TY - JOUR
T1 - Schools as sanctuaries
T2 - A systematic review of contextual factors which contribute to student retention in alternative education
AU - O'Gorman, Eva
AU - Salmon, Nancy
AU - Murphy, Carol Anne
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2016/5/3
Y1 - 2016/5/3
N2 - Early school leaving is an international concern. Previous research indicates that the school context contributes to early school leaving. This systematic review is aimed to gather marginalised young peoples perceptions concerning contextual factors that contributed to and interfered with their decisions to stay in alternative education. Twenty-three databases and reference lists of reviews were searched, eliciting 1586 studies, which were then screened. Data from 24 mixed-methods studies that met the inclusion criteria were extracted and synthesised. Findings suggested that alternative schools which provided a sanctuary for students increased student engagement. Schools were sanctuaries when they offered physical, emotional and psychological safe spaces; fostered a sense of community; enabled students to affirm their racial/ethnic pride and employed flexible behavioural supports. Implications for practice and research are discussed.
AB - Early school leaving is an international concern. Previous research indicates that the school context contributes to early school leaving. This systematic review is aimed to gather marginalised young peoples perceptions concerning contextual factors that contributed to and interfered with their decisions to stay in alternative education. Twenty-three databases and reference lists of reviews were searched, eliciting 1586 studies, which were then screened. Data from 24 mixed-methods studies that met the inclusion criteria were extracted and synthesised. Findings suggested that alternative schools which provided a sanctuary for students increased student engagement. Schools were sanctuaries when they offered physical, emotional and psychological safe spaces; fostered a sense of community; enabled students to affirm their racial/ethnic pride and employed flexible behavioural supports. Implications for practice and research are discussed.
KW - alternative education
KW - marginalised young people
KW - sanctuary
KW - school context
KW - student retention
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84945252112&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13603116.2015.1095251
DO - 10.1080/13603116.2015.1095251
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84945252112
SN - 1360-3116
VL - 20
SP - 536
EP - 551
JO - International Journal of Inclusive Education
JF - International Journal of Inclusive Education
IS - 5
ER -