Using the Student Orientation to School Questionnaire (SOS-Q) to Support Students’ Wellness, Emotional Connection to School and Enhanced Academic Achievement ASCA Conference April 21, 2018 Dr. John M. Burger Dr. Anna Nadirova

Session Topics Good morning and thanks for joining us. In this session we will address: 1) foundations of student engagement,  2) recent Alberta research on measures of student engagement in relationship to student achievement using the web-based Student Orientation to School Questionnaire (SOS-Q) and, 3) future possibilities for supporting action research and practice in the emerging field of measuring individual student’s engagement with school.

Why Engagement Matters The Alberta School Act (S.45.1(1)) calls on school leaders to ensure students have a “…welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment that respects diversity and fosters a sense of belonging.” Measuring a student’s social-emotional engagement with school is a key means to support this section of the School Act.

SOS-Q BACKGROUND Removing Barriers to High School Completion study (2001) highlights importance of paying attention to students’ affective experience of school as a means to enhance engagement and completion. https://education.alberta.ca/media/1626469/barrierreport.pdf 2003-2007 - Developing and validating Student Orientation to School Questionnaire (SOS Q) to help diagnose and identify issues for students who may be at risk of disengaging from school. 2008-09 – Creating Alberta and Canadian national norms for the SOS-Q data. 2010-2015 – Scaling up SOS-Q use, adoption and applications in Rocky View Schools and developing a web-based application. 2016-18 – Scaling up SOS-Q use in other jurisdictions and expanding applied research partnerships 2018-20 - Alert stakeholders to the background and potential of the SOS-Q; build research and application networks

Student Orientation to School Questionnaire (SOS-Q) http://www SAFE & CARING SCHOOL Perception of how supportive the school environment is, including teacher supports (UE; JSH) EXTERNAL RESILIENCE Perceived ability to cope with external challenges and adversities (UE; JSH) INTERNAL RESILIENCE Ability to resist anxiety and maintain emotional balance (UE; JSH) SELF-CONFIDENCE Conviction of capability to be successful at school and beyond (UE; JSH) PEERS Ability to get along with peers and perceived friends’ support (UE; JSH) UTILITY OF SCHOOL Sense of usefulness of school for future career and post-secondary success (JSH) EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES Participation opportunity and perceived value (JSH) Upper-Elementary (UE); Junior- Senior High (JSH) - includes optional school-work balance and school-work integration for students working part time

SOS-Q Validation Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses have converged on a stable and reliable measurement structure for both upper elementary and jr./sr. high versions of the scale (Burger, Nadirova & Keefer, 2012) http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0734282912449444 In addition, internal measurement properties (factor structure and reliability) have been consistently assessed with multiple data sets, e.g. “A Study of the Factorial Invariance of the Student Orientation to School Questionnaire (SOS-Q): Results From Elementary and High School Students” - Nordstokke, Colp, Burger & Nadirova – under review, Journal of Canadian Psychology.

Individual and Cohort SOS-Q Profiles Stud Safe/ Caring Z Ext. Resil. Self- Conf Peers Int. Resil. Extra- Curric Activ. Utility Sch. Total Avg Avg Z 1 1.0 -3.9 -4.6 -5.1 -4.9 5.0 2.1 2.5 -1.3 -4.1 1.5 -5.4 2 2.3 --2.0 1.3 -4.0 1.25 -4.5 -2.5 -2.0 1.6 3 1.9 -2.6 1.8 -3.2 1.2 -4.8 3.0 -0.3 -2.1 2.0 -4.3 4 2.2 -2.2 3.36 -0.6 3.5 -1.0 3.6 -0.7 0.3 3.25 0.2 2.33 -2.4 3.11 -0.9 5 0.5 2.91 -1.4 3.83 -0.5 3.2 -0.8 2.75 2.83 -1.7 3.15 6 3.13 3.18 -3.1 3.4 4.75 2.88 -1.5 3.22 7 2.45 4.67 0.9 2.8 4.12 3.33 -1.1 3.24 8 -0.4 4.55 1.4 4.17 0.0 2.25 3.28 9 3.47 2.9 3.8 10 3.67 0.1 3.12 3.37 11 3.64 -0.2 -0.1 3.43 12 3.75 0.6 3.48 `3 4.8 1.7 3.82 4.6 3.88 4.22 0.8 14 4.15 0.7 4.83 1.1 4.23 15 4.09 3.38 16 4.86 4.91 4.5 4.35 17 4.73 4.30 18 0.4 19 4.64 4.25 4.34 20 4.53 4.27 4.36 21 4.4 4.45 22 4.56 23 2.7 4.66

