Publication year
2014
Citation Title
Schoolwide impact of military-connected student enrollment: Educators’ perceptions.
Journal Name
Children and Schools
Journal Volume
36
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
31-39
DOI
10.1093/cs/cdt026
Summary
Interviews and focus groups were conducted with principals, counselors, and teachers at military-connected public schools to explore the broad impact of military-connected student enrollment on schools and educators. Results indicate that student school transitions and deployments require additional assessment and support by educators to meet the unique needs of military-connected students. The results also emphasized that efforts for increased communication about military-connected students’ prior school history and parental deployments could be beneficial in easing the school transition.
Key Findings
Educators identified transition and deployment as factors affecting military-connected students’ academic achievement and social-emotional well-being.
Frequent military-connected student transfers create a significant amount of work for teachers, specifically the important task of assessing new students’ educational needs (often without access to former school records).
Teachers and counselors reported that children with deployed parents can sometimes be distracted, anxious, sad, or angry; only 38% of teachers reported that they were well equipped to meet the emotional needs of military-connected students.
Respondents indicated a need to be more familiar with military culture, with less than 10% of the educators reported that they had been trained to work with military-connected students.
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer in-services to local school districts, offering information about the needs, experiences, and challenges of military-connected students
Educate military parents regarding the issues youth may encounter when transitioning to a new school
Disseminate resources to military parents regarding ways to communicate with school staff regarding their child and military service
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support programs that educate teachers and administrators about military-connected students
Continue to support school liaison officer programs to enable closer collaboration among schools, teachers, and military resources and programs
Recommend continuous monitoring of military-connected student enrollment, including parental deployment dates to help school personnel identify when and which students may need additional support
Methods
Principals at targeted schools were asked to participate and identify educators who taught military students.
Semi-structured focus groups and individual interviews were conducted to explore topics such as characteristics of military students, the greatest needs of students and teachers, and current responses to military students.
Educators also filled out a questionnaire on access to student records, access to and satisfaction with support personnel, availability of informational resources, understanding of military culture, and preparedness to respond to military students’ needs.
Participants
Seven principals, eight school counselors, 55 teachers, and four instructional support staff from seven elementary (K-5) and one K-8 school participated.
Participants were from four large, urban school districts in close proximity to military installations from all branches of the U.S. military.
Teachers were evenly distributed between K-2 and 3-5 grades, most were observed to be female, but age, gender, ethnicity, number of years teaching data were not collected.
Limitations
This study had a small sample size that was restricted to elementary schools in one geographic area; results may not generalize.
Participants were selected non-randomly and this may have biased the data.
No information was collected on several important demographic variables of the participants or students, which could influence the results.
Avenues for Future Research
Triangulate this data with school climate or resource utilization data to gain additional insight into the needs of military-connected students
Develop and identify effective professional development programs and models of staff collaboration
Explore how teacher characteristics (e.g., age, gender, years of teaching) influence their ability to work with military-connected youth
Focus
Multiple Branches
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
Military-connected (MC) children can face emotional and academic challenges, but little is known about how these affect schools. This study gathered the perceptions of principals, school counselors, and teachers at eight MC public schools. Analyses of interview, focus group, and survey responses revealed that transitions and deployments had an impact on educators' work in specific ways. Areas of impact were thematically summarized in domains of academic support, social–emotional support, administration and student records, cultural responsiveness, and school–military–community partnerships. These domains complement prior research describing areas of MC student needs. Findings are situated within a framework of responsiveness that integrates school reform with professional standards for school social workers and school counselors. Recommendations include coordination among school-based professionals to promote success across domains.
Abstract Document
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