongly associated with functional impairments including poor self-care, interpersonal challenges, and school difficulties among young people. School disengagement, or a student's lack of involvement in education through interest, curiosity, motivation, and active participation, is associated with a wide array of detrimental outcomes including chronic mental health difficulties, conduct and delinquent behaviors, criminal justice involvement, and unemployment in adolescence and adulthood. Disengagement observed within the school setting may be indicative of underlying mental health challenges and reflective of service intensity need. The current study extends the literature by examining the relationship between school disengagement and mental health service intensity need among 14,750 clinically referred students across elementary and secondary school utilizing the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health instrument. Findings indicated that more than 25% of clinically referred students were at heighted risk for school disengagement and required high-intensity services. Further, mental health service intensity need was positively associated with risk of school disengagement among students, along with the specific reason for referral (i.e., psychiatric symptoms, harm to self, harm to others, or addiction or dependency), after controlling for sex and age. Implications of the findings are explored within the context of the school setting and future directions are suggested.

Exposures of Hypermasculinity: Aesthetic Portrayals of Disengaged “Hockey Boys” in a Specialized Sports Academy

The “boy crisis” in education has spurred responses to improve boy’s underachievement in schools, and one response has been to increase access to physical activity and sports. The rise in specialized sports academies within schools has created space for young elite male athletes to increase engagement in academics, as well as to meet the potential of athletes. This study, conducted with an elite U18 male hockey team, used photovoice as a means to enquire into male athlete experiences with the curriculum and disengagement in schools. When young male athletes use photography to document their experiences, through a Bourdieusian analysis, they reveal the ways in which an entrenchment of the “boys will be boys” and the “hockey boys” identities in schools perpetuate hypermasculine traits. Complacency by both participants and adults in the field of schooling contributes to elite male youth hockey players becoming both producers and products of these narratives, which are causing young men to be isolated within an exclusive heteronormative community.

Adolescent Energy Drink Consumption and Academic Risk: Results From the Monitoring the Future Study, 2010-2016.

The current study aims to examine the role of energy drink and energy shot consumption in school disengagement, low academic performance, and academic expectations, and investigates the robustness of these associations across sex, grade, race, and substance use history. This study employs a pooled cross-sectional design and uses a nationally representative sample of 8th (ages 13-14 years) and 10th (ages 15-16 years) grade adolescents from seven recent cohorts (2010-2016) of the Monitoring the Future study. Logistic regression and negative binomial regression were employed to examine the association between energy drink and energy shot consumption and academic risk factors, controlling for sociodemographic factors and other health and social behaviors. Ancillary robustness checks across key subgroups in the data were also performed. The results indicate that energy drink and energy shot consumers are significantly more likely to report all academic risk outcomes. Specifically, youth who heavily use energy drinks and shots have significantly higher odds of each of the academic risk outcomes relative to both less habitual users and nonusers. These patterns hold across subgroups, despite associations being somewhat stronger among females, younger participants, Whites, and youth with no substance use history. The current study suggests that energy drink consumption (particularly heavy consumption) may be an early warning sign of academic risk. It may be beneficial to limit adolescent energy drink consumption, provide early intervention for heavy adolescent consumers, and raise awareness of the dangers associated with their use.

15.1 ANGRY YOUNG MEN, COMMON THREADS IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXTREMIST GROUPS

Presentation attendees will: 1) understand psychological commonalities among gang members and violent extremists; 2) recognize how group affiliation can drive destructive ideologies; and 3) learn of opportunities to promote engagement with young men and to decrease the risk of identification with violent movements. The presenter will review the demographics of gang members and violent extremists. When available, experimental research will frame causative factors and contributing influences. Challenges that limit a better understanding of the threat from violent groups and ideologies will be explored. Gang members and violent extremists share multiple demographic factors, and most strikingly, the vast majority of them are male. Factors associated with male adolescents and young men joining violent groups include perceived lack of social acceptance and support, along with limited financial and leisure opportunities. Street gangs and extremist groups’ messages of personal agency, purpose, and affiliation have strong appeal. School is often the primary socializing environment outside the home and the most important place where children become enculturated. Boys have significantly higher rates of discipline and academic underperformance. Studies of bias against male students show mixed results but may be a factor. Biological factors, perhaps interacting with school environments, likely play a role. Precise characterizations of the nature of male school disengagement has defied easy categorization. The rejection of mainstream institutions and establishment viewpoints is a component of extremist groups. Yet, issues of trust and problems with groupthink abound throughout society. Human cognitive abilities have limitations, and association with a group can promote views that members believe reflect logical argument but actually appear to function more as badges of group identity. Gang members and violent extremists show common characteristics, and some scholars argue that they function as part of a continuum. Reducing the impact of violent ideologies is an important priority. Supporting and integrating young men into mainstream society should start at the school level and also requires community-based programming.

