Amity Noltemeyer

Adversity and resilience: A synthesis of international research

Children and adolescents worldwide experience a variety of adversities that have the potential to disrupt typical development. However, some of these individuals exhibit resilience, evidencing normal development in the face of adversity. Here we review research on these constructs of risk, adversity, and resilience; synthesize international research on factors that may serve to protect children and adolescents from the negative effects of adversity at the individual, family, school, community, and cultural levels; and provide future implications for research on this topic, highlighting the unique contributions of the subsequent articles in this special issue, each of which contributes to an understanding of resilience processes in non-Western populations. Although some general trends in resilience and protection may extend beyond national borders, resilience is also strongly influenced by culture and context; therefore, it is important to advance a research agenda that recognizes the unique protective influences within and across cultural contexts.

Relationship Between School Suspension and Student Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract. Although the association between school suspension and deleterious outcomes is widely acknowledged, policy and practice need to be informed by an evidence base derived from multiple studies revealing consistent trends. This meta-analysis aims to address this void by examining the degree to which different types of school suspensions (in-school versus out-of-school) are associated with both academic achievement and school dropout, while concurrently examining study or participant characteristics that moderate these relationships. Data sources included peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed studies from 1986–2012 obtained via bibliographic databases. A meta-analysis was conducted on 53 cases from 34 studies. The results revealed a significant inverse relationship between suspensions and achievement, along with a significant positive relationship between suspensions and dropout. Furthermore, study or participant characteristics and type of suspension significantly affected the relationship between suspensions and the outcome variables. Implications for policy, practice, and research are emphasized.

Perspectives of Special Education Directors on Response to Intervention in Secondary Schools.

Despite intensified interest in secondary school applications of Response-to-Intervention (RtI), research in this area remains sparse. This study utilized a qualitative focus group methodology to explore special education directors’ perceptions of current barriers, facilitators, roles, and practices related to RtI implementation in secondary settings. Based on their unique potential to affect change and promote collaboration between general and special educators, special education directors were selected as participants. Across two focus groups, four themes emerged: systems structures, roles and attitudes, evidence-based practices, and training and professional development needs. Each theme is explored in depth, followed by practical implications, limitations, and recommendations for practice. Although numerous barriers emerged, they should be viewed not as limitations to RtI in secondary schools but rather as serving to identify the systemic factors needed to support the complexity of an RtI initiative beyond the elementary school years.

Race and Ethnicity in School Psychology Publications: A Content Analysis and Comparison to Publications in Related Disciplines

Previous research has examined the quantity and types of diversity-related research in the field of school psychology, revealing gaps in the literature. Extension of this line of research with current data and comparison to related disciplines is needed. This study used content analysis to address these issues, with a specific focus on the racial and ethnic dimension of diversity. Specifically, this study examined and compared the quantity and types of peer-reviewed journal articles related to race/ethnicity within school psychology, special education, and professional school counseling. Three journals from each of these three disciplines from 2008–2010 were identified and coded using systematic procedures, and data were analyzed descriptively. Of the three professions, school psychology journals devoted the least amount of coverage to race/ethnicity-related issues with professional school counseling journals publishing over twice the amount of articles on race/ethnicity in the same time period. Additional results, interpretations, implications, and limitations are provided.

Assessing School-Level RTI Implementation for Reading Development and Piloting of the RTIS-R

Few studies have examined Response to Intervention (RTI) implementation adherence at the school level. Although tools designed to assess the implementation of RTI exist, the technical properties have not been rigorously documented, and psychometric techniques now being used to develop instrumentation appear not to have been used. The purpose of this preliminary study was to address this gap by developing the RTI Implementation Scale for Reading (RTIS-R). The instrument was developed based on theory, and items were refined based on data from expert reviews and cognitive interviews. Data were collected from 53 principals and school psychologists implementing RTI in 33 schools in a Midwestern state. Rasch analysis was used to examine and refine the instrument; it also facilitated the computation of equal interval item measures and person measures. Results suggest that the instrument is rigorous and has strong reliability. Interesting trends in responses emerged, which reveal an ordering of item difficulty that matches that predicted from theory. Implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.

