Module 7
Students Most At Risk of Facing Marginalization
- (LGBTQ), kids of color, culturally/linguistically diverse kids, mentally ill kids, behavioral issues, & disabilities.
Social Isolation, Rejection, & Marginalization of Students of Students
- All have been linked to longer-term problems including depression, anxiety, aggression, attentional difficulties, & social withdrawal; affecting engagement & performance.
- Kids who were peer rejected for 2 -3+ years, 2nd grade was at elevated risk (close to 50%) for developing conduct problems as kids, vs. 9% probability for kids w/o history.
- Most lonely kids were 33x more likely to be bullied, vs. those who were least lonely.
- Disabled kids have experienced high levels of peer rejection & elevated rates of bullying.
- Neglected peers are often ignored by others; rejected peers are disliked & purposefully selected for rejection experiencing more severe academic difficulties & anxiety, with
additional problems in classroom behaviors, self-selected isolation, & expressions of loneliness.
LGBTQ Students (2013 Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
- 56% felt unsafe = sexual orientation; 38% felt unsafe + gender expression; 65% heard homophobic comments; 56% had heard negative comments about gender expression;
- Found more often in middle schools (verbal & physical bullying amongst LGBTQ)
- Anti-LGBT comments at school were at their lowest frequency since 2001
- Kids/teachers heard kids make sexist & gender-stereotyped comments beginning in elementary.
- Verbal harassment about sexual orientation was most common (experienced by 74% of respondents). 55% experienced verbal harassment about gender expression.
- Nearly ½ had been cyberbullied
- Almost ½ have been physically harassed/assaulted for their sexual orientation, 34% for their gender expression. Less than ½ of kids told staff about it & when they did, 62%
indicated faculty did nothing about it.
- 56% have experienced discriminatory policies/practices, such as PDA not disciplined among straights, prevented from attending activities with the same gender, restricted
from advocating for a GSA, prevented from focusing on LGBT topics, & not allowed to wear clothing reflecting LGBT concerns, disciplined for identifying as LGBT. Trans
kids reported not being allowed to use their preferred name, having to use bathrooms that matched their legally assigned sex, & not being allowed to wear clothing consisten
with their gender expression.
- More likely to be absent, lower GPAs, & discontinue education. High risk of risky sexual behaviors, substance abuse, & suicide.
Prevention & Intervention to Improve Safety, Well-Being, & Resiliency
- Having supportive adults, training for educators inclusive curriculum with positive representation, & sexual education for the LGBTQ.
Students of Color, Culturally Linguistically Diverse Students, & Students With Disabilities
- Blacks are disciplined at up to triple the rate of whites, & a pattern of repeated suspensions & increased likelihood of academic failure.
- The disabled, especially the emotionally disturbed, have experienced relatively high rates of suspension.
- Double jeopardy: When kids can suffer as a result of both disability category & skin color.
Disproportionality in Discipline and Special Education
- Middle school coloreds, vs. Whites, were disciplined for more subjectively versus objectively determined behaviors.
- High-poverty communities experience greater teacher turnover with less qualified teachers, fewer resources, & less desirable working/learning conditions, all impacting
academic achievement.
- Differential educational opportunities/treatment by teachers of kids of color, including blacks, based on teacher perceptions of abilities, where no differences existed vs. whit
- Non-English speakers have faced challenges in academics, questionable special education placement procedures, & disciplinary processes. They also have higher grade
retention, dropout rates, & are more likely than whites to be identified with an intellectual disability or learning disability.
Impacts of Zero-Tolerance Policies
- Marginalize & segregate at-risk/ minority kids through academic tracking & special education placement. Face a lack of support/relationships.
- Policies/procedures can lead to disproportionate disciplinary outcomes & minimal support to the academic/social needs of at-risk/minorities.
- These difficulties can be further exacerbated through immersion in a negative school climate, fostering disengagement.
