Report - Dr. Stirling McDowell Foundation for Research Into Teaching

Sharing Our Progress
“Tell Them From Me” eventually provided us with the findings from the survey in
the form of numerous bar graphs (see the appendices). As stated earlier, “Snapshot
1” presented in Appendix A represented the information gathered in September,
and “Snapshot 2” presented in Appendix B represented the information gathered
in May.
In each “Tell Them From Me” survey, students provided feedback for eleven
different perspectives or categories, all related to school attachment. These
categories included, but were not limited to:
1. sense of belonging,
2. value school outcomes,
3. expectations of finishing high school,
4. expectations of going to university,
5. truancy rate,
6. participation in school sports and clubs,
7. hours per day spent on homework and reading, and
8. hours per day spent watching TV and video games.
The results of the study were both disheartening and puzzling. The survey
recognized a decrease in the students’ attachment to school in almost every
area from a sense of belonging, to value school outcomes, to aspirations of
finishing high school and rates of truancy. However, there was, surprisingly, a
precipitous increase in students’ aspirations to go to university and their
participation in school activities.
The students also indicated that their truancy rates had increased from semester
one to semester two. This information was in stark contrast to the actual
attendance records found in our school’s data base. The attendance of the
majority of the students for the Literacy class was nearly exemplary, and the
students’ attendance at school as a whole made us feel far more sanguine than the
information the students provided in the survey.
The most disappointing aspect of the survey, for us, was the students’ responses
to the question posed about finishing high school. When the students first
answered this question in the fall, 92% felt they would complete high school. When
the same question was posed again in May, only 73% saw the completion of high
school as a realistic goal. Unfortunately, due to the structure of the “Tell Them
From Me” survey, we were not able to move beyond the cursory to a more
comprehensive understanding of why the students experienced such a dramatic
shift in their future academic aspirations. We were inclined to believe however, that
posing these questions in May, towards the end of the school year, and to
students who have struggled academically for most of their educational lives, may
have adversely affected the data.
4 RESEARCH REPORT: A School-Based Study on the Relationship Between Increased Literacy Levels and School Attachment