School Disengagement and Mental Health Service Intensity Need Among Clinically Referred Students Utilizing the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health Assessment Instrument

Although mental health challenges are widespread, impacting 1 in 5 children and youth, only 25% of these young people receive the required mental health supports. Unmet mental health needs are strongly associated with functional impairments including poor self-care, interpersonal challenges, and school difficulties among young people. School disengagement, or a student's lack of involvement in education through interest, curiosity, motivation, and active participation, is associated with a wide array of detrimental outcomes including chronic mental health difficulties, conduct and delinquent behaviors, criminal justice involvement, and unemployment in adolescence and adulthood. Disengagement observed within the school setting may be indicative of underlying mental health challenges and reflective of service intensity need. The current study extends the literature by examining the relationship between school disengagement and mental health service intensity need among 14,750 clinically referred students across elementary and secondary school utilizing the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health instrument. Findings indicated that more than 25% of clinically referred students were at heighted risk for school disengagement and required high-intensity services. Further, mental health service intensity need was positively associated with risk of school disengagement among students, along with the specific reason for referral (i.e., psychiatric symptoms, harm to self, harm to others, or addiction or dependency), after controlling for sex and age. Implications of the findings are explored within the context of the school setting and future directions are suggested.

Latinx students in the GTA and surroundings and High School disengagement

My focus in this study is to explore the experiences of former Latinx/a/o high school students and their view on the factors that led them to either graduate or “dropout” of high school. I am also interested in better understanding their experiences with social workers in schools and how social workers can better support students. Using a narrative approach, I center the voices and experiences of my participants. I gathered these experiences in a focus group, and through thematic analysis I analyzed these findings in relation to the existing literature. With this study, I hope to contribute to the current academic literature on this subject, and would also like to extend the work that has been done in the community with the hopes of further analysis and response on the issue of “low academic achievement” of Latinx/a/o students

Latinx students in the GTA and surroundings and High School disengagement

My focus in this study is to explore the experiences of former Latinx/a/o high school students and their view on the factors that led them to either graduate or “dropout” of high school. I am also interested in better understanding their experiences with social workers in schools and how social workers can better support students. Using a narrative approach, I center the voices and experiences of my participants. I gathered these experiences in a focus group, and through thematic analysis I analyzed these findings in relation to the existing literature. With this study, I hope to contribute to the current academic literature on this subject, and would also like to extend the work that has been done in the community with the hopes of further analysis and response on the issue of “low academic achievement” of Latinx/a/o students

Gender stigma awareness is associated with adolescent risky health behaviors

Objectives Although racial stigma in school is associated with adolescent risky health behaviors, there are no studies investigating how gender stigma relates to adolescent risky health behaviors among low-income, minority youth. We sought to determine whether gender stigma awareness is associated with adolescent risky health behaviors (delinquency, fighting, and substance use) and whether this association is mediated by school disengagement (low perceived teacher support, low school engagement, cutting classes, and breaking school rules) among low-income, minority students. Methods We analyzed cross-sectional survey data, collected from 2017 to 2019, from 412 high school students. Multi-level logistic regressions tested whether gender stigma awareness was associated with delinquency, fighting, and substance use, controlling for covariates, baseline behaviors, and clustering within schools. Mediation analyses tested whether school disengagement (low school engagement, perceived teacher support, cutting class, and breaking school rules) mediated these associations. Secondary analyses explored whether associations differed for male versus female, high-performing versus low-performing, and Latinx versus non-Latinx students. Results In this predominantly Latinx (83%) sample, gender stigma awareness was associated with delinquency (AOR = 1.48, P< 0.001) and fighting (AOR = 1.15, P< 0.001). School engagement, perceived teacher support, breaking school rules, and cutting classes mediated 42.7% of the association between gender stigma awareness and delinquency and 65.42% of the association between gender stigma awareness and fighting. Gender stigma awareness was also associated with substance use for low-performing (AOR = 1.68, P = 0.003) and non-Latinx adolescents (AOR = 3.80, P = 0.03). School disengagement did not mediate the association between gender stigma awareness and substance use for non-Latinx students but mediated 50% of this association for low-performing students. Conclusions Gender stigma awareness is associated with adolescent risky health behaviors. A decreased sense of acceptance in the school community and increased school misbehavior may mediate these associations. School environments that value and accept all students may better support adolescent health.

Teachers` Perceptions and Attitudes Regarding ESL

Early school leaving has important social and economic implications. Young people who leave school prematurely are predisposed to the risk associated with unemployment or small gains when they find a job. The estimates related to the competences required in Europe show that, in the future, only one in ten jobs will be accessed by a person who has left school early. Taking into account the importance of understanding this phenomenon, in order to reduce it, we`ve done a research to identify teachers` perceptions and attitudes regarding ESL. The research of the ESL phenomenon, from the perspective of its causes, in particular the causes associated with the school environment, has circumscribed two types of approaches: a quantitative approach, achieved through the elaboration and administration of a questionnaire addressed to teachers and a quaclitative approach based on designing and conducting focus-groups with teachers. Dimensions explored in our research were: communication/interpersonal/pedagogical competences; main causes of conflictual relations with students and solving strategies used; challenges in daily work with students; representations/beliefs of the factors which can increase student commitment and student motivation; causes of the ESL; school strategies to prevent ESL; teaching methods used to prevent the school disengagement. The results obtained demonstrated that teachers have a wide range of perceptions and attitudes regarding ESl, especially regarding the causes associated with the school environment. Some of them consider that ESL is not caused by school related factors, others consider that this factors may occur, but they don`t have power to reduce their action.

Long-Term Effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences, School Disengagement, and Reasons for Leaving School on Delinquency in Adolescents Who Dropout

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to verify the long-term effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), school disengagement, and the reasons for leaving school on adolescent delinquency while adjusting for sex.Methods: Data were collected from 663 teenagers [male 368, female 295; mean age = 16.81 (SD = 1.10); age range = 13–19 years] through a Longitudinal Survey and Support Plan for Dropouts.Results: Multivariate latent growth modeling (LGM) demonstrated that ACEs and school disengagement are positively associated with delinquency and the mediating effect of school disengagement on association between ACEs and delinquency was verified. Teenagers who quit school for personal reasons reported fewer instances of delinquent behavior than adolescents who left because of school reasons.Conclusion: This study suggests that researchers and teachers need to consider ACEs and school disengagement as a warning index for delinquency with school dropout. In addition, the reason for leaving school should be considered to clarify the effect of school dropout on delinquency in adolescents who dropout.

What do young adults’ educational experiences tell us about Early School Leaving processes?

What leads young people to disengage and leave school early? This paper focuses on young adults’ educational trajectories, with the objective of identifying useful insights for improving school measures and strategies against early school leaving and school disengagement. Specifically, it draws upon an empirical study with young adults from the north of Portugal. Longitudinal bio-interviews took place with young men and women, aged 17 to 24, who were enrolled in secondary education at mainstream schools or in alternative learning contexts or who were early school leavers. A set of critical moments and circumstances were identified as turning points in the young adults’ descriptions of their school trajectories, revealing both obstacles and incentives to continue studying. Based on these narratives, the study identifies some risk and protective factors for early school leaving and makes suggestions about how to improve school-based measures to prevent school disengagement. Some key recommendations for schools include: increased support mechanisms during educational transitions; a firm stance on bullying and the creation of violence-free and secure learning environments; enhancing socio-emotional support and encouraging the emergence of relationships of care; and providing meaningful education by ensuring the school content is aligned with students’ motivations and needs.

Reversing the trajectory of school disengagement? Lessons from the analysis of Warsaw youth’s educational trajectories

The theoretical framework of the paper combines the notions of school disengagement and educational trajectories. Our current research has demonstrated that several trajectories of school disengagement can be distinguished: unanticipated crisis, parabola, downward spiral, boomerang, resilient route, shading out. The text focuses on two trajectory types – the parabola, when youngsters facing increasing school disengagement are provided with substantial support and their trajectory changes its direction, and the downward spiral, which despite the support leads to further school disengagement and school leaving. Analysing the educational biographies of students from secondary schools in Warsaw, we focus on their perceptions of the support provided by different formal and informal sources. Investigating the protective factors and successful interventions might thus be useful in fostering the educational success of youth at risk. An analysis of the trajectories might be treated as guidance as to how to offset the negative impact of social and educational inequalities and hence to reverse the negative direction in one’s educational trajectory. The text is based on qualitative analysis of data obtained within an international research project: individual semi-structured interviews with Polish students at risk of early school leaving and youngsters who left school early.