Understanding Disciplinary Disproportionality Stereotypes Shape Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Black Boys’ Behavior

The disproportionate discipline of Black male students is a pervasive problem in U.S. schools. To examine the role of stereotypes in disciplinary disproportionality, pre-service teachers were randomly assigned to read a vignette about a defiant student. Those who read a vignette about a Black student believed that the student was more likely to misbehave in the future, compared with those who read a vignette about a White student. These findings suggest that some teachers attribute the misbehavior of Black male students to more stable causes, which may lead them to alter their behavior toward these students.

Understanding mathematics achievement: an analysis of the effects of student and family factors

Educators are increasingly recognising the importance of improving students’ mathematics achievement. Much of the current research focuses on the impact of instructional variables on mathematics achievement. The goal of this study was to examine the influence of less researched variables – family and student factors. Participants were 747 economically disadvantaged elementary students grades K-8 in Ohio. Predictor variables included: (a) 13 factors from a parent survey on both child and family circumstances and (b) reading achievement, measured by a norm-referenced achievement test. Outcome variables included three mathematics scales from the same achievement test. Regression analyses examined the impact of the predictors on the outcomes. Reading achievement significantly predicted mathematics achievement for all three outcomes. Parent pessimism and parent-perceived school/cognitive competence of children also emerged as significant predictors for two of the three mathematics outcomes. Implications for research, policy and practice will be shared.

Initial Results of a New Clinical Practice Model: Impact on Learners at Risk.

The last several years have seen a dramatic increase in interest surrounding the role of clinical experiences in enhancing the learning of teacher candidates. Further, pressure has intensified to demonstrate the impact of teacher candidates on P–12 learners. With these goals in mind, a model alternative school/university partnership was created, based on Korthagens “Realistic Teacher Education” framework. This article is an evaluation of the impact of this intervention on student outcomes from the programs first three years. A convergence of evidence reveals significant improvements in grade point average and credits earned; furthermore, significant improvements in total disciplinary incidents emerged in some of the analyses. These results suggest that this teacher education intervention has promise for documenting impact on P–12 learners. This outcome is significant for accreditation purposes, for bolstering the image of teacher education programs within the broader community, and for establishing a common research agenda.

Tiered Models of Integrated Academic and Behavioral Support: Effect of Implementation Level on Academic Outcomes.

This exploratory study examined (a) Integrated Systems Model (ISM) implementation levels, and (b) the effect of implementation of the academic and behavioral components of ISM on student academic outcomes. Participants included 2,660 students attending six suburban elementary schools. Hierarchical linear regression was conducted using a control block of three school demographic variables (initial student oral reading fluency from one year prior, percentage of economically disadvantaged students, and percentage of non-minority students), and a block of three implementation variables (academic, behavioral, and overall implementation of ISM). A mean of 55% overall implementation was found, with higher implementation of the behavioral than the academic components of ISM. Three significant regression models were found, and a positive effect of academic implementation emerged. Limitations and implications are discussed.

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS): A synthesis of existing research

ABSTRACT Although evidence suggests significant and positive relationships between School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) implementation and student outcomes, research is still needed to review and consolidate this existing literature base. The current study synthesized findings from 55 cases in order to better understand the (a) general quantity, quality, and types of SWPBIS research being conducted, and (b) overall magnitude of these relationships across studies. The majority of cases were single descriptive studies, included PBIS implementation data, and studied diverse elementary or multigrade populations within the United States. Of the cases that performed statistical analyses, the majority reported unanimously positive or predominately positive findings, and these findings were notably more positive for behavioral outcomes than for academic outcomes. Limitations and implications for future research and practice are discussed.