Action Research Report

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Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership

and Postsecondary Education

University of Northern Iowa

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In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirement for the

Master of Arts in Education

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by

Katie Shaler & Rebecca Swanson

American Community School of Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

06 OCT 2017

--

Dr. Tammy Gregersen

1. Topic
The topic that we have chosen to investigate for this Action Research

Report is the social-emotional effects of transitioning to a new school.

According to Pollock and Reken (2009), the transition stage begins the

moment we leave one place and ends when we not only arrive at our

destination but make the decision, consciously or unconsciously, to settle in

and make become part of it.

2. TCK Text

The transition stage is a time of great upheaval for many families.

During this time, problems that are usually seen as small, can become quite

exaggerated. This is especially true in parents who are having trouble

transitioning. Pollock and Reken (2009) note that when parents become

focused on their own survival, children are often left feeling very insecure due

to the sudden lack of attention. They state that the insecurity of each family

member contributes to the chaos for everyone.

Parents, who are focusing on their own survival, have trouble focusing

on their childrens needs, which can cause challenges for schools. When

children are not feeling supported at home, they will take longer to move from

the Transitioning Stage to the Entering Stage of the Transition Experience.

Supported parents would be better able to help support the child transition, as

their needs for survival would be met. Aside from the warm welcome that

many newcomers receive, Pollock and Reken (2009) indicate the importance
of every member of the family finding a place in the community.

3. Objectives

The objective of this project is to investigate the relationship between

support provided to parents in the transition stage and the feelings and

attitudes of new students toward the school community. The goal is to provide

some evidence that it is in the schools best interest to support parents in the

transition process.

4. Question

Does school provided parental support, in the Transition Stage, lead to

children who assimilate into the school culture faster?

5. Data Collection

The American Community School of Abu Dhabi is an international

school with an American curriculum partnered with the American Embassy in

the United Arab Emirates. Students in our school represent nearly 80

nationalities though about 50% of our students are American citizens. On

average, about 20% of our students are new each year.

Three weeks into the school year, parents of children new to the

elementary school were given a survey to help gage their feelings about the
 transition process to our school. This was done at a parent coffee for new

parents who were there to discuss transitions. Additionally, a similar survey

was given to new elementary students.

The surveys were each five questions long and participants were

asked to rank how strongly they agreed or disagreed with each statement.

Each survey had a comment section underneath the questions. The parent

survey and the student survey asked different questions. The parent survey is

unique and probed parent feelings about the transition for themselves and for

their children. The student survey is very child friendly and is primarily about

how they are feeling and has only one question about their parents.

Surveys:

Parent Survey Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Disagree Agree
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

1. I felt supported prior to arrival at ACS.

2. Orientation day made me feel more supported.

3. The school has been supportive in my familys

transition process.

4. I feel I have adjusted well to ACS.

5. I feel that my child(ren) have adjusted well to ACS.

Comments:
Student Survey Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

1. I was excited to come to ACS.

2. Orientation day made me feel welcomed.

3. My parents are happy about my school.

4. I like being at ACS.

5. Students are nice to me at ACS.

Comments:

Parents were able to fill out the surveys quickly and independently.

Students were given the survey by the teacher assistant in each classroom.

For the younger students, the teacher assistant read the questions to them

and the students put happy faces in the columns they chose. If they had

comments, the teacher assistant scribed their comments for them. The older

students read and filled out the questions independently. A teacher assistant

was available if they needed any assistance.

6. Results

After giving parents and students new to our school community the

survey, we started by calculating the means for each of the responses. Those

results can be found in the following charts:

Parent Survey Results

Mean

1. I felt supported prior to arrival at ACS. 4.2

2. Orientation day made me feel more supported. 4.2

3. The school has been supportive in my familys transition 4.5

process.

4. I feel I have adjusted well to ACS. 4.0

5. I feel that my child(ren) have adjusted well to ACS. 4.5

Student Survey Results

Mean

1. I was excited to come to ACS. 3.9

2. Orientation day made me feel welcomed. 4.9

3. My parents are happy about my school. 4.9

4. I like being at ACS. 4.7

5. Students are nice to me at ACS. 4.7

7. Interpret Data

The first thing that we noticed when looking at the survey results was

that, in general, our new families feel welcomed to our school. The results

were more uniform than expected with most parents agreeing or strongly

agreeing with most comments. We also noticed that, with the exception of one

student, every person surveyed attended our New Student Orientation Day in
August before school actually begins. The one student who did not attend

may not have been in the country yet as many schools did not start until after

a religious holiday in early September this year. Investigating this further, we

found that between 90% and 95% of new families attend our New Student

Orientation Day each year.

Not a single one of the twenty new elementary students surveyed put

down anything less than agree with the statements, Orientation day made

me feel welcomed, My parents are happy about my school, I like being at

ACS., and Students are nice to me at ACS. There were are few students

who were neutral with the statement I was excited to come to ACS, and one

student who said he disagreed with that statement. The same student who

disagreed with I was excited to come to ACS also reported that he strongly

agrees with I like being at ACS at the time of the survey.

Of the twenty parents of new students surveyed, not a single person

responded to any of the five statements with disagree or strongly disagree.

The parents who were neutral on the statement I felt supported prior to

arrival at ACS, all responded that they agreed or strongly agreed with the

statement The school has been supportive in my familys transition process.

Only one parent responded neutral to the statement Orientation day made

me feel more supported. That same parent strongly agreed to feeling

supported prior to arrival and agreed to the remaining three statements. Four

parents reported that they were only neutral to the statement I feel I have

adjusted well to ACS. These parents responded that they agreed or strongly

agreed to the other four statements indicating that even though they are
personally still struggling a little, the school has been helpful through the

process and their child has adjusted well.

One data point that we found interesting was that the lowest result was

the students response to the statement I was excited to come to ACS.

These lower responses most likely point toward the students fear of transition

but could be something our school could seek to improve upon in the future

with better marketing or outreach to new elementary students.

8. Draw Conclusions

Overall, based on the data that we collected, when support to parents

is provided in the transition stage, the transition is positive and students feel

welcomed in their new school environment.

This then answers the questions, Does school provided parental

support, in the Transition Stage, lead to children who assimilate into the

school culture faster? Yes, it does. It is in the school's best interest to support

parents in the transition process because as you support parents, it directly

impacts how their children can be supported.

Based on the data, what ACS is doing as a school is working well.

Continued efforts and organization should continue to focus on providing

transition support to parents.

 References

Pollock, D. C. & Van Reken, R.E. (2009). Third Culture Kids: Growing Up

Among Worlds. Nicholas Brealey Publishing: Boston, MA.