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- Description:
- This qualitative study examined 20 high school counselors’ perceptions of their experience serving LGBTQ adolescents in New Jersey. To begin addressing the gap in the literature, the purpose of the qualitative dissertation study is to examine high school counselors’ perceptions of and experiences with the LGBTQ population’s issues in northern New Jersey high schools. The qualitative study is a phenomenological inquiry that inspects high school counselors' experiences related to the lives of LGBTQ students in their communities. The four overarching research questions guiding this qualitative study were (a) "What are high school counselors’ perceptions of FERPA, 1974, FERPA, 2016, and Title IX federal law used to protect the LGBTQ population?," (b) "What are high school counselors’ perspectives of school district policies and procedures regarding LGBTQ adolescents’ needs?," (c) What are high school counselors’ perspectives on professional development training related to LGBTQ students’ needs?," and (d) "What are common issues high school counselors have encountered as major barriers for the LGBTQ population, and how have school counselors handled these issues?" The phenomenological inquiry allowed me to understand how members of the LGBTQ community were treated in their high school settings according to their school counselors. For this study, one-on-one open-ended semi-structured interviews with high school counselors were conducted using Zoom, and each interview took approximately 40 to 60 minutes to complete. To explore diverse participant experiences and contextual differences, this qualitative study took place at various high schools across northern New Jersey urban school settings. School counselors were recruited via emailed recruitment invitations to high school counselors and school district guidance counselor supervisors. Data were collected through 21 virtual open-ended interview sessions; participants’ questionnaire responses, transcripts from the Zoom sessions, and researcher field notes leading to summaries of interview recordings completed directly after each interview session. Analyzing qualitative data research was a continuous task that started immediately after data collection. Data were coded and analyzed after the data were reviewed and the interviews transcribed (Galman, 2013). Consistent with this approach, data from the virtual semi-structured open-ended interviews were continuously reexamined. Interview data was carefully coded and grouped into categories as themes were identified. I relied on open coding, research questions, the conceptual framework, transcript, and audio recordings to analyze the data. Research data were reviewed numerous times through an interactive process and coded and analyzed for meaning. Twenty high school counselors aged 38 to 75 were the participants in this research. Themes emerging from both virtual interview sessions and participants questionnaire were presented together and divided into five overarching thematic categories included (a) counselor advocacy, (a) counselors’ perspectives of district policies, (c) counselors’ experiences of LGBTQ challenges, (d) counselors’ experiences of LGBTQ “ coming out,” and (e) counselors’ view of faculty support/collaboration. The findings demonstrate the advantages of fostering counselors’ advocacy to provide LGBTQ adolescents with resiliency, respect, and affirmation. In addition, the results of this study raised some broader implications for future research into providing LGBTQ-related services and resources in school communities.
- Keyword:
- School Counselor, LGBTQ, Safety Policies, Northern NJ, Qualitative study, FERPA, 1974, FERPA, 2016, Title IX federal law, open-ended interviews , conceptual framework, Research data, homophobic, high school, preferred name, pronoun choices, SOGIE, bullying, cultural competency, heteronormativity, inclusive curriculum, gender identity/expression, transgender, sexual orientation, and queer theory
- Subject:
- Education
- Creator:
- Johnson-Hall, Shirley
- Owner:
- skushner@saintpeters.edu
- Publisher:
- Saint Peter's University
- Date Uploaded:
- 11/01/2022
- Date Modified:
- 02/16/2024
- Date Created:
- 2022
- Rights Statement:
- In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
-
- Description:
- American high school educators have developed and adopted various disciplinary practices to discourage misconduct among students. Amongst the popular practices are zero-tolerance policies and restorative procedures. Zero-tolerance policies are those whereby student punishment occurs when they violate the code of conduct. Usually, it results in their suspension. Thus, they miss school for a period, which may negatively impact their academic performance. Restorative practices involve using strategies that seek to improve and repair relationships between students or students and staff. They avoid punitive measures that may include suspension, allowing the student not to miss school time. However, studies conducted by education researchers have shown a disparity in the instilling of discipline in schools; African-American students’ punishment is more intense than that of their peers. Examination of the genders of both races separately shows that disparity is even more significant. The punishment of African-American male students, when compared to their peers, is more intense for similar misconduct. These disparities affect academic achievement, the likelihood of graduation, and performance on standardized tests that measure readiness for college and career. Therefore, this study sought to find the impact of restorative practices and zero-tolerance policies on absenteeism, suspensions, and academic performance on African-American male students in a predominantly black high school. The predominantly black high schools in New Jersey have high racial disciplinary gaps compared to other states in the country. Hence, the study analyzed absenteeism, number of suspensions, and academic performance in a high school that had implemented traditional zero-tolerance policies and compared it to a high school that had implemented restorative practices as a disciplinary measure. The schools’ records for the 2018-19 year were the source of data; it included information on students’ standardized test scores, suspensions, absences, and the school’s makeup by gender and race. To keep up with research ethics, the researcher redacted the students’ personal information and obtained permission from the school administration before using the data for the study. The study is quantitative and involved the statistical analysis of the quantifiable data. The researcher also used positivism philosophy in this study to calculate the impact of disciplinary actions. Overall, the data examined was of 456 African-American male students. The school that implemented restorative practices saw marginal signs of improvement in the number of chronically absent students. The restorative practice school also had a higher percentage of students with no suspensions and fewer students with one or more suspensions. Students at the school with traditional zero-tolerance policies had marginal gains with a higher rate of students meeting or exceeding expectations in English Language Arts and Math standardized tests. The study adds to the research on disciplinary actions in American high schools, but researchers can further study the topic to determine if the findings are similar in other states. Researchers can also examine other disciplinary actions such as PBIS to determine if their implementation leads to better academic performance, reduced suspensions, and lower absenteeism rates among African-American male students when compared to peers.
- Keyword:
- Educational evaluation , African American studies, Educational psychology, Educational administration, American, high school educators, Zero-tolerance policies, Restorative practices, discipline, African-American male students, high school, New Jersey, absenteeism, suspensions, academic performance, and test scores
- Subject:
- Education
- Creator:
- Amaya, Eliud
- Owner:
- skushner@saintpeters.edu
- Publisher:
- Saint Peter's University
- Date Uploaded:
- 12/23/2021
- Date Modified:
- 04/04/2024
- Date Created:
- Nov-2020
- Rights Statement:
- In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation