02/09/2024
By Zakkiyya Witherspoon

The School of Education invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Scott Connery “Building Relationships with Low-Income Students To Combat Attendance Issues."

Candidate: Scott Connery
Degree: Doctoral- Leadership in Schooling
Defense Date: Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Remote via Zoom 
Thesis/Dissertation Title: Building Relationships with Low-Income Students To Combat Attendance Issues

Dissertation Committee

  • James Nehring Ed.D. Professor, Leadership in Schooling
  • Phitsamay Uy, Ed.D. Associate professor, Leadership in Schooling, Graduate Professor for Ed.D. programs
  • Christina Whittlesey, Ph.D., Adjunct Faculty, UMass Lowell School of Education

Abstract
Financially disadvantaged students in public schools have shown a notable and persistent attendance gap for several years (Boykin & Noguera, 2011; Brey et al. 2019). Addressing the root causes of these gaps has required schools to focus on building a capacity to connect with students in more meaningful ways. This study examines the role a staff/student check-in/check-out program can have on the attendance patterns of financially disadvantaged students with a history or below average attendance. This approach was chosen to test the hypothesis that stronger staff/student relationships will produce an improvement in students’ willingness to attend school more consistently. A cohort of 19 high school students who identify as financially-disadvantaged were chosen to participate in a program for eight weeks, each with a faculty member. Their relationship growth was tracked through first person qualitative data to determine their interpretation of the success of the relationship building process. This data was then compared to the quantitative attendance patterns of each student to triangulate if any changes in attendance had taken place and if they aligned with the reports of improved relationships. The results of this mixed-methods study included a mean improvement of over 9% in attendance rate over the course of the intervention, resulting in an average yearly improvement of over 17 additional school days per student. These results reflect an increased opportunity for significant additional student growth and support in the school environment.