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Wraparound School Supports: Exploring Students’ Experiences of Meaningful Relationships with Caring Adults
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- Author / Creator
- Schultz, Jessica Lynne
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Relationships are not only important to healthy youth development but may be the key ingredient which make intervention programs with youth successful. This study used data from evaluation of a wraparound school initiative called All in For Youth which has, among others, an aim of building and maintaining meaningful relationships between students and caring adults. This study explored students’ experiences of how caring adults built positive relationships with them. Results showed three themes that illustrate how adults built these relationships. The first theme reveals that adults build relationships through their interactions with youth. Three subthemes highlight interactions that provide support, promote growth, and involve a social component. The second theme identifies caring skills adults demonstrated that nurtured close relationships. The three associated subthemes show adults were dependable, encouraging, and emotionally intelligent. The third theme discusses how adults build relationships through fostering supportive environments. Three subthemes describe that adults enabled connections, created safe spaces, and utilized team communication. In addition to the three core themes that illustrate how adults build relationships, a fourth theme discussed the evolving nature of student-adult relationships, where it was found that some relationships progressed after students’ high school graduation. This study aligns with current research on developmental relationships and highlights the potential that wraparound school support initiatives, like the AIFY program, have for continuing research on these important relationships between youth and non-family adults.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2022
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Education
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Library with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.