Educational Resilience: The Relationship Between School Protective Factors and Student ...

167 Pages·2011·0.42 MB·English

Educational Resilience: The Relationship Between School
Protective Factors and Student Achievement
by
Eric J. Banatao
A dissertation submitted to the faculty of
San Diego State University
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Educational Leadership
May 10, 2011

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Copyright © 2011
by
Eric J. Banatao
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DEDICATION
To my life partner, best friend, and most beautiful spirit I know, Andrea Most.
I am in you and you in me, mutual in divine love.
—William Blake (1757-1827)
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ABSTRACT
Educators are increasingly pressured to raise standardized test scores under the No
Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, which has resulted in increased instructional
time in tested subjects and test-focused school leaders who neglect school climate factors
which have been associated with positive student development and increased student
achievement. The theoretical framework of resilience, applied to the school setting, along
with associated school climate data, may offer keys to improved school organization,
instructional delivery, data analysis, and teacher training, resulting in improved student
outcomes. The California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) and its Resilience Youth
Development Module (RYDM) represent a research-based, psychometrically-sound
instrument that measures school climate elements, such as external school protective
factors, internal student assets, and school connectedness.
The independent variables of this study included external school protective
factors, such as: caring adults, high expectations, and opportunities for meaningful
participation; internal student assets, such as: problem-solving, self-efficacy, empathy,
and self-awareness; demographic control variables, such as percent number of students:
African-American, Hispanic/Latino, participating in free/reduced meals, and English
language learners; and a school connectedness variable. Aggregated school-level scores
were drawn from 1.5 million student cases (n = 1143, 987, and 836 schools in 2004,
2006, and 2008, respectively). The dependent variables were school Academic
Performance Index (API) scores. This study investigated the relationship between select-
CHKS items and subscales to a student achievement measure; school API score, a figure
calculated by California Department of Education’s general accountability system based
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on standardized test performance. This correlational study with replicated procedures
across three sets of data examined matching 7th grade CHKS data and school API scores
through descriptive and inferential statistical analyses in school years 2003-2004, 2005-
2006, and 2007-2008. A three-part statistical procedure for data analysis included a
zero-ordered simple correlation to school API, then two forced-entry hierarchical multiple
regression analyses that accounted for the effects of all variables, and the tested effect of
the mediator variable, school connectedness.
Study findings indicated that the school meaningful participation and school
connectedness variables demonstrated statistically significant positive correlations to
school API scores through three study replications, after accounting for the effect of all
other study variables, such that the higher the reports of school meaningful participation
and school connectedness, the higher the school API score. School connectedness,
however, was three to four times a more powerful predictor of school API scores than
school meaningful participation. The study findings support educational leadership
approaches and policy development efforts that purposefully bolster school
connectedness and school meaningful participation to more positively impact student
learning and school reform efforts.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
ABSTRACT......................................................... v
LIST OF TABLES.................................................... xiii
LIST OF FIGURES. .................................................. xiv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...................... ........................ xv
CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION. .............. ........................ 1
Statement of the Problem............................................ 1
Purpose of the Study. .............................................. 2
Research Questions. ............................................... 2
Summary of the Literature........................................... 4
Method.......................................................... 9
Sample.......................................................... 10
Research Design................................................... 10
Limitations....................................................... 11
Variables of Interest................................................ 11
Data Analysis Procedures. .......................................... 12
Research Significance. ............................................. 12
Conclusion....................................................... 13
Definition of Terms. ............................................... 13
CHAPTER 2—REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. ......................... 18
Introduction. ..................................................... 18
Risk and Resilience. ............................................... 19
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Risk and Resilience Misconceptions................................... 21
Student-Deficits Versus Student-Assets Orientation....................... 22
Generalist Approach. .............................................. 23
Bolstering Resilience............................................... 25
Caring Relationships. ........................................... 25
High Expectations. ............................................. 26
Meaningful Opportunities for Participation......... .................. 26
Internal Student Assets.. ............................................ 27
Problem-Solving Skills. ......................................... 28
Autonomy..................................................... 28
Social Competence.............................................. 30
Sense of Purpose and Bright Future............... .................. 31
External Protective Factors. ......................................... 32
School as a Protective Factor......................................... 32
Emerging Field of Educational Resilience............................... 32
Studies in Educational Resilience. ............... ..................... 33
Educational Leadership Practices Aimed at Changing School Culture......... 42
Social Justice Leadership......................................... 44
Systems Orientation............................................. 47
Change Leadership.............................................. 48
Educational Policy................................................. 49
School Culture................................................. 50
Culture Change. ............................................... 51
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No Child Left Behind Impact...................................... 51
Testing Orientation. ............................................ 53
Assessment Policy.............................................. 55
Present School Reform Initiatives. ................................. 57
California Healthy Kids Survey....................................... 58
Assessing Resilience and Youth Development in Schools. .............. 59
Resilience, Youth Development, and Academic Performance. ........... 59
School Connectedness........................................... 61
Middle School Research. ........................................ 68
Conclusion....................................................... 69
CHAPTER 3—METHODOLOGY....................................... 70
Introduction. ..................................................... 70
Research Questions. ............................................... 71
Instrumentation. .................................................. 71
Population. ...................................................... 74
Research Design................................................... 74
Limitations....................................................... 75
Variables. ....................................................... 76
Data Analysis Procedures. .......................................... 76
Ethical Issues..................................................... 77
CHAPTER 4—RESULTS.............................................. 78
Introduction. ..................................................... 78
Descriptive Statistics. .............................................. 79
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Academic Performance Index. .................................... 79
External School Protective Factor Variables.......................... 79
Internal Student Asset Variables. .................................. 80
Demographic Variables. ......................................... 81
School Connectedness Variable.................................... 83
Simple Correlations With Academic Performance Index. .................. 83
External School Protective Factor Variables.......................... 83
Internal Student Asset Variables. .................................. 84
School Demographic Variables.................................... 86
School Connectedness Variables................................... 87
Correlation Summary............................................ 87
Hierarchical Multiple Regression. .................................... 88
External School Protective Factor Variables.......................... 89
Internal Student Asset Variables. .................................. 91
School Demographic Variables.................................... 93
School Connectedness Variable.................................... 95
Hierarchical Multiple Regression Summary. ......................... 96
School Connectedness Mediator Model. ............................ 97
Conclusion....................................................... 98
CHAPTER 5—SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS............................................... 100
Introduction. ..................................................... 100
Extension of Previous Research.. ..................................... 102