By Sarah Sparks, Education Week, June 24, 2019.
Adolescents can be challenging for educators to keep engaged—but putting in the effort to make them feel connected to school can pay off well into adulthood.
In a study published this morning in the journal Pediatrics, researchers at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked more than 14,000 middle and high school students over 20 years. They found that students who felt connected to their school and family as adolescents grew up safer and with better mental health than those who were disconnected as teenagers. Connected adolescents were less than half as likely be the victims of physical violence, to use illicit drugs, or to be diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease by their 20s or 30s, a significant decline in risk.
"The work that we do in school—particularly in terms of making [students] feel more connected, feel safer, feel like the adults around them care about them and want to see them succeed—that has impacts well into adulthood," said Kathleen Ethier, the director of the CDC's division of adolescent and school health and a co-author of the study. "And that's exciting to know because it's something we know how to do."
The study comes as districts increasingly look for ways to improve student-teacher relationships and make students from traditionally underrepresented groups feel more welcome in school.
Comments (0)