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School engagement and high school completion are connected outcomes that remain in the forefront of improvement plans for schools across the United States. Lack of engagement in school has been directly linked to dropping out (Archambault, Janosz, Fallu, & Pagani, 2009; McDermott, Donlan, & Zaff, 2019), and dropping out of school is associated with decreased employment rates, increased involvement in the criminal justice system, and negative health and societal outcomes (Bjerk, 2012; Conger, Conger, & Martin, 2010). As of 2016, approximately 5.2 million Americans 18–24 years old (or 17%) had either not graduated on time or not graduated at all (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2017). Further, according to Porche, Fortuna, Lin, and Alegria (2011), youth who have experienced trauma drop out of school at a significantly higher rate (19.79%) than those who have not experienced trauma (12.97%). With growing awareness of the impact trauma can have on students, schools and school counselors would be remiss not to provide trauma-informed services. Although schools may not be able to prevent experiences of trauma, with increased awareness of what trauma is and how it influences school engagement and high school completion, school counselors can help schools identify and provide relevant trauma-informed interventions and services.
With increased awareness of what trauma is and how it influences school engagement and high school completion, school counselors can help schools identify and provide relevant trauma-informed interventions and services.
School Engagement and High School Completion
School engagement may be best understood as a multidimensional construct that includes behavioral, cognitive, and affective ways in which a student actively participates in school and cocurricular activities with a commitment to learning and achieving academic goals (Christenson, Reschly, & Wylie, 2012). Examples of school engagement include being on task, actively participating in class, and demonstrating self-regulation (Appleton, Christenson, Kim, & Reschly, 2006). School engagement plays an important role in the process of high school completion and the movement toward being college and career ready (Janosz, 2012). Further, as a construct, school engagement is fundamental to most theories of dropout prevention (e.g., Finn, 1989; Rumberger & Larson, 1998; Tinto, 1975; Wehlage, Rutter, Smith, Lesko, & Fernandez, 1989).
Efforts to identify students at risk of school disengagement or dropping out often focus on variables such as discipline history,...