Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
About one quarter of the children under the age of six are living in poverty, a factor that is highly relevant to school failure. It has been estimated that one quarter of the adolescent population is at risk of academic failure and other problem behaviors, with another quarter considered moderately at risk. School failure and the almost inevitable unemployment or underemployment that follows were among the most serious of these problems. This book examines the relationship between protective factors and academic achievement in elementary students. Protective factors are individual or environmental safeguards that enhance a youngster's ability to resist stressful life events and promote resilience. There are protective factors at work in every system (individual, family, peer, school, and community.)
Synopsis
Using an ecological approach, this book examines the relationship between protective factors and academic achievement in elementary school students. Protective factors are individual or environmental safeguards that promote resilience and enhance a youngsters ability to resist stressful life events. There are protective factors at work in every system -- individual, family, peer, school, and community.
The authors studied participants involved in an urban literacy project designed to increase protective factors and academic achievement. Using student folios of collected anecdotes, activities data sheets, school records, and one-on-one observation forms compiled by a program assistant over a three-and-a-half year period, the authors used a constant comparative method of analysis to determine if protective factors were found and if academic achievement was increased. The results indicate that the participants exhibited an increase in both academic achievement and protective factors.