Targeting school refusal behavior: Using school climate and an ecological perspective to empower students

Maupin, Z. D. (Zack)¹, Señores Toyota, R. P. (Ronica)^1
1Chapman University, 1 University Drive, 92866, Orange, CA, USA

 

Submission type

Oral and Poster

Scheduled

Room 209, 12-07-2019, 14:00 - 15:30

Keywords

School refusal, school climate, ecological model, classroom interventions, multi-tiered systems of support

Summary

Schools have an increasing role in providing students with school-based mental health supports. Many of these services, however, overlook a unique population of students whose emotional and behavioral struggles impact their school attendance. In 2015, over 50 countries reported that, on average, 20% of 15-year-olds skipped school at least one day in the two weeks prior to the screening, increasing 5% from 2013. From these reports, school attendance was rated among the most impactful to student success. In the United States, 15.5% of students reported missing more than 15 days of school in the 2015-16 school year. Mental health symptoms associated with school refusal behavior are marked by significant heterogeneity, associated with a myriad of individual and contextual factors.

This workshop will present information from recent studies on the ecological factors associated with school refusal, with a primary focus on school climate. Participants of this workshop will become familiar with interventions addressing mental health associated with school refusal, including techniques to address four behavioral functions of school refusal rooted in positive- and negative-reinforcement. The interventions and strategies discussed in this workshop can be integrated within a multitiered system, offering support to address the varying degrees and manifestations of school refusal.

Auteurs