In the Context of Risk: Supportive Adults and the School Engagement of Middle School Students*

Abstract

Many students in the United States, particularly those from lower income or racially/ethnically diverse families, are exposed to clusters of risk factors that have a negative impact on school success. This study examined the association between the number of supportive and caring adults in the home, school, and neighborhood and the school engagement of students in early adolescence. Results revealed that students who reported such supportive adults in their lives also reported higher levels of psychological and behavioral engagement with their schooling. Additionally, including measures of environmental risk factors in analytical models of the school engagement of middle school students reduced otherwise statistically significant race/ethnicity differences to nonsignificance. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Observations and student perceptions of the quality of preservice teachers’ teaching behaviour: construct representation and predictive quality

“…Academic engagement, as in the present study, is conceptualised as the extent to which students are psychologically and behaviourally engaged in academic tasks (Appleton et al 2006;Van de Grift 2007). Students who have positive perceptions about teacher support show good behavioural engagement with schooling and obtain high learning achievements (Woolley and Bowen 2007). Additionally, student engagement in classroom activities serves as a starting point for good academic grades (Finn 1989).…”

High school dropouts returning to study: The influence of the teacher and family during secondary school

“…Engagement with high school is often described in terms of the behaviours that students engage in which involve them in school activities (Wooley & Bowen, 2007). The influence of involvement in school extracurricular activities has been demonstrated to influence the rate at which school students drop out (Mahoney & Cairns, 1997).…”

Parental Absence and Academic Achievement in Immigrant Students

“…This was not surprising as previous research has recognized that schools serving low-income, minority, and immigrant students tend to be at a disadvantage for academic success (Crosnoe, 2005;Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 2001;Zhou, 1997). Reduced school support resulted in decreased educational expectations, consistent with previous research that has found a direct link between school support and student achievement (Woolley, 2007), especially that of immigrant students (Han, 2008). The direct effect of parental absence on decreased educational expectations is also consistent with previous findings (Astone & McLanahan, 1991;Coley, 1998;Hernandez, 2004;Lamb, 1999;SuarezOrozco et al, 2009).…”

“…These include gender of the student (Crul & Vermeulen, 2003;Portes & Rumbaut, 2001;Suarez-Orozco & Qin-Hilliard, 2004;Suarez-Orozco & Carhill, 2008;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2009;Way, 2004), difficulties with the English language (Genesee & Gandara, 1999;Hernandez, 2004;Suarez-Orozco & Carhill;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2009), a problematic school environment (Gaytan et al, 2007;Han, 2008;Suarez-Orozco & Carhill;Woolley, 2007), economic hardship (Garibaldi, 1997;Roscigno, 2000;Suarez-Orozco & Carhill;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2010), and reduced parental involvement in the educational process (Barnard, 2004;Hernandez;Gaytan et al;Kuperminc, Darnell, & Alvarez-Jimenez, 2007;Martinez, DeGarmo, & Eddy, 2004;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2010), as well as coming from a single-parent home (Amato & Sobolewski, 2001;Coley, 1998;Lamb, 1999;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2009;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2010).…”

“…Teacher interaction (Burchinal, Peisner-Feinberg, Pianta, & Howes, 2002) and the structural environment of the school (Crosnoe, 2005) are important factors that influence the academic achievement of students. For optimal success, students need school environments that are stable, academically challenging, and that provide structure and relational warmth (Woolley, 2007).…”