Students With Serious Mental Health Issues
- The CDC: 20% of kids each year have a mental disorder. ADHD, substance abuse, behavioral/ conduct problems, anxiety, depression, & autism, were the most diagnosed. Fo
most of these disorders, except depression, boys were more likely to be diagnosed. ADHD, depression, and substance abuse were most prevalent among non-Hispanics.
Behavioral/conduct disorders were most common among blacks. Autism/ anxiety were highest for whites. Lower socioeconomic status had higher rates of ADHD, substance
abuse, behavior and conduct problems, and anxiety.
Disability Identification and Provision
- As of the 2013–2014 academic year, of the 12% of students with educational disabilities, 7% met the criteria for emotional disturbance.
- The overrepresentation of Black students with ED identifications has been well documented.
- Students who met the criteria for other health impairments comprised about 14% of students with disabilities.
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires federal funding to not discriminate against kids with disabilities ( mental health) to provide accommodations so these
kids can access free and appropriate public education.
- Barriers to treatment: access to treatment services, financial accessibility, stigmas about mental illness, ratio of students in need to service providers, perceived importance of
providing mental health services, limited training of educators in best practices, limited communication about treatment needs and services across providers
- Only about ¼ of children who need treatment actually receive it
Multitiered Systems of Support for Building Resiliency and Maintaining Saftey
- Tier 1: Kids can receive social-emotional instruction to help build skills that promote resiliency and are exposed to schoolwide prevention (bullying).
- Tier 2: Those at-risk participate in group/ individual interventions (anger management groups), and pupil services may consult with teachers and families.
- Tier 3: More involvement, like individual cognitive–behavioral therapy for addressing anxiety.
Students With Serious Problem Behaviors and School Failure Trajectories
- Multiple problematic life pathways exist for kids with failure experiences, which may contribute to the STP pipeline. Includes factors like early classroom problems with
teachers/peers, development of antisocial behaviors, academic failure, problem behaviors, rejection, difficulty at home/community, and the growing of harmful long-term
outcomes (referrals, suspensions, delinquency, serious aggression, theft, drug/alcohol use, arrest, & dropout).
- Contributing factors: developmental/biosocial like neglect, nutritional/neurological deficits, impulsive behaviors, school failure, and limited family/school controls, leading t
longer-term antisocial behavioral outcomes.
- Approx. 3.4 mil kids were suspended (2011–2012 school year), with blacks experiencing high rates of outer suspension (15%) v. whites (4%) & males being suspended more
- Black male offenders were secured in residential placement facilities at a rate 5x that of white male juveniles in 2013
- Dropout stats show an improving situation with a dropout rate of 3% in 2012 vs. 6% in 1972. Rates are higher for kids with disabilities in all aspects.
Students With Serious Problems Behaviors and School Failure Trajectories
- Kid difficulties & related academic failure are attributed to early problems – students exhibiting disruptive behaviors/ negative discipline early are often excluded and rejecte
Limiting opportunities for academic/prosocial engagement. Especially problematic for kids with learning disabilities.
- Negative kid relationships with teachers in kinder linked to problem kid behaviors are predictive of academic/ behavioral problems through 8th grade.
- Leone and Mayer: “unhealthy school syndrome”- factors that set the stage for school violence, disorder, & related problems experienced by at-risk kids:
, - (a) academic missions that meshed poorly with kids' needs; (b) zero-tolerance/ primarily reactive, punitive approaches to school discipline; (c) entrenched
noncollaborative systems of control that isolated rather than brought stakeholders together; (d) racial/ cultural disconnects; (e) disconnects with kids with
disabilities.
Conclusions
- Complex prevention/promotion approaches are necessary to create multisystem collaborative involvement across research policy/practice.
- A balanced approach of prevention/promotion is required, addressing social–cognitive, developmental, transactional, structural, and systemic factors.
- Changing school culture is central to improvement, not only in schools but among families and in the community.
