SpringerBriefs in School Psychology

Transcription

1 SpringerBriefs in School Psychology For further volumes:

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3 Mandy Stern Evaluating and Promoting Positive School Attitude in Adolescents

4 Mandy Stern, NCSP California State University Northridge, CA, USA ISSN e-issn ISBN e-isbn DOI / Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: The Author 2012 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (

5 Acknowledgements My thanks belong to Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and Malibu High School and to Dr. Juliette Boewe, Ph.D., who generously supported and assisted with the research study of which the current volume is based. Her direct experience in the field was of inestimable value for this text. I also thank Dr. Alberto Restori, Ph.D., whose humorous and candid feedback about this text was greatly appreciated. v

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7 About the Author Mandy Stern is a nationally certified school psychologist and freelance writer who lives in Beverly Hills, California. She has worked in both private and public schools, on both the East and West Coasts. She earned her master s degree in Human Development from Harvard University as well her elementary teaching certification before teaching sixth grade and then becoming an academic director of a private school near Malibu, California. More recently, as a school psychologist, she has worked in the schools performing psychoeducational evaluations among high school and elementary school students. As a writer, Ms. Stern writes online seminars for practitioners concerning such matters as interventions and treatments for attention disorders. vii

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9 Contents 1 Introduction: How Teens Feel About School and Why We Should Care... 1 Loss of Interest in School: A Predictor of School Dropout and Maladaptive Outcomes... 2 Positive Emotionality and Beneficial Outcomes... 5 Traditional Factors Associated with School Attitude... 9 School Attitude: Similar Constructs Across a Variety of Terms Definitions of Constructs Used for Scales in Survey Instrument of the Present Study Self-perception Motivation/Self-regulation Peer Attitude School Bond Goals Review of Research Exploring School Attitude and Related Constructs Positive Orientation Toward School School Attachment School Bond Motivation and Self-regulation Peer Attitude Methods Setting and Participants Instruments and Procedures Measures Data Analysis Motivation and Self-regulation Self-perception ix

10 x Contents Attitude Toward School Peer Attitude School Bond Summary Results Correlations Among the Four Factors and School Attitude Comparison with Previous Study School Attitude Composite for Study Sample Discussion Summary of Findings Limitations of the Study Implications and Directions for Future Research References... 47