Peer Effects on Engagement and Disengagement: Differential Contributions From Friends, Popular Peers, and the Entire Class.

School engagement and disengagement are important predictors of school success that are grounded in the social context of the classroom. This study used multilevel analysis to examine the contributions of the descriptive norms of friends, popular students and classmates regarding engagement and disengagement to the development of Students’ own behavioral and emotional engagement and disengagement among Flemish 7th-graders (N = 3,409). Moderating effects of Students’ self-esteem and cognitive ability were examined. The results showed effects from friends’ and classmates’ (dis)engagement on all dimensions of (dis)engagement. Popular Students’ engagement only affected individual Student’s behavioral disengagement and emotional engagement. Self-esteem and high cognitive ability did not make students more or less susceptible to peer effects.

Influence of Teacher-Student Relationships and Special Educational Needs on Student Engagement and Disengagement: A Correlational study.

Contemporary educational research has found that student engagement and disengagement have a relevant influence on learning outcomes. However, research on the influence of teacher–student relationships in the engagement of students with special educational needs (SEN) is scarce. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of teacher–student relationships, peer support at school, family support for learning, opportunities to participate at school, and SEN on engagement and disengagement of students using a sample of secondary students with SEN and typical development (TD). Through a non-experimental, correlational, and cross-sectional design, we evaluated 1,020 high school students (340 with SEN and 680 with TD) in the 9th grade (13–19 years old, M = 14.8; SD = 0.89). Teacher–student relationships, peer support at school, and family support for learning were assessed via subscales from the Student Engagement Inventory (SEI), opportunities to participate at school were measured with a subscale of the School Participation Questionnaire (SP), whereas engagement and disengagement were measured using the Multidimensional Scale of School Engagement (MSSE). Results show significant statistical differences between SEN and TD students in both student engagement and disengagement indicators. Engagement of SEN students is higher in the cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions than that of TD students. However, they also have higher disengagement in the cognitive and behavioral dimensions. Furthermore, SEN students rate their relationships with teachers more highly and perceive more opportunities for school participation than their peers. Further analyses show that teacher–student relationships are positively associated with all dimensions of student engagement and inversely with behavioral and cognitive disengagement. Although correlational, the findings suggest teacher–student relationships and school participation opportunities could be important variables for diminishing disengagement and its negative consequences for both SEN and TD students, while improving student engagement. We discuss these results considering possible implications for educational policies, practices, and research.

School Mental Health Providers’ Perspectives on the Impact of COVID-19 on Racial Inequities and School Disengagement

School disengagement is a critical factor that will likely exacerbate long-standing racial inequities in educational outcomes during the aftermath of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Due to their training and contact with at-risk students, school social workers and other school-based mental health professionals (SMHP) are in an ideal position to understand the impact of COVID-19 and virtual learning on K–12 students. To that end, this study reports on findings from a survey of SMHP about the differential impact that the COVID-19 outbreak is having on students and their families. The findings suggest that COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on families overall, especially among populations who were experiencing hardships before the current outbreak. In addition, several barriers were noted for student learning, with many students—particularly students of color—completely disengaging from school during spring 2020. However, SMHP reported several important insights on how to support students and their families—some requiring immediate action on the part of school districts and others requiring greater community-level investment into the economic, social, emotional, and overall health of families. Findings are discussed in light of addressing disengagement and educational inequities for students of color.

Student engagement in K-12 online learning amid COVID-19: A qualitative approach from a self-determination theory perspective

ABSTRACT During the pandemic, school and university students had to urgently move away from traditional classrooms to online learning in their homes. Student engagement that can be explained by self-determination theory (SDT) is important in online learning. Indeed, the founders of SDT recently stated that SDT-based future research should look closely at how to satisfy the basic needs in the theory in technology enhanced learning environments. We also know very little about K-12 student engagement in online learning. Therefore, this qualitative study used the SDT as a framework to understand K-12 school student engagement and disengagement in online learning. It used a thematic analysis to analyse interview data from 36 students and 18 teachers. The findings highlight that (i) online learning environments that supported more autonomy were more likely to engage students cognitively in developing two important lifelong skills of digital literacy and self-regulated learning; and (ii) those environments that lacked emotional attachment, equipment and resources, coupled with perceived digital incompetence and ineffective learning experience of the students suppressed cognitive and emotional engagement. Hence, this study suggests how to satisfy the need for competence and relatedness to prepare and implement online learning.