- Important to understand factors contributing to youth marginalization/destructive trajectories of behavioral/school failure and how these contribute to difficulties with
transitioning to the challenges of life as a young adult. Also important to consider characteristics/dispositions that are necessary for a high school graduate who is a member
the LGBTQ or has any disability to successfully transition to adult life.
- Is the result of a long-term process that begins in the preschool years. Investment in health promotion/prevention must span the pre-K–12 years.
Websites
- Removing Police Presence: Police in schools contribute to the STP pipeline, especially for youth of color. Instead, School districts should be investing in well-trained,
school-based social workers and counselors and restorative justice programs. They should also provide extra training to teachers on how to de-escalate situations and interve
safely and appropriately when there is problematic behavior. Schools should also implement processes that incentivize students toward pro-social behavior: rewards for good
attendance, recognition for stopping violence and mediating conflict, celebrations of peaceful resolutions, etc.
- Schools, Prisons, and Pipelines: 3 Models of Understanding the STP pipeline: Origins of the pipeline, plumbing the pipeline metaphor, limits and alternatives to the pipeline
framework.
- Origins: argues that punitive disciplinary measures, such as zero-tolerance policies introduced in the 1990s, have disproportionately affected minority and
low-income students. Mostly affecting blacks and latinos. Having the presence of law enforcement contributes to the cycle of marginalization and incarceration.
Module 9
4 Key Concepts to Support Student Safety
- (1) Promote positive competencies (not only aimed at reducing risk, but also building individual competency). (2) Foster resilience in the context of trauma and chronic high
risk. (3) Leverage the interactional nature of development in the school context. (4) Develop integrated approaches that bridge across degrees and types of problem behaviors
Promoting Student Health
- WHO defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
- If a goal is to promote pro-social youth development to promote civil society, a culture of mental and physical youth is an essential foundation.
- Young people must acquire prosocial competencies, such as empathy, problem-solving, conflict resolution, decision-making, and so on, to become productive members of
society.
Preventing School Violence
- Universal interventions target an entire population and are not limited to a subset deemed “at-risk.”
- Selective interventions target subgroups based on the presence of higher-than-average social, emotional, or academic risk factors.
- The presumption is that while everyone in a school may benefit from certain approaches, some students may need more intensive intervention.
- These theoretical distinctions are not so easily distinguished in real-world practice. The line between prevention and treatment can be blurred in practice.
Intervention to Promote Positive Functioning
- The goal of promoting (+) functioning is to shift from deficits–based orientation (i.e. focusing on kids having problems to be mitigated) to a strengths-oriented focus.
- Positive youth development focuses on the idea of promoting assets, both internal to the youth themselves as well as their local ecologies (neighborhoods, families, commun
organizations)
- Historically, the focus of supporting youth has been on eliminating barriers rather than enhancing mechanisms of support to promote or protect healthy youth development
- Positive youth development includes 5 core competencies (the 5 Cs): competence, confidence, character, caring and compassion, and connection to the institutions of civil
society
- The Big 3: Providing opportunities for youth empowerment and leadership, Build important life skills and Positive and sustained relationships with caring adults.
Youth Leadership
- Youth leadership development can be defined as: “kids empowered to inspire and mobilize themselves and others toward a common purpose, in response to personal and/or
social issues and challenges, to effect (+) changes.”
Important Life Skills
- Social-emotional learning (SEL) is a process of acquiring life skills in five core competency areas: (a) self-awareness (understanding one’s values, strengths, and goals to
maintain a stable sense of self-confidence), (b) self-management (identifying and regulating one’s emotions to handle stress), (c) social awareness (appreciating the
perspectives of others), (d) relationship skills (establishing and maintaining positive relationships and resolving interpersonal conflict) and, (e) responsible decision making
(making conscientious decisions based on respect for others and understanding the consequences of one’s actions;
- SEL interventions are generally effective across a diverse range of social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes, including academic performance.
- Results of more than 200 SEL intervention studies and found an average gain of 11% points in academic achievement in vs. controls (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor,
Schellinger, 2011).
Caring Relationships with Adults
- School-based mentoring is a type of programming that is explicitly designed to provide the benefits of support to youth from nonparental adults.
- Mentoring programs support (+) kid–adult relationships through provision of ongoing guidance, and encouragement, but informal and natural mentoring has also been link
to (+) outcomes.
- Because school-based mentoring programs are implemented on an academic calendar, mentoring relationships that are less durable (relative to year-round, community-based
mentoring programs).
- A review of school-based mentoring programs (e.g., Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s school-based program) indicated that positive effects have been found in
randomized trials, but the effects were small and did not carry over to the following school year (DuBois, Portillo, Rhodes, Silverthorn, & Valentine, 2011)
- The promotion of youth competencies and adaptive functioning in contexts of high risk has evolved into its own field, referred to as resilience science (Masten, 2014).
Fostering Resilience
- Resilience research: Initial representations of resilience in mass media and academic writing alike often characterized remarkable or special youth who were somehow able t
pull themselves up by their bootstraps to overcome their contexts of risk, disadvantage, and adversity.
- Better definitions of resilience include: the occurrence of positive outcomes in the face of significant threats to adaptation or development (Masten, 2014), an ability to adapt
reach developmental milestones, despite being exposed to chronic and/or acute adversity (Abramson, Brooks, & Peek, 2014), a dynamic process wherein individuals display
positive adaptation despite experiences of significant adversity or trauma (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000).
- Resilience is characterized by its two central features: the presence of a significant threat to development positive adaptation (Masten, 2014).
- Adverse experiences often occur in clusters of multiple incidents, rather than as isolated events.
- Early trauma may cause youth to act out in school settings.
- Traumatized youth are at great risk for educational problems, disciplinary sanctions, stigma, delinquency, and juvenile justice contact.
Students Most At Risk of Facing Marginalization
- (LGBTQ), kids of color, culturally/linguistically diverse kids, mentally ill kids, behavioral issues, & disabilities.
Social Isolation, Rejection, & Marginalization of Students of Students
- All have been linked to longer-term problems including depression, anxiety, aggression, attentional difficulties, & social withdrawal; affecting engagement & performance.
- Kids who were peer rejected for 2 -3+ years, 2nd grade was at elevated risk (close to 50%) for developing conduct problems as kids, vs. 9% probability for kids w/o history.
- Most lonely kids were 33x more likely to be bullied, vs. those who were least lonely.
- Disabled kids have experienced high levels of peer rejection & elevated rates of bullying.
- Neglected peers are often ignored by others; rejected peers are disliked & purposefully selected for rejection experiencing more severe academic difficulties & anxiety, with
additional problems in classroom behaviors, self-selected isolation, & expressions of loneliness.
LGBTQ Students (2013 Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
- 56% felt unsafe = sexual orientation; 38% felt unsafe + gender expression; 65% heard homophobic comments; 56% had heard negative comments about gender expression;
- Found more often in middle schools (verbal & physical bullying amongst LGBTQ)
- Anti-LGBT comments at school were at their lowest frequency since 2001
- Kids/teachers heard kids make sexist & gender-stereotyped comments beginning in elementary.
- Verbal harassment about sexual orientation was most common (experienced by 74% of respondents). 55% experienced verbal harassment about gender expression.
- Nearly ½ had been cyberbullied
- Almost ½ have been physically harassed/assaulted for their sexual orientation, 34% for their gender expression. Less than ½ of kids told staff about it & when they did, 62%
indicated faculty did nothing about it.
