What It Means to Be At-Risk and Why It Matters Essay

What It Means to Be At-Risk and Why It Matters Essay

Instructions:

What It Means to Be At-Risk and Why It Matters Essay

It is likely that you have at least heard the term at-risk used in a variety of contexts, but you may not know exactly what is meant by this commonly used term. When working in a community or educational environment, one must be aware of the scope of at-risk groups so as to implement or guide them toward appropriate and effective supports or services. In this discussion, you will analyze a variety of descriptions of at-risk groups and behaviors associated with them for the purpose of acquiring your own working definition.

You will include this definition in your website that is created throughout the course and finalized during the Week Six Final Project and make adjustments to your working definition during Week Six when you reflect upon how your definition has expanded.

Prepare for this discussion by reading the Week One Instructor Guidance and reviewing the following resources that provide descriptions of at-risk groups and the behaviors associated with them:

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: At-Risk Individuals (Links to an external site.)

• A website defining at-risk individuals.

U.S Department of Health & Human Services: Factors That Contribute to Child Abuse and Neglect (Links to an external site.)

• A website about child abuse and neglect.

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (Links to an external site.)

• An article describing violent behavior in children and adolescents.

Teachnology (Links to an external site.)

• A website defining the concept of being at-risk.

National Center for School Engagement (Links to an external site.)

• A website offering descriptions for youth at risk.

Initial Post: Considering the descriptions in the websites provided above, create an initial post that addresses the following:

1. Discuss which of the websites most effectively described the term at-riskas it relates to establishing and enhancing your understanding of the phrase.
2. Write a working definition of the term at-riskin your own words. Review the Week One Instructor Guidance for what constitutes a working definition.
3. Explain what the personal value is in having knowledge of groups at risk in relation to your current or anticipated future work with children and/or families.

Overview A few words about the importance of reading the Instructor Guidance pages are likely to be useful to you to start off this guidance. Next, this overview provides a section about the course learning outcomes and their relationship to the weekly outcomes and program outcomes. This overview section concludes with helpful information about active reading strategies and academic writing, which will be useful to you for excelling in this course and in future classes.

About the Instructor Guidance Pages The guidance pages provide an overview of the week, a section with intellectual elaboration written by professors at Ashford University about the course topics explored during the current week, and additional specific guidance for the assessments (i.e., assignments and discussions) written by the course designers to supplement the instructions provided with the assessments and in the grading rubrics that are located on the weekly unit homepages.  Supplemental resources are also included in the Instructor Guidance.

You are encouraged to consider using these resources to support your completion of the weekly assessments beyond using the required and recommended resources provided on the weekly unit homepages and in the consolidated list of resources on the Course Materials page.  Thus, you are strongly encouraged to review the Instructor Guidance each week as part of your study plan. Not only does the Instructor Guidance offer you insights and assistance with the weekly topics and activities, it models effective academic writing, which is expected of you in all of your coursework in this graduate-level course.  The Scope and Outcomes of EDU644 Through the assessments in EDU644, you will have opportunities to examine and create original resources you can use as a professional educator working with families and children at-risk.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will have demonstrated your mastery of the five course learning outcomes, which are listed on the Syllabus. Review the Course Map on the Syllabus to learn how each assessment in the course aligns to the five course learning outcomes.    The courses learning outcomes guided the design of this course and all align to one or more of the weekly outcomes, which are more specific about what you will do each week and are listed on the weekly unit homepages. The course and weekly outcomes are aligned to the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) Program Learning Outcomes, which can be viewed from the MAED Program Details  (Links to an external site.)page on the Ashford University website. If you have questions about the scope and outcomes of EDU644, please contact the instructor in the Ask Your Instructor discussion. Next, please continue reading to learn about active reading strategies and the importance of academic writing in this graduate-level course.

This course gives you many opportunities to sharpen your 21st century technology skills. While at first you may not think you are technically savvy enough for the technology enhanced components of the various assessments, rest assured your instructor is prepared to assist you when challenges using the technology do arise.  Active Reading and Academic Writing in EDU644 Each week in EDU644 you will complete a significant amount of reading from the Rubin (2012) textbook and other resources related to groups and individuals at risk. It is strongly recommended that you start using strategies for active reading now if you do not already as part of your study routine.

Review the Tips for Active Reading  (Links to an external site.)tutorial that is part of the recommended resources for Week One to learn more about active reading. The tutorial is approximately ten-minutes long and explains the concept of active reading and practical strategies for active reading. This tutorial will be especially useful for you as you read the textbook.  Additionally, remember that EDU644 is a graduate-level course. As such, your writing in the discussion and assignment assessments each week is expected to demonstrate your best academic ability, including the area of academic writing.

For a review of what academic writing entails, view the  What is Academic Writing?  (Links to an external site.)tutorial that is part of the recommended resources for Week One. Approximately fourteen-minutes, this video tutorial explains the fundamental components of academic writing and will provide helpful reminders about academic writing to support your writing in all assignments and discussions throughout the course.

Intellectual Elaboration This week we focus on developing a working definition of the term “at-risk” and evaluate resources associated with poverty. In Week One and throughout the course, we will evaluate groups at risk and associated behaviors in relation to the potential impact the behaviors have on the well-being or ability of the groups to thrive. By defining the nature of the issues facing families and children at risk, there are opportunities to for you to form a foundational understanding of the potential needs of families and children at risk.

Defining “At-Risk” When we speak of groups and individuals at risk, we want to emphasize the individuals and groups first. Therefore, when writing about groups and individuals in this course, it is important to phrase the writing so that in most cases, the people come first before the label “at-risk”. The table below provides some examples of acceptable and unacceptable ways to phrase your references to groups and individuals throughout the course. We have also modeled this phrasing throughout the course for you. Please work to emulate this style of referring to groups and individuals at risk.

Poverty as an At-Risk Indicator

Poverty is a condition related to the socioeconomic status of families and children. In the United States, the instances of poverty for individuals, groups, and across generations in families has been changing with more single parent families and children living with socioeconomic hardships. In part caused by the housing-market crash and associated recession in the late-2000s, more families have found themselves in poverty. To be sure, the picture of poverty has changed as indicated in the Figures 1 and 2 on this page. Figure 1 is a visual of how you might typically think of a family in poverty appearing while Figure 2 shows a more modern look at a family in poverty. What comes to mind as you view these figures? Do your perceptions of poverty include visualizations such as these?

Some effects of the condition of poverty include marginalization of health and access to healthcare, effects on the academic achievement of children and their families who also sometimes attend school, conditions of financial stability, and mental health and overall wellness of families to function in society.

According to many sources, the socioeconomic divide between high and low-income Americans is increasing; the trend has changed recently to include poverty labels for many who were formerly in the shrinking “Middle Class” segment of the population of Americans in the United States.

To learn more about middle class populations living in poverty, view the video from CBS News (2011):  CBS Evening News – Family faces the growing edge of poverty (Links to an external site.) . The video is approximately four-minutes long and highlights families who were middle class and who are now living in or on the edge of the poverty level in the United States.

Next, watch the CBS News (2011) video: CBS Evening News – Poverty spilling into American suburbs (Links to an external site.). This two-minute video explores an analysis of census data shows that in the 2000s, the number of low-income neighborhoods grew by 54 percent in U.S. suburbs, compared to 18 percent in cities.

According to the World Health Organization (2014) “the immediate cause of inequalities in chronic diseases is the existence of higher levels of risk factors among the poor” (p.3).  Such inequalities include decreased educational opportunities; psychosocial stress; limited choice of consumption patterns; inadequate access to health care and health education; and vulnerability to the adverse effects of globalization (p.3).

