Attendance and Discipline Referrals - Research Paper Example

Attendance and Discipline Referrals Introduction School education plays a profound role in the growth and development of a child. The school is the basic education that a child gets after leaving mother’s protective and early learning environment. However, the children tend to deviate from learning in a disciplined environment and thus, become incompetent and are unable to grow intellectually and morally. This gives rise to pursuing of illegal careers and immoral activities that reflect negatively on the external environment and society as a whole. Likewise, the children with disabilities also tend to deviate from disciplined learning environment and show lack of interest in adopting a tough lifestyle. This attitude is a natural one as it takes much effort and time to form any permanent shape whether of plaster of paris or metal. Keeping in perspective the natural inclination of a child to adopt disciplined lifestyle, this paper will focus on the issue of absenteeism and discipline referrals in students with disabilities. It is found that in schools 40% students follow regular and upward trend of absenteeism. Most of these students are primary class students who show resistance in going to school daily and punctually reaching there on time. Likewise, the special students tend to show higher level of resistance to attend school than a normal child. This paper therefore, will focus on the influence of absenteeism and discipline referrals on the academic achievement of special students to understand the factors that greatly attract them towards absenteeism. Aim Purpose of the study is to determine the influence of absenteeism and discipline referrals have on academic achievement of students with disabilities in a career and technical education setting. Objectives In order to fulfill the aim of the research paper, the paper will have following objectives: 1. To study the issue of absenteeism and discipline referrals among students with disabilities. 2. To study the literature available on the issue of absenteeism and discipline referrals among students with disabilities. 3. To review the peer-reviewed scholarly articles on the influence of absenteeism and discipline referrals on the academic achievement of students with disabilities. 4. To determine the influence of absenteeism and discipline referrals on special students’ academic achievements. Literature Review Johnson and Lampley (2010) undertook a research to examine LISTEN (Linking Individual Students to Educational Needs) which is the mentoring program used at schools for identification of students at risk. The study adopted examination of LISTEN to evaluate its performance objectives and outcomes. LISTEN being a school program was sponsored by the district of East Tennessee to provide mentoring services to the students who need it the most. Johnson and Lampley (2010) took hold of the academic data from 2003-2005 to determine the post implementation effects of LISTEN on the grade 6 to 8 students. The study in detail focused on the relationship of discipline referrals, GPAs and attendance records of the students at risk. The study found that there was a clear difference between the rates of attendance, discipline referrals and the GPAs in pre and post implementation of LISTEN. This means that the students who are at risk need a mentoring program that can help them resolve the problem of absenteeism and discipline referrals which eventually leads to improved GPAs. Sowell (2012) undertook a study to evaluate the relationship of school uniforms with the school attendance, achievement and discipline. The study used a causal and comparative study research design to determine the relationship. It collected data from the two high schools in the South West Georgia. One of the school had school uniforms as a compulsory element of education whereas the other did not have such restrictions. The study found that the school with uniforms had better attendance rate as well as fewer infractions of behavior as compared to the school without uniform. These schools also included the mixed races and special students with disabilities. Sugai, Sprague, Horner and Walker (2000) undertook a study to provide indicators for the schools to develop, monitor and maintain school discipline referrals and encourage attendance. The study used the office discipline referrals as a source of guidance for the schools to implement the similar systems and discourage those students that show greater tendency to discipline infractions resulting in weaker ratings of school system. Irvin, Tobin, Sprague, Sugai and Vincent (2004) undertook a study and used Messicks unified approach to validation of the results of Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs). They argued that the schools widely use ODRs to achieve better results in terms of student behaviors in the schools. The study found that the ODR measures effectively interpret and improve the behavioral climate of these schools. Likewise, Bernhardt (2005) postulates that "without data tools, the vision of data-smart schools is merely a dream" (p.64). The author highlighted that it is important to follow the academic data of each school in order to know that what each student thinks, is capable of, and can achieve higher achievements in behavior. Sprague, Walker, Golly, White, Myers and Shannon (2001) undertook a study to describe the intervention package which is universal in nature. The study found that the schools for disabled students tend to have installed discipline plans which are based on the Sugai and Horner (1994) model titled Effective Behavioral Support. Furthermore, they used Second Step model developed and tested by Grossman et al., (1997). The study highlighted that the other schools also used interventions technique and reported significant reductions in the number of discipline referrals and the instances of absenteeism. Bry and George (1980) examined 40 urban schools seventh grade class students. These