The School Adjustment of Students in Distinct Risk Configurations: Considerations for the Development of Selected and Indicated Interventions
Author: Petrin, Robert A.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Social Influences,Social Status,Intervention,Academic Achievement,Early Adolescents,Student Adjustment,At Risk Students,Public Schools,Grade 6,Rural Schools,Low Income Groups,Gender Differences,Faculty Development,Teacher Attitudes,Student Attitudes,Interpersonal Competence,Program Effectiveness,Achievement Gains

As indicated in papers 2 and 3 of this symposium and in published research from Project REAL, there is clear evidence that the SEALS model has a general positive impact on the school context during the early adolescent years. The purpose of this study was to identify key process factors that support gains to academic outcomes in general, but specifically for students at-risk for school success. Such analyses will reveal mechanisms and/or student risk configurations that are not responsive to the universal intervention, and that should be considered as possible targets for further intervention. Project REAL took place in public schools serving sixth graders; schools were configured as either middle (grades 6-8) or k8/k12 schools. Schools were located in the Appalachian, Deep South, Southwest, Pacific Northwest, Far West, Southeast, Northern Plains, and Midwest regions of the United States. Participating schools were located in low-wealth communities designated as rural by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The current findings provide new insights into mechanisms that may contribute to gains in academic achievement for early adolescent boys and girls, particularly those at-risk for school failure. Findings for the whole sample support the SEALS model, particularly the importance of aspects of social status, experiences of the social-affective context, and student dispositions toward schooling. However, these findings highlight the need to attend to gender differences in Tier II and III follow-up interventions. For boys, dispositions toward school and aspects of social status differentiated the academic gains for boys at-risk. These dispositions were not influenced by the SEALS universal intervention (see paper 3) for boys in high-risk configurations; Tier II and Tier III intervention follow-up with respect to these types of process variables may be effective in promoting the academic success of high-risk boys. However, more positive school dispositions, social status, and experiences of the social-affective context did not consistently differentiate academic gains of high-risk from low-risk girls. In general, more attention is necessary to understand how to promote academic gains among at-risk girls, but aspects of social status and school involvement at minimum should be of focus in Tier II and III follow-up interventions. Additional analyses will be conducted to clarify further which specific risk configurations are in need of targeted intervention, and the process factors that are optimal targets for Tier II and III intervention follow-up among at-risk boys and girls. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)