School-related Support Research Articles

A 10-day experience sampling dataset on subjective experiences of middle and upper secondary school students in 2022

This data note presents a dataset collected within a 10-day experience sampling survey study among middle and upper secondary students in Finland during autumn 2022. The dataset encompasses a brief start-up survey in addition to 40 momentary assessments, allowing for the analysis of both inter- and intraindividual processes. The start-up survey includes validated measures on students’ perceptions of school-related support from family, peers, and teachers, general self-efficacy, and academic self-efficacy, as well as items on school enjoyment, and school absenteeism. The experience sampling data includes items related to positive and negative emotions, lecture characteristics, perceived teacher style, peer relationships, as well as sleep quality, breakfast, school readiness, and school day satisfaction. Data were collected using the “RealLife Exp” mobile app. Multiple procedures were undertaken to validate and confirm the reliability of the dataset, as presented in this data note. The methodological approach utilized for gathering the data featured in this dataset allows for a nuanced analysis of individual and contextual influences along with lagged effects on school well-being, with the potential to discover previously overlooked patterns and trends.

Transition from primary to lower secondary school in Austria. Findings from a longitudinal study during COVID-19

AbstractTransition from the familiar environment of primary school to the larger, more complex setting of secondary school is, for most students, marked by social and academic challenges as well as a need to fit in. The aim of this contribution is to investigate the possible impact of achievement-related personal resources and social support in coping with the developmental task of transitioning from primary to lower secondary school during COVID-19. We make the assumption that a sudden shift to distance learning due to the pandemic intensified the challenges of transitioning to secondary school and led to educational disadvantage, in particular for students who were struggling with the demands of self-regulated distance learning.Data were generated from a longitudinal study carried out in a rural-alpine region of Austria in 2021 and 2022. During the time where COVID-19 was affecting education, 188 pupils were surveyed in the year prior to and after their transition from primary to lower secondary school. In order to analyse the impact of achievement-related personal resources and social support, a multivariate hierarchical regression analysis was conducted.Results showed that managing the transition to lower secondary school relied heavily upon pupils’ ability to cope with self-regulatory demands of distance learning, their achievement-related personal resources and social integration in class in primary school. However, from the findings, we can conclude that social support in secondary school also plays an important role. The ability to cope with social and academic demands in secondary school is at a higher level when pupils receive school-related support from their parents, recognise their school climate as supportive and perceive their teachers’ expertise in judging academic achievements as high.

Analyzing Community-Based Support Requests Made by Black Families Raising Autistic Children.

Black families experience additional barriers to accessing autism-related supports compared to White families. Community organizations can help mitigate the negative impact of systemic inequities and lack of support that Black caregivers of autistic family members experience. Little is known about the types of support Black families seek from these organizations. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the support needs of Black families raising autistic children as evidenced by communication patterns in a community-based statewide autism organization. Our research questions were: (1) What are the autism-related support needs of Black families raising autistic children; and (2) How do familial demographics influence these support needs? We explored the support needs of Black caregivers of autistic family members by analyzing a subset of 1,460 entries (16.8% of the total communication entries) within a database of communication entries from a community-based autism organization in one southeastern state in the United States. We analyzed the frequency of support request types and the relationships between support requests and familial demographics (i.e., rurality, gender, age). We found that Black families most often requested family or individual support, school-related support, and behavioral support. Families requested support with bullying, social services, and health insurance less often. We found significant interactions between the three most requested services and the rurality, gender, and age of the autistic family member. We conclude with suggestions for autism support organizations seeking to better meet the needs of Black families.

Academic Strengths of Female Students after Their Father’s Death: A Qualitative Study

The death of a parent is a traumatic experience, and for many female students, it can be especially challenging when the father is no longer around. although most studies focus on the emotional impact of such an event, few have examined how it affects academic performance. This qualitative study aimed to investigate the lived experience of female students’ academic strengths after the death of their father. For this study, 13 female students in their mid-teens who had experienced the death of their fathers were recruited by convenience sampling. Each participant was interviewed using a semi-structured interview, and content analysis was conducted using Colizzi’s steps to derive themes and categories. The study revealed 4 themes, including (1) school-related support, (2) personal strengths, (3) specialist support, and (4) interpersonal and social strengths. The death of the father can have a significant impact on the academic performance of female students. Despite these challenges, this study indicated that female students may show resilience and educational strengths after the death of their father. Moreover, this study indicated the need for more support from society as well as schools for female students who have experienced the death of their father.

Help-seeking experiences of bereaved adolescents: A qualitative study

ABSTRACTDespite the potentially devastating effects of a death on the lives of adolescents, little is known about their help-seeking experiences. We interviewed by telephone 39 bereaved adolescents on their help-seeking experiences. Thematic analysis resulted in three themes: Formal support, Informal support and School-related support. Participants provided a critical appraisal of positive and negative experiences, and noted barriers and facilitators for help-seeking. As adolescents bereaved through suicide may receive less social support, professional help is a much-needed auxiliary. Parental encouragement is important in accessing adequate professional help.

