Collateral damage on the home front : the impact of alternative education models on the high school graduation of at-risk military dependent students

This study looks at a culture within a culture focusing on military dependent high school students at risk of not completing high school, what occurs when the psychosocial stressors due to high mobility and other family dynamics impact adolescent children, and what role alternative education programs may play in mitigating educational challenges and family life stressors. A review of the literature speaks to the high mobility, academic challenges, and psychosocial stressors unique to military dependent populations, as well as the various alternative independent study models explored. Emphasizing student- centered appreciative inquiry, the study employs a qualitative embedded design within a single case study with a focus on the relationship between military dependent students at-risk for dropping out of high school and independent study alternative educational programs at multiple freestanding and traditional school campuses. Both students and teachers were interviewed. Additionally, students were asked to respond to three quick-write questions. Data supporting the self-perception of academic and psychosocial success from a student/teacher perspective were analyzed to look at changes in course completion, appropriate age/grade level remediation, tracking for timely graduation, post high school plans, changes in family dynamics, and changes in attitudes about school and self- wort