Publication year
2014
Citation Title
Responding to the needs of military students and military-connected schools: Perceptions and actions of school administrators.
Journal Name
Children and Schools
Journal Volume
36
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
e18-e25
DOI
10.1093/cs/cdt047
Summary
School administrators from the Building Capacity Consortium schools (140 schools dedicated to developing military friendly school environments) were surveyed to uncover how they understand the needs of military connected students and actions their school takes to address those needs. The focus of the study is on the role of administrators in shaping the climate and improving the responsiveness to military connected students. Eighty-four percent of respondents expressed a desire for ideas and examples of activities that specifically target military connected students.
Key Findings
The majority of school administrators have no programs in place that exclusively focus on military connected students, rather military connected students are included in programs aimed for all students. However, 77% of administrators believe that military connected students should be identified and treated as a distinct group.
Sixty-three percent of administrators indicate a strong value for parental engagement but only 9% have a policy in place to increase the participation of military parents.
Administrators openly admit that a lack of resources, strategies and training hinder their efforts to effectively improve the climate of their school for military connected students.
Implications for Program Leaders
Include specific training for school district personnel on the needs of military children and families in order for them to help shape school climate and increase responsiveness to military students
Institute structured programs within schools to facilitate parent engagement, with special emphasis on the participation of military parents
Offer in-service training for school personnel to increase staff awareness of military students’ needs in order for them to succeed
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support school districts’ efforts to understand military student needs, educate and train school staff, and increase military parent engagement are encouraged
Recommend more research regarding military students’ achievement as part of academic functioning
Encourage collaboration among DoD and community-based schools with military children to better meet the needs of this population
Methods
Quantitative and qualitative survey data was collected through an online survey of closed ended and open ended questions in Fall 2010 and Spring 2011.
The online survey was provided to all school administrators within the consortium.
This study included eight civilian public schools located near two military installations in San Diego, CA.
Participants
Participants included principals, assistant principals, and other school administrators from the Building Capacity Consortium (BCC) schools.
The fall Sample included 137 participants from 130 schools and the spring sample included 129 participants from 129 schools.
No demographic data (e.g., age, gender) were collected from the participants.
Limitations
Participants’ association with the Building Capacity Consortium could increase the likelihood of a sampling bias.
The inclusion of participants’ demographic information could aid in interpretation of the results.
The study provided no information about the percentage of military connected students in each school.
Avenues for Future Research
Explore which resources, strategies, or trainings are most impactful to meet the needs of military connected students
Examine what military specific factors (e.g., deployment) influence military youth's academic outcomes
Investigate how the DoD can better support school with currently enrolled military children
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Military children experience a variety of military-specific stressors. Stressors include repeated geographic relocation and parental separation, both of which can negatively affect social, emotional, psychological, and academic outcomes. Educational reform research, however, has found that caring and responsive schools can moderate the effects of psychological stress on the social and emotional outcomes of students. Lacking are studies that examine the transformative role of principals and other school administrators in providing school supports for military children. Hence, this study is guided by multiple objectives. This study examined the military-connected (MC) school administrators' philosophy as it relates to military students, programmatic efforts for military students, and assessment of military social work interns. Data were collected using an online survey tool, and results suggest consensus among most MC school administrators regarding the unique needs of military students and the need for programs and resources that address these needs. This study found that many administrators struggle to provide adequate supports for military students.
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