The Kenyan education system has very limited re-entry options for learners who drop out before attaining secondary school certificate. It is very difficult to access training and or secure a job that requires at least secondary school education. This study examined the prospects of initiating Open and Distance e-Learning(ODeL) in re-entry…

This paper invokes the voices of young people who had been separated from mainstream schooling because they were positioned as "disengaged" and "at risk of failing". The authors argue that streaming students out of schooling needs serious questioning as an escalating number of young people are framed as non-performers within a…

This study describes an intervention developed to implement several best transition practices with a high risk/high need population. In all, 116 students with disabilities from a charter school for dropouts participated. All students were interviewed at different points in time to track their progress as they completed the program. Records of…

This paper tackles what is arguably one of the most pressing and intractable educational issues confronting western democracies--the disengagement and disconnection from schooling of alarming numbers of young people. The paper looks at the policy response in Victoria, Australia, and through ethnographic interviews with a small number of young…

Schools are often criticized for their role in creating the dropout problem. This article illustrates that with the right resources and approach, educational programs could become sites of transformation rather than reproducers of social inequality. Narrative and thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with graduates of a nationwide program that…

Purpose: This study aims to deal with the role of vocational training in developing social inclusion by analyzing the school-to-work transitional outcomes of early school leavers whose successful experience in vocational training was documented in previous works. Design/methodology/approach: The sample comprises 126 males who enrolled in and…

The fact that there are many children and youths dropping out of school in Indonesia cannot be denied. The number of dropouts in elementary schools, junior, and senior high schools, and combined with those abandoning school before finishing their higher education program each year remains high. To mitigate this situation, there has been an…

The concept of student engagement is critical in the discussion of school reform. This issue is particularly important in dropout prevention programs such as the alternative high school, although little empirical work guides intervention efforts. In this qualitative research, ethnographic observations were combined with interviews with 24 students…

Concerned about the persistently high dropout rates from big-city secondary schools, education leaders are trying a new approach to increasing the graduation rate--multiple pathways to graduation. Multiple pathways initiatives are relatively new and far from proven. Even the most advanced examples face significant issues, i.e., the need to…

School dropout is a problem that has distressing personal and societal consequences. Not surprising, students who drop out are typically not academically motivated. This phenomenological study examined the meanings that students construct about academic motivation while participating in a dropout prevention program that primarily uses counseling.…

Describes the ethnographic component of a multidisciplinary evaluation, conducted by the RMC Research Corporation, of the Career Intern Program for dropouts. Includes discussion of participant observations, interviewing techniques, triangulation, unobtrusive measures, data recording, and equipment. (Part of a theme issue entitled…

In a case study of four urban adult basic education programs in a northeastern state, large increases in the participation of 16- to 20-year-old students were found. Many of these students were reading below the fifth-grade level despite aspiring to the General Education Development (GED) diploma. Reasons for youth participation included increased…

Results of a process evaluation of dropout prevention programs in the Leon County (Florida) School District during the school year 1989-90 are presented. Altogether, 11 dropout programs were operationalized in that school year. The methodology used for developing a problem and benefit survey among teachers and administrators, the results of the…

The document is comprised of the appendixes to Volume 3 ("Descriptive Study of the Talent Search Program") of a four-volume Research Triangle Institute final report titled, "A Study of the National Upward Bound and Talent Search Programs." The 14 appendixes comprising the document are: a list of Talent Search advisory council…