Grade retention and early dropout are two of the biggest challenges facing education systems in middle-income countries today, representing waste in school resources. We investigate whether reducing parent-school information gaps can improve outcomes that are early-warning signals for grade retention and dropout. We conducted an experiment in…

In this study, we describe participant characteristics, conversation content, and program success of an online mentoring program for northern Canadian youth. We investigate the associations between demographics and program success. The profiles and conversations of students and mentors that participated in the program between 2009 and 2013 were…

Studies addressing at-risk students' perceptions of valuable caring relationships within their unique online environment are rare. While the phrase at-risk has a variety of meanings, this study examined the term pertaining to students who were labeled due to endangerment of not graduating from high school based on their life circumstances. Through…

For over two years the National Dropout Prevention Center (NDPC) at Clemson University has been supporting the Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD) in NW Alaska with their efforts to reduce high school dropout in 23 remote Yup'ik Eskimo villages. The Rural Alaska Mentoring Project (RAMP) provides school-based E-mentoring services to 164…

There are hundreds of studies that address "no significant difference" in the quality of online versus on-ground instruction, yet it is clearly the instructor who makes the difference. While there is considerable research on student retention practices for university recruitment and enrollment departments, there seems to be little written on…

Regardless of all its shortcomings, the Internet is essential in student retention and learning for at-risk students, homebound students, placebound employees, and for assisting workers on and off the job to maintain and upgrade their skills. The search for integrating the Internet to provide ease of accessing information with strategies that…

Latina students face many challenges that can lead to school dropout. Although school counselors have the skills and training to provide counseling and guidance to students at-risk for dropping out of school, they are often placed in positions where their role is primarily administrative. This paper describes an online support group developed by…