Summary of Information / Abstract
Psychologists and educationists alike have often studied the relationship between the rates of school dropouts and early childhood behaviors. Most of these studies have been further categorized to focus on either boys or girls. Previously, boys have been noted to exhibit an externalizing of behaviors that is consequently associated with high instances of school dropouts. This research focuses on behaviors like alcohol and drug usage, and how they impact the rate of school dropout. In a research conducted jointly by John Robst and Charlie Weinberg, this relationship is explored in detail and then the results of the study are discussed.
The rate of school dropout is affected by various factors including parental guidance, family structure, and economic status. Other external factors include personal preferences, health issues, and access to early job opportunities. Previous research indicates that external behaviors are closely connected to mental health. In boys, this external behavior is manifested through defiance and conduct disorders while in girls it is manifested through anxiety and depression. This research utilizes a longitudinal national survey targeting the youth and their relationship with childhood emotional behavioral problems (EBP). The study then investigates how EBP affects the youth’s chances of graduating from high school. The research differs from other similar research because it examines boys and girls differently. According to the researchers, this study would be useful when formulating public policy on childhood behavioral problems. This kind of policy change would have a positive impact on future economic outlook in the long term.
Mental health disorders in children are manifested through internalized or externalized behaviors. The existing literature on this subject indicates that those children with EBP often have trouble with their academic performance. In addition, the reviewed literature indicates that the children with externalized behavioral problems are at a higher risk of experiencing academic failure than the students without externalized behavioral problems. The study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) of 1979. The methodology used in this research accentuates the difference between the students that graduated with a high school diploma and those that graduated with a GED. In this study, behavioral problems are gauged via the Behavioral Problems Index (BPI), an index that is similar to the Achenbach’s Child Behavior Checklist (ACBC).
The results of the study indicate that the relationships between students’ behaviors and the rate of school dropouts are more manifested in boys than in girls. Among the externalized behaviors that had significant effects on the rate of school dropouts include drug use and early engagement in sexual activities. The results also revealed that interventions to external behaviors are most effective for students with a threshold score of more than thirty. The results also reveal there are other effects of EBP such as repetition of grades, spending time in jail, and running away from home. The extension results of this study focus on educational outcomes and the “role of the unobservable characteristics” (Robst & Weinberg, 2010).
Among the implications of this research is the need to pay attention to students’ emotional status from an early age as opposed to waiting until signs of behavior externalization are witnessed. There are several methods of identifying children with EBP including supplying questionnaires to teachers, parents, and students (Robst & Weinberg, 2010). According to the study, teachers have the ability to identify students with EBP. Future studies should explore how teachers can play this role effectively (Robst & Weinberg, 2010). In addition, it is evident that externalized problems have more negative effects on students than internalized problems. The role of a student’s family and his/her environmental background is also very important when it comes to the issue of externalized behavioral problems. The study concludes by noting that more research on the subject of emotional behavior is necessary but it should focus more on adolescents.
Relevance of Information for 21st Century Schools
The 21st century society pays more attention to students’ behavior than in the past. The need to focus on a student’s behavior in relation to his or her school attendance and externalized behaviors is emphasized in today’s society. According to this research, there is a need for collaboration between teachers, parents, and students when combating the effects of emotional behavioral problems in students. The 21st century public school system also pays significant attention to a student’s major strengths and abilities. This kind of attention is bound to unearth several aspects of a student’s external behavior such as drug dependency, engagement in violence, and irresponsible sexual behaviors. This is why the relationship between students’ behavior and the rate of school dropout is very relevant in the 21st century.
This research targets children between the ages of 6-9. Many developmental psychologists recognize this as a critical age when it comes to healthy mental, intellectual, and physical development in children. The emphasis on stages of development and students’ behavior is something that should be employed to the modern day school environment. This means that discipline matters as well as parental involvement should be commensurate with a student’s age. For instance, this research suggests that a study that is similar to this one be conducted on adolescents (Robst & Weinberg, 2010). This is because the results would be different, a fact that stakeholders of modern public schools should note.
There are various ways of incorporating the elements of this study’s findings into the public school system. First, the corporation between teachers and parents when addressing the issue of externalized behaviors in students should not be optional. The previous models of public school systems did not make it mandatory for parents to be involved in their children’s education. Instead, compulsory parental involvement was viewed as a reserve of the private school system. Stakeholders should change this precedence by emphasizing that the parents of public school students be directly involved in their children’s behavior and academic issues. Moreover, the difference between the implications of EBP between boys and girls should be put into account by the stakeholders of public school systems.
Professional Position/Response to Content
This research is both timely and effective for teachers and other education stakeholders. The research is presented in a simple manner making it easy to synthesize even for non-scholarly readers. The researchers use relevant literature and employ an effective methodology in this study. This is an indication of professionalism on the side of the researchers. The appendix part of the study is an important addition to the paper because it presents a breakdown of information to educational stakeholders. Currently, this research can be used to curb the rising rate of school dropouts that is being witnessed in some parts of the country. The researchers involved in this study are both respectable authorities in the mental-health field of children and adults. This fact adds credibility to the presented research.
One of the strong points of this study is that it utilizes data from the NLSY, which is one of the most significant data collections that were undertaken in the course of the last century. In the entire study, the robust nature of the data set remains evident. The authors take full advantage of this opportunity by employing an effective research design and methodology. I also found the study to be consistent with most of the current discussions on public school systems. Moreover, some of the suggested solutions have already been employed in schools across the country and with good results.
The main shortcoming I witnessed in the study is its narrowed sample. The study focuses on boys and girls of ages 6 to 9 (Robst & Weinberg, 2010). Although the researchers attribute the narrowness of the sample to the need to conduct effective research, the sample could have been wider as the subject of the research touches on boys and girls of ages 5 to 19. The claim that a wider sample may not have been effective cannot by demonstrated. However, the fact that this research topic has been addressed by other numerous studies might make the researchers’ claim legitimate.
Research Report Summary
The relationship between students’ behaviors and the rate of school dropouts has been covered in depth by this research. The research utilizes useful resources to bring out one of the most significant studies that address formal education. Furthermore, the researchers are successful in presenting an otherwise complicated study using a simple break down. There are few scholarly issues with the entire research apart from the narrowness of the sample used in the study. However, the researchers attribute this narrowness to the need for an accurate study. This research is generally an effective piece of educational research that successfully highlights the relationship between emotional behavioral problems and the school dropout rate.
Reference
Robst, J. & Weinberg, C. (2010). Childhood behavior and high school graduation. Eastern Economic Journal, 36, 523–538.