Sparking the Connection: School Connectedness in California

Finding their way in school can be difficult for many children. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identifies one factor, school connectedness, that can be a protective factor to help students to avoid negative outcomes. The CDC defines school connectedness as “the belief by students that adults and peers in the school care about their learning as well as about them as individuals.” Research shows that students with higher levels of school connectedness are more likely to succeed in school and have lower rates of emotional and behavioral problems.

Here’s some of what we know about school connectedness among California’s children.

• 87-90% of 7th, 9th, and 11th graders, and 82% of students in non-traditional schools, report medium or high levels of school connectedness, according to 2008-10 data.
• While school connectedness varies by county/school district and by racial/ethnic group, from 2004-06 to 2008-10, the statewide percentage of students with high levels of school connectedness rose for all racial/ethnic groups, as well as for all grade levels and for both boys and girls.
• In 2008-10, only 12-17% of California students surveyed reported a high level of agreement that they have opportunities for meaningful participation at school, such as doing interesting activities, helping to make decisions, and doing things that make a difference at school.

On kidsdata.org, school connectedness is measured by student reports of being treated fairly, feeling close to people, feeling happy, feeling part of, and safe at, school. Find more information about these and other key findings from the California Healthy Kids Survey in our recently released data advisory.

Increasing school connectedness involves programs and policies that involve all stakeholders in schools: families, faculty and staff, community members, and, perhaps most importantly, students themselves. The CDC describes several strategies to improve school connectedness. Here are three of their strategies that focus on students and their families.

1. Engage students and families in the decision-making processes in schools.
2. Promote families’ involvement in their children’s academic and school life. Schools may need to provide specific opportunities for engagement as well as educate family members about how they can participate.
3. Develop positive learning environments in classrooms. Train and support teachers in utilizing classroom management and teaching methods that create this environment.

What do schools do in your local community to promote school connectedness?

Posted by Roselyn Thomas

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2012 at 2:32 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.