Pilot Study On Student School Connectedness By Nicole Lynn Malinoski

Introduction

This paper will summarize and reflect the pilot study conducted by Nicole Lynn Malinoski on student school connectedness during the week of November 20, 2017. It will review the process for question development, summarize the methods used to select, inform, and schedule participants, describe the setting for the pilot study participants, highlight experiences with the interviews and focus groups, and, finally, detail the reflection of the qualitative researcher.

Process for Question Development

Questions were developed by looking at my research questions, literature streams, and personal knowledge about school connectedness. I want to see what makes for students and if we can change a student’s level of connectedness in high

I asked them to provide me with names of students who were involved in the school on varying levels, not just the high profile students whom everyone knows. I also asked them to include students who were not as involved as their peers in order to include their perspective on school connectedness.

After receiving about 15 potential participants, I randomly selected four students for my focus group and four students for my individual interviews. I met with each student, explained the purpose of our meeting, and gave their documents, including the parent consent form. Two days after I distributed the information, I spoke with each individual student again, reaffirmed they shared the information and letter with their parents, and, if so, scheduled the interview time.

One of the students who was targeted for participating in the study chose not to continue because her mother disapproved. Interviews were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, November 20 and 21 during a free period in the student’s schedule. The focus group meeting was scheduled for fourth period on Tuesday, November 21,