xii, 94 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Past research demonstrates the importance of parent-child relationships, teacher-child relationships, and school connectedness on the emotional, behavioral and academic outcomes of youth. Some studies report declining levels of parent-child, teacher-child bonds and school connectedness during early adolescence, while other research suggests little change or that change may be contingent on gender and ethnic differences. Of the few studies that have examined variation in youths' relationships with their parents, teachers, and school connectedness during early adolescence, many have relied on cross-sectional data collection methods. No published research has examined the interconnection between the parent-child relationship, teacher-child relationship and school connectedness utilizing a latent growth modeling (LGM) approach. This dissertation study tested the growth patterns of youths' 1) relationships with parents, 2) relationships with teachers and 3) school connectedness over the course of middle school. Next, the relationships between growth models were tested to determine whether changes in parent-child relationship quality influenced youths' declining perceptions of teacher-child relationships and school connectedness. Differences in model fit by gender and ethnicity were also tested. Study participants included 592 ethnically diverse youth recruited in their first year of middle school (6th grade). These participants were assessed again in i h grade (n = 524), and 8th grade (n = 467). The sample included a similar number of males (n = 305) and females (n = 288) and a greater number of students of color (n = 378), in comparison to European American students (n = 214). Results from LGM analysis showed the sample as a whole reported declining levels of parent-child, teacher-child and school connectedness over the course of middle school; however, the decline in school connectedness was not significant for students of color. The decline in parent-child relationship quality was associated with l) reductions in youths' commitment to learning, especially for European American students, 2) declines in youths' reported perception of their teachers, regardless of gender or ethnicity and 3) decreased school connectedness, especially for male students. Parent-child relationship quality in 6th grade also predicted the decline in youths' school connectedness and teacher-child relationship quality from 6th to 8th grade. / Committee in charge: Elizabeth Stormshak, Chairperson, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Krista Chronister, Member, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Lauren Lindstrom, Member, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Thomas Dishion, Outside Member, Psychology

abstract: American Indian youth are experiencing a mental health crisis fueled by the lingering ramifications of experiencing a near cultural genocide. Scholarly literature indicates that American Indians have used their cultural values to survive the atrocities associated with colonization. The purpose of this Indigenous based mixed-methods action research project was to examine how Blackfoot elders perceive the transfer of values through ceremonies, cultural activities and traditional stories; and to what degree a Blackfoot way of knowing paradigm informs cultural connectedness, and school connectedness for students attending school on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The study was conducted through a Blackfoot way of knowing paradigm and consisted of two distinct but related data collection efforts. The first sample consisted of formal and informal interviews with 26 American Indian elders as well as observation notes from attending and participating in American Indian ceremonies in order to discover the traditional values believed transferred during ceremonies, cultural activities, and traditional stories. The elder interviews resulted in identifying ten traditional values encasing spirituality displayed in the Hoop of Traditional Blackfoot Values. The second sample consisted of 41 American Indian youth attending school on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The youth learned the values identified in the Blackfeet Education Standards “Hoops of Values” through a Blackfoot way of knowing paradigm and completed measures to assess cultural connectedness and school connectedness. In addition, all students were interviewed to develop a more robust understanding of the role culture plays in cultural connectedness and school connectedness and to lend a Blackfoot youth perspective to a Blackfoot way of knowing. Quantitative data analysis showed that a Blackfoot way of knowing paradigm significantly influences cultural connectedness but does not significantly influence school connectedness. In addition, analysis of the student interviews provided a Blackfeet youth perspective on cultural connectedness and school connectedness. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2020

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As more schools consider ways to help students to develop not only academically but also socially and emotionally, school personnel look to formal programs of character education to help address the needs of the whole child. Of these programs of character education, Berkowitz and Bier (2005) posit that effective programs begin by promoting positive social relationships within the school. One measure of the quality of the social relationships in schools is reflected in the level of belonging or connectedness that students feel toward their school and members of the school community. Consequently, the purpose of the present study was to further the investigation of the construct of sense of school belonging and its relationship to formal programs of character education. Eighth-grade students (732) from five middle schools – three character program schools and two non-character program schools – were surveyed measuring sense of school belonging by their responses on the total score of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale developed by Goodenow (1993) and on the four sub-scores of the PSSM demonstrated by Ye and Wallace (2013). No significant differences were found for student sense of belonging between character program schools and non-character program schools. However, the study also investigated the effect of structural and perceptual elements of character education programs that were found to positively relate to student sense of school belonging. Students who identified themselves as being part of a character education group in their school reported significantly higher levels of sense of belonging (on the total score of the PSSM and on the PSSM factors of Identification and Participation in School, Perception of Fitting in Among Peers, and Generalized Connection to Teachers) than those students who did not identify as being part of a character education group. In addition, students reported statistically significant higher levels of sense of belonging a) the more they felt accepted by other students in their group, b) the more they felt accepted by their adult group advisor, c) the more they felt able to express opinions in their group, d) the more they felt their group was like a family, and e) the more they felt character education groups made their school a better place. Sense of belonging was also positively related to more frequent opportunities for character education group meetings and to a common school language that emphasized moral character more than performance character. / Educational Leadership

Comparative analyses of district-run public schools and charter schools are limited to performance outcomes. There is a dearth of research on how the school-types vary on factors consequential to performance such as school climate. Public-private distinctions, such as in organizational autonomy, value orientations, funding structures, and management practices, could result in school climate dissimilarities between district-run public schools and charter schools. The aim of this dissertation is to assess the influence organizational factors have on school climate and determine if school-type affects school climate. Student and staff school climate survey data from the Miami-Dade school district were utilized for this dissertation. Structural equation modeling was employed to test theoretical models of students’ and staffs’ perceptions of school climate using data from 2001-2002 through 2015-2016 academic years. Within-between effects panel regression was utilized to test the effect of school-type on school climate constructs over time using data from 2005-2006 through 2015-2016 academic years. The structural equation results demonstrate that milieu, ecology, culture, and organizational structure influence students’ and staffs’ perceptions of their schools’ climates. Ecology has the strongest association with students’ perceptions of school climate. Job satisfaction, a part of milieu and culture, has the strongest association with staffs’ perceptions of school climate. The results indicate that the theoretical models of school climate employed by this study are sound. The within-between effects panel regression results demonstrate that characteristics inherent to school-type have a plausible influence on students’ perceptions of school climate, but not for staff. Charter school students rated their school climates more favorably than traditional public schools, but when other factors are controlled, traditional public schools and magnet schools had more favorable ratings. Public-sector values, collective bargaining, and school district oversight may be beneficial to schools’ climates. This dissertation underscores the impact management and funding structures have on school climate. The author recommends that the school climate concept and evaluations of schools’ organizational practices be incorporated into school improvement policies. The milieu, culture, ecology, and organizational structures of schools should be reviewed when assessing school quality.