Social Work Commons^™

The Impact Of School-Based Support Services On Mental Health And Academic Performance, Joshua A. Kent

2023 Symposium

Background: There has been a continued presence of mental health issues among high-school aged youth. As a result, many have a diminished ability to be successful in school. It is a societal problem as discussed in the literature. Legislation within the last 23 years has created more access for students but there is still a gap in services. This gap is mostly seen by not having enough personnel to address the amount of students that need assistance. There is also an inconsistent use of school-based health centers and other school-based interventions. Too many schools are using different interventions and …

Intervention Program For The Transition From High School To The Real World, Tiana González

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

An evidence-based argument shows that early post-graduation planning plays a vital role in a student’s transition into life after high school; therefore, establishing a comprehensive plan while in high school is crucial to stability and success. The capstone project, Adopt a Senior, was implemented at Learning for Life Charter School (LFLCS), an alternative school serving at-risk youth grades 7-12 in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties. The Adopt a Senior project is intended to provide LFLCS seniors with support, guidance, and assistance to prepare for graduation and transition into life after high school. As of the 2021-22 academic year, …

The Effectiveness Of A High School Girls Group On Self-Esteem And Leadership, Esperanza M. Harper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The effectiveness of a high school girls group was examined using a pretest-post-test group design with young adolescent girls identified as having low self-esteem. Individuals were identified by teachers and counselors as having low self-esteem or being at risk for having low self-esteem. This research project includes a literature review that explored self-understanding and its dimensions of self-concept and self-esteem, as well as how this research relates to development. The curriculum used came from the Girls In Real Life Situations (GIRLS) group program created by Julia V. Taylor and Shannon Trice-Black (2007). The research study was conducted at a high …

Tailoring Supports To Youth In Schools: One Approach To Identifying Needs And Targeting Intervention, Tasha Henderson, Samantha Bates, Dawn Anderson-Butcher, Anthony Amorose, Erica Magier, Tarkington Newman

International Journal of School Social Work

Youth experiences intersect along their race, gender, language and socioeconomic status, schools must consider the intersectionality in order to improve outcomes. The current study sought to understand if, and to what extent, different clusters of youth in one large urban high school perceive their psychosocial behaviors as well as social and interpersonal skills. Cross-sectional survey data from 1,164 high school youth were collected using four valid scales: Internalizing Behaviors, Externalizing Behaviors, Peer Relationships, and Social Skills. The analytic strategy was twofold. Cluster analysis was used to form homogeneous clusters of the 1,147 complete responses based on a combination of race/ethnicity, …

Youth Perceptions Of A School-Based Mentoring Program, Samantha Weiss, Jeanette Harder, Christiana Bratiotis, Emily Nguyen

Jeanette Harder

Academic mentoring programs promote high school completion for at-risk youth. The purpose of this study was to hear the voice of youth in order to inform program services and develop best practices for meeting their academic needs. Using a grounded theory approach, we conducted 14 focus groups to examine high school students’ perceptions and experiences in the Avenue Scholars Foundation program. This study supported previous findings: students’ comments reflected on the importance of the relationships built in the program, the knowledge they gained, and their experiences regarding higher education and careers. The students shared that these experiences were increasingly meaningful …

Do Anti-Bullying Laws Reduce In-School Victimization, Fear-Based Absenteeism, And Suicidality For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Questioning Youth?, Kristie L. Seelman, Mary Beth Walker

SW Publications

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are at heightened risk for bullying and other forms of in-school victimization. Anti-bullying laws are a potential policy mechanism for addressing this issue, yet there has been little investigation of the impact of such policies for this population using generalizable samples or quasi-experimental designs. The current study explores whether the presence of state anti-bullying laws predicts lower likelihood of bullying victimization, fear-based absenteeism, in-school threats or injury with a weapon, and suicidality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning high school students in the United States. Based on Youth Risk Behavior Survey data across 22 states …

The Impact Of Mental Health Issues On Academic Achievement In High School Students, Patricia Lea Sutherland

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

An adolescent’s time in school is not merely academic; they are developing socially, physically, and emotionally. Prior research has demonstrated a correlation between a student’s poor academic performance and his/her need for emotional and mental health support. This research project sought to answer the following research questions: 1) Do mental health services in a high school setting help facilitate students’ academic achievement? and 2) Does a focus on mental health issues improve overall health and well-being in high school students? Participants for this study are 10 staff members (including teachers, administrators, counselors, and others) of a high school in San …

Youth Perceptions Of A School-Based Mentoring Program, Samantha Weiss, Jeanette Harder, Christiana Bratiotis, Emily Nguyen

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Academic mentoring programs promote high school completion for at-risk youth. The purpose of this study was to hear the voice of youth in order to inform program services and develop best practices for meeting their academic needs. Using a grounded theory approach, we conducted 14 focus groups to examine high school students’ perceptions and experiences in the Avenue Scholars Foundation program. This study supported previous findings: students’ comments reflected on the importance of the relationships built in the program, the knowledge they gained, and their experiences regarding higher education and careers. The students shared that these experiences were increasingly meaningful …

