Education (Follow-ups): School Bonding Grades Activities and Orientation - Subject Follow-up

This measure appears in the following time-points: Follow06, Follow12, Follow18, Follow24, Follow30, Follow36, Follow48, Follow60, Follow72, Follow84.

Related Construct

Academic Achievement and Commitment

Description of Measure

There are several themes to the information obtained from subjects about school: school attachment and descriptive information about the school experience (grades, achievement and involvement in school activities). In addition, starting with version 01.16 of the interview, additional questions are asked regarding college experiences (e.g. attendance, major, financing, attitudes and experiences at college).

School attachment

The school attachment items included are taken from the work of Cernkovich & Giordano (1992). The items are used to evaluate the adolescent's educational experience along two dimensions: Bonding to Teachers (e.g., "Most of my teachers treat me fairly.") and School Orientation (e.g., "Schoolwork is very important to me.") Respondents rate 13 statements, using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree," with higher scores indicating a greater degree of academic commitment. The mean is taken for the items associated with each subscale. The items are first asked regarding the community school which the youth attends and, for youths housed in an institution for three or more months during the recall period, the items are repeated to attain the degree of academic commitment regarding the institutional school.

A two-factor CFA model was applied to the Bonding to Teacher and School Orientation dimensions in the baseline data set, producing an acceptable fit. The following values were obtained: Bonding to teachers alpha: .65; School orientation alpha: .83; NFI: .92; NNFI: .90: CFI: .93 and RMSEA: .07. A one-factor model also produced an acceptable fit. A two-factor CFA model was also fit to these items for youth in school in an institution at the baseline interview. This model was also acceptable: bonding to teacher alpha: .63; school orientation alpha: .88; NFI: .86: NNFI: .92; CFI: .94 and RMSEA: .07.

There was also found to be adequate internal consistency at the follow-up time points. The alphas for community schools for these dimensions for 6 through 84 months are below. For institutions schools, the alphas are provided for 6 through 24 months.

Bonding to teachers - community school: Cronbach's alpha follow-up: 6-months: .73, 12- months: .74, 18-months: .71, 24 –months: .70, 30-months: .72, 36-months: .68, 48-months: .63, 60-months: .69, 72-months: .58, 84-months: .72
School orientation - community school: Cronbach's alpha follow-up: 6-months: .85, 12- months: .86, 18-months: .85, 24 –months: .86, 30-months: .88, 36-months: .86, 48-months: .87, 60-months: .84, 72-months: .86, 84-months: .87
Bonding to teachers - institutional school: 6 month - .72; 12 month - .70; 18 month - .70; 24 month - .65
School orientation - institutional school: 6 month - .80; 12 month - .80; 18 month - .85; 24 month - .85

Several computed scores are available relating to School attachment:

School performance (based on average grades) during the recall period [S#School_Performance]
Academic or Behavioral problems during the recall period; a count of three potential academic problems (suspension/expulsion, truancy, and academic problems limiting college enrollment) [S#Sch_Behavior]
Total Number Extracurricular Community School Activities [S#Ttotexa]
Bonding to Teachers [S#SCHTCH]; mean of 3 items in the scale for community school
School Orientation [S#SCHATC]; mean of 7 items in the scale for community school
Satisfaction - Community school [S#Sch_HSSatisfaction]
Engagement - Community school [S#Sch_HSEngagement]
Bonding to Teachers - institutional school [S#DETTCH], mean of 3 items in the scale for institutional school
School Orientation - institutional school [S#DETATC]; mean of 7 items in the scale for institutional school
Satisfaction - Institutional school [S#Sch_DetSatisfaction]
Engagement - Institutional school [S#Sch_DetEngagement]
Satisfaction with current college across multiple domains [S#Sch_ColSatisfaction]
Engagement - College [S#Sch_ColEngagement]

Note that the Motivation to Succeed measure offers two additional variables that supplement this measure: "How far you THINK you will go in school" and "How far would you LIKE to go in school". Refer to that codebook section for more information on those variables.

There are three codebook sections that are relevant to school information:

Summary measures regarding the education experience (high school and post-high school) - described in this section.
The monthly calendar data. This codebook section is called the 'School Calendar'.
Markers for academic achievement and participation in post-high school programs. This codebook section is called 'Academic achievement and post-high school program participation'.

