This report is the support document accompanying "VET as a re-engagement pathway for early school leavers," which explores the pathways of early school leavers -- that is, those who leave school without completing Year 12 -- by means of an analysis of data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY). In particular, the…

The main aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of why students abandon their studies, or perform less well than expected given their high school grades, and to develop predictive models that can help identify those students most at-risk at the time they enter college. This will allow teachers and those responsible for student…

The basis for this report is a large research project undertaken by The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) for the Ontario Ministry of Education from July 1974 through December 1975. It also uses evidence from two earlier small studies of OISE, from the academic years 1972-73 and 1973-74. The project was designed to be the main…

This, the third of three reports on a study of returning students attending Toronto Secondary Schools during the 1977-1978 academic year, provides indepth information about a sample of returning students and their non-returning counterparts on the following topics: (1) student characteristics; (2) circumstances surrounding leaving school; (3)…

Statistics and other information about dropout rates and characteristics at Britain's Open University are summarized and presented in question and answer form as a basis for informed discussion of the institution's dropout problem. Factors in dropping out (course, environment, motivation, other), dropout characteristics, course and discipline…

Each year, in order to determine the factors that influence student attrition, Vancouver Community College (VCC) selectively surveys former students who dropped out (discontinuants) of occupational programs on VCC's three main campuses. Former students were surveyed regarding their personal characteristics, main goals for coming to VCC, activities…

A two-phase study examined the incidence and nature of dropout and progression from basic skills programs in England and Wales. During the first (retrospective) phase, data about 1,920 students' attendance/dropout patterns and reasons' for finishing/leaving their basic skills programs were obtained from 82 tutors (of more than 300 contacted) in 8…

A study examined experiences of early leavers in the United States (US) and Australia in the first two years beyond high school. Data were from these comparable longitudinal surveys: US data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988; Australian data from the 1975 cohort of the Youth in Transition surveys. Findings indicated similar…

The characteristics and pathways of school leavers in Australia were examined by analyzing data on the cohort of Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) young people who were in year 9 in 1995 along with data on previous cohorts of teenagers. Only 79% of members of the study cohort remained in secondary school until the end of year 12. In…

Data for the Y95 cohort (first interviewed in 1995 when in Year 9) of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth were used to analyze the vocational education and training (VET) activities and experiences of Australian noncompleters of year 12 in their initial postschool years. Approximately 37% of the noncompleters had undertaken some type of…

Australian young people take five major transition pathways when they reach the end of compulsory schooling: compulsory to postcompulsory school, school-to-university/higher-education, school-to-vocational education and training, apprenticeship/traineeship, and school-to-work. In 1997, 97.2 percent were retained to Year 10; in Year 11, 84.4…

A stratified sample of 554 mature students at University College Dublin (UCD) in Ireland was studied. The sample included 200 unsuccessful applicants, 98 full-time mature students, 95 mature graduates, 100 modular bachelor of arts students, and 61 students who withdrew from UCD. A 50% response rate was achieved. The typical mature student was…

The changing patterns of noncompletion of school in Australia during the 1980s and 1990s and the outcomes of noncompletion were examined by analyzing data from the Australian Longitudinal Survey and the Australian Youth Survey. Despite improvements in completion rates among youths from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds and those in…