The effects of family relations of adolescent students on school life and implications for school social work

The aim of this study is to understand how family relations and family functioning of adolescent students effect their education in school, and to find out social work roles in school settings to contribute solving school-related problems that students and their families face with. Mixed methods were used to design the research model. A total of 397 students from certain vocational high schools located in Altındağ, which is a central district of Ankara the Capital, participated in quantitative phase. Participants initially were asked to respond a survey which included questions about their socio-demographic information and their school-family context, then they were asked to respond McMaster Family Assesment Device to identify their perceptions of family functioning. In qualitative phase, 22 students who were selected from participants of quantitative phase and 8 school personnel including school counsellors and school administrators were interviewed for in-depth understanding of students' school life, family relations, functioning of their families, family difficulties, and family-school interactions. In accordance with overall research findings, it was concluded that the family life experiences of adolescent students is highly effective on their school life. In this respect, certain recommendations to solve problems of students and their families and enable more effective family-school partnerships have been presented in a framework for specific practice model based on school social work practices.