students undergone a intervention and control program and the results showed significant deterioration in the instances of low grades and poor attendance. The study highlighted that the results of the program showed in the long run only. Follman and Muldoon (1997) undertook a study to evaluate the quantitative outcomes of the students of K-12 class who extensively participated in the service learning programs in Florida. Total of 29,000 students from 107 subgrants were evaluated and established that they have the ability to accomplish higher achievements. Cawley, Hayden, Baker-Kroczynski and Cade (2002) undertook a study to describe the school based project that was designed for reducing the gap between practice and research regarding the students with disabilities and their learning difficulties in the general classroom. The research found that disabled students have no behavioral difficulties like discipline referrals. Methodology The study is based on the qualitative research method. Qualitative research method deals with the secondary sources of information. For instance, it reviews the literature that has already been developed on similar topic by previous researchers. Particularly, it focuses on the literature that has been peer-reviewed, tested and verified in a proper manner and eventually published in reputable journals. The review then assembles and collect the findings of each paper reviewed and determines the necessity, validity, credibility of the issue in detail. The review helps in comparing, maintaining and updating the conventional and contemporary researches to give way to new thoughts and aspects previously unknown. This method is highly cost-effective, credible and also distinctive in nature. Findings and Analysis The study found that the schools face unlimited problems of absenteeism, discipline referrals and academic achievements. In order to resolve these issues, the schools adopted several programs and models for improving the behavioral aspects of students with disabilities. Mentoring program titled LISTEN produced effective results and showed significant improvement in the overall attendance, achievement and discipline referrals. The study also found that the students with disabilities were not involved in the discipline referrals but only attendance problems. However, they found that when these individuals are involved in corrective programs specially designed for schools, they tend to improve significantly. Therefore, it is found that there is direct relationship between academic achievement and the discipline referrals and absenteeism among disabled students. The students that exhibit behavioral disorders in attendance have lower academic achievement than those who are more attentive and regular in classrooms. The study showed that the students perform better when they undertake creative and active participation. Furthermore, the study found that the use of uniforms also encourages the students to attend the class and achieve higher grades in their academic career. Conclusion The paper focused on the influence of absenteeism and discipline referrals on the academic achievement of special students to understand the factors that greatly attract them towards absenteeism. It found that the special and disabled students are not involved in discipline referrals however, they tend to show absenteeism and lead to low academic achievement. The special schools implement models that encourage the students to remain regular and full on attendance. Thus, the factors like encouragement activities and regular programs motivate the special students to remain regular and active in their classes. The study showed that the students perform better when they undertake creative and active participation. Furthermore, the study found that the use of uniforms also encourages the students to attend the class and achieve higher grades in their academic career. References Bernhardt, Victoria L. "Data tools for school improvement." Educational Leadership 62.5 (2005): 66-69. Web. 14 April 2012. Link: Bry, Brenna H. & George, Frances E. "The preventive effects of early intervention on the attendance and grades of urban adolescents." Professional Psychology 11.2 (1980): 252-260. Web 14 April 2012. Link: Cawley, John, Hayden, Shari, Baker-Kroczynski, Susan & Cade, Elsa. "Including Students With Disabilities Into the General Education Science Classroom." Council for Exceptional Children68.4(2002): 423-235. Web 14 April 2012. Link: Child welfare and attendance. FUSD. Web. 14 April 2012. Link: Follman, Joe & Muldoon, Kate. "Florida Learn & Serve 1995-96: What were the outcomes? NASSP Bulletin 81.591(1997): 29-36. Web 14 April 2012. Link: Huefner, Dixie S. "Getting Comfortable With Special Education Law: A Framework for Working With Children With Disabilities." Edition 2. Web. 14 April 2012. Link: Irvin, Larry K. & Tobin, Tary J. "Validity of office discipline referral measures as indices of school-wide behavioral status and effects of school-wide behavioral interventions." Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions 6.3 (2004): 131-147. Web. 14 April 2012. Link: Jeffrey, Sprague, Walker, Hill, Golly, Annemieke, White, Kathy, Myers, Dale R. & Shannon, Tad. "Translating Research into Effective Practice: The Effects of a Universal Staff and Student Intervention on Indicators of Discipline and School Safety." University of West Virginia 24.4 (2001). Web 14 April 2012. Link: Johnson, Kellie C. & Lampley, James H. "Mentoring At-risk Middle School Students." STRATE Journal 19.2 (2010): 64-69. Web. 14 April 2012. Link: Sowell, Russell Edward. "The relationship of school uniforms to student attendance, achievement, and discipline." Liberty University (2012). Web. 14 April 2012. Link: Sugai, George & Sprague, Jeffrey R. "Preventing school violence: The use of office discipline referrals to assess and monitor school-wide discipline interventions." Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 8.2 (2000): 94-101. Web. 14 April 2012. Link: Read More