I've finished the second edit of Chapter 2 - Review of Literature and contacted the Department of Education (DoE) to find out statistics for reasons students drop out from school. In the course of investigating references to bullying and drop out rates, it was mentioned that 28% of students in an Indiana study dropped out due to bullying and another large group cited "Not happy at school" which is the reason most students who are bullied state when they skip classes. Drop out rates have opened my eyes to another link between bullying and its impact on future leadership not just in Australia but on a global level.
I am also worried over the impact on minorities bullying has. The highest drop out rate is amongst males with African American and Hispanic males having the highest percentages followed by females of the same ethnic groups. White males and Asian males have the highest graduation rates. There appears to be a correlation between retention rates and curriculum considerations. The reasons for engagement in learning cited university bound, wanted content for future careers (Vocational Educatioin). It appears students in general education and not in college prep have a higher drop out rate based on the studies I've read.
This issue isn't just in the USA but appears to be in UK and Australia as well.
After I spoke with the DoE representative, she asked if we could meet to discuss my research. I put together some information for her and we meet tomorrow 26Mar07. I advised my thesis advisors of the meeting last week after I scheduled it. I'll be preparing a few articles for publication for after I submit my thesis at the end of April. I'll post an update then.
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3 comments:
Hi Kathleen,
I noticed your comment on Welshcakes Limoncello and came over to check you out. The bullying item interested me as I am reading "Nineteen Minutes"by Jodi Picoult, a novel about a bullied student who goes on a shooting spree similar to Columbine and how many others!
Also I am a transplanted Australian, in Canada for 46 years now, although was only 25 when I came here. I have a New Zealand friend who came here four years ago and left her three adult children behind in NZ. Not easy to move at this age. Good luck, hope the Aussies are treating you well. Anyway, at least they are very friendly.
New blogger too, only a month or more, so I'll watch to see how you do it.
Regards
jmb
Hi, Kathleen. You kindly commented on my blog last week and I tried to email you but it came back. I am very interested in the topic of bullying as it can take so many forms and seems to be prevalent in all walks of life and across all cultures. As you know, I have been on the receiving end, too. Your blog is fascinating and I am very interested in what you say about bullying among the various ethnic groups - not only in the US, as you point out. I've just posted on cyberbullying among the young here, as some figures were released on this today but of course I haven't done deep research on it as you have. If you would like to contact me, my email is: lasiciliana629@hotmail.com
Regards from Sicily.
Hi Kathleen,
Thank you for the wonderful comment. I do wish they had taken action sooner but they told me it was a cyber crime and they couldn't do anything to stop it. All I could do was just ignore it.
My form teacher was very helpful and she tried to do quite alot for me. However, that is life and there isn't very much we can do apart from report it. I'm lucky that my school took action for I know many schools that would just ignore the matter forcing the victims to be the one who are punished.
Sha
PS: Thank you for the lovely comment in my blog.
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