The Tempering Effect of Schools on Students Experiencing a Life-Changing Event

Abstract

Focusing specifically on adolescents forced to relocate after Hurricane Katrina, the study looks closely at the role of schools in helping adolescents adapt after a natural disaster. Data collected from 46 middle and high school students across a 6-month period demonstrate that those who showed the greatest improvements in their well-being were those who sought help from their teachers, whose new school created a milieu of cooperation, and who were placed in a school that neither went overboard trying to help nor ignored their special needs. The article concludes with recommendations for schools seeking to maximize the welfare of their students.

Disaster and poverty : the differential impacts of disaster on the poor in the Gulf Coast region.

“…M. Watson, Melancon, & Kinchen, 2008). There were reduced academic performances and abilities to concentrate among child survivors (Barrett et al, 2012). …”

“…O. P. Diaz, 1999;Felix et al, 2011;Guha-Sapir et al, 2007;Kronenberg et al, 2010;Madrid & Grant, 2008;Pfefferbaum et al, 2010). Most commonly observed traumatic reactions in school-aged children include certain fears, separation problems, sleep difficulties, reenactment of the trauma in play, regression, physical complaints, irritability, survival guilt, deterioration in academic performance, anxiety of recurrence of the trauma, and trauma-related guilt (Barrett, Ausbrooks, & Martinez-Cosio, 2012;Kronenberg et al, 2010;Soeteman et al, 2008). Posttraumatic stress symptoms are associated with negative school performance and exposure for both children and adolescents (R. T. Jones et al, 2009;Şahin, Batıgün, & Yılmaz, 2007;Zubenko & Capozzoli, 2002).…”

“…Moreover, educational institutions have a quantifiable impact on the wellbeing of displaced students (Glaeser, 2011). When displaced children are privileged enough to be enrolled in a school that can reduce the extents of economic distress of students (Barrett et al, 2012).…”

“…It damaged the schools in New Orleans which resulted in thousands of students missing out on getting an education (K. R. Collins, Savage, & Wainwright, 2008;Tuzzolo & Hewitt, 2006). The displaced residents enrolled their children in schools in other states, however, it was still hard for children to acclimate after a crisis in addition to familiarizing themselves to a new school and making potential friends (Barrett et al, 2012;Fields, 2005;Johnson, 2008). When students had returned to the affected areas, it was a monumental task to meet the needs of the students (Henry, Cho, & Dupuis, 2008).…”

“…Natural catastrophes or persistent poverty might induce migration, both nationally and internationally (D. Yang, 2008). Natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, and heat waves usually lead to shortterm domestic migration; however, slow-onset changes such as land degradation or rising sea levels in seaside areas may force people to migrate permanently (Barrett et al, 2012;Xin, Bengtsson, & Holme, 2012).…”