About M-C & Me: A Digital Tool to Support Military-Connected Students Moving to a New School District
Abstract
Focus Area: This project addresses the Fiscal Year 2021 Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health Research Program Investigator-Initiated Research Award Focus Area of Prevention. Objective: Our objective is to develop and conduct an initial evaluation of a digital tool that can be used to support the school transitions of military-connected (M-C) students in the elementary and middle school grades. This tool will capture information specific to the transitioning M-C student that is conveyed to staff in the receiving school district along with key information about military family culture more generally. We will conduct a beta trial of About M-C & Me to gather feedback on whether this new digital tool is viewed by stakeholders as acceptable, non-harmful, appropriate, usable, important, and distinct from existing resources. Participants will be M-C students/parents and teachers (total N = 30) from North Thurston Public Schools, located near Joint Base Lewis McChord. Rationale: All M-C children experience the stress of family moves and multiple school transitions, and most do so with few significant, health-related difficulties. But many do struggle, in part because teachers in civilian schools often fail to recognize when a student is from a M-C family and because teachers tend to lack understanding and appreciation for military family culture. For this proof-of-concept project, an iterative process and stakeholder input will be used to develop and conduct an initial evaluation of About M-C & Me. This web- based tool is designed to (a) introduce transitioning M-C students to their new schoolteacher, (b) enhance teachers’ military cultural awareness, and (c) guide teachers’ efforts to welcome and support transitioning M-C students in the elementary and middle school grades. Inspiration for this tool came from working directly with M-C students and parents in an ongoing, mixed-methods longitudinal study of school supports for M-C students. Several M-C families expressed gratitude for our focusing on M-C families, indicating that simply being asked how their student was doing was supportive and helpful. We were inspired by the potential benefit of these light touchpoints and saw strong links to research documenting how civilian schools struggle to support M-C students because teachers lack military cultural competence. Ultimate Applicability: The ultimate application of this project is widespread distribution of an engaging, web-based tool that M-C parents and children can use to enhance the transition into a new school district and thereby reduce parental stress and promote positive student outcomes (e.g., school belonging) that are known to be health-protective. Potential Clinical Applications, Benefits, and Risks: Clinical applications for this prevention-focused tool involve providing M-C parents with a tool for acting with greater agency to enhance their students’ transition into a new school. Projected Time to Achieve Person-Related Outcomes: Our plans are to have a working version of this tool within 2 years, with beta-testing to conclude 6 months later. Contributions to Advancing the Prevention of Psychological Health Conditions: Perhaps the most significant contribution to advancing the prevention of negative health conditions in M-C families is recognizing that military families (the backbone of the Armed Forces) represent a distinct culture, well-suited to support mission readiness but also inadvertently contributing to M-C students being somewhat invisible in the education space.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 28, 2022
- Source ID
- W81XWH2210904
Entities
People
- Timothy Cavell
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Arkansas