Rebekah Chapman, Dr Lisa Buckley & Prof Mary Sheehan

1. Teachers’ understanding of school connectedness: Implications for the development and implementation of school based injury prevention strategies Rebekah Chapman, Dr Lisa Buckley & Prof Mary Sheehan 27th International Congress of Applied Psychology 11-16 July 2010 CRICOS No. 00213J

2. Injury in adolescence • Need for preventive intervention prior to dramatic increase in injury at 14-15 years: % deaths due to injury AIHW, 2008

3. Risk taking and injury • A high level of injuries among adolescents are due to risk taking • Including violence & transport risks; often occurring in the context of alcohol use • 11-15 year olds who report high levels of risk taking are 2.46 times more likely to report medically treated injuries (Pickett et al., 2002)

4. School connectedness • The school environment has an impact on adolescent behaviour • School connectedness has been identified as a critical protective factor • Defined as “the extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, included and supported by others in the school social environment” (Goodenow, 1993, p. 80).

5. Components of school connectedness School connectedness Affective (e.g. feelings of belonging) Behavioural (e.g. involvement & engagement) Cognitive (e.g. perceptions of teacher support)

6. School connectedness research • Positively associated with: • Academic motivation, achievement and school retention (e.g. Goodenow, 1993; Archambault et al., 2009) • Students’ emotional health (e.g. Anderman, 2002; Shochet et al., 2006; Shochet et al., 2007) • Negatively associated with risk taking & injury: • Violence (e.g. Dornbusch et al., 2001) • Alcohol and drug use (e.g. McNeely & Falci, 2004) • Transport risk behaviours(Chapman, Buckley & Sheehan, 2009)

7. Mechanism • Social control theory (Hirschi, 1969) • Dimensions of connectedness (bonding): • Attachment – liking for school, respect & liking for school staff • Commitment – level of personal investment • Involvement – participation in school activities • Belief – commitment to values, norms & rules

8. School and connectedness • School connectedness is related to school factors: • Classroom management (e.g. McNeely et al., 2002) • Tolerant discipline policies (e.g. Whitlock, 2006; McNeely et al., 2002) • Teacher support (e.g. McNeely et al., 2002) • Positive student - teacher relationships (e.g. Voisin et al., 2005) • Teachers’ expectations for success (e.g. Blum, 2005) • Connection with at least one adult at school (e.g. Blum, 2005)

9. Project rationale • Existing interventions generally focus on individual characteristics (e.g. knowledge, attitudes) rather than wider social and institutional influences • Theoretical models (e.g. Jessor, 2003) suggest the need to support individual attitude and behaviour change with social/contextual protection • An intervention targeting classroom and wider school level changes might provide an effective complement to individual-focused risk and injury interventions

10. Research aim • To examine teachers’ perceptions of school connectedness and their approaches to increasing connectedness • Issues covered: • Perceptions of the relationship between school connectedness and risk taking/ injury • Strategies used to increase students’ connectedness to school • Perceptions and attitudes regarding professional development in school connectedness.

11. Method • Participants & Measures • n=13 Health & PE teachers (2 South-east Qld state high schools) • Semi-structured interviews – questions formed part of broader discussion on risk taking, injury, interventions & mentoring • n=35 Qld Education Department employees (including teachers – 15 schools) • Focus groups – questions again formed part of broader discussions on risk and injury prevention • Procedure • Written consent • Interviews, focus groups of approximately 45 minutes • Audio recorded and transcribed verbatim; analysed using NVIVO

12. Results Teachers’ perceptions of the relationship between school connectedness and risk taking/ injury • Teachers described dimensions of school connectedness and how they relate to risk taking

13. Results Teachers’ perceptions of the relationship between school connectedness and risk taking/ injury

14. Results Strategies used to encourage school connectedness among students • Teachers identified a number of strategies that they either used, or thought would be effective, to increase connectedness among students

15. Results Strategies used to encourage school connectedness among students

16. Results Perceptions and attitudes regarding professional development (PD) in school connectedness, and what should be included • Teachers indicated that training in connectedness and risk & injury prevention would be useful, and gave a number of suggestions for the PD

17. Summary of findings • Teachers identified links between aspects of connectedness and students’ risk behaviour • Teachers saw the importance students’ connectedness to school, especially among those at risk for problem behaviour • Strategies used to promote connectedness include building warm relationships, taking an interest, being inclusive, focusing on strengths, and treating students fairly • PD for teachers in connectedness seen as useful

18. Implications for intervention • Teachers see professional development in school connectedness as valuable • Teachers’ suggestions can inform program development • Also provide ecologically valid material (e.g. strategies) to include in program content

19. Conclusions • The established link between school connectedness and problem behaviour has implications for school based prevention • Targeting school connectedness, in conjunction with individual level programs, may be an effective school-based intervention strategy • Particularly as teachers see this as valuable

20. Future research • This research forms part of a larger theory based project to reduce risk taking and injury among early adolescents • Student surveys - Association between school connectedness and risk taking/ injury • Development and pilot of a school connectedness intervention (Teacher PD); in conjunction with a curriculum based risk and injury prevention program • Outcome and process evaluation

21. Questions? Mark your Diaries! International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety Conference (T2013) August 2013, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre