Death of a dropout: (Re)theorizing school dropout and schooling as a social determinant of health

Item

Title
Death of a dropout: (Re)theorizing school dropout and schooling as a social determinant of health
Identifier
d_2009_2013:a6250222fc0d:10289
identifier
10255
Creator
Ruglis, Jessica,
Contributor
Nicholas Michelli
Date
2009
Language
English
Publisher
City University of New York.
Subject
Educational sociology | Health education | Public health | critical race theory | health | school dropout | social epidemiology | social justice | urban education
Abstract
In this dissertation I posit that schooling is a social determinant of health. Employing a mixed method, participatory action research design, this study examines and offers original theorizing on the ways in which schooling affects educational and health outcomes. This research explores how and why education is the most significant predictor of lifetime health. Grounded in critical race theory, this dissertation spans conceptual frameworks from critical theory, participatory action research, political economy, social and environmental psychology, social epidemiology and public health as a way to understand the relationship that education level has to health. It offers a detailed analysis of the relationship between education and health, the current graduation rate crisis and its historical origins, school dropout and the costs of diploma denial.;I describe the research process of the youth participatory action research collective called ProjectDISH (Disparities in Schooling and Health) formed for this study. ProjectDISH created the research questions, methodology, design, protocol and methods of analyses for this mixed-method (mapping, focus groups, and survey) research study. The purpose of our research was to investigate and document the ways in which schooling and health are related, and how racialized urban educational inequities and outcomes correlate with health disparities. Supporting literature and policy suggestions are woven throughout the findings chapters.;I end this dissertation by introducing a new theory of school dropout, called school non-completion, as a way to speak back to, reframe and move forward the discourse, research, policy and practices concerning school dropout. The concluding chapter also provides methodological considerations and policy recommendations for this work.
Type
dissertation
Source
2009_2013.csv
degree
Ph.D.
Program
Urban Education