Date of Award
12-2009
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Program
Counselor Education
Department
Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations
Major Professor
Paradise, Louis V.
Second Advisor
Dufrene, Roxane L.
Third Advisor
Mason, Kimberly
Fourth Advisor
En-Nabut, Iman
Abstract
Grade retention is an educational practice that requires students to repeat the grade level they have just completed (Jimerson, 2001). In the United States, an estimated 15% to 19% of students are retained each year (Holmes, 2006). Previous research on grade retention is comprised of quantitative studies describing students who have been retained as having higher suspension rates, coming from a low socio-economic status, and having an increased chance of dropping out of school (Christle, Jolivette, & Nelson, 2007; Janosz, et al., 1997; Jimerson & Ferguson, 2007; Jimerson et al., 2002; Suh & Suh 2007). While these studies provide a wealth of information about grade retention, they do not describe how adolescents reacted when they were retained and how they experienced retention in their lives. In this qualitative study, eight students and one of their parents were interviewed about their experiences and reactions with retention. The dominant themes identified from student and parent interviews suggest that adolescent students and their parents believed that adolescent students reacted negatively to retention, experienced changes in their lives, experienced a loss of self-esteem, felt left behind by peers, felt older than peers, felt that retention added another year of school to their education, and that adolescent students’ school performance improved following retention. Implications for school counselors are provided.
Recommended Citation
Fournier, Jessica, "A Qualitative Study of the Personal Reactions and Experiences of Adolescent Students Who Have Been Retained" (2009). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1018.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1018
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.