Research in Our Schools bserver O & ws Ne he o: T ot h P Duke University School Research Partnership Office Research Studies 2007-2008 Research in Our Schools Duke University School Research Partnership Office Research Abstracts 2007-2008 Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................3 Research Abstracts, by category: I. Developing and Evaluating Programs to Enhance Student Performance The AAKOMA Project .........................................................................5 Project AIM (Adult Identity Mentoring) ..............................................6 Promoting Positive Youth Development: A Comprehensive After-School Program for Middle and High School Youth at Risk of Dropping Out ..........................7 Creative Spelling ...................................................................................8 High School Illicit Drug Use Onset and Early School Dropout: A Survival Analysis Using Fast Track Data ....................................9 Organization Time Management and Planning Study for Children with ADHD ............................................................10 Project CLASS (Children Learning Academic Success Skills) .............11 The North Carolina Child and Family Support Team (CFST) Initiative .........................................................................12 Evaluation of the School-wide Positive Behavioral Support Program in Eight North Carolina Elementary Schools ..............................13 II. Peer Influence on Adolescents (Research Studies from the Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Center (TPRC), funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse) Social Network and Leadership Status: Links with Susceptibility to Deviant Peer Influence ....................14 Stability of Social Standing in the Peer Group in Early Adolescence ..15 Early Adolescent Dating Relationships, Peer Standing and Risk-Taking Behaviors and the Role of Gender .....................16 The Social World of the Gifted Adolescent .........................................17 Duke University School Research Partnership Office | Research Abstracts | 2007-2008 1 III. Teacher Characteristics, Retention and Professional Development Are Teacher Absences Worth Worrying About in the U.S.? ................18 Teacher Mobility – Enemy of Equity? .................................................19 Teacher Credentials and Student Achievement in High School: A Cross-Subject Analysis with Student Fixed Effects ...................20 An Initiative to Help North Carolina Enhance its System of Professional Development for PreK-12 Teachers ......................21 Internationalizing Teacher Education at Duke University: A Case Study ...............................................................................22 Beginning Teacher Retention and the Importance of Mentoring, School Climate, and Principal Leadership in a Professional Learning Communities Framework .............................................23 IV. Race, Ethnicity and Culture School Segregation under Color-Blind Jurisprudence: The Case of North Carolina .........................................................24 Parent Behavior and Child Adjustment Across Cultures .....................25 The Enduring Impact of Race: Understanding Disparities in Student Achievement .....................26 V. Educational Policy Influences on Student Outcomes Reflections on Equity, Adequacy, and Weighted Student Funding .....27 School Policies and the Black-White Test Score Gap ..........................28 On the cover: Ina Nyko, assistant principal of Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School, meets with high school volunteers who will be mentoring middle school students through a comprehensive after-school program that incorporates Project AIM. The program is a targeted intervention to help middle school students develop academic and other skills necessary for current and future school success. Nyko and Research Scientist Ann Brewster co-wrote the grant for implementing the program at Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School. 2 Duke University School Research Partnership Office | Research Abstracts | 2007-2008 Introduction Overview: The Duke University School Research Partnership (SRP) Office facilitates collaborations between Duke researchers and area school districts to create and maintain mutually beneficial relationships. The ideal is for the SRP Office to serve as a portal between Duke and area school districts. This function streamlines processes and maximizes the mutual benefits of the research conducted so that school districts, schools, students and Duke researchers all benefit from the collaboration. Duke researchers include staff and faculty from the university, as well as from Duke Medical Center and from other organizations collaborating with Duke on specific research projects. Some of the services of the SRP Office: • Facilitating the planning and placement of school-based research projects. • Promoting research collaborations between schools and Duke researchers by awarding research grants and fellowships to faculty and graduate students. • Disseminating research findings via an annual research conference, annual research summaries and other print or online publications. Services for Duke researchers: • Provide information about protocols for area public schools (and nonpublic and other schools with which the SRP Office works). • Provide consultation on the best way to present research projects to schools to maximize mutual benefit for the researcher and the school. • Provide review of research proposals. • Provide assistance with proposal submissions to area school districts. Services for school districts: • Oversee the annual Duke University School Research Fellowship Grant to address priorities and research questions of schools. • Hold an annual, half-day research conference to present and discuss research findings of interest to school representatives and Duke