Promoting School Connectedness

The Prevention Researcher, Volume 17, Number 3, 2010, Item# 173

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The more connected youth feel to their school, the greater their emotional well-being and academic success. The challenge for adults, is putting into place policies and strategies which can increase the connectedness youth feel with school. In this issue, we present a multi-dimensional look at how adults can increase school connectedness.

The introductory article of this issue is provided by Kathryn Monahan and colleagues. This article reviews the research on school connectedness, focusing on implications for youth development, predictors of school connectedness, and the importance of school connectedness as a focus of prevention.

While all families want their children to succeed in school, many schools and families have difficulty building strong relationships, especially if the culture of the school is different than that of the family. Authors Kate Wegmann and Gary Bowen look at ways that schools may inadvertently include or exclude families based on cultural capital. They conclude with suggestions for how schools can build strong, effective partnerships with diverse families.

The topic of “school connectedness” obviously focuses our attention on the school environment, however, additional opportunities to build connections to the school exist in the out-of-school time. Dawn Anderson-Butcher uses research completed with 24 afterschool programs to overview key design features and qualities within afterschool programs that promote school connectedness.

For any student, in-school victimization and a lack of institutional supports can negatively impact his or her sense of school connectedness. Elizabeth Diaz and colleagues look the relationships between school connectedness, in-school victimization, and school-based supports for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students, providing implications for schools to create environments where all students feel respected.

Finally, although the positive outcomes associated with high levels of school connectedness has been documented across racial, ethnic, and income groups, minority youth from urban areas are more likely to have lower levels of school connectedness. To conclude this issue, Brian Daly and colleagues overview risk and protective factors associated with school connectedness in minority youth from urban environments, suggesting recommendations and strategies for adults.

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Articles in this issue:

Free

Predictors and Consequences of School Connectedness: The Case for Prevention

By Kathryn C. Monahan, Ph.D., Sabrina Oesterle, Ph.D., and J. David Hawkins, Ph.D.

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Promoting School Connectedness Among Urban Youth of Color: Reducing Risk Factors While Promoting Protective Factors

By Brian Daly, Ph.D., Cindy Buchanan, Ph.D., Kimberly Dasch, Ph.D., Dawn Eichen, M.A., and Clare Lenhart, MPH, CHES

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School Connectedness for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth: In-School Victimization and Institutional Supports

By Elizabeth M. Diaz, M.A., Joseph G. Kosciw, Ph.D., and Emily A. Greytak, Ph.D.

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Strengthening Connections Between Schools and Diverse Families: A Cultural Capital Perspective

By Kate Wegmann, MSW, and Gary L. Bowen, Ph.D.

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The Promise of Afterschool Programs for Promoting School Connectedness

By Dawn Anderson-Butcher, PhD., LISW-S

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