While individuals are covered by healthcare in the United States, the impacts of diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic diseases continues to impact the low-income communities at disproportionate levels (World Health Organization, 2014).  The effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR3590) have yet to be determined for their effectiveness in serving families and children in poverty.

In order to reach families and children at-risk, experts in the field such as teachers, social workers, and law enforcement, must understand the nature of poverty and the resulting impacts.  As the experts gain a sense of the needs of families and children at risk, the programs and strategies can be customized to meet their needs. Through a set of sequenced steps, the issues of social, economic, health, and academic needs can be gradually addressed while many Americans are struggling to survive.

Working with children and families at risk is a labor of passion and hope for improving their futures. There must be a concerted effort to really understand the nature of poverty and the connections to socio-economic and academic related issues.  Experts who work with these families and children can gain a deeper sense of purpose as they dig further into the underlying nature of poverty.

Assessment Guidance

This section includes additional specific assistance for excelling in the discussions for Week One beyond what is given with the instructions for the assessments. If you have questions about what is expected on any assessment for Week One, contact your instructor using the Ask Your Instructor discussion before the due date.

Post Your Introduction

The Post Your Introduction discussion is your first opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the first course learning outcome, “Distinguish groups and behaviors considered at risk.” This discussion is also your first opportunity to make a professional and positive impression on your classmates and instructor while you get acquainted.

The initial post for this discussion could be composed as a text response or as a slideshow using Microsoft’s PowerPoint (Links to an external site.), which could be narrated using Jing (Links to an external site.),or a webcam video of you speaking by using YouTube (Links to an external site.). The content expectations for the initial post are equivalent to one page of double-spaced text, eight-to-ten PowerPoint slides with a title and references slide, or a three-to-five minute recording.  If you create a multimedia introduction, include a link to its location on the web or attach the file to your initial post.

If you use the YouTube option, you may wish to keep your video as “unlisted” if you do not want it publicly available in search results on the YouTube website. The privacy policies for Jing and YouTube are provided in the descriptions for these resources in the Recommended Resources list for Week One. Please take time to review the policies. If you have questions about the use of these media options, contact the instructor in the Ask Your Instructor discussion.

Discussion 1: What it Means to be At-Risk and Why it Matters

Discussion 1 for Week One is another opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the course learning outcome that calls on you to “Distinguish groups and behaviors considered at risk.” By reviewing the resources listed in the Discussion directly, you will begin to acquire a general understanding of what it means to be at-risk. As such, you will develop your own working definition from which to draw from and ultimately, expand upon as you progress through the course.

Having a working definition means you have enough knowledge of something to apply it in a practical, meaningful way. It is also important you pay close attention to the Guided Response prompt for this, and every discussion each week. Doing so requires you to demonstrate critical thinking and communication skills that add to the quality of each discussion as well as your ability to more accurately show what you know, giving your instructor a more accurate sense when assessing your responses.

Discussion 2: Evaluating the Impact of Poverty

Discussion 2 for Week One is yet another opportunity to demonstrate mastery of the course learning outcome that calls on you to “Distinguish groups and behaviors considered at risk.” With this Discussion you have the opportunity to investigate a particular web resource that will expand your understanding of those living in poverty while revealing traits of an effectively structured website that makes information easy to access and understand. Recognizing organization and content structures will help you as you begin to structure your own website in Week Two.

When investigating the Poverty USA  (Links to an external site.)website, take time to explore the Homepage and several of the links and additional pages. Gear your exploration toward the focus of this discussion which asks you to summarize statistical data, consider the impact of poverty on families, and analyze programs, policies, and resources. Additionally, observe the structure and design features of the website itself.

You are asked to remark upon features that were particularly helpful, innovative, or interactive—elements that made your learning of the content more effective. Last, you have the opportunity to conduct your own search for another website on the topic of poverty for which you will share and remark upon. This additional discovery will also add to your understanding of poverty and website design features.

