Learning to be STRATEGIC : a training evaluation on the student reentry process following psychiatric hospitalization
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Alexandria S. Cammarano (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Carrie Wachter Morris
Abstract: For the last decade, psychiatric hospitalization rates for children and adolescents have significantly increased, taking many students out of school to receive appropriate care (Clemens et al., 2011; Hall & DuBois, 2020; Leeb et al., 2020). Furthermore, recent trends show that students experience considerably shorter psychiatric stays focused on intense treatment modalities, leading many to rely on outpatient services post-discharge (Blader, 2011; Preyde et al., 2021; White et al., 2017). As a result, students and their families turn to school services as an accessible source for support services during the reentry process (Marraccini et al., 2019). However, schools struggle to ease the transition, with many school support personnel reporting few to no policies, procedures, or training for handling the student reentry process following psychiatric hospitalization (Iverson, 2018; Marraccini et al., 2021; Tisdale, 2014). The reentry process is critical for students as they work towards meeting academic, social, and emotional demands, navigate new routines, manage symptoms, and face mental health stigma (Preyde et al., 2021; Savina et al., 2014). Although there is an abundance of recommendations regarding the reentry process, only a limited number of researchers created programs or models to address this phenomenon, and the few that exist lack the feasibility, funding, and staff considerations needed to achieve their promising results in schools nation-wide (Midura et al., 2023). Moreover, community considerations play a large influence in how schools and larger systems handle student mental health. For example, rural school districts face unique challenges that are a part of larger systemic issues, such as a lack of a consistent definition of “rural,” shortage of specialists, and fewer protocols and policies around the student reentry process (Anderson et al., 2013; Blackstock et al., 2018; Marraccini et al., 2021). The study detailed in this dissertation proposal presented an eight-step training informed by researchers’ recommendations, community considerations, and includes a tangible document to promote individualized reentry planning. This study sought to evaluate the Learning to Be STRATEGIC training based on the areas of training evaluation and school counselors’ experiences of the training. Additionally, the study examined school counselor’s self-efficacy and multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) skills and knowledge before and after implementation of the training. The researcher utilized an experimental design consisting of pre- and post-tests, a treatment group, and a waitlist control group. The researcher also used live feedback questions during the training, and open-ended questions during the second time point to gather qualitative data on the implementation of the training. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, thematic analysis, and repeated measures ANOVAs to answer each of the research questions. Results from the study indicated significant differences across participants’ scores for self-efficacy and MTSS knowledge and skills after the implementation of the Learning to Be STRATEGIC training. Furthermore, the training was shown to have high participant scores across Kirkpatrick’s four areas of training evaluation indicating participants were satisfied with the training and found its applications useful within their working environments. The researcher only found significant differences based on treatment condition for the organization results area of the Q4TE, suggesting further research may be needed to better address the long-term outcomes of the training. The results from this study demonstrate the development of the Learning to Be STRATEGIC model and training may prove to be a significant and feasible tool for school support personnel facilitating the student reentry process following psychiatric hospitalization.
Learning to be STRATEGIC : a training evaluation on the student reentry process following psychiatric hospitalization
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Created on 8/1/2024
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2024
- Keywords
- Mental Health, Psychiatric Hospitalization, School Counseling, Student Reentry, Training Evaluation