| Becky Smerdon
University of Michigan
How the academic and social organization of high schools either marginalize or encompass students at-risk of school failure
FINAL REPORT:
Schools embody institutional values or norms which are manifested in everyday behaviors, relationships, and structures. How members relate to one another (i.e., social organization) and what is taught to whom (i.e., academic organization) convey norms and values regarding appropriate social and academic behaviors. Because many students at risk of school failure have not developed behaviors conducive to their social and academic development early in their educational careers, the organization of their high schools may be particularly important for their future success. This dissertation investigates how the social and academic organization of secondary schools influences the development of students at risk of school failure. I ask questions such as, "How do the social and academic organization of high schools influence students' development?" "Do these organizational properties either marginalize or encompass students at risk of school failure (evidenced by a relative increase or decrease in their academic and social development)?" Many solutions proposed to solve the problem of why some students are not successful in school focus on changing individuals to meet the demands of schools as they exist, rather than changing the institutions that serve them. How schools serve their least successful members (i.e., students at risk of school failure) is a major policy issue and the focus of this dissertation.
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