Increasing Equity: Survey of Juvenile Justice Teacher Use of Evidence Based Practices

• In Event: Poster Session 05
  In Poster Session: PS 05 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

There is limited research on education within the Juvenile Justice (JJ) system as there is limited access to this population, as they are a doubly protected population. Yet in order to ensure equity for these students, JJ teacher knowledge and use of evidence-based practices (EBP) must be understood. This presentation aims to discuss the results of a study that will be run in the early Winter 2020. The study will aim to understand JJ teacher knowledge and use of EBPs within JJ classrooms. Background: Implementation of EBPs academic and behavioral practices and interventions is important in ensuring that students in JJ classrooms receive a high-quality education; however, several barriers have been identified to the successful implementation of EBPs (Wilkerson et al., 2012). These barriers include: 1) the transience of the population, making it difficult for staff to quickly assess and deliver appropriate interventions, 2) high rates of special needs students with an estimated 40% to 70% of students within the JJ system having a disability (Bullis et al., 2002; Quinn et al., 2005; U.S. Department of Education, 2009) and, 3) high rates of mental health issues with an estimated that between 67 % (Washburn et al. 2008) to 90% (Drerup et al. 2008) of incarcerated youth meeting criteria for at least one mental health issue (e.g., depression, anxiety, conduct disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder). This is clearly a vulnerable population that needs high quality instruction from teachers who implement evidence based academic and behavior management practices. This study aims to understand JJ teacher practices. Methods: This study utilizes a nation-wide survey to evaluate JJ teacher familiarity with 15 different EBPs and implementation of these practices. Data Collection: The survey was sent to an email database of JJ facility administrators and disseminated on social media.
Research Questions and Hypothesis:
RQ 1) How knowledgeable do JJ teachers self-report to be about EBPs including in the survey and how often do they use these EBPs.
Hypothesis 1: There will be high variability in JJ teachers' knowledge of EBP. Behavior management EBPs will be more familiar to JJ teachers and be used more often.
RQ 2: Does knowledge of EBPs significantly differ for teachers with and without special education licensure in the JJ system?
Hypothesis 2: Special education teachers will have a significantly greater knowledge of EBPs than general education teachers.
RQ 3: Does teacher self-report of implementation of EBPs significantly differ for teachers with and without special education licensure within the JJ system?
Hypothesis 3: Special education teachers will report using a significantly greater amount of EBPs than general education teachers.
It is important to understand JJ teacher knowledge of evidence-based practices (EBPs) within the JJ system. Given the high rate of students with disabilities in the JJ system, teachers who are knowledgeable about EBPs are necessary to provide this population with an appropriate and effective education. The previous research in this is not conclusive nor has it investigated teacher knowledge of EBPs within the JJ system. This study aims to fill this gap.

Authors

• Christiana Marie Nielsen, Lehigh University
  Presenting Author

• Esther Ritva Lindström, Lehigh University
  Non-Presenting Author