Effectiveness of Alternative School Interventions in Reducing Incidences of Violence in Schools and Improving Attendance and Graduation Rates
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Lindenwood University Digital Commons@Lindenwood University Dissertations Theses & Dissertations Spring 2-2019 Effectiveness of Alternative School Interventions in Reducing Incidences of Violence in Schools and Improving Attendance and Graduation Rates Norman Robinson Lindenwood University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/dissertations Part of the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons Recommended Citation Robinson, Norman, "Effectiveness of Alternative School Interventions in Reducing Incidences of Violence in Schools and Improving Attendance and Graduation Rates" (2019). Dissertations. 96. https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/dissertations/96 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses & Dissertations at Digital Commons@Lindenwood University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Lindenwood University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Effectiveness of Alternative School Interventions in Reducing Incidences of Violence in Schools and Improving Attendance and Graduation Rates by Norman Robinson A Dissertation submitted to the Education Faculty of Lindenwood University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education School of Education Effectiveness of Alternative School Interventions in Reducing Incidences of Violence in Schools and Improving Attendance and Graduation Rates by Norman Robinson This dissertation has been approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Lindenwood University by the School of Education Declaration of Originality I do hereby declare and attest to the fact that this is an original study based solely upon my own scholarly work here at Lindenwood University and that I have not submitted it for any other college or university course or degree here or elsewhere. Full Legal Name: Norman Eugene Robinson Acknowledgments First of all, I would like to thank my dissertation committee for always being available to offer encouragement and answer questions. Thanks goes out to Dr. Jill Hutcheson for her never-ending encouragement and support. Special thanks to Susan Royals and Dr. Kenneth Johnson for encouraging me to pursue the Ed.D., as well as Dr. June Murry for accepting this dissertation committee challenge. I want to thank all of my professors from the very beginning for doing a great job of preparing me for this educational journey, especially Dr. Terry Stewart for also acting as my adviser and keeping me on track throughout the registration process. I want to thank my sisters Sharon Crockett and Kimberly Oliver for not only encouraging me to continue my educational pursuits, but for constantly checking on my health and well-being. I want to thank my four sons, Dr. Edmondo Robinson, Norman Robinson, Jr., Mitchell Robinson, and Miles Robinson for believing in me and making sacrifices so I could continue this undertaking, as well as my other family members and friends who believed in me and offered on-going encouragement. I also want to thank my parents, Norma J. and Charles E. Robinson, who made major sacrifices during their lifetime to ensure that we continued to pursue our education beyond secondary school. i Abstract The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine whether alternative school interventions were effective in reducing the incidences of violence in schools and improving attendance and graduation rates, whether positive behavior intervention supports were effective intervention strategies in school violence prevention initiatives, and whether parental and community involvements were necessary for intervention strategies and supports to be effective in school violence prevention initiatives. I was concerned about the negative impact violence had on academics, health, the school environment, and within the community. I expected to identify as many problem types as possible and research similar problems in other areas to see what had been done to reduce violence and improve conditions in those schools and communities affected by violence. The presence of violence in schools led to a disruptive and threatening environment, physical injury, and emotional stress. To address this, teachers and administrators implemented programs designed to prevent, deter, and respond to potential violence in schools. What I found was that it was difficult to assess the effectiveness of individual intervention strategies, because districts applied them in combination with one or more additional interventions. One way to overcome this difficulty and provide more useful data on the success of particular interventions was to begin longitudinal studies that tracked specific students over a long period of time, if those interventions could be studied in isolation. The impact of external factors, such as the neighborhood and home environment, must be considered and factored into each individual case as well, because of the many variations that existed. Generalizations were made in this study, because many of the schools studied had similar demographics. Despite the collateral influences ii that negatively impacted student success, the use of the various intervention strategies appeared to have had an impact on school improvement in the United States. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... i Abstract .......................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................. ix Chapter One: Introduction ...............................................................................................1 Research Purpose .........................................................................................................1 Rationale ......................................................................................................................1 Research Questions ......................................................................................................1 Background: Historical Perspective ..............................................................................3 Definition of Terms ......................................................................................................6 Alternative education ................................................................................................6 Authoritarian policies ...............................................................................................6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ..............................................................6 Chronic victimization ...............................................................................................7 Deindustrialization ...................................................................................................7 Disciplinary climate..................................................................................................7 Electronic aggression ................................................................................................7 Four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate .................................................................7 Indirect aggression ...................................................................................................7 Mal-development......................................................................................................7 Microaggressions......................................................................................................7 No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ............................................................................8 Participatory leadership ............................................................................................8 iv Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports. ..........................................................8 Protective factors ......................................................................................................8 Psychological force ..................................................................................................8 Relevant and meaningful learning environment ........................................................8 Response to Intervention ..........................................................................................8 Restorative justice ....................................................................................................8 Risk factor ................................................................................................................9 School discipline ......................................................................................................9 School dropout rate...................................................................................................9 School environment ..................................................................................................9 Surface Behavior Management Techniques ...............................................................9 Violence ...................................................................................................................9