Be sure to review the descriptions for each of these codebook sections in order to obtain a complete understanding of the information we have available regarding the education experience.

Descriptive information about school experience

Variables are also available relating to average grades received over the recall period as well as the amount of time spent on homework while in community and institutional school, activities the participant participated in (community and institutional school), attitudes regarding social and academic experiences in college, and the amount of participation in college opportunities.

Descriptive information about the primary school (independent of type). Interview programming determines which school was mentioned the most on the school calendar, independent of school type (community vs. institution), by counting the number of months each school is mentioned in the monthly data. If two or more schools were listed for an equal number of months, then the most recent school attended was counted as the primary school. Additional information regarding the primary school is also available in the school calendar (refer to the codebook section of the School Calendar for more information). Recall level variables describing the primary school are listed below.

Unique ID associated with the primary school [S#SchCal_MainSchoolID]. This variable holds the unique ID marker associated with the primary school, and can be used to link the primary school with the follow-up data from the school calendar for that school.
Primary school type [S#SchCal_MainSchoolType]. This variable holds the school type associated with the primary school (e.g., regular public, charter, institution, etc.).
Primary school type - institution type specified [S#SchCal_MainSchoolType_Specified]. This variable will only have a value if the school type is 4 (institution), and provides the specific type of schooling the subject received in the institution (e.g., GED classes, online courses, etc.).
Number of months attended the primary school [S#SchCal_MainSchoolCount]. This variable is a count of the number of months the subject attended the primary school, and is based on the school calendar data.

Descriptive information about the community school attended during the recall period. Interview programming again determines which community-based school was mentioned the most on the school calendar. If two or more community-based schools were listed for an equal number of months, the most recent community school is counted as the primary one. This school is the focus of all recall level items relating to community school (e.g., school bonding, orientation, and activities). Additional information regarding the primary community school is also available in the school calendar (refer to the codebook section of the School Calendar for more information). Recall level variables describing the primary community school are listed below.

Unique ID associated with the primary community school [S#SchCal_MainFreeID]. This variable holds the unique ID marker associated with the primary community school, and can be used to link the primary community school with the school calendar monthly data (where the school ID is plotted by month).
Primary community school type [S#SchCal_MainFreeType]. This variable holds the school type associated with the primary school (e.g., regular public, charter school, GED classes, etc.).
Number of months attended the primary community school [S#SchCal_MainFreeCount]. This is a count of the number of months the subject attended the primary school, and is based on the school calendar data.
Hours per week spent on homework [S#Sch_RegQHomework]
Days per week on Student govt [S#Sch_RegQ_SchQ18]
Days per week athletic teams [S#Sch_RegQ_SchQ19]
Days per week sport team [S#Sch_RegQ_SchQ20]
Days per week music/band [S#Sch_RegQ_SchQ21]
Days per week school clubs [S#Sch_RegQ_SchQ22]
Days per week National Honors Soc [S#Sch_RegQ_SchQ23]
Days per week newspaper/yearbook [S#Sch_RegQ_SchQ24]
Days per week attend events [S#Sch_RegQ_SchQ25]
How important participate in these activities [S#Sch_RegQ_SchQ26]

Descriptive information about the institutional school attended during the recall period. Interview programming determines which institutional school was mentioned the most on the school calendar. If two or more institution schools were listed for an equal number of months, the most recent one is counted as the primary school. This school is the focus of all recall level items relating to institutional school (e.g., school bonding, orientation, and activities). Additional information regarding the primary institutional school is also available in the school calendar (refer to the codebook section of the School Calendar for more information). Recall level variables describing this school are listed below.

Unique ID associated with the primary institutional school [S#SchCal_MainDetID]. This variable holds the unique ID marker associated with the primary institutional school, and can be used to link the primary institutional school with the school calendar monthly data (where the school ID is plotted by month).
Primary institutional school type [S#SchCal_MainDetType]. This variable holds the school type associated with the primary institution school.
Primary institution school type - institution type specified [S#SchCal_MainDetType_Specified]. This variable provides the specific type of schooling the subject received in the institution (e.g., GED classes, online courses, etc.).
Number of months attended the primary institutional school [S#SchCal_MainDetCount]. This is a count of the number of months the subject attended the primary institutional school, and is based on the school calendar data.
Hours per week spent on homework [S#Sch_DetQ_DetHwrk]
Involved in any activities [S#Sch_DetQ_DetAct0]
Days per week on activity 1 [S#Sch_DetQ_DetDys1]
Days per week on activity 2 [S#Sch_DetQ_DetDys2]
Days per week on activity 3 [S#Sch_DetQ_DetDys3]
How important participate in these activities [S#Sch_DetQ_DetQ26]

Descriptive information about college.

