An Educational Applied Dissertation Model: Effectively Identifying Students at Risk Using School-Based Problem-Solving

Karen P. Rooks-Dotson, Ed.D.
Outskirts Press (2009)
ISBN 9781432741563
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (01/10)

 

Dr. Rooks-Dotson’s book serves two valuable services, the first being is that it gives doctoral students an opportunity to see how a dissertation should be written and it provides information on how school districts can help those students who are at risk of failing or dropping out of school.

Dr. Rooks-Dotson believes that each student should receive an appropriate education that will identify, and strengthen, the students' learning styles. Doing her research in a Chicago school, the author found that ten percent of students who were referred for an evaluation or resources did not meet the school’s criteria and, therefore, often fell through the cracks.

In the beginning, the author related that even though the school(s) had been putting into place new intervention plans, teachers and staff often felt overwhelmed with all they were required to do. Throughout each of her dissertation topics, the author provided charts, recommendations and comments on how to implement this new program supported by her literature review.

The recommendations made were excellent in my opinion, the first being that all teachers and staff have to fully commit to this new program. Everyone needs to be a team player and everyone needs to attend in-service training to better understand the goals of the program and how to implement them.

As an educator, I found this model of intervention to be easy-to-read, follow and duplicate. If every school put a program in place like the one found in “An Educational Applied Dissertation Model” by Karen P. Rooks-Dotson, Ed.D., we would have more children learning and being motivated to continue school.

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