- 56% have experienced discriminatory policies/practices, such as PDA not disciplined among straights, prevented from attending activities with the same gender, restricted
from advocating for a GSA, prevented from focusing on LGBT topics, & not allowed to wear clothing reflecting LGBT concerns, disciplined for identifying as LGBT. Trans
kids reported not being allowed to use their preferred name, having to use bathrooms that matched their legally assigned sex, & not being allowed to wear clothing consisten
with their gender expression.
- More likely to be absent, lower GPAs, & discontinue education. High risk of risky sexual behaviors, substance abuse, & suicide.
Prevention & Intervention to Improve Safety, Well-Being, & Resiliency
- Having supportive adults, training for educators inclusive curriculum with positive representation, & sexual education for the LGBTQ.
Students of Color, Culturally Linguistically Diverse Students, & Students With Disabilities
- Blacks are disciplined at up to triple the rate of whites, & a pattern of repeated suspensions & increased likelihood of academic failure.
- The disabled, especially the emotionally disturbed, have experienced relatively high rates of suspension.
- Double jeopardy: When kids can suffer as a result of both disability category & skin color.
Disproportionality in Discipline and Special Education
- Middle school coloreds, vs. Whites, were disciplined for more subjectively versus objectively determined behaviors.
- High-poverty communities experience greater teacher turnover with less qualified teachers, fewer resources, & less desirable working/learning conditions, all impacting
academic achievement.
- Differential educational opportunities/treatment by teachers of kids of color, including blacks, based on teacher perceptions of abilities, where no differences existed vs. whit
- Non-English speakers have faced challenges in academics, questionable special education placement procedures, & disciplinary processes. They also have higher grade
retention, dropout rates, & are more likely than whites to be identified with an intellectual disability or learning disability.
Impacts of Zero-Tolerance Policies
- Marginalize & segregate at-risk/ minority kids through academic tracking & special education placement. Face a lack of support/relationships.
- Policies/procedures can lead to disproportionate disciplinary outcomes & minimal support to the academic/social needs of at-risk/minorities.
- These difficulties can be further exacerbated through immersion in a negative school climate, fostering disengagement.
Students With Serious Mental Health Issues
- The CDC: 20% of kids each year have a mental disorder. ADHD, substance abuse, behavioral/ conduct problems, anxiety, depression, & autism, were the most diagnosed. Fo
most of these disorders, except depression, boys were more likely to be diagnosed. ADHD, depression, and substance abuse were most prevalent among non-Hispanics.
Behavioral/conduct disorders were most common among blacks. Autism/ anxiety were highest for whites. Lower socioeconomic status had higher rates of ADHD, substance
abuse, behavior and conduct problems, and anxiety.
Disability Identification and Provision
- As of the 2013–2014 academic year, of the 12% of students with educational disabilities, 7% met the criteria for emotional disturbance.
- The overrepresentation of Black students with ED identifications has been well documented.
- Students who met the criteria for other health impairments comprised about 14% of students with disabilities.
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires federal funding to not discriminate against kids with disabilities ( mental health) to provide accommodations so these
kids can access free and appropriate public education.
- Barriers to treatment: access to treatment services, financial accessibility, stigmas about mental illness, ratio of students in need to service providers, perceived importance of
providing mental health services, limited training of educators in best practices, limited communication about treatment needs and services across providers
- Only about ¼ of children who need treatment actually receive it
Multitiered Systems of Support for Building Resiliency and Maintaining Saftey
- Tier 1: Kids can receive social-emotional instruction to help build skills that promote resiliency and are exposed to schoolwide prevention (bullying).
- Tier 2: Those at-risk participate in group/ individual interventions (anger management groups), and pupil services may consult with teachers and families.
- Tier 3: More involvement, like individual cognitive–behavioral therapy for addressing anxiety.
Students With Serious Problem Behaviors and School Failure Trajectories
- Multiple problematic life pathways exist for kids with failure experiences, which may contribute to the STP pipeline. Includes factors like early classroom problems with
teachers/peers, development of antisocial behaviors, academic failure, problem behaviors, rejection, difficulty at home/community, and the growing of harmful long-term
outcomes (referrals, suspensions, delinquency, serious aggression, theft, drug/alcohol use, arrest, & dropout).
