When I set out to study the conditions in schools most likely to foster thriving in adolescents, I expected to simply document what most of us already know — that individual relationships with adults are central. What I gained, however, was a much more complex understanding of the importance and influence of student engagement. In order for students to thrive, they do need meaningful relationships with adults, but they also need much more than that.
After sifting through decades of research in this area, I found these five critical take home lessons for all educators, parents or student leaders focused on cultivating engagement and positive connection to school life:
- Far more happens at school than academic development.
The halls and classrooms of every school provide developmental spaces in which young people try out social identities and relationships that form the basis for adulthood. These developmental spaces also provide information to youth about their individual and collective value in the world and contribute mightily to academic achievement and social health. The foundation of healthy development, brain and cognitive research tells us, is the development of trust, connection, and agency in daily life, and a child without these tools will struggle to accomplish the cognitive tasks so highly prized in today’s culture.
- Living fully today is as important as preparing for tomorrow.
Like the adults who so diligently prepare them for it, youth long for the future. To most fully realize their potential, however, they must also acquire the skills needed to be fully where they are in each moment. They need time, space and support to forge a positive and cohesive identity, and to balance this with the immense pressures to perform and plan. Indeed, the ability to live each moment fully and with gratitude is the foundation of a successful life.
- Individual connection with adults at school makes a significant and lasting impact.
Like family, school is a place in which the tensions between childhood and adulthood are played out. Heightened adolescent need for visibility and recognition means that adult actions assume great significance. Something as small as an adult noticing a change in a young person’s hairstyle, clothing, or demeanor communicates respect and attention. These things are particularly important in large schools where many students may go unnoticed by adults for long periods.
- Opportunities for exercising agency and voice are critical.
Adult relationships are valued, in part, because adults are the gatekeepers of power and change. The tendency for adults to ignore the power issues and the youth to focus strongly on them in assessing connectedness may be why so many studies show gaps in perceived connectedness in school settings. The vast majority of school climate concerns shared by youth and adults alike have power struggles at the core and can be overcome by building in systematic and fully transparent means of including young people in decision making processes.
- The most disconnected kids have the most to gain by opportunities to connect.
Systematic assessment of perceived connectedness consistently demonstrates that most opportunities to connect with adults and to exercise agency and voice in school settings are available largely to youth who have proven academic or leadership capabilities. As in so many other life realms, “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer” in schools as well. In most schools, for example, a minimum GPA is often required before a student can run for office (school representation has the added difficulty with adolescent social dynamics such as popularity). Moreover, the majority of appointments made to community councils or advisory boards come from area high schools whose administrators have strict grade requirements for participating and thus tend to select highly capable and academically talented youth. Functionally, this systemic reward-based selection bias serves only to widen the gap between support-rich and support-poor youth and thus positive and negative outcome trajectories.
Cultivating connectedness requires changes in institutional culture, practice, and attitude; it rarely requires additional resources. Even the most cutting edge neuroscience confirms what most of us know well – the formation of human relationships is the primary developmental priority of all human beings and the bedrock of all healthy development. Studies on connectedness at school consistently show that feeling connected to and satisfied with school for youth and adults revolves around relationships with the youth and adult others that share daily life. Although material and fiscal resources are useful when employed as tools for facilitating positive exchange and negotiation in school settings, the only real resources needed in schools hoping to enhance connection is a willingness to listen, engage, and shift attitudes, policies and practices in response to authentic youth-adult dialogue. Ultimately the most important first step in cultivating connectedness in school settings is to invite adults and youth to be partners in identifying the most salient challenges and solutions in their school since working alongside each other in coming up with a solution is, in and of itself, part of the solution.
Article Courtesy of The National School Climate Center