Systematic Review Of High School Dropout Prevention Programs, Dayne Bartlett

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This systematic literature review aims to introduce an innovative method of qualitative data analysis to the sparse empirical research of high school dropout prevention efforts. Through a framework of social capital theory, this study explores the social factors connected to at-risk schools and students. For decades, high school dropout and graduation has been a national focus. However, uncovering empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of coordinated efforts is rare. This systematic literature serves two purposes, to fill gaps in the literature, and to integrate an innovative evaluation method for dropout prevention efforts. With a systematic literature review method, seven databases that …

Perceptions Of Educational Accountability Among Single African American Mothers, Tierra Winston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The construct of educational accountability formally originated in 2001 as a means to improve education standards by holding teachers accountable for student academic progress; however, the definition of educational accountability for parents continues to be illusive. The purpose of this generic, qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of educational accountability among single, African American mothers of high school-aged children. The research question asked about how the beliefs of educational accountability among single African American mothers related to any involvement in their children's education. Azjen's theory of planned behavior, which outlines the relation of intention to action, was the framework …

Exploring Experiences Of, And Responses To, Microaggressions As Disrespect From Teachers In High School Classrooms : A Person-Centered Approach, Emily Ann Peck

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The present study examined the relationship among high school students’ experiences of microaggressions and disrespect perpetrated by teachers and their perceptions of school connectedness and projections of their own bystander intervention behaviors. There is reason to believe that peer bystanding behavior, defined as either intervention in the moment, or active supporting after the event, are protective in terms of the otherwise cumulative impact of microaggressions. Using interviews from seventeen high school students, and quantitative data from nine participants, this research prioritized the voices of students, their narratives, and their meaning making process after such events occur. Findings suggest that participants …

What Are Factors Of An Effective Parent And Family Involvement Program Within High School?, Nicole Walsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the literature, parents or guardians of high school students will participate within the high school—though their participation is dependent on many factors. Parents with a higher social capital tend to be the most involved, while parents with lower social capital tend to be less involved. In other words, generally parents or guardians with high social capital would be much more likely to be involved in their child’s school, whereas parents with low social capital would not be involved in their child’s school at all (Goodwin, Rothon, Stansfeld, 2012). In this study, the researcher formulated and analyzed the following …

Student Perspectives On Meaningful Adult Relationships In A Transfer School, Susan E. Collins

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

High school models that provide alternative ways for students who are overage and under-credited and have dropped out or disengaged from school to re-engage and graduate with a high school diploma have grown in New York City in the past ten years. The school model in this study conceives “Building Healthy Relationships” as one of five essential elements of the model and central to the re-engagement and success of students in school. Students in this model are paired with an advocate counselor who supports them while in school and towards graduation from high school. In this study, I interviewed thirteen …

Listening To Undocumented Mothers: The Experiences Of Undocumented Mexican Mothers Of High School Students Living In The U.S. And Receiving Social Services, Maria Alejandra Lopez

Doctoral Dissertations

The present dissertation is based on a phenomenological study on undocumented Mexican immigrant mothers of high school students who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years and received social services. Most of these mothers have emigrated from rural areas of the central and southern Mexican States of Guanajuato, Michoacan, Queretaro, among others. According to the participants, socio-economic conditions forced them to leave their homelands hoping to find a better life in the U.S.

Ten undocumented mothers of high school students living in the U.S. were interviewed from a phenomenological perspective. They were monolingual Spanish speakers (only one …

An Evaluation Of The "Freshman Academy's" Programs Effectiveness To Provide A Smaller Community Environment, Dru Kneeland

Theses and Graduate Projects

Large schools of 1000 + students have become very prevalent. Studies have shown, however, that small size and tight-knit structured learning communities allow the school to give increased amounts of attention to students (Cotton, 1996). In larges chools, a sense of anonymity prevails causing students to feel disconnected and without roots, sometimes leading to frustration, anger and rage. As the last few years have shown, the results are violence, anti-social behavior and other serious violations of community rules. Research has shown that small schools have a better chance of meeting the needs of these disenfranchised adolescents by giving them roots …

The Relation Between Group Participation And Personality Adjustment Of High School Students In Piute And Kane Counties, Utah, John R. Christiansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The emergence of modern concepts of personality and the study of processes involved in personality formation are relatively recent developments (14, p. 83). From these concepts and studies of personality has developed the theory that personality emerges out of the contact the individual has with his society and his culture. This theory does not discredit the importance of biological or hereditary background as an important condition or prerequisite for personality development, but it does hold that the social and cultural forces provide the stimulus and arranges the general patterns for personality formation.

The social and cultural forces operate in close …