Students drop out of school because of a variety of family, economic, and racial factors that can be categorized as either alienation, lack of motivation, or disadvantage. The key to reducing the dropout rate is helping youth to overcome their sense of disconnection. Students with low motivation to attend school have shown improvement in school…

This practice-application digest addresses what vocational education can do to reduce the almost 30 percent dropout rate among U.S. students. The first section describes factors that place students at risk, focusing on factors included in the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's definition of the term "at-risk." In the next…

Besides having to cope with the usual pressures associated with the transition to adulthood, dropouts must deal with the stigma attached to the fact that they are school dropouts. Research reveals that, for a variety of socioeconomic and psychological reasons, dropouts are generally less able to plan, less willing to work hard, and less skilled in…