Gender stigma awareness is associated with adolescent risky health behaviors.

ObjectivesAlthough racial stigma in school is associated with adolescent risky health behaviors, there are no studies investigating how gender stigma relates to adolescent risky health behaviors among low-income, minority youth. We sought to determine whether gender stigma awareness is associated with adolescent risky health behaviors (delinquency, fighting, and substance use) and whether this association is mediated by school disengagement (low perceived teacher support, low school engagement, cutting classes, and breaking school rules) among low-income, minority students.MethodsWe analyzed cross-sectional survey data, collected from 2017 to 2019, from 412 high school students. Multi-level logistic regressions tested whether gender stigma awareness was associated with delinquency, fighting, and substance use, controlling for covariates, baseline behaviors, and clustering within schools. Mediation analyses tested whether school disengagement (low school engagement, perceived teacher support, cutting class, and breaking school rules) mediated these associations. Secondary analyses explored whether associations differed for male versus female, high-performing versus low-performing, and Latinx versus non-Latinx students.ResultsIn this predominantly Latinx (83%) sample, gender stigma awareness was associated with delinquency (AOR = 1.48, P< 0.001) and fighting (AOR = 1.15, P< 0.001). School engagement, perceived teacher support, breaking school rules, and cutting classes mediated 42.7% of the association between gender stigma awareness and delinquency and 65.42% of the association between gender stigma awareness and fighting. Gender stigma awareness was also associated with substance use for low-performing (AOR = 1.68, P = 0.003) and non-Latinx adolescents (AOR = 3.80, P = 0.03). School disengagement did not mediate the association between gender stigma awareness and substance use for non-Latinx students but mediated 50% of this association for low-performing students.ConclusionsGender stigma awareness is associated with adolescent risky health behaviors. A decreased sense of acceptance in the school community and increased school misbehavior may mediate these associations. School environments that value and accept all students may better support adolescent health.

P1 “She used to be Tigger and then she was Eeyore”: A qualitative study with children and young people with CFS/ME, exploring predictors of recovery and future treatment needs

IntroductionPaediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is relatively common and severely disabling. At least 15% of children do not recover by 12 months. We do not know why some children recover and others do not. This study aimed to explore the barriers to recovery experienced by adolescents with CFS/ME.MethodsI recruited adolescents (aged 11-17 years old, with CFS/ME, who were still disabled by CFS/ME after 12 months of treatment), their parents and specialist healthcare professionals were recruited from a single specialist CFS/ME service in the UK. I conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups to explore views on treatment received including barriers and facilitators, as well as views on their future. I used thematic analysis grounded in the views of the patients to identify patterns (themes) in the data.ResultsI recruited 12 children and young people, 11 parents and 7 specialist healthcare professionals. The following themes were identified (with barriers and facilitators apparent in each theme): 1. “awareness and support” from CFS/ME services, GPs, schools and family. Poor awareness resulted in increased time-to-diagnosis, school disengagement, stigmatising experiences, and significant stress for children and parents; family support, school understanding, and validation from the service was a ‘life saver’. 2. “CFS/ME is bigger than the fatigue” described the importance of managing CFS/ME as a ‘long and hard’ chronic illness with secondary health, social and educational consequences. Participants called for holistic therapies that focus on the broader definition of recovery and facilitate re-integration into ‘normal life’. 3. “Balancing routine and control in adolescents”: Children differed on whether routines and pacing were helpful or exacerbated low mood. 4. “Individualised” treatment was important: treatment combinations were helpful in different ‘phases of recovery’, which varied depending on social context, motivations, school input, and co-morbidities.ConclusionAdolescents identified common facilitators and barriers to recovery and a desire for treatment that takes social factors into account, with a holistic approach using a broader definition of recovery. Children and parents identified a need for better awareness, communication and integration within and between services, including GPs and schools.

Teachers` Perceptions and Attitudes Regarding ESL

Early school leaving has important social and economic implications. Young people who leave school prematurely are predisposed to the risk associated with unemployment or small gains when they find a job. The estimates related to the competences required in Europe show that, in the future, only one in ten jobs will be accessed by a person who has left school early. Taking into account the importance of understanding this phenomenon, in order to reduce it, we`ve done a research to identify teachers` perceptions and attitudes regarding ESL. The research of the ESL phenomenon, from the perspective of its causes, in particular the causes associated with the school environment, has circumscribed two types of approaches: a quantitative approach, achieved through the elaboration and administration of a questionnaire addressed to teachers and a quaclitative approach based on designing and conducting focus-groups with teachers. Dimensions explored in our research were: communication/interpersonal/pedagogical competences; main causes of conflictual relations with students and solving strategies used; challenges in daily work with students; representations/beliefs of the factors which can increase student commitment and student motivation; causes of the ESL; school strategies to prevent ESL; teaching methods used to prevent the school disengagement. The results obtained demonstrated that teachers have a wide range of perceptions and attitudes regarding ESl, especially regarding the causes associated with the school environment. Some of them consider that ESL is not caused by school related factors, others consider that this factors may occur, but they don`t have power to reduce their action.

