Journal of School Psychology最新文献

In response to patterns of educational inequity, many schools implement system-wide behavioral frameworks to reduce exclusionary discipline. School-wide positive behavior supports (SWPBS) is one such framework that seeks to support socially appropriate behavior by enhancing the capacity of schools to implement research-validated practices. However, there remains to be a systematic analysis of the extent to which SWPBS improves educational equity by reducing disparities in exclusionary discipline. The purpose of the systematic review was to evaluate research on the association of SWPBS with exclusionary discipline and racial discipline disproportionality. In total, 42 articles met the full inclusion criteria of a literature search conducted between 2018 and 2020. Study results were mixed regarding whether SWPBS was associated with reductions in exclusionary discipline and only a few studies provided evidence that SWPBS helps reduce exclusionary discipline disproportionality. Limitations of this research signal a need for attention to both data disaggregation and root causes of continued disproportionate discipline practices.

School belonging can facilitate positive youth development and educational outcomes. Given that LGBTQ+ youth face marginalization in schools, there is a need to identify school supports that could still promote their sense of school belonging. We considered Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) as LGBTQ+ affirming school clubs. Among 92 LGBTQ+ student members of GSAs in nine states who completed weekly diary surveys over an 8-week period (M_age = 15.83 years, SD = 1.29; 50% youth of color; 51% trans or non-binary), we considered whether a youth's GSA experiences from meeting to meeting predicted their relative levels of school belonging in days following these meetings. There was significant within-individual (37%) and between-individual (63%) variability in youth's sense of school belonging during this time. Youth reported relatively higher school belonging on days following GSA meetings where they perceived greater group support (p = .04) and took on more leadership (p = .01). Furthermore, youth who, on average, reported greater advisor responsiveness (p = .01) and leadership (p = .01) in GSA meetings over the 8-week period reported greater school belonging than others. Findings showcase the dynamic variability in LGBTQ+ youth's sense of school belonging from week to week and carry implications for how schools and GSAs can support LGBTQ+ youth and sustain their ties to school.

Prior research has demonstrated that children form developmentally salient relationships with teachers and that these relationships are uniquely predictive of subsequent functioning both in and outside of school. However, prior work estimating trajectories and predictors of teacher-student relationship quality has failed to test and adjust for bias in questionnaire items. The present study used longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD; N = 1140) to test and adjust for measurement bias in the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; Pianta, 2001) across grades (K–6) and sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., birth sex, race/ethnicity, family income-to-needs ratio, and maternal education) to generate less biased estimates of trajectories of teacher-student relationship quality. Results identified differential item functioning for three of seven STRS items assessing conflict and three of eight STRS items assessing closeness, with items functioning differentially across child grade, birth sex, race/ethnicity, and maternal education level. Comparisons of growth models using non-adjusted and adjusted STRS scores highlight substantive differences between scoring approaches, such that the effects of race/ethnicity, maternal education, and maternal sensitivity on teacher-student relationship quality were masked prior to adjusting for item bias. These findings demonstrate the importance of testing and correcting for item bias in questionnaire-based assessments of teacher-student relationship quality to ensure valid conclusions.

Paraeducators play an important role in the classroom experiences of many autistic students. Although previous research has indicated that autistic students typically have strained relationships with their teachers, little is known about their relationships with paraeducators. We examined relationship quality reported by teachers (N = 171) and paraeducators (N = 28) with their elementary-age autistic students (IQ ≥ 50, ages 4–8 years, Grades PreK–3). Paraeducators reported strained relationships with their autistic students relative to normative means. This was especially apparent when compared with teacher report as paraeducators reported significantly lower overall relationship quality with their autistic students marked by higher conflict and dependency, yet similar reports of closeness. Indirect effect analysis indicated that higher conflict between paraeducators and their autistic students was accounted for by their fewer years of classroom experience compared to teachers. These findings should encourage school psychologists to consider the systemic factors likely contributing to paraeducators' fewer years of experiences and, as members of special education teams, use a consultative framework to provide supports needed to foster positive relationships between paraeducators and their autistic students.

Given high levels of adolescent stress and educational institutions' key role in supporting students' mental health, mindfulness instruction is increasingly being implemented in schools. However, there is growing evidence adolescents find traditionally taught formal mindfulness (e.g., structured regular practice like meditation) challenging. Indeed, school-based studies report high levels of student non-compliance and lack of engagement with formal mindfulness strategies. Thus, informal mindfulness practices (e.g., unstructured brief moments integrated within daily routine) may be more accessible and developmentally appropriate for adolescents. Using a randomized experimental school-based design, this study sought to parse out the acceptability and effectiveness of formal and informal mindfulness for adolescents over time. Adolescents (n = 142; 73.9% female) were randomly assigned to a 4-week formal mindfulness, informal mindfulness, or comparison group and assessed on mental health, well-being, and educational outcomes. The informal mindfulness group (a) was more likely to report intending to frequently use the strategies (p = .025, Cramer's V = .262) and (b) reported increased dispositional mindfulness (i.e., general tendency to be mindful) from baseline to follow-up (p = .049, η_p² = .034) which in turn mediated benefits on depression (indirect effect = −.15, 95% CI [−.31, −.03]), anxiety (indirect effect = −.21, 95% CI [−.36, −.06]), general stress (indirect effect = −.16, 95% CI [−.32, −.04]), school-related stress (indirect effect = −.15, 95% CI [−.28, −.05]), negative affect (indirect effect = −.17, 95% CI [−.35, −.04]), and attentional control (indirect effect = .07, 95% CI [.01, .13]). Thus, brief informal mindfulness strategies may be easier for students to use on a regular basis than formal mindfulness. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of going beyond a one-size-fits-all approach by offering accessible and engaging school-based mindfulness instruction to students. Recommendations for school psychologists seeking to teach mindfulness to adolescents are discussed, including the need to directly teach how to integrate informal mindfulness strategies in students' lives.

When students with high cognitive abilities disengage from school, this implies a severe loss of talent to students themselves and to society. Hence, it is important to understand how teachers can prevent disengagement and underachievement in high-ability students. Whereas a large body of research has demonstrated that need-supportive teaching (i.e., the provision of autonomy support, involvement, and structure) and differentiated instruction relate positively to students' academic development, it remains unclear whether such practices would be equally, more, or less beneficial for high-ability students. Drawing on data from a longitudinal four-wave study among early adolescents from Flanders (N = 3586), this study showed that need-supportive teaching in math classes was positively associated with intrinsic motivation, behavioral engagement, and math performance in high-ability students, both at the level of between-student differences and at the level of changes in students over time. Standardized estimates were typically between 0.05 and 0.20 at the between-person level, indicating small effect sizes, with more modest effect sizes at the within-person level. Importantly, these associations were found to be generally equivalent across high- and average-ability students. Comparing the provision of need-supportive teaching to either high- or average-ability students, high-ability students particularly reported more autonomy support from their math teachers than average-ability students, with small effect sizes (i.e., Cohen's d between 0.16 and 0.27). These findings underline the importance of need-supportive teaching to support the motivational and academic development of both high- and average-ability students.

Computer adaptive tests have become popular assessments to screen students for academic risk. Research is emerging regarding their use as progress monitoring tools to measure response to instruction. We evaluated the accuracy of the trend-line decision rule when applied to outcomes from a frequently used reading computer adaptive test (i.e., Star Reading [SR]) and frequently used math computer adaptive test (i.e., Star Math [SM]). Analyses of extant SR and SM data were conducted to inform conditions for simulations to determine the number of assessments required to yield sufficient sensitivity (i.e., probability of recommending an instructional change when a change was warranted) and specificity (i.e., probability of recommending maintaining an intervention when a change was not warranted) when comparing performance to goal lines based upon a future target score (i.e., benchmark) as well as normative comparisons (50th and 75th percentiles). The extant dataset of SR outcomes consisted of monthly progress monitoring data from 993 Grade 3, 804 Grade 4, and 709 Grade 5 students from multiple states in the United States northwest. Data for SM were also drawn from the northwest and contained outcomes from 518 Grade 3, 474 Grade 4, and 391 Grade 5 students. Grade level samples were predominately White (range = 59.89%–67.72%) followed by Latinx (range = 9.65%–15.94%). Results of simulations suggest that when data were collected once a month, seven, eight, and nine observations were required to support low-stakes decisions with SR for Grades 3, 4, and 5, respectively. For SM, nine, ten, and eight observations were required for Grades, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Given the length of time required to support reasonably accurate decisions, recommendations to consider other types of assessments and decision-making frameworks for academic progress monitoring are provided.

