The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) has identified the importance of permanency for children and youth in care, defined as “permanent, stable relationships” which “are a major determinant of whether children feel safe and secure and therefore, of well-being overall” (MCFD, n.d.). However, currently only 20% of children and youth transitioning from government care in British Columbia (BC) achieve it, while the remaining 80% are left to navigate a complex adult system and the incumbent challenges that ensue on their own (GBC, 2019). Limited research has been conducted on the impact of relational permanency and mentorship, or the lack thereof, on care leavers in BC; this thesis examines this topic, identifies mentorship programs for youth in or recently out of care, and recommends system improvements based on policy reviews, literature reviews, and interviews with care providers and youth transitioned from care. The literature review highlights the importance of youth mentorship as a support for youth in and/or transitioned from care as well as the root causes of systemic issues within the child welfare system. The policy review uncovers gaps and inconsistencies within MCFD’s policies and practices that enable discretionary decision-making and undermine consistency and clarity. The interviews expose ongoing community-based mentoring (CBM) program, care leaver, and system level challenges, as well as opportunities to improve outcomes for youth in and/or transitioned from care. Ultimately, this research highlights the importance of relational permanency in the lives of children and youth in and transitioned from care, while drawing attention to the reasons that many care leavers do not attain it. Additionally, it demonstrates the effectiveness of CBM programs and identifies the need and opportunity for system change, both at the provincial level and specific to MCFD. The proposed recommendations provide implementable solutions to the identified policy gaps and inconsistencies, as well as a systems level reform to the purpose and role of MCFD. / Graduate

This program evaluation examines the effectiveness of a school-based dental clinic. A repeated-measures design was used to longitudinally examine secondary data from participants (N = 293). Encounter intensity was developed to normalize data. Multivariate analysis of variance and Kruskal–Wallis test were used to investigate the effect of encounter intensity on the change in decay, restorations, and treatment urgency. A Pearson’s correlation was used to measure the strengths of association. Encounter intensity had a statistically significant effect on change in decay (p =.005), restorations (p =.000), and treatment urgency (p =.001). As encounter intensity increased, there was a significant association with the decrease in decay (−.167), increase in restorations (.221), and reduction in referral urgency (−.188). Incorporating dental care into a school-based health center resulted in improved oral health in underserved children while overcoming barriers that typically restrict access. The collaboration of school nurses with the school-based dental clinic was an important element for maximizing student access to dental care.

Students at a Title I middle school in Georgia have scored low on standardized state tests for several years. Of the many possible ways to address low test scores, the school focused on increasing parental involvement, which can have a strong positive correlation with academic success. Researchers have indicated that parental involvement programs are more successful when created based on the specific motivations of parents. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of parental motivation on parents' home-based and school-based involvement behaviors. The theoretical framework for this study was the work of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler who determined 3 kinds of motivation to influence parental involvement behavior including personal motivation for involvement, invitations for involvement, and life context. A survey was used to collect data on the 3 kinds of motivation from 174 parents of 6th graders. Regression analysis revealed invitations for involvement to have a strong, positive effect on school-based involvement and a slight positive effect on home-based involvement behaviors. Life context had a moderate positive effect on home-based involvement. Personal motivations had no significant effect on either type of involvement behaviors. These results support some prior findings, but conflict with others, emphasizing that each school site is different and needs a customized approach. Recommendations included increasing invitations for parental involvement, which would increase both school-based and home-based involvement behaviors. Such use of the findings may positively affect social change by increasing parental involvement and ultimately the academic success of students.

As psychological well-being, or mental health, is a key factor to academic performance, schools are in a pivotal position to provide needed services to improve the well-being of individual students, parents, and teachers, as well as school-wide wellness. Research has shown positive outcomes related to psychological symptom reduction, but academic outcomes are less prevalent. Due to the increasing need for services, schoolbased mental health (SBMH) programs are being developed to combine the resources and expertise of SBMH professionals and community agency mental health professionals to serve these needs. In an effort toward developing a statewide Communities of Practice Model for the state of Utah, an internet survey was developed to identify the current practices that are being implemented with schools in Utah. This study explored the current and possible types of school based and community services within a multi-tier service system approach at each tier level (universal, at-risk, and intensive) delivered to elementary and secondary students, the outcomes expected to be impacted by these partnerships, and the barriers and key factors associated with effective program iv implementation. The sample included 32 school district respondents from 21 districts and 19 community agency respondents from 18 agencies throughout the state. Results revealed that 18 of the 21 districts are involved in a SBMH partnership implementing a broad range of collaborative activities, assessments and interventions that vary between tier levels. Specific practices, barriers, and implications for SBMH services and future research are discussed.