Suppression of Psychological Needs Among Beginning Teachers: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective on the Induction Process in Bedouin Schools.

The study focuses on the emotional-motivational experiences of Bedouin-Arab beginning teachers during the induction period, from the perspective of Self-Determination Theory. A phenomenological study was employed. Seventy-four teachers participated, 62 of whom completed open questionnaires, while semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 other participants. The findings indicate that the beginning teachers reported experiences of coercion, exploitation, and gender-based discrimination (autonomy suppression). They also experienced a judgmental attitude, lack of assistance, and difficulties with students (competence suppression), and their sense of relatedness to the school is impaired due to cultural factors (relatedness suppression). As a result, they expressed controlled motivation, a sense of burnout, stress, impaired well-being and disengagement in school. They also suppressed their students' autonomy. At the same time, the findings also show that when the teachers experience a sense of need satisfaction, they integrate well into the school. These findings indicate the necessity for establishing a need-supportive school environment for beginning teachers during their induction period.

Top problems of adolescents and young adults with ADHD during the COVID-19 pandemic

ObjectiveADHD symptom severity appears to be exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study surveyed top problems experienced by adolescents and young adults (A/YAs) with ADHD during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify possible reasons for symptom escalation and potential targets for intervention. We also explored perceived benefits of the pandemic for A/YAs with ADHD. MethodAt the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (April–June 2020), we administered self and parent ratings about current and pre-pandemic top problem severity and benefits of the pandemic to a sample of convenience (N = 134 A/YAs with ADHD participating in a prospective longitudinal study). ResultsThe most common top problems reported in the sample were social isolation (parent-report: 26.7%; self-report: 41.5%), difficulties engaging in online learning (parent-report: 23.3%, self-report: 20.3%), motivation problems (parent-report: 27.9%), and boredom (self-report: 21.3%). According to parent (d = 0.98) and self-report (d = 1.33), these top problems were more severe during the pandemic than in prior months. Contrary to previous speculation, there was no evidence that pandemic-related changes mitigated ADHD severity. Multi-level models indicated that A/YAs with higher IQs experienced severer top problems exacerbations at the transition to the COVID-19 pandemic. ConclusionsFor A/YAs with ADHD, several risk factors for depression and school dropout were incurred during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. A/YAs with ADHD should be monitored for school disengagement and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommended interventions attend to reducing risk factors such as increasing social interaction, academic motivation, and behavioral activation among A/YAs with ADHD.

School alienation and academic achievement: The role of learned helplessness and mastery orientation.

School alienation is a complex phenomenon that has recently attracted considerable attention from psychologists because of the negative consequences that may result from it, such as poor academic performance, learning difficulties, school disengagement, behavioral problems, and withdrawal from the educational system, which interfere with students' well-being and academic achievement. However, the behaviors engaged in (i.e., mastery or helplessness) by students who experience feelings of school alienation and the associated impact on their academic performance have been overlooked in research. For this reason, the aim of this study was to investigate the roles played by mastery orientation and learned helplessness in the relationship between school alienation and academic achievement. The study sample consisted of 1,316 Italian students, 504 male (38.3%) and 812 female (61.7%). All participants ranged from age 13 to 20 years, with an average age of 16.27 (SD = 1.45). The results highlighted the roles of mastery orientation and learned helplessness in the relationship between students' perceptions of school alienation and academic achievement. The findings contribute to the literature on school alienation, highlighting the potential implications for schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Long-Term Effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences, School Disengagement, and Reasons for Leaving School on Delinquency in Adolescents Who Dropout.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to verify the long-term effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), school disengagement, and the reasons for leaving school on adolescent delinquency while adjusting for sex.Methods: Data were collected from 663 teenagers [male 368, female 295; mean age = 16.81 (SD = 1.10); age range = 13–19 years] through a Longitudinal Survey and Support Plan for Dropouts.Results: Multivariate latent growth modeling (LGM) demonstrated that ACEs and school disengagement are positively associated with delinquency and the mediating effect of school disengagement on association between ACEs and delinquency was verified. Teenagers who quit school for personal reasons reported fewer instances of delinquent behavior than adolescents who left because of school reasons.Conclusion: This study suggests that researchers and teachers need to consider ACEs and school disengagement as a warning index for delinquency with school dropout. In addition, the reason for leaving school should be considered to clarify the effect of school dropout on delinquency in adolescents who dropout.

Confirmatory Factor Structure and Predictive Validity of the Early Identification System-Student Report in a Community Sample of High School Students.

The purpose of this paper is to confirm the factor structure, examine the invariance, and investigate the predictive validity using disciplinary data for 5262 high school students who completed the Early Identification System—Student Response (EIS-SR). The development and theory of the EIS-SR is discussed along with prior work. Building off of prior factor analytic work with a separate sample, it was hypothesized the items of the EIS-SR would coalesce into seven factors representing Externalizing Behavior, Internalizing Behavior, Peer Relationship Problems, School Disengagement, Emotional Dysregulation, Attention and Academic Issues, and Relational Aggression. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that EIS-SR scores would be invariant with regard to gender and grade level. Lastly, it was hypothesized that students with high EIS-SR subscale scores would be predictive of school discipline events. Our analyses indicated the EIS-SR did fit the previously observed factor structure with the items loading on seven distinct scales. Tests for measurement invariance indicated support that the EIS-SR measured the seven factors equally well regardless of both gender and grade level. Lastly, EIS-SR subscale scores predicted spring office disciplinary referrals, both in and out of school suspensions, and attendance.

„Už mě to tam nebavilo“ – absentérství žáků středních odborných škol v kontextu odpoutávání se od školy

Students’ high absenteeism represents a serious issue in Czech vocational education at the upper-secondary school level, and the overall number of missed lessons keeps rising. The aim of the presented study is to reveal and describe how vocational high school and training high school students perceive their absenteeism. Therefore, school absenteeism is viewed from the students’ perspective while reflecting their own experiences with skipping school intentionally while experiencing school disengagement. The qualitative data obtained from eleven respondents were collected through focus groups and individual in-depth interviews. It is evident from the results that absenteeism is closely connected with gradual school disengagement, represents a risk factor of school failure and can result in school drop-out. Students-absentees refuse to attend classes at school usually due to their lack of interest in the lessons, low attractiveness of the lessons’ content or experiencing boredom at school. Classmates and peers play a key role in the whole process as they influence each other in the means of irregular school attendance, and together they also choose and plan the alternative program substituting school attendance. Furthermore, the data analysis revealed inconsistency related to the schools’ rules on school attendance, monitoring students’ compliance with these rules and prevention of truancy. Due to the lack of intervention by the school, the critical consequences of absenteeism are revealed after a long period of time when it is difficult to avoid negative impacts on the student’s educational path.

COVID-19 and risks for disadvantaged students: a media coverage analysis from a cultural psychology perspective

ABSTRACT The health and social crisis caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had an especially strong impact on the academic prospects of the most vulnerable populations in society. This paper focuses on the consequences of the current crisis in terms of their potential to negatively impact school disengagement and early school-leaving rates. First, the author reviews the causes of early school leaving, divided into exogenous and endogenous factors. Second, the key findings of a media coverage analysis are presented. This analysis focuses on key educational aspects and consequences related to the COVID-19 crisis and the potential impact on disengagement, early school leaving and educational inequality gaps. Lastly, in the light of those consequences, a sociocultural model of behaviour is suggested as a useful lens to envision solutions.

Education and Care: How Teachers Promote the Inclusion of Children and Youth at Risk in South Africa

Children and youth at risk, particularly those placed in child and youth care centres (CYCC) in South Africa, have suffered from school disengagement due to multiple barriers to learning such as the exposure to crime and violence at a young age. As children and youth at risk at these centres find it difficult to engage in learning, new approaches need to be found to re-engage their interest to learn. This article discusses how the ‘Curriculum of Care’, an adaptation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), responds to the educational needs of children and youth at risk at a CYCC in the Western Cape. It draws primarily from interviews and a focus group discussion with the centre manager and teachers at the institution. The findings reveal that positive learning outcomes, and the effective integration of children and youth at risk, are shaped by positive teacher–learner relationships; however, the findings raise questions about the extent to which such a curriculum prepares children and youth at risk for life after they leave the institution. The article suggests that the institutions providing education and care for children and youth at risk need to provide a curriculum balancing academic rigour with care to promote a holistic, inclusive education programme that enables youth and children at risk to effectively navigate their entry into society.