- Contributing factors: developmental/biosocial like neglect, nutritional/neurological deficits, impulsive behaviors, school failure, and limited family/school controls, leading t
longer-term antisocial behavioral outcomes.
- Approx. 3.4 mil kids were suspended (2011–2012 school year), with blacks experiencing high rates of outer suspension (15%) v. whites (4%) & males being suspended more
- Black male offenders were secured in residential placement facilities at a rate 5x that of white male juveniles in 2013
- Dropout stats show an improving situation with a dropout rate of 3% in 2012 vs. 6% in 1972. Rates are higher for kids with disabilities in all aspects.
Students With Serious Problems Behaviors and School Failure Trajectories
- Kid difficulties & related academic failure are attributed to early problems – students exhibiting disruptive behaviors/ negative discipline early are often excluded and rejecte
Limiting opportunities for academic/prosocial engagement. Especially problematic for kids with learning disabilities.
- Negative kid relationships with teachers in kinder linked to problem kid behaviors are predictive of academic/ behavioral problems through 8th grade.
- Leone and Mayer: “unhealthy school syndrome”- factors that set the stage for school violence, disorder, & related problems experienced by at-risk kids:
, - (a) academic missions that meshed poorly with kids' needs; (b) zero-tolerance/ primarily reactive, punitive approaches to school discipline; (c) entrenched
noncollaborative systems of control that isolated rather than brought stakeholders together; (d) racial/ cultural disconnects; (e) disconnects with kids with
disabilities.
Conclusions
- Complex prevention/promotion approaches are necessary to create multisystem collaborative involvement across research policy/practice.
- A balanced approach of prevention/promotion is required, addressing social–cognitive, developmental, transactional, structural, and systemic factors.
- Changing school culture is central to improvement, not only in schools but among families and in the community.
- Important to understand factors contributing to youth marginalization/destructive trajectories of behavioral/school failure and how these contribute to difficulties with
transitioning to the challenges of life as a young adult. Also important to consider characteristics/dispositions that are necessary for a high school graduate who is a member
the LGBTQ or has any disability to successfully transition to adult life.
- Is the result of a long-term process that begins in the preschool years. Investment in health promotion/prevention must span the pre-K–12 years.
Websites
- Removing Police Presence: Police in schools contribute to the STP pipeline, especially for youth of color. Instead, School districts should be investing in well-trained,
school-based social workers and counselors and restorative justice programs. They should also provide extra training to teachers on how to de-escalate situations and interve
safely and appropriately when there is problematic behavior. Schools should also implement processes that incentivize students toward pro-social behavior: rewards for good
attendance, recognition for stopping violence and mediating conflict, celebrations of peaceful resolutions, etc.
- Schools, Prisons, and Pipelines: 3 Models of Understanding the STP pipeline: Origins of the pipeline, plumbing the pipeline metaphor, limits and alternatives to the pipeline
framework.
- Origins: argues that punitive disciplinary measures, such as zero-tolerance policies introduced in the 1990s, have disproportionately affected minority and
low-income students. Mostly affecting blacks and latinos. Having the presence of law enforcement contributes to the cycle of marginalization and incarceration.
Module 9
4 Key Concepts to Support Student Safety
- (1) Promote positive competencies (not only aimed at reducing risk, but also building individual competency). (2) Foster resilience in the context of trauma and chronic high
risk. (3) Leverage the interactional nature of development in the school context. (4) Develop integrated approaches that bridge across degrees and types of problem behaviors
Promoting Student Health
- WHO defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
- If a goal is to promote pro-social youth development to promote civil society, a culture of mental and physical youth is an essential foundation.
- Young people must acquire prosocial competencies, such as empathy, problem-solving, conflict resolution, decision-making, and so on, to become productive members of
society.
