NCJ Number
223247
Journal
Journal of Adolescent Research Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2008 Pages: 438-470
Date Published
July 2008
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This study examined adolescents' perceptions of school involvement.
Abstract
This study found that adolescents in the sample respected teachers with engaging instructional styles and a commitment to student learning; most viewed even small efforts by teachers to get to know them as evidence of caring. Their perceived connection to school has been consistently associated with positive development across a range of domains, with strongest evidence for the quality of student-adult relationships in school as a core factor. This multimethod study examined the experiences that promote or undermine adolescents' feelings of connection to school in particular, their feelings of respect for and caring by teachers, and their sense of belonging to their schools. Further indepth analysis of five participant cases using interview data and quantitative data from middle and high school provided a contextualized view of adolescents' trajectories of connection to school over time, and highlighted the differentiated profiles of belonging to school, as well as effective relationships with teachers reported by these youth. Theoretical and methodological implications for the study and promotion of perceived school connection might also have implications for other urban settings with large immigrant populations. Using a sample of 32 high school seniors from 9 urban schools who had participated in a quantitative study 5 years prior, the data collected represented students aged 17 and 18, of which 19 were female and 13 male. The sample reflected the major ethnic groups in the population of high school seniors for the district in which it was conducted. Appendix, references