Since graduating or receiving a GED, have you applied to college/university [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ01]
Have you applied to college/university during the recall period [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ35]
Type of college applied to (4-year or 2-year) [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ02]
Status of college application [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ03]
Sources of financing for college:

Parents [S#Sch_ColQ_FinParents]
Relatives [S#Sch_ColQ_FinRelative]
Grants [S#Sch_ColQ_FinGrants]
Scholarships [S#Sch_ColQ_FinScholarships]
Loans [S#Sch_ColQ_FinLoans]
Personal savings [S#Sch_ColQ_FinSavings]
Other [S#Sch_ColQ_FinOther]

Last semester, frequency of attending/participate in extracurricular activities [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ07]
Last semester, frequency of attending parties/social gatherings [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ08]
How often raise hand during lecture when don't understand something [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ09]
How often contact professor outside of class for course-related issues [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ10]
How often contact professor outside of class to socialize/disucss personal problem [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ11]
How often use campus library [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ12]
How often study with friends/classmates [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ13]
How often seek help from formal tutor [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ14]
How often use college career placement services [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ15]
How often visit academic adviser to discuss your progress [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ16]
How often speak to financial aid counselor about money matters [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ17]
Ever been placed on academic probation because you were struggling with your classes [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ18]
Currently enrolled in college [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ22]
I don't have much in common with other students [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ24]
I don't think I can really be myself here [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ25]
Overall my experiences here are very different from what I expected before coming [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ26]
I am doing less well in college than I would like [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ27]
I am having problems paying for my college education [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ28]
I have too little time to do schoolwork [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ29]
Compared with my college peers, I feel less prepared for college [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ30]
My high school prepared me well for college work [S#Sch_ColQ_CQ31]

Data Issues

All items relating to college were added to the interview in version 01.16.
For interview versions 01.16 through 01.21, the college questions section was only asked if there was an indication of the subject receiving a high school diploma or GED. Starting with version 01.22, the section was asked if there was an indication of the subject receiving a high school diploma or GED, or if the subject was enrolled in at least one school with type 7 (college) on the school calendar.
College questions S#Sch_ColQ_CQ23 through S#Sch_ColQ_CQ31 are only asked if S#Sch_ColQ_CQ22 (currently enrolled in college) is Yes.
Prior to version 01.21, the logic of the interview did not allow for subjects to receive both the school calendar and the college questions section. Subjects who attended both high school and college within the same recall period only received questions within the school calendar and did not receive the college questions. It should be noted then that a greater number of subjects could potentially have been enrolled in college than is represented in the current data. As of version 01.21 the logic of the interview was changed to allow for both sections to be asked. The logic for this variable changed in the 48month time-point.
In version 01.06, value options for 'hours per week spent on homework - community school' were changed to clarify what was meant by 'none'. Previously the value option was '0 - none'. Value options for versions 01.06 and above were changed to '0 - Homework given but none done', as well as a new option of '7 - NA (no homework assigned)'. We have collapsed both zero values into a new code of '0 - None, or homework given but none done'. The value option of '0-None' (prior to the change in 01.06) is available only in the 06month time-point. The updated label beginning with version 01.06 is seen in all time-points.
Beginning with version 01.14, S#Sch_Grades is skipped if the subject was not enrolled in school during the recall period. Prior to this version, this question was always asked. The first case with this change in logic was completed in the 06month time-point.

References

Eccles, J.S., Wigfield, A., & Schiefele, U., (1998). Motivation to succeed. In W. Damon (Series Ed.) and N. Eisenberg (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (5th ed., Vol. III, pp. 1017-1095). New York: Wiley.
Cernkovich, S. and Giordano, P. (1992). School bonding, race and delinquency. Criminology, 30(2), 261-291.