Individual Student Report Category Value All questions (AVG) 3.07 All questions (Z) -1.57 Safe and Caring Schools (AVG) 2.8 Safe and Caring Schools (Z) -1.27 External Resilience (AVG) 3.16 External Resilience (Z) -0.95 Internal Resilience (AVG) 3.5 Internal Resilience (Z) 0.33 Extra Curricular Activities (AVG) Extra Curricular Activities (Z) 0.7 Self Confidence (AVG) 3 Self Confidence (Z) -1.88 Utility of School (AVG) 2.33 Utility of School (Z) -2.34 Peers (AVG) 3.75 Peers (Z) -0.48 Handling School-Work Pressures (AVG) --- Handling School-Work Pressures (Z) School-Work Integration (AVG) School-Work Integration (Z)

Relationships with Student Achievement Multiple linear regression with different data sets showed Self-Confidence and Extra-Curricular Activities emerging as major predictors of student achievement in Mathematics and English Language Arts Students in the higher achieving Mathematics and ELA groups scored higher on the composite total SOS-Q scale and all SOS-Q constructs except Internal Resilience.

2015-16 Mathematics Achievement x Self-Confidence

2015-16 Mathematics Achievement x Extra-Curricular Activities

2014 Path Diagram http://www. rockyview. ab

https://sosq.rockyview.ab.ca/#/login Web-based SOS-Q Login https://sosq.rockyview.ab.ca/#/login

Growing Research Support for SOS-Q “PISA results indicate that drive, motivation and confidence in oneself are essential if students are to fulfil their potential.” P.21 “Teachers and school principals need to be able to identify students who show signs of lack of engagement with school and work with them individually before disengagement takes firm root.” P.22 Student engagement is complex and many SOS-Q combinations are possible – value in opening a dialogue and following-up. PISA 2012 Results in Focus: What 15-year-olds know and what they can do with what they know. OECD. Available @ https://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-overview.pdf Our research resonates strongly with the OECD conclusions.

Emerging Context Recent major publications present compelling evidence for the need and value of measuring and acting on student engagement data. http://www.springer.com/us/book/9781461420170 https://www.sensepublishers.com/media/2848-non-cognitive-skills-and-factors-in-educational-attainment.pdf

Key Conclusions Student engagement assessed via the SOS-Q has a positive, consistent association with concurrent academic achievement. Practice-wise, the research findings indicate that social-emotional assessments can be of value in: Diagnosing and supporting students “at risk” of disengaging from school; Opening dialogue with students and parents, helping to better understand student’s emotional and mental state and re-focus on positive connections to school and achievement goals. Web-based SOS-Q introduces effective and efficient access to measuring student affect and timely action on results.

What’s Next? Bring school councils and the ASCA into the conversation regarding action research on student engagement. Stimulate collaborative work and practical solutions in multiple contexts to delve deeper into individual student diagnostics and affective supports. Further develop student supports informed by the SOS-Q, to enhance student engagement, achievement and high school completion. Work with RVS and Intellimedia to enhance and increase access options to the SOS-Q for school authorities.

CONTACTS AND INFORMATION johnburger@shaw.ca or 403 816 3268 anna.nadi@shaw.ca or 780 903 1843 or visit http://www.rockyview.ab.ca/jurisdiction/research/sos-q or www.practicaldatasolutions.ca