Results of your participation in surveys

Martie

Moderator
Hi everyone,

This week, the Research Team and I presented a paper based on the original large survey of parents (N=627) at NASP (National Association of School Psychologists.) It was a nostalgic moment for me because Laura, who authored the original survey with me when she was a "new student" is the same Laura who is collecting data on these Boards for her dissertation now. Mary, who cleaned and helped me do the original analysis, was also in the audience as a "senior" doctor student, also working on her dissertation. The actual presenters were newer students, who worked on this particular presentation, but had nothing to do with the original activities--some of them probably were still in high school (!) when we wrote the survey. My newest doctor student graduated from h.s. the same year as MrNo...she seems younger than he does ;)

I am posting the Power Point as a WORD doctor and the accompanying tables for your "light" reading enjoyment. Seriously, this year in comparison to past years, was very warmly received and we were not the ONLY presentation representing the parental viewpoint.

I want to post this because although I have posted results before in WORD format, I thought you might like to see how research is presented via PPT at a national convention. My reasons for doing this are not altogether altruistic:

LAURA HAS ABOUT ONE MORE WEEK TO INCREASE HER SAMPLE SIZE!!!

More of you have started the survey than have finished it. It is not like the original survey (which took much time and patience to complete.) PLEASE complete Laura's survey if you have not done so. She needs an N=200, and right now, she has about 100. In an ideal world, every survey question would "fit" your situation. It a question doesn't work for you, SKIP IT rather than stopping.

Finally, I don't want to sound like an old nag, but you cannot fairly complain about professional neglect of our children if you won't give 20 minutes of your time to one of the brightest students I have had in years.

If you have general questions, post them and I will try to answer them.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Martie

P.S.

I had difficulty uploading and now the thread does not want to accept the accompanying "Tables" file. I have been trying to share this with you for several days, so I am going to hope this will be accessible, and if you want the Tables, I will try to post them also
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
Thank you both for getting this posted. I have to say that I became very emotional while reading through the presentation, especially at slide #23.

Rather than being in denial about their child's behavior, parents in this population are in distress

That really brought home the shared struggle of the members of this board. :crying:
 

Estherfromjerusalem

Well-Known Member
Congratulations, Martie.

Regarding Laura's survey, I had a look at it but it seemed to me that because I do not live in North America, it does not apply to me (I live in Israel). If I am wrong, please tell me and I will go back and complete the survey.

Your presentation is really impressive. I am overawed.

Love, Esther
 

lswanlu

New Member
Thanks for having an interest in participating Esther! You are correct that it is for children in the US.

I hope everyone finds the results from the previous study helpful.

If anyone has yet to respond the the current survey, here is the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R5FBHKC

It will be closed on Friday. Thanks!
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Thanks for sharing the results with us. I'm always impessed when I see the data and I'm also always hopeful that the info will be put to good use.

Do you all seek out topics for exploration? I have two areas of local interest that I think would benefit from compilations like yours. The first is the very high dropout rate in our County school system. I would love to have student polling done to see if my ideas are correct. The other is the inequitable treatment of criminal charge pursuit in our area.
We have a big number of non-violent youthful offenders who are labeled "felons" for life, while the adults literally get to walk when guilty of more serious non-violent crimes.

Just curious if your team reaches out on other subjects?
Thanks again. DDD
 

judi

Active Member
Martie - wonderful study and to-the-point presentation. Wish I lived closer to Chicago - lol!

My son is almost 25 and the way our rural school system dealt with him was to expel him from regular school, expel him from alternative school. He finally ended up at day treatment for the last 6 months of his school foray. He did a total of 15 years of education and never got out of 9th grade! Had an IEP since 2nd grade.

A few years ago, the Special Education folks gave me a call and asked if I wanted his record or should they shred them? I went and picked up this 6" folder on my precious son - what a waste!

He is a smart, intelligent young man - went on to get his GED, did 14 hours at a community college and is working.

The school system clearly fails many of us.
 

Martie

Moderator
Thanks everyone for the kind replies. It is always nice to have one’s works reviewed by the “subjects.” If you all think it is accurate, that increases the external validity.
TM: Sometimes I get emotional also when I think about what happens to “our” kids. As a researcher I am supposed to be objective, and I am in handling data analyses, but in truth, most researchers have an emotional investment in the topic or they wouldn’t spend the huge amount of time research takes.


Hi Esther. So nice to hear from you. Laura already responded that her survey is for parents of US children, but I just want to thank you for looking at it. I hope things are going well for you and your family.



DDD: The topics you suggest are very worthwhile, but I have no way as a researcher with very limited funding to extend our team much beyond what we do now. We do have plans to continue however. I have a new doctor student who would like to look at the experiences of parents of preschoolers with EBD in comparison to parents of children with autism. I am afraid, based on Laura’s response rate, that there would not be enough respondents to analyze the data, but we could try to get data here and other places (community sample) as well. I suspect that parents of children with autism find services more easily and by different routes. However, I do not know the answer---that’s what drives research.
The next thing I am going to do is look at SD compliance to McKinney-Vento which is the Federal act that protects the rights of homeless and highly mobile youth to receive an education. McK-V was passed in 1987, but has largely been neglected and compliance is spotty. We are planning to access information locally through homeless shelter directors. Homeless women and all children are considered “vulnerable” populations by the IRB (Institutional Review Board) that must approve all research undertaken by both faculty and students. Getting permission to try to contact the shelter clients, especially children, will be next to impossible, but I would love to conduct clinical interviews with the children to find out how they are treated at school (when they get in at all.) It is possible we may be able to talk with their parents, but even that will be a difficult proposal to write, and a reluctant population to be interviewed.


Judi: You story is all too familiar. It is not legal to terminate the education of a child who has an IEP, but most parents either do not know this, or do not have the where-with-all to fight the school boards who proceed illegally because they can usually get away with it. I am glad your son got his GED and is continuing his education. In the Outcome study we conducted on the PE Board, (which you may or may not have participated in—I have no way of knowing), the strongest single predictor of success in adulthood was continued education of any type. The school contacting you before shredding was the right thing to do legally, but I bet getting the file was an unhappy experience considering how little was done to educate your son.


Thanks again to you all,


Martie
 
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judi

Active Member
Thanks Martie. Yep - its been several years since I got difficult child's file and I can't even look at it.
 
A

agee

Guest
I read the survey results and found them very interesting. I wonder if the presenters could somehow turn the presentation into an article for a general teacher/administrator journal. In our school district we have school psychologists - but all they do is test. They have no day-to-day interaction with parents or children. The teachers, guidance counselors and administrators are the ones who seem to be the most difficult to work with and the most judgmental. I work in a school and I hear complaints about parents all day long - yet when I try to advocate for my child at his school I'm met with great push-back. I'm sure this isn't unfamiliar to most of the people on this board.
Thanks for this -
A
 

Nancy

Well-Known Member
Hi Martie,

I was one of those that started the survey but stopped because I don't think I am eligible since difficult child is out of school now. She met the age requirements but many questions assume she is still in school and she isn't. If you want me to finish with answers from her last year in high school let me know.

Nancy
 
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