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Reducing racial disparities and disproportionalities in the child welfare system: policy perspectives about how to serve the best interests of African American youth
- Author:
- ANYON Yolanda
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 33(2), February 2011, pp.242-253.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
African American youth are overrepresented at every stage of the child welfare intervention process. There is therefore a need for a variety of innovative and systematic approaches to meeting the needs of African American children involved in the child welfare system. This article considers the debates about the best strategies to reduce racial disparities. These debates reflect tensions between 4 long-standing perspectives in child welfare: expedient permanency; cultural continuity; family preservation; and social advantage. For each point of view, proponents' unique framing of the problem, use of research, and preferred intervention strategies are described. The emphasis of current federal policy on expedient permanency and transracial adoption is explored. A review of empirical research on the transracial adoption of African American evaluates its impact on child and system-level outcomes. It is argued that conclusive evidence does not exist in support of transracial adoption and the expedient permanency perspective above the others. Instead, each position, related framing of the problem, and preferred intervention strategy appears to have some merit and support in the research literature. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.
Sociological theories of learning disabilities: understanding racial disproportionality in special education
- Author:
- ANYON Yolanda
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 19(1), January 2009, pp.44-57.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
In 2001 in the United States more than half of students in special education were identified as having specific learning disability more than any other qualifying disability. Although many researchers have applied sociological theory to concepts of physical disability, leading to the social model used by disability advocates and activists, less work has been done to provide a sociological frame for learning disabilities. This paper describes how students with learning disabilities have constituted the fastest-growing special education population in public school districts, particularly students of colour. Though the overrepresentation of students of colour in special education programmes is well documented, few efforts have been made to apply sociological theories to expand our understanding of this phenomenon. The author provides an overview of this application to the study of learning disabilities and special education, with particular attention to the disproportionate involvement of minority youth in educational programs for students with disabilities.
It’s all about the relationships: educators' rationales and strategies for building connections with students to prevent exclusionary school discipline outcomes
- Authors:
- ANYON Yolanda, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Schools, 40(4), 2018, pp.221-230.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This qualitative study identified nonpunitive and nonexclusionary discipline strategies used in schools with low out-of-school suspension rates. Interviews and focus groups with 198 educators from 33 low-suspending schools in a large US urban district were conducted to learn more about the approaches that were essential to their school’s success. Data were analysed with inductive and deductive approaches to identify themes regarding efficacious approaches across schools. Relationship building was noted as a key strategy in reducing exclusionary discipline outcomes and racial disparities in out-of-school suspension. Specific relationship-building strategies and the rationales behind these practices are described, including home visits, greetings, morning meetings, advisory periods, increased adult visibility in and out of school, and positive contact with families. (Edited publisher abstract)
Contextual influences on the implementation of a schoolwide intervention to promote students’ social, emotional, and academic learning
- Authors:
- ANYON Yolanda, NICOTERA Nicole, VEEH Christopher A.
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Schools, 38(2), 2016, pp.81-88.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Schoolwide interventions are among the most effective approaches for improving students’ behavioural and academic outcomes. However, researchers have documented consistent challenges with implementation fidelity and have argued that school social workers should be engaged in efforts to improve treatment integrity. This study examines contextual influences on the implementation of a whole-school intervention called Responsive Classroom (RC) in one urban K–8 public school serving a diverse student body. RC improves social, emotional, literacy, and maths outcomes for disadvantaged students with behaviour problems by building on the assets of teachers to intervene with misbehaving students in the classroom setting or school environment. Yet little is understood regarding the factors that constrain or enable implementation of RC in noncontrolled research conditions. Results from a mixed-methods convergent analysis of focus group, observation, and survey data indicate the influence of the following three contextual factors on implementation fidelity: (1) intervention characteristics such as compatibility with staff members’ beliefs about behaviour change and management, (2) organisational capacity such as principal and teacher buy-in, and (3) the intervention support system such as training and technical assistance. Implications for future school social work research and practice with respect to the implementation of schoolwide programmes are discussed (Edited publisher abstract)