Jill V. Hamm

Bullying Involvement and the School Adjustment of Rural Students With and Without Disabilities

Bullying involvement status (i.e., bully, victim, bully–victim) and school adjustment were examined in a sample of 1,389 fifth graders (745 female, 644 male) including 145 special education students who were served in general education classrooms for at least 50% of the day. The sample was drawn from 35 rural schools in seven states across all geographic areas of the United States. School adjustment difficulties including internalizing and externalizing behavior problems were most pronounced in students who were identified as bully–victims (students who were identified as both victims and perpetrators of bullying). In contrast, bullies tended to have more positive interpersonal characteristics and fewer negative ones than youth who were identified as victims or bully–victims. Furthermore, compared to their nondisabled peers, students who received special education services had elevated rates of involvement as victims and bully–victims, but not as bullies. Implications for intervention are discussed.

Learning Mathematics in First-Grade Classrooms: On Whose Authority?.

Integral to knowing mathematics is an understanding of how mathematical ideas are generated and validated. In mathematics classrooms, teachers socialize this understanding by establishing discourse patterns and participatory structures in which various sources—the teacher, the text, the discipline of mathematics, or the community of learners—are implicitly and explicitly credited with the authority to develop and validate mathematical ideas. In the present investigation, the authors focused on classroom discourse processes and participatory structures that grant sources of mathematical authority in 6 first-grade classrooms. In general, teachers firmly and with few exceptions positioned themselves as the sole mathematical authority in their classrooms. Yet, the authors found significant exceptions in 1 teacher’s lessons, with these exceptions inspiring possibilities in accomplishing the shift from a formal to a growth-and-change tradition of socializing students into the discipline of mathematics. Mathematical ideas, although oftentimes presented in textbooks, originate from human experience. Still, many of us turn to texts and to human experts to verify our ideas. Although there is nothing wrong with checking our ideas and formulations against those presented in books or by experts, this practice potentially hides the fact that these ideas and formulations originated from people. The fact that mathematics is a human invention (albeit, invented by extraordinary humans) may seem obvious, but it is not obvious to young students in American schools. Most students act as if mathematical ideas are predetermined and unarguable truths, which they either do or do not understand, but not ideas to which they could possibly contribute to or question (Schoenfeld, 1992; Stodolsky, 1988). Why would this be the case? In other words, why would students act as if they have no say in either the creation or verification of mathematical ideas? And, if we are to take recent reforms in mathematics education seriously, to have students vitally involved in conducting mathematical inquiry, how can we change this and promote students to take an active role in the creation and verification of mathematical ideas? These questions guide the study presented here.

Peer Context of Mathematics Classroom Belonging in Early Adolescence

Classroom peer factors were examined for their role in African American and White early adolescents’ sense of belonging in mathematics classrooms. After controlling for fall sense of classroom belonging, spring sense of belonging was greater when teens perceived a more supportive peer context, minimal emotional risk in participating, and when they were recognized by peers as being strong math tutors. Additionally, naturally occurring peer groups were differentiated by sense of belonging of members; peer networks that began the year below average in sense of belonging became more alienated during the course of the year, whereas networks above average in belonging stayed at fall levels. The results are interpreted in relation to the benefits that specific peer relations offer aspects of adjustment such as belonging.

Utilizing the Developmental Influence of Peers in Middle School Groups

The developmental importance of peers in early adolescence creates an opportunity for school counselors to utilize group work to promote development and achievement. This article will review research on peer relationships and demonstrate how developmental forces in early adolescence are consistent with and related to therapeutic factors in group work.

The Social Functions of Antisocial Behavior: Considerations for School Violence Prevention Strategies for Students with Disabilities

Research on school social dynamics suggests that antisocial behavior is often supported by peer group processes particularly during late childhood and adolescence. Building from a social interactional framework, this article explores how information on the social functions of aggressive and disruptive behavior may help to guide function-based interventions to prevent the involvement of students with disabilities in antisocial behavior. The conceptual foundations of a functional perspective of problem behavior are reviewed along with empirical research on the social factors and processes that contribute to the development and maintenance of antisocial patterns. From this background, the social problems that may occur among students with disabilities are examined as potential risk factors for involvement in antisocial behavior and implications for assessment and intervention are considered from a social functions perspective.

Early Adolescent Peer Ecologies in Rural Communities: Bullying in Schools That Do and Do not Have a Transition During the Middle Grades

The transition to middle school is considered to be a heightened period for involvement in bullying because the lack of a defined dominance hierarchy is thought to promote jockeying for social positions among students. Accordingly, this study examined bullying in peer ecologies at the beginning of the middle grade years in rural schools that did and did not have a transition to middle school. Thirty-six schools (20 with transitions, 16 without transitions) participated in this research with a sample of 1,800 participants (52% female) who were in sixth grade during the second year of data collection. Overall, 67% were White, 19% African American, 7% Latino, 2% Native American, and 5% other (multi-racial, Asian, unknown). Compared to schools without a transition, schools with a transition had fewer bullies following the move from fifth to sixth grade and the social dynamics in schools with a transition appeared to be less supportive of bullying. Further, students in schools with a transition reported being bullied less frequently in sixth grade and they perceived the sixth grade peer ecology as being more protective against bullying than did students in schools without a transition. In addition, proportionally more youth had controversial sociometric status in schools without a transition during sixth grade than in schools with a transition. Collectively, these findings suggest that risk for involvement in bullying may be elevated in schools that do not have a transition to middle school. They also bring into question the conventional view of the small K-8 or K-12 rural school as a peaceful and supportive peer community.

Effects of a developmentally based intervention with teachers on Native American and White early adolescents' schooling adjustment in rural settings.

This study reports the effectiveness of a developmentally based, teacher professional development intervention aimed at improving early adolescent school adjustment. Teachers in rural schools in a Northern Plains state took part in professional development activities across a year. Following a randomized control trial design, Native American and White students’ (N = 165) social, behavioral, and academic adjustment was assessed in intervention compared with control schools. Regression analyses, controlling for baseline and demographic variables, indicated that students in intervention schools improved in achievement, and improved or sustained beginning-of-year schooling dispositions, and perceptions of the school social/affective context, in comparison with evident declines for students in control schools. Native American students more so than White students evidenced particular gains in achievement and perceptions of the school social/affective context.

Injunctive and Descriptive Peer Group Norms and the Academic Adjustment of Rural Early Adolescents

This study integrates diverse literatures on peer group influence by conceptualizing and examining the relationship of peer group injunctive norms to the academic adjustment of a large and ethnically diverse sample of rural early adolescents’ academic adjustment. Results of three-level hierarchical linear modeling indicated that peer groups were differentiated by injunctive norms for effort and achievement. After accounting for prior adjustment, peer group injunctive norms predicted changes to students’ school valuation and effort. Peer group injunctive and descriptive norms were moderately correlated; injunctive norms that were more discrepant from descriptive norms were associated with academic adjustment beyond the associations for descriptive norms. Peer group normative relationships did not differ by gender, ethnic minority status, or school configuration. Implications for understanding peer influence and for educational practice are discussed.

Supporting Independence in Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum

The development of independent behavior is a critical, challenging process for all youth as they pass through the high school environment into adulthood. Although most high school students gain skills related to independence, the independent behaviors of their peers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) plateau and decline. These skill deficits and resulting poor post-secondary outcomes for students with ASD highlight the great need for programming in this area. This article begins by defining independence and the influence of independence on post-secondary outcomes, and explores the factors that contribute to the difficulties in independence for individuals with ASD. Then, a review of school-wide positive behavior support and focused evidence-based practices (EBPs) related to independence is presented. Recommendations are made for practitioners and caregivers implementing interventions intended to support student independence, and recommendations for future research and practice are offered.

Directed Consultation, the SEALS Model, and Teachers' Classroom Management.

Directed consultation is presented as a professional development framework to guide and support teachers in the implementation of evidence-based interventions that involve contextual and process-oriented approaches designed to be incorporated into daily classroom management. This approach consists of four components: pre-intervention observations and interviews with school professionals, professional development workshops, online training modules, and team- and individual-level implementation meetings. In the current study, directed consultation was used to train sixth-grade teachers to use the Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Support (SEALS) program, a multicomponent intervention model, to promote productive and supportive classroom contexts during the transition to middle school. The current report involved classroom observations in 14 schools (7 interventions, 7 controls) as part of a broader cluster-randomized control trial. A total of 144 classrooms were observed in late fall of the sixth grade during ongoing professional development training activities and again in the spring at the completion of the SEALS training. As compared with control classrooms, teachers in intervention classrooms used more positive feedback and less negative feedback and redirection. Furthermore, teachers in intervention classrooms provided more effective use of classroom structure, feedback to students, behavior management, communication with students, groups and social dynamics, and motivation strategies. Results are discussed in terms of implications for professional development activities aimed at enhancing classroom management.