CORRELATES OF GAY-RELATED NAME-CALLING IN SCHOOLS

The aim of this study was to examine whether attitudes about gay-related name-calling, social norms concerning gay-related name-calling among co-students, teacher intervention, and school-related support would predict whether secondary school pupils had called another pupil a gay-related name during the last month. A total of 921 ninth-grade pupils (aged 14 to 15 years) at 15 lower secondary schools from two regions in Norway participated in the study by filling out a questionnaire. A logistic regression analysis revealed that having a negative attitude toward calling someone gay-related names was negatively associated with having called a pupil gay-related names in the last month. However, having heard a pupil call another pupil gay-related names at school was the variable that most powerfully predicted this behavior. These findings give certain grounds for optimism regarding the prevention of gay-related name-calling and indicate that preventive measures aimed at students’ awareness would probably make a difference.

MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND ITS LINKS TO YOUNG ADOLESCENT SELF‐EVALUATION AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

Drawing on early research on parental involvement and its effect on children's school functioning, it was hypothesized in this study that parents’ educational involvement is positively related to two indicators of school functioning: academic self‐competence and academic achievement. However, in light of research on the distinction between parents’ home‐ and school‐based educational involvement in terms of their different provisions of parents’ school‐related support, this study examined the relationship between each of these two bases and two adolescent outcomes: self‐evaluation (consisting of global self‐worth and scholastic self‐evaluation) and school‐reported academic achievement. Analyses using structural equation modeling (SEM) on data collected from 397 (187 girls) Israeli seventh‐graders (first year of junior high school) confirm the distinction between home‐ and school‐based parental involvement and their different links to adolescent outcomes. SEM analyses carried out separately for girls and boys showed positive links between home‐based parental involvement for girls and parent's volunteering for boys and global self‐worth. This analysis also showed direct negative links between school‐based parental involvement and academic achievement for boys. The discussion addresses these differences and their implication for the school experiences of young adolescents in the wake of the transition to junior high school.

Subjective well-being in urban adolescents of color.

Relationships among predictors and criteria of subjective well-being were examined in a sample of 151 urban adolescents of color, ages 12-15. The relative strengths of family, peer, and school-related support and esteem in predicting three measures of subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) were explored. Results suggested that sense of worth in one's family explained a significant amount of variance in subjective well-being variables, above and beyond the contributions of individual, school, and peer-related variables. Implications for prevention and mental health promotion with urban adolescents of color are discussed based on these findings.

Adolescents' Perceptions of Relationships With Older Sibling in the Context of Other Close Relationships

This study examines adolescents' perceived relationships with older sibling in the context of adolescent-parent and adolescent-peer relationships. Toward this end, self-report data of 147 11th grade adolescents, who listed an older sibling as their closest sibling were analyzed. These analyses indicated that:(a)adolescents' relationships with older siblings were similar to self-reported relationships with others, fathers, and peers;(b)a rival hypothesis positioning that sibling relationships will be perceived as compensating for low acceptance from parents and peers was not supported by these data; positive sibling relationships contributed to a sense of emotional and school-related support above and beyond the contribution of mother, father, and peer acceptance. Altogether, the findings support the rejection of the compensation hypothesis and the acceptance of the hypothesis regarding the contribution of sibling relationships to adolescents' perceived support. Both findings may be related to the positive...

Answers to Three Questions about Juvenile Diversion

This article reports on an evaluation of eleven California diversion projects and presents answers to the following three questions: (1) How many clients did the program actually divert? (2) How much money did the program save? and (3) Did the program reduce recidivism? In answer to these questions, the research findings indicate that only half of the clients were diverted from the justice system. The other half would not have been processed further if the projects had not been available. Since so few of the clients would have been processed further, there were no net savings. Program costs were greater than savings. With regard to recidivism, most of the diversion project clients were rearrested within six months at about the same rate as the matched comparison cases which were processed tradition ally. However, three individual projects did reduce recidivism during the six- month follow-up period. The researchers recommend that diversion projects concentrate services on clients who otherwise would be processed beyond probation intake. This con centration should accomplish the following: (1) increase the number of clients actually diverted from justice system processing, (2) increase savings to the justice system (which savings could be used to fund diversion services), and (3) increase the probability of reducing recidivism. The researchers also suggest that diversion projects provide services simi lar to those offered by the projects which reduced recidivism—long-term in dividual contact and counseling or specialized family crisis counseling, de pending upon the characteristics of the client, his or her family, and the staff person assigned. These services should be supplemented with recreation, tutor ing, and other school-related support as needed.