Mobility Strategies and Academic Success within Military Families
Abstract
The purpose of this narratalogical case study was to investigate the strategies military
families utilize to contribute to the academic performance of highly mobile military
connected students. The unit of analysis was the strategies parents describe. These strategies
included what is available for active duty military parents of 6th grade students that have
moved three or more times. The problem addressed with this limited group of mobile
military families was whether the previous duty station moves impacted the dependent
child’s academic performance. The limited research on the academic performance as related
to military student mobility is in dire need of being addressed. In an attempt to discover if
there were successful strategies having a positive impact on academic performance as related
to these transient military families the questions I answered are: (1) How do military parents
describe their experiences related to family mobility? (2) What strategies do highly mobile
military parents identify that assist with student academics in a variety of educational
settings? (3) What support mechanisms for education do military parents receive to assist
with mobility? and (4) What concerns would mobile military families like to see addressed
for additional support in transition?
Through the process of “themeing the data”, four themes central to the study of
mobile military families were apprehended: (1) Strategies (2) Identity (3) School/School
Choice and (4) Moving/Mobility. The findings discovered from gathering the data centered
around the successful strategies of use of technology for research, communication, parental
involvement, and maintaining a positive attitude. Future research should expand on this
study by gathering data from more military installations and including those families with a
parent or parents that hold one of the enlisted ranks.
Table of Contents
Introduction -- Review of the Literature -- Methodology -- Making sense of their stories -- Conclusion -- Appendix A. Narrative story prompt (written reflection) -- Appendix B. parent interviews on transition from school to school
Degree
Ph.D.