References

CBS News. (2011, November 3).  CBS Evening News – Family faces the growing edge of poverty  (Links to an external site.)[Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/bv48A9BSews

CBS News. (2011, November 3).  CBS Evening News – Poverty spilling into American suburbs (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/4BEG3z2bV_A   Johnson, L. [lisajohnsonphd]. (2013, November 11).  Tips for active reading (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoCrKa-rm1w&feature=youtu.be Johnson, L. [lisajohnsonphd]. (2014, September 2).  What is academic writing?  (Links to an external site.)[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn8Ja92b3ZI Rubin, A. (2012). Clinician’s guide to evidence-based practice: Programs and interventions for maltreated children and families at risk. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons.

World Health Organization (2014). Chronic diseases and health promotion. Part two: The urgent need for action (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/chp/chronic_disease_report/part2_ch2/en/

Required Resources

Articles

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry . (2011, December). Understanding violent behavior in children and adolescents (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Understanding_Violent_Behavior_In_Children_and_Adolescents_55.aspx

• This AACAP website provides an overview of violent behavior in children and adolescents and links to other Facts for Families Pagesthat may be of use for this course. This website is a required resource for the Week One discussion about what it means to be at-risk.

Teachnology. (n.d.). The effects of poverty on teaching and learning (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/poverty/

• This website provides an overview of the concept of at-riskand explores several challenges of poverty in learning environments. This website is a required resource for the Week One discussion about what it means to be at-risk.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2012). At-risk individuals (Links to an external site.) . Retrieved from: http://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/abc/Pages/at-risk.aspx

•  This HHS website provides the HHS definition of at-risk individuals and elaborates on how their definition is related to the National Response Framework (NRF) definition of at-risk individuals. The website also discusses the typical services an individual at risk typically needs and provides examples for how to identify an individual at risk. This website is a required resource for the Week One discussion about what it means to be at-risk and assignment about poverty.

Websites

National Center for School Engagement. (n.d.). Serving at-risk youth (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://schoolengagement.org/school-engagement-services/at-risk-youth

• The National Center for School Engagement was established based on over a decade of educational research conducted by Colorado Foundation for Families and Children. NCSE has generated many resources about school attendance, attachment, and achievement. NCSE provides training and technical assistance, research and evaluation to school districts, law enforcement agencies, courts, as well as state and federal agencies – to name a few. This website is a required resource for the Week One discussion about what it means to be at-risk.

Poverty USA (Links to an external site.). (http://www.povertyusa.org)

•  The Poverty USA website describes an initiative of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development offering a vast array of information regarding issues related to poverty in the United States as well as ways to make a difference, how to get involved, the provision of resources, stories of hope and videos that show the impact of poverty. This website is a required resource for the Week One discussion about Evaluating the Impact of Poverty.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (n.d.). Factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/can/factors/contribute.cfm

This HHS website provides links to articles about several factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect. The website also emphasizes the importance of awareness of these factors for individuals working with groups at risk. This website is a required resource for the Week One discussion about what it means to be at-risk.and assignment about poverty.

Recommended Resources

Multimedia

Ashford University (n.d.) Quick ‘n’ dirty: Ashford university library (Links to an external site.)  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://content.bridgepointeducation.com/curriculum/file/e857a1f5-ed8b-4901-9b88-8b9e4d7652c7/1/Quick%20%27n%27%20Dirty%20Ashford%20University%20Library%20%282%29.zip/Quick%20%27n%27%20Dirty%20Ashford%20University%20Library/quick.html

• This website is provided by Ashford University as a resource for learning to search the Library for scholarly journals using the online databases. This resource will be valuable to students throughout the course for locating scholarly resources to use with other discussions, assignments, and the Week Six final project.

Ashford University (n.d.). Searching for articles using FindIt@AU (Links to an external site.)  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://content.bridgepointeducation.com/curriculum/file/0122cf67-2fe2-40fc-8d61-9aea0bf62068/1/MATLT-FindIt%20Advanced%20Search.zip/MATLT-FindIt%20Advanced%20Search.htm

• This website is provided by Ashford University as a resource for learning to conduct research using the Library. This resource will be valuable to students throughout the course for conducting research for the other discussions, assignments, and the Week Six final project.

