At-Risk Students’ Perceptions of Traditional Schools and a Solution-Focused Public Alternative School

Abstract

Recent trends in education have drawn attention to students at risk of school failure and dropout in the United States. Alternative schools are one method for preventing the severe and long-lasting consequences of underachievement and dropout. Few research studies have sought the opinions and perceptions of the at-risk students who attend alternative schools through qualitative research methods. This study used qualitative interviews to explore at-risk students’ perspectives about their current alternative school and their former traditional schools. Results indicate that traditional schools are lacking the personal relationships with teachers, schoolwide focus on maturity and responsibility, understanding about social issues, and positive peer relationships that alternative schools often provide. This article offers guidelines to help schools and educators to better support at-risk students.

Keywords:

• alternative schools
• at-risk students
• dropout
• qualitative
• solution focused

Acknowledgments

Christine Lagana-Riordan is a doctoral candidate in social work at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests include school social work, education policy, and developmental disabilities.

Jemel P. Aguilar is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin. His current research interests are health-service systems and risk, gay men's drug use, and risk and protective factors among low-income populations.

Cynthia Franklin is the Stiernberg/Spencer Family Professor in Mental Health at the University of Texas at Austin where she is also on the faculty of the Dropout Institute for the Center for Preventing Educational Risk in the Department of Special Education. Her current interests include efficacy research on the taking charge intervention for improving the attendance, academic achievement and school completion of school-age mothers and the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy for dropout prevention.

Calvin L. Streeter is the Meadows Foundation Centennial Professor in the Quality of Life in the Rural Environment in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin. His current research interests include school-based services, dropout prevention, and employment supports for people with disabilities.

Johnny S. Kim is an assistant professor at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare. His research areas focus on evaluating school-based interventions, solution-focused brief therapy, and quantitative research methods.

Stephen J. Tripodi is an assistant professor at Florida State University. His current research interests are corrections, criminal recidivism, women in the criminal justice system, and school social work.

Laura M. Hopson is an assistant professor at the University at Albany School of Social Welfare. Her current research examines risk and protective factors during the transition from middle to high school.