Social & Emotional Issues
Being a teenager can be tough, but being a teenager who has trouble reading can be really tough. Struggling adolescent readers may develop low self-esteem, become discouraged with their academic progress, and lose interest in school altogether. The articles below address the emotional and development needs of these students.
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What are Key Components of Dropout Prevention Programs?
Dropout prevention research shows that most programs use more than one type of intervention (family outreach, academic tutoring, personalization and vocational training, for example). While there is no one right way to intervene, research has identified several key components to intervention success.
What Do We Know About Who Drops Out and Why?
Students decide to drop out for many reasons. This overview classifies the reasons as either status (e.g. age, socioeconomic status, geographic region or mobility) or alterable (e.g. grades, disruptive behaviors, school climate, attitude toward school). Recognizing the difference between variables is critical to designing effective interventions.
The Impact of After-School Programs That Promote Personal and Social Skills
This meta-analysis of 73 programs finds that after-school activities can have a positive impact on children’s personal and social skills, including problem-solving, conflict resolution, self-control, leadership, responsible decision-making, and self-esteem. Youth who participate in after-school programs show significant improvement in their feelings, behavior, and school performance. Research demonstrates that the most effective programs are SAFE (sequential, active, focused and explicit).
Five Areas of Instructional Improvement to Increase Academic Literacy
How can content-area, non-reading-specialist teachers contribute to academic literacy? They can incorporate these five techniques throughout their lessons: (1) provide explicit instruction and supported practice in effective comprehension techniques, (2) increase the amount and quality of reading content discussions, (3) maintain high standards for text, conversation, questions, and vocabulary, (4) increase student motivation and engagement with reading, and (5) provide essential content knowledge to support student mastery of critical concepts. Find out why these strategies, and the literacy areas they represent, are so important.
Fostering Academic Development and Learning: Implications and Recommendations for Middle School Counselors
This article explores middle school counselors' vital role in collaborating with other educators to promote the academic development of early adolescents. Research pertinent to contemporary middle school counseling is summarized, especially as it may relate to program activities and interventions. Implications and recommendations for best practice are included.
The Pivotal Year
The transition from middle school to high school can be difficult, and to help students succeed some school districts have begun academies designed around ninth graders' unique developmental needs. Find out more about these dedicated environments and their successes in student attendance, promotions to tenth grade, and more.
Solution Shop: A Solution-focused Counseling and Study Skills Program for Middle School
"Solution Shop" is a counseling and study skills program designed to address the academic needs of struggling middle school students. In this program, the school counselor serves the critical role of developing and providing appropriate interventions, which range from individual and group counseling, study skills instruction, parent consultation, behavioral contracts, math and reading tutoring, and teacher meetings.
Seeing Themselves as Capable and Engaged Readers: Adolescents and Re/mediated Instruction
Re/mediation involves refashioning classroom instruction to incorporate multiple forms of media. In this Learning Point Associates article, a reading researcher looks at several real-world examples showing how re/mediation can helps adolescents feel greater engagement in reading and learning.
