Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Karen Kimball
Committee Member
Lucille Beisner
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
action research, academic achievement, attendance, at-risk students, dropout prevention, dropout research, faculty-student mentoring, graduation rates, parental-school partnerships, pilot studies, quasiexperimental design, Richmond-Burton Community High School, school-home collaboration, school support systems, self-esteem, student failure, student support programs, triangulation
Abstract
The study was based upon the declining graduation rate and increasing at-risk population at Richmond-Burton Community High School. Research indicated that students who fail begin to experience a lack of self-esteem. The loss of self-image often leads to a sense of helplessness, giving up, and dropping out. Potential identified causes in the study included lack of support systems at school and little or no support from the home. Poor attendance was also identified as a secondary cause.
The interventions selected were twofold and designed to implement support systems in both the school setting and the home. A faculty-student mentoring program was implemented for selected at-risk students for the purpose of offering support on a daily basis. In addition, the formation of a parental- school partnership was implemented for each of the student participants. Strategies to improve attendance and self-esteem were also measured to determine the impact on students.
The results illustrated that 40% of the students eliminated all failures and 80% demonstrated substantial academic improvement. A total of 70% of the students met the 90% attendance goal, and postintervention interviews indicated that all students developed higher levels of self-esteem as a result of the program. Because the research was a pilot study, the at-risk program will be expanded in the future.