NCJ Number
95451
Date Published
1982
Length
31 pages
Annotation
The Positive Action Through Holistic Education (PATHE) Program, which operates in seven Charleston County, S.C., schools, is described and evaluated.
Abstract
PATHE is designed to impact upon the whole child and upon the whole school environment. Its goals are to reduce delinquent acts and inappropriate behavior in and around PATHE schools, reduce unexcused absences and tardies, increase successful transition to the job force and postsecondary education, and reduce academic failure. The program provides three types of ongoing interventions: student-level, which provides direct services to individual students; school-level, which is directed toward the expansion and improvement of existing school services and the introduction of new structures and organizations within the school; and community-level, which develops linkages between the school and community support systems. A study undertaken to compare the degrees of implementation of 21 different interventions in the seven schools and to allow the testing of simple hypotheses regarding the correlates of successful implementation is discussed. Average scores were calculated on both the fidelity (degree to which a program as implemented corresponds to the expectations of the program developer) and intensity (standards for the number of persons served or activities conducted) scales. These scales were found to provide useful, reliable, and valid data in a manageable form. While many of the PATHE interventions are doing very well, some have only been marginally implemented. Principal support for each intervention should be checked for each school. Twelve references, one figure, and an appendix are included.