Johnson, L. [lisajohnsonphd]. (2013, November 11).  Tips for active reading (Links to an external site.)  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoCrKa-rm1w&feature=youtu.be

• This approximately ten minute video explains the concept of active reading and presents practical strategies for active reading. This video tutorial will be useful for students in EDU644 as they read the Rubin (2012) required text and other required readings for each week.

Johnson, L. [lisajohnsonphd]. (2014, September 2).  What is academic writing? (Links to an external site.)  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn8Ja92b3ZI

• This approximately fourteen minute video explains the fundamental components of academic writing. This tutorial will provide helpful reminders to students in EDU644 about academic writing to support their writing in all assignments and discussions throughout the course.

Websites

Google. (n.d.). Use a webcam to record video (Links to an external site.). (n.d.).Retrieved from https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57409?hl=en

• Creating a webcam video is free with a Google YouTube account, webcam, and microphone. This website explains how to create a webcam video using YouTube. This website will be most useful for the Week One Post Your Introduction discussion. Please be sure to review the YouTube Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)to understand your rights and responsibilities related to privacy when using the YouTube technology and associated services.

Jing (Links to an external site.). (http://www.techsmith.com/download/jing)

• A free download, this screen capture and screencasting tool provided by Techsmith is one option to record narration for a PowerPoint presentation for up to five-minute. You also receive a link for your creation on the screencast.com distribution site associated with Jing. This multimedia tool will be most useful for the Post Your Introduction discussion during Week One. Please review the Techsmith Privacy Policy  (Links to an external site.)to understand your rights and responsibilities related to privacy when using Techsmith’s Jing technology and its associated screencast distribution service.

Office. (n.d.). Tips for creating and delivering an effective presentation (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint-help/tips-for-creating-and-delivering-an-effective-presentation-HA010207864.aspx

• Use this website as an expert resource for tips to create and deliver an effective presentation, such as the autobiographical presentation you have the option of creating in the Week One Post Your Introduction discussion. Please be sure to review the Microsoft Office Privacy Statement (Links to an external site.)to understand your rights and responsibilities related to privacy when using any of the technology and associated services with Microsoft Office, such as PowerPoint.

What It Means to Be At-Risk and Why It Matters Essay

RUBRIC
Excellent Quality 95-100%	Introduction 45-41 points The background and significance of the problem and a clear statement of the research purpose is provided. The search history is mentioned.		Literature Support 91-84  points The background and significance of the problem and a clear statement of the research purpose is provided. The search history is mentioned.			Methodology 58-53 points Content is well-organized with headings for each slide and bulleted lists to group related material as needed. Use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance readability and presentation content is excellent. Length requirements of 10 slides/pages or less is met.
Average Score 50-85%	40-38 points More depth/detail for the background and significance is needed, or the research detail is not clear. No search history information is provided.		83-76  points Review of relevant theoretical literature is evident, but there is little integration of studies into concepts related to problem. Review is partially focused and organized. Supporting and opposing research are included. Summary of information presented is included. Conclusion may not contain a biblical integration.			52-49  points Content is somewhat organized, but no structure is apparent. The use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. is occasionally detracting to the presentation content. Length requirements may not be met.
Poor Quality 0-45%	37-1 points The background and/or significance are missing. No search history information is provided.		75-1 points Review of relevant theoretical literature is evident, but there is no integration of studies into concepts related to problem. Review is partially focused and organized. Supporting and opposing research are not included in the summary of information presented. Conclusion does not contain a biblical integration.			48-1 points There is no clear or logical organizational structure. No logical sequence is apparent. The use of font, color, graphics, effects etc. is often detracting to the presentation content. Length requirements may not be met
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