Preventing School Violence
- Universal interventions target an entire population and are not limited to a subset deemed “at-risk.”
- Selective interventions target subgroups based on the presence of higher-than-average social, emotional, or academic risk factors.
- The presumption is that while everyone in a school may benefit from certain approaches, some students may need more intensive intervention.
- These theoretical distinctions are not so easily distinguished in real-world practice. The line between prevention and treatment can be blurred in practice.
Intervention to Promote Positive Functioning
- The goal of promoting (+) functioning is to shift from deficits–based orientation (i.e. focusing on kids having problems to be mitigated) to a strengths-oriented focus.
- Positive youth development focuses on the idea of promoting assets, both internal to the youth themselves as well as their local ecologies (neighborhoods, families, commun
organizations)
- Historically, the focus of supporting youth has been on eliminating barriers rather than enhancing mechanisms of support to promote or protect healthy youth development
- Positive youth development includes 5 core competencies (the 5 Cs): competence, confidence, character, caring and compassion, and connection to the institutions of civil
society
- The Big 3: Providing opportunities for youth empowerment and leadership, Build important life skills and Positive and sustained relationships with caring adults.
Youth Leadership
- Youth leadership development can be defined as: “kids empowered to inspire and mobilize themselves and others toward a common purpose, in response to personal and/or
social issues and challenges, to effect (+) changes.”
Important Life Skills
- Social-emotional learning (SEL) is a process of acquiring life skills in five core competency areas: (a) self-awareness (understanding one’s values, strengths, and goals to
maintain a stable sense of self-confidence), (b) self-management (identifying and regulating one’s emotions to handle stress), (c) social awareness (appreciating the
perspectives of others), (d) relationship skills (establishing and maintaining positive relationships and resolving interpersonal conflict) and, (e) responsible decision making
(making conscientious decisions based on respect for others and understanding the consequences of one’s actions;
- SEL interventions are generally effective across a diverse range of social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes, including academic performance.
- Results of more than 200 SEL intervention studies and found an average gain of 11% points in academic achievement in vs. controls (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor,
Schellinger, 2011).
Caring Relationships with Adults
- School-based mentoring is a type of programming that is explicitly designed to provide the benefits of support to youth from nonparental adults.
- Mentoring programs support (+) kid–adult relationships through provision of ongoing guidance, and encouragement, but informal and natural mentoring has also been link
to (+) outcomes.
- Because school-based mentoring programs are implemented on an academic calendar, mentoring relationships that are less durable (relative to year-round, community-based
mentoring programs).
- A review of school-based mentoring programs (e.g., Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s school-based program) indicated that positive effects have been found in
randomized trials, but the effects were small and did not carry over to the following school year (DuBois, Portillo, Rhodes, Silverthorn, & Valentine, 2011)
- The promotion of youth competencies and adaptive functioning in contexts of high risk has evolved into its own field, referred to as resilience science (Masten, 2014).
Fostering Resilience
- Resilience research: Initial representations of resilience in mass media and academic writing alike often characterized remarkable or special youth who were somehow able t
pull themselves up by their bootstraps to overcome their contexts of risk, disadvantage, and adversity.
- Better definitions of resilience include: the occurrence of positive outcomes in the face of significant threats to adaptation or development (Masten, 2014), an ability to adapt
reach developmental milestones, despite being exposed to chronic and/or acute adversity (Abramson, Brooks, & Peek, 2014), a dynamic process wherein individuals display
positive adaptation despite experiences of significant adversity or trauma (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000).
- Resilience is characterized by its two central features: the presence of a significant threat to development positive adaptation (Masten, 2014).
- Adverse experiences often occur in clusters of multiple incidents, rather than as isolated events.
- Early trauma may cause youth to act out in school settings.
- Traumatized youth are at great risk for educational problems, disciplinary sanctions, stigma, delinquency, and juvenile justice contact.
