The Power of Schools to Improve Outcomes for Teens

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The Power of Schools to Improve
Outcomes for Teens
Improving the Odds

• Robert Wm. Blum, MD, MPH, PhD
• William H. Gates Sr. Professor and Chair
• Department of Population, Family and Reproductive
  Health
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• 
  
  Prepared for
• 
  
  Smith Anniversary Conference
• 
  
  University of Arizona
• 
  
  21 October 2008

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• Young people who are connected to school not only
  do better academically but are less involved with
  every risk behavior studied.

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Methods
The Sample

• The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent
  Health
• A stratified random sample of 80 high schools
  with primary feeder schools
• N134 schools (127 participated in school survey)
• N71,515 students in 7th through 12th grade
• N127 school administrator surveys

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Add-Health Sample Design
129 Schools (79) 90,118 (75.6)
In-School Sample (1994)
N15,243
In-Home Samples (1995)
Saturation High income African American
Twins Disability
Core In-school survey school rosters
Special
Teen N12,105 (79.5)
Parent N10,471 (86.5)
Wave 1 (1994-5)
Wave 2 (1996)
Teen N14,738
Wave 3 (2001-2)
Young Adults N15,197
Partners N1507
Wave 4 (2007-8)
Adults
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Methods
The Sample (continued)

• Ethnicity
• Black 15.0
• Latino 12.2
• White 72.8
• Gender
• Female 51.8
• Male 49.2

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Substance Use
Students who feel connected to school are less
likely to use substances
Frequency of Use
Level of Substance Use (SD Units)
Levels of connectedness
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Emotional Distress
Students who feel connected to school experience
less emotional distress
Level of Emotional Distress (SD Units)
Levels of connectedness
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Violence or Deviant Behavior
Students who feel connected to school engage In
less violent or deviant behavior
Level of Violence or Deviant Behavior (SD Units)
Levels of connectedness
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Pregnancy
Students who feel connected to school are less
likely to become pregnant
Percent ever Pregnant
Levels of connectedness
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Research Questions

• What contributes to teens feeling connected to
  school?
• Why do some adolescents feel attached to school
  and others dont?
• What school characteristics predict
  connectedness?
• What impact do friendships have on a young person
  feeling connectedness to school?

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Methods
School Characteristics

• Size 42 to 5422 (average642)
• Public 82.7
• Class size 10 to 39 (average23)
• Location
• Rural 18.6
• Suburban 59.6
• Urban 21.8

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Methods
Teacher Characteristics

• Masters degree 42
• 1st year teachers 9

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Scales
Discipline Policies

• Out of school suspension for smoking
• Out of school suspension for cheating
• 10 item scale (alpha.78) for disciplinary policy
  of school for

Destroying school property Verbally abusing a
teacher Fighting Injuring a teacher Injuring
another student Carrying a weapon
Possessing alcohol Drinking alcohol Possessing an
illegal substance Using an illegal substance
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Scales
Classroom Management8 items alpha .83

• Getting along with teachers
• Getting along with other students
• Paying attention in school
• Getting homework done

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Scales
School Connectedness

• I feel close to people at this school
• I am happy to be at this school
• I feel like I am part of this school
• The teachers at this school treat students
  fairly
• I feel safe in this school

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Results
Factors Associated with School Connectedness THE
SCHOOL

• School size mattered classroom size did not
• School type is not associated with
  connectedness public, private, parochial
• Location of school is not associated with
  connectedness urban, suburban, rural

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Results
Factors Associated with School Connectedness SCHO
OL POLICIES

• No single school policy was associated with
  connectedness
• A climate of harsh discipline is associated
  with lower school connectedness
• The directionality of the relationship cannot be
  deduced from the present study

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Results
Factors Associated with School Connectedness TEAC
HERS

• Teacher experience was not associated with
  connectedness.
• Having a masters degree was not associated with
  connectedness.

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Results
Factors Associated with School Connectedness SCHO
OL CLIMATE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

• The single strongest association with
• connectedness was school climate

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Initiated Cigarette Use Predicted Percent at
Three Levels of Teacher Support
Multinomial logit models adjusted for social
belonging, race/ethnicity, income, gender, family
structure, emotional distress, relationship with
parents, hx of peer suicide, hx of family suicide
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Initiated Getting DrunkPredicted Percent Three
Levels of Teacher Support
13.4
11.3
9.5
6.2
4.5
3.2
Multinomial logit models adjusted for social
belonging, race/ethnicity, income, gender, family
structure, emotional distress, relationship with
parents, hx of peer suicide, hx of family suicide
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Initiated Marijuana Use Predicted Percent at
Three Levels of Teacher Support
8.3
6.3
4.7
4.4
3.4
2.6
Multinomial logit models adjusted for social
belonging, race/ethnicity, income, gender, family
structure, emotional distress, relationship with
parents, hx of peer suicide, hx of family suicide
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Seriously Considered or Attempted Suicide
Predicted Percent at Three Levels of Teacher
Support
5.5
5.0
4.5
2.2
1.7
1.3
Multinomial logit models adjusted for social
belonging, race/ethnicity, income, gender, family
structure, emotional distress, relationship with
parents, hx of peer suicide, hx of family suicide
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Initiated Violence Predicted Percent at Three
Levels of Teacher Support
7.5
6.0
4.7
Multinomial logit models adjusted for social
belonging, race/ethnicity, income, gender, family
structure, emotional distress, relationship with
parents, hx of peer suicide, hx of family suicide
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Family Engagement and School leaving what
are the effects over time?
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CONCEPTUAL MODEL
Wave 2 Early to Middle Adolescence Ages 13-16
Wave 1 Early AdolescenceAges 12-14
Wave 3 Emerging Adulthood Ages 18-21
Skipping School
Dropping out of School
Family Closeness
Parental Behavioral Control
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Measures Parenting

• Family closeness in early adolescence
• 5-item measure of youth report that s/he has fun
  with family family pays attention to youth
  cares for youth understands youth how much
  youth felt like leaving home (a .76)
• Response categories 1 not at all 5 very
  much
• Mean 4.2 (.02)

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Measures Parenting

• Parental behavioral control in early adolescence
• Seven items measuring whether or not youth
  decides what wears who hangs out with TV
  amount programs watch time home on weekends
  time to bed during week what eats.
• Response categories 0 no 1 yes. Reverse
  coded.

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Measures Parenting

• Parental behavioral control
• 3 Classes
• 37 High - Parent decides many things
• (reference group)
• 30 Moderate Parent decides curfews and
  inside activities (eat, TV programs, time to bed)
• 32 Low Parent decides curfews

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HOW WERE FAMILY CLOSENESS AND PARENTAL BEHAVIORAL
CONTROL OPERATIONALIZED
My Family Cares for Me
.42
Family Closeness
.72
My Family Understands Me
.72
I Have Fun with My Family
.78
My Family Pays Attention to Me
.11
Parent decides amount of TV child watches and
what time child comes home on weekend
.57
Parental Behavioral Control
.46
Parent decides what TV programs child watches
and time child goes to bed on week- night
.43
Parent decides what child eats, who child hangs
with and what child wears
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Measures Youth Outcomes

• School engagement
• Time 1 Time 2 Skipped school past year
• Time 3 Highest education completed 10 years or
  less
• Proportion youth skipping school
  
• 14 (T1) 18 (T2)
• Proportion youth dropping out 7

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(No Transcript)
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SCHOOL DROPOUT MALE
Family Closeness Ages 12-14
-.01 (.05)
-.10
School Dropout Ages 18-21
Skipped School in the Past Year Ages 13-16
.16
.06
Parental Behavioral Control Ages 12-14
.01 (.003)
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SCHOOL DROPOUT FEMALE
Family Closeness Ages 12-14
-.08 (-.12)
-.19
School Dropout Ages 18-21
Skipped School in the Past Year Ages 13-16
.21
.004
Parental Behavioral Control Ages 12-14
.10 (.01)
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Conclusion

• The present report suggests that school climate
  and adult connections as well as family
  connectedness may impact health as well as
  educational outcomes.

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Parents
Ten Strategies that Foster Connections to School

• 1. Be a model of respectful, cooperative,
  positive behavior in your everyday interactions.
• 2. Participate in school events.
• 3. Show interest. Be involved in your childs
  academic activities.
• 4. Maintain regular contact with your childs
  teacher.

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Parents
Ten Strategies that Foster Connections to School

• 5. Monitor your childs homework completion and
  work with him or her on homework assignments
  that involve family participation.
• 6. Be present when things go wrong.
• 7. Meet your childs friend, and their parents.

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Parents
Ten Strategies that Foster Connections to School

• 8. Ask school leaders what you can do to
  support them.
• 9. Volunteer at school.
• 10. Nominate effective school leaders for local
  awards.

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Teachers
Ten Strategies that Foster Connections to School

• 1. Help students get to know each others (and
  your) strengths.
• 2. Involve students in planning, problem
  solving, identifying issues and assessing
  curriculum in the classroom.
• 3. Promote cooperation over competition. Post
  everyones best work. Offer opportunities for
  the class to work together to help everyone
  achieve their level of excellence.

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Teachers
Ten Strategies that Foster Connections to School

• 4. Build a strong relationship with each
  student.
• 5. Convey attentiveness to students and
  excitement about learning through nonverbal
  gestures.
• 6. Involve all students in chores and
  responsibilities in the classroom.
• 7. Integrate concepts of discipline and respect
  for classmates through instruction.

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Teachers
Ten Strategies that Foster Connections to School

• 8. Give students more say in what they will
  learn.
• 9. Involve students in developing the criteria
  by which their work will be assessed and provide
  guidelines so they clearly understand whats
  expected of them.
• 10. Use first person plural (we, us, lets) when
  presenting classroom activities.

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Administrators
Ten Strategies that Foster Connections to School

• 1. Brainstorm with students, faculty, staff and
  parents simple changes that could make school a
  more pleasant place to be.
• 2. Create policies that are based on student,
  family and neighborhood strengths and assets.
• 3. Turn mistakes into learning opportunities
  rather than failures meriting punishment.

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Administrators
Ten Strategies that Foster Connections to School

• 4. Acknowledge and honor accomplishments and all
  types of competencies (such as helpfulness, good
  citizenship, most improved performance,
  volunteerism, participation in decision making,
  and cessation of negative behavior).
• 5. Set high standards and challenge students to
  meet them.
• 6. Reinforce explicit expectations for positive
  behavior and academic success.

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Administrators
Ten Strategies that Foster Connections to School

• 7. Encourage highly interactive teaching
  strategies.
• 8. Create a welcoming environment for all who
  come to the school.
• 9. Invite family and community members to take
  active and regular roles in the daily operation
  of the school.
• 10. Create a common vision of success and keep
  it visible.