researchers. • Provide school districts with an annual summary of research projects and findings. • Identify experts among Duke faculty and researchers to provide consultation to schools and school districts, upon request. • Disseminate research findings via print and online publications. Duke University School Research Partnership Office | Research Abstracts | 2007-2008 3 History: The Duke University School Research Partnership Office was developed with support from the Office of the Provost and the Center for Child and Family Policy. Begun in 2006 as the Duke Office for Research in Schools (DORIS), the SRP Office is an integral part of the work of the Center for Child and Family Policy. Contact: Ann B. Brewster, Ph.D., MSW Research Scientist, Center for Child and Family Policy School Liaison, Duke University School Research Partnership Office Rubenstein Hall, 302 Towerview Road Durham, NC 27708-0545 [email protected] (919) 613-9299 www.childandfamilypolicy.duke.edu www.duke.edu/schoolresearch Faculty Advisory Committee: Steven Asher, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Kenneth Dodge, Ph.D. William McDougall Professor of Public Policy Studies Professor of Psychology Director, Center for Child and Family Policy Gary Feng, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Gavan Fitzsimons, Ph.D. Professor of Marketing and Psychology, The Fuqua School of Business Marie Lynn Miranda, Ph.D. Associate Research Professor, Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences Susan Wynn, Ed.D. Assistant Professor of the Practice, The Program in Education Director, Secondary Teacher Preparation Program 4 Duke University School Research Partnership Office | Research Abstracts | 2007-2008 I. Developing and Evaluating Programs to Enhance Student Performance The AAKOMA Project (African American Knowledge Organized for Mindfully Healthy Adolescents) The AAKOMA Project seeks to determine how black adolescents and their families identify and deal with emotional and behavioral concerns. The research agenda consists of three aims: • to solicit an in-depth understanding of African-Americans’ perceptions of barriers to engagement in psychiatric treatment and research utilizing a focus group approach; • to develop and pilot test materials for training clinicians to conduct a new intervention, “Improving Readiness to Change for African American Adolescents and Families”; and • to conduct a pilot trial of “Improving Readiness to Change for African American Adolescents and Families.” We are conducting the research in three phases, including: 1) focus group data collection and analysis; 2) manual and treatment development; and 3) a pilot randomized controlled trial. We have received approval from Durham Public Schools for phase one of the study. Investigator: Alfiee M. Breland-Noble, Ph.D. Contact: Alfiee M. Breland-Noble, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Duke University Medical Center [email protected] (919) 416-2432 Duke University School Research Partnership Office | Research Abstracts | 2007-2008 5 Project AIM (Adult Identity Mentoring) Project AIM (Adult Identity Mentoring), developed by Clark and colleagues (Clark et al., 2005), is a brief, evidence-based, culturally-sensitive, structured intervention to help middle and high school students avoid risky behaviors by focusing on positive academic, personal and career aspirations. This intervention works by helping students to elaborate their personal goals and to obtain the skills they need to reach those goals. Students discover for themselves that some behaviors, such as substance use, are incompatible with their goals, while others, such as attending school and putting effort into their classes, will help them attain their goals. The AIM curriculum involves 10, 45-minute sessions, typically delivered once or twice per week, and is fully flexible in how it is delivered: via classroom activities that can be seamlessly integrated into a health, vocation-oriented, CIS, AVID or other elective; through an additional class curriculum; or in an after-school or community setting. It involves student participation, role- playing and discussion and, thus, is active and fun, as well as a valuable, skills- based learning experience for students. Duke University’s Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Center (TPRC) has been studying the effectiveness of Project AIM for reducing risky behaviors (particularly alcohol and substance use) and enhancing students’ academic achievement and preventing school dropout. Our evaluations indicate that middle school students exposed to AIM show a range of benefits, including significant reductions in risky behaviors and a stronger orientation toward academic achievement. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is already considering Project AIM as one of its “model programs.” The most recent version of Project AIM includes parental involvement, with homework that students have to discuss with their parents each week. We are currently interested in testing the effects of greater inclusion of parents within Project AIM, based on research that points to the importance of parental involvement in the lives of middle and high school youth as they discern their futures. Investigators for the Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Center (TPRC): Timothy J. Strauman, Ph.D., Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; Rick H. Hoyle, Ph.D., Center for Child and Family Policy; and Ann B. Brewster, Ph.D. Contact: Ann B. Brewster, Ph.D., MSW Research Scientist, Center for Child and Family Policy [email protected] (919) 613-9299 6 Duke University School Research Partnership Office | Research Abstracts | 2007-2008 Promoting Positive Youth Development: A Comprehensive After-School Program for Middle and High School Youth at Risk of Dropping Out Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School is currently collaborating with its two feeder high schools, Wake Forest-Rolesville High School and Wakefield High School, as well as with parents and other community resources, to provide a comprehensive after-school program that has rigor, relevance and relationships to students who are reluctant learners. The main goal is to increase positive behaviors of students, such as academic achievement, career identification, making positive choices, addressing peer pressure and developing concrete steps for future higher education and career planning. Specific objectives for this initiative are based on factors in middle school and high school students’ lives that have proved to be most highly correlated with academic achievement, prosocial behavior and high school educational attainment. These objectives fall into seven categories: 1) rigorous academic preparation; 2) reduction in risky behaviors; 3) increased pro-social skills development in the form of goal-setting, skills in communicating with peers, skills in identifying potential pitfalls and consequences of unhealthy decisions, and clearer career identification; 4) recreation and physical activity opportunities; 5) collaboration with high schools, universities and local community members; 6) increased parental involvement; and 7) indicating overall effectiveness of middle school after-school programs to positively affect factors that are shown to impact high school graduation. One hundred fifty middle school students were identified for inclusion in this initiative; they have the following characteristics: scored a 1, 2 or low 3 on end-of-grade reading and math exams; a history of suspensions and discipline referrals; a history of grade retention; and parents who gave permission for participation. Twenty high school students were identified as High School Peer Mentors; the mentors have these characteristics: GPA of 2.5 or higher; considered by their teachers and other school staff members as being good role models for middle school youth; and interested in being tutors, mentors and leaders. Investigator: Ann B. Brewster, Ph.D. Contact: Ann B. Brewster, Ph.D., MSW Research Scientist, Center for Child and Family Policy [email protected] (919) 613-9299 Duke University School Research Partnership Office | Research Abstracts | 2007-2008 7 Creative Spelling Learning to spell is a process in which a child discovers the world of print. Children’s idiosyncratic spelling reflects their understanding of how the language and writing system work. The Creative Spelling project aims to explicate the linguistic and cognitive principles in beginning readers’ unconventional spelling. With the support of Durham Public Schools and principals, we have worked with six classrooms (approximately 80 kindergarten and first-grade students) at Club Boulevard Humanities Magnet and Hillandale Elementary School. Every several weeks, we visited the classrooms and copied students’ writing samples from their portfolios. We have collected more than 5,000 records. This longitudinal dataset is being used to study the relationship between phonemic awareness and orthographic knowledge. The data collection phase of the project has concluded. We are in the process of transcribing and coding the thousands of student writings in our lab. We reported preliminary findings at the 2007 Society for Research on Child Development conference. Investigators: Gary Feng, Ph.D.; and Tanya Kaefer, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. Contact: Gary Feng, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience [email protected] (919) 660-5646 8 Duke University School Research Partnership Office | Research Abstracts | 2007-2008 High School Illicit Drug Use Onset and Early School Dropout: A Survival Analysis Using Fast Track Data Adolescent illicit substance use, specifically early onset, is associated with a greater likelihood of school dropout; dropping out of high school, in turn, is associated with a host of negative consequences, including substance use. Research is needed to better understand the relations between school dropout and illicit substance use in order to better tailor prevention strategies, especially for those who are likely to be early illicit substance users. We used Fast Track data to test a novel mediation modeling approach in the context of prediction of dropout and initiation of illicit substance use. Each of these variables is amenable to survival, or time-to-event, analysis. Earlier predictors may predict the likelihood of either dropout or illegal drug use at any given time. We know of no strategies to date, however, that model the survival process for two interdependent processes. To return to the specific case, initiating illegal drug use is hypothesized to predict subsequent or concurrent high school dropout. The possibility that high school dropout predicts initiation of illegal drug use is also modeled. In the mediation model, earlier variables, such as middle school parental monitoring and association with drug-using or delinquent peers, are predictors of both processes. We hypothesize that these variables predict onset of illegal drug use, which onset mediates their prediction of dropping out of high school. The indirect effect would be the effect of the predictor on the hazard probability of drug use, multiplied by the effect of onset of illegal drug use on the hazard probability of dropping out. This model is also extensible to moderating processes—e.g., parental monitoring may also weaken the link between illegal drug use and high school dropout. Results of this study have implications for the development of prevention programs that simultaneously address multiple predictors and several related outcomes. Investigators: Ann B. Brewster, Ph.D.; Patrick S. Malone, Ph.D.; and Katherine E. Masyn, Ph.D., University of California, Davis. Contact: Patrick S. Malone, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Psychology University of South Carolina [email protected] (803) 777-2700 Duke University School Research Partnership Office | Research Abstracts | 2007-2008 9