There has been little research conducted related to how school-based agricultural (SBAE) teachers perceive the utilization of volunteers in the classroom. The United States is facing a shortage of SBAE teachers, and with turnover rates that are not sustainable, solutions for support and reduction of the SBAE teachers’ workload must be sought with diligence. There is potential for volunteers to reduce some of the responsibilities that the SBAE teacher is faced with. The purposes of this study are to determine the demographic characteristics of the volunteers being utilized and of the SBAE teachers, determine the perceived benefits, barriers and beliefs SBAE teachers hold towards volunteer utilization, and determine if there is a relationship between these perceptions teachers hold and their choices in the utilization of volunteers. The research questions guiding this study were: 1. What are the demographic characteristics of SBAE teachers and programs in the United States? 2. What is the current utilization of volunteers in SBAE programs in the United States? 3. What are the perceptions and beliefs of SBAE teachers regarding volunteer utilization within SBAE programs in the United States? 4. What are the intentions of volunteer utilization among SBAE teachers in the United States? 5. What is the relationship between volunteer utilization and selected teacher/program characteristics and perceptions of SBAE teachers? The total population of this study was all of the SBAE teachers in the United States. A simple random sample of this population was be taken (n=500), provided by the National FFA Association based on the 2017-2018 membership (N = 11,000). This descriptive study utilized survey research to accomplish the purpose, assessing the current utilization of volunteers, and the perceptions that SBAE teacher hold. Study participants were identified as SBAE teachers who held a part or full-time assignment to teach agriculture. Descriptive statistics were utilized to determine the demographic information of the volunteers utilized, the SBAE teachers, and program characteristics. These statistics were reported with frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Regression analysis was conducted to determine if any relationships existed between the program and teacher characteristics, and between the program and volunteer utilization.

The demand for effective interventions to address socially anxious behaviors is an important issue for school-based professionals. Several cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) programs have been developed to address these problems specifically in children and adolescents and have been found to be effective in treating youth exhibiting socially anxious behaviors in the clinical setting. Despite the availability of promising clinic-based programs, youth exhibiting socially anxious behaviors rarely receive the attention or treatment that they may need. Moreover, the majority of youth who receive services do so in the school setting where little research has been done in regards to the utility of using these clinic-based programs. Thus, the present study investigated the effect of a brief CBT intervention given in a school-based delivery format on positive peer interactions and self-rating anxiety for four third-grade students with low peer interactions and who are exhibiting socially anxious behaviors. All participants were given four group psycho-educational lessons on how anxiety works, as well as four brief individual exposure sessions. This training specifically targeted social skills at recess. A multiple baseline across the four students showed replicated positive effects of the intervention relative to a prior baseline condition. Results showed that the treatment package provided an increase in positive peer interactions across all four participants.

This research describes organizational level implementation strategies utilized in piloting enhancements to the school-based mentoring program from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Semi-structured interviews (n=15) with lead agency implementers along with conference call meeting notes were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings yield a description of the challenges to implementation and strategies to overcome these challenges, formal implementation strategies engaged in, and the extent to which these align with an implementation framework put forth by Klein, Conn, and Sorra (2001) with supplement from Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, and Wallace (2005). Findings from this study indicate that financial resources, management support, implementation climate and select implementation policies and practices are important to attend to during the implementation of a school-based mentoring program. Additionally, organizational readiness for change and organizational climate should be attended to before program implementation. Implementation strategies identified through this research help to define important organizational factors that drive the implementation of school-based mentoring programs.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地球環境学) / 甲第18437号 / 地環博第119号 / 新制||地環||24(附属図書館) / 31295 / 京都大学大学院地球環境学舎環境マネジメント専攻 / (主査)教授 ショウ ラジブ, 教授 清野 純史, 准教授 小林 広英 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Global Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DFAM

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