Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Richard Snyder
Committee Member
Betty Boult
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
African Americans, awareness, Black population, classroom discussion, community service, course failures, dropping out, failing grades, female students, high school students, inner city schools, intervention outcomes, majority Black population, participation, pregnancies, program effectiveness, school suspensions, service learning, student behavior, student development, Teen Outreach Program, teen fathers, teenage pregnancy, urban schools, William M. Raines Senior High School, WMRSHS, youth development programs
Abstract
During the 1998-1999 through 2000-2001 school years, William M. Raines Senior High School (WMRSHS) experienced a gradual increase in the number of teenage pregnancies among the female population at the school. During the 1998-1999 school year, there were 91 (10.0%) pregnancies among 907 females; during the 1999-2000 school year, there were 97 (9.6%) pregnancies among 1,012 females; and, during the 2000-2001 school year, there were 102 (10.3%) pregnancies among 997 females in the student population. This represented a 12.1% increase in the number of teenage pregnancies among the student population at WMRSHS.
The strategy implemented to decrease the pregnancies at WMRSHS was the Teen Outreach Program (TOP). As a part of TOP, students were expected to participate in a youth development program that was multifaceted. The program combined classroom discussion 1-2 times a week, service learning lessons once a week, and a minimum of 20 hours of community service that had to be completed over the duration of the 20-week program. The expected outcomes for the 55 participants (37 females and 18 males) who participated in the TOP intervention was as follows: (a) decrease the number of suspensions, (b) decrease the number of course failures, (c) decrease the number of pregnancies over the duration of the study, and (d) increase participants awareness of the consequences of dropping out of school.
The intervention yielded that none of the 55 participants became pregnant or became teen fathers. Also, there was a decrease in the number of suspensions among TOP participants. Before the intervention, 21.8% of the participants had been suspended. During the intervention, this decreased to 7.3%. In addition, there was a decrease in course failures among TOP participants. Before the intervention, 38.2% had received a failing grade, and during the intervention, this decreased to 20.0%. However, it must be noted that these decreases can only be partially attributed to the TOP intervention.