This study reports a secondary analysis from a quasi-experimental design study (N = 13 schools) to examine the effects of aligned Tier 1 (T1) and Tier 2 (T2) instruction for a subsample of fourth graders with inattention and reading difficulties. Of this sample (N = 63 students), 100% received free- or reduced-price lunch, 92% identified as Hispanic, and 22% received special education services. T1 instruction focused on implementing practices to support reading comprehension and content learning during social studies instruction. The aligned T2 intervention focused on remediating reading comprehension difficulties using the same evidence-based practices implemented in T1, thus supporting students with connecting learning and applying skills across settings. Schools were assigned to one of three conditions: (a) aligned T1-T2 instruction; (b) nonaligned T1-T2 instruction, in which T1 and T2 practices were not intentionally aligned; or (c) business-as-usual (BaU) T1 and T2 practices. No significant differences were detected between the nonaligned T1-T2 and BaU conditions on student outcomes. However, large, statistically significant effects were detected in favor of the aligned T1-T2 condition compared to BaU on measures of content knowledge (Unit 1 ES = 0.85; Unit 2 ES = 1.46; Unit 3 ES = 0.79), vocabulary (Unit 1 ES = 0.88; Unit 2 ES = 0.85), and content reading comprehension (ES = 0.79). The aligned T1-T2 condition also outperformed the nonaligned T1-T2 condition on content knowledge (Unit 2 ES = 1.35; Unit 3 ES = 0.56), vocabulary (Unit 1 ES = 0.82), and the content reading comprehension assessment (ES = 0.69). Various effect sizes were not different from zero after correcting for clustered data. Although the magnitude of the effect sizes suggested promise, additional research is needed to fully understand the effects of aligned instruction on the reading outcomes of students with inattention and reading difficulty.

Scholars have developed culturally responsive frameworks and interventions to support educators as they aim to create inclusive and equitable classroom environments. Despite the number of frameworks on the topic, research on culturally responsive practices (CRPs) is limited by the lack of clear definitions or evidence on the effectiveness of in-classroom culturally responsive interventions. With the aim to understand which characteristics are important for in-classroom CRPs, this qualitative study explored students' perceptions of practices teachers use to respond to students' learning and cultural identities. We conducted 23 focus groups with 103 Black, Latine, and White students in middle and high school from two midwestern schools. After analyzing the data, we identified four overarching themes: (a) inclusive classroom instruction, (b) emotional safety in the classroom, (c) relational quality with the teachers, and (d) racism and other “isms” in the classroom. Students consistently commented on the importance of teacher support for students' emotional and academic well-being while also describing teachers that demeaned them or their peers, in turn, obstructing their learning. The findings hold promise to clarify and strengthen professional development CRP interventions as students offer insight about teacher cultural responsiveness and non-responsiveness.

Teacher-student relationships are beneficial for students and especially important in the middle school context. Suspensions are critical to reduce as it can be detrimental to the educational trajectory of students, particularly for marginalized students in underfunded schools. This study looked at the relations between teacher-student relationships and suspensions across the academic year in a sample of students (N = 541) and teachers (N = 51) in two urban school districts in the Midwest. A brief measure of teachers' perceptions of relationships with students completed in the fall of the academic year predicted the odds of receiving in-school suspension (ISS; odds ratio [OR] = 0.65) and out-of-school suspension (OSS; OR = 0.72) by the end of the school year. Student reports of the relationships were also associated with ISS (OR = 0.94), but not OSS. On average, teachers' report on the scale improved over the course of the school year (d = 0.11); however, student report of the relationships worsened (d = 0.30). The difference in the student report of the relationships from fall to spring was also associated with the odds of receiving ISS and OSS (ORs = 0.94). These findings suggest that student and teacher perceptions together are associated with harsh discipline practices that can negatively impact students' developmental trajectories. Relationships can change but direct action is necessary to develop, maintain, and repair relationships during the academic year.