AN EXPLORATION OF SOCIAL CORRELATES OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN RURAL STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Open Access
Author:
Brooks, Debbie Sprott
Graduate Program:
Special Education
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
June 09, 2010
Committee Members:
Demetrius Thomas Farmer, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor Thomas W Farmer, Committee Chair/Co-Chair Scott David Gest, Committee Member Charles A Hughes, Committee Member David Lee, Committee Member Paul Morgan, Committee Member
Keywords:
social prominence social preference academic performance social adjustment bullying belonging
Abstract:
While relationships among social and academic characteristics of students have long been recognized and explored in educational research, investigations within the special education population have been limited. The current study examined social correlates of academic performance in a sample of 124 rural students with mild disabilities. Survey data from students and teachers in 7 states across the United States supported correlations between several social adjustment indices and academic performance measures. Social preference, social prominence, bullying, and victimization were all correlated with academic performance. Regression analyses indicated that social preference, bullying, and victimization predicted more of the variance in academic performance than social preference. Measures of school perceptions and affiliates’ characteristics were not correlated with academic performance. Results are discussed with relation to sample and measurement characteristics.
