The study presented in this article gathered and examined the views of key stakeholders in rural South African secondary schools on strategies for curbing learner dropout. The investigation, which employed a qualitative case study research model, sampled 20 secondary school learners aged 17-20 (11 female, 9 male), 20 youth aged 17-22 (11 female, 9…

This study profiles tutoring programs that empower urban youth within the Regional Institute of Tutorial Education (RITE), a community collaborative of universities, youth agencies, community service organizations, and school districts. Representative members of RITE detail how they address shared urban problems of academic deficits, school…

YouthBuild is intended to help high school dropouts, ages 16 to 24, who face an array of impediments to their educational and employment success as they progress into adulthood. Stemming from one program launched in the late 1970s, today over 270 YouthBuild programs operate nationwide. YouthBuild is a principles-based model that values a…

This study documents the important role school and community-based programs have for sustaining the persistence of Latina/o high school students in an urban, low achieving school district. Consensus among student participants revealed these programs provided a safe space where students were able to develop "confianza" (mutual trust) with…

To stem the tide of students dropping out, many schools and districts are turning to early warning systems (EWS) that signal whether a student is at risk of not graduating from high school. While some research exists about establishing these systems, there is little information about the actual implementation strategies that are being used across…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a fatherhood program on risk behaviors among three groups of young fathers: those still in school (21%), those who had dropped out (52%), and those who graduated from high school or completed a GED (27%). The sample consisted of 198 young fathers who participated in a school-linked…

Colombia has been ravaged for over 40-years by escalating civil conflict and more than half of its population of 42 million live below the poverty line. As a result, many children and young people are excluded from school and drop out rates of those who gain places are high. It is in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, where many displaced families…

From 1976-79, over 46,000 Wisconsin youth left high school before receiving a high school diploma, a number reflective of a national trend. Research has documented dropout characteristics, their reasons for leaving school, and the consequences of their decisions, but little effort has been made to examine ways in which schools and communities…

Describes the impact on the dropout problem of the Boston Compact, a collaboration between universities, businesses, labor unions, cultural organizations, and Boston Public School. Reviews "The Dropout Prevention and Reentry Proposal," a long-range plan developed in 1986 by a task force of school and community people, and the program…

A strategy proposed by T. Cook and D. Campbell (1979) was used to investigate attrition in a community-based literacy program, focusing on 287 Head Start families. Data revealed interactions among intervention program-centered characteristics and person-centered characteristics that have implications for study validity and generalizability.…

Efforts addressed at the pervasive school dropout problem in New York City received a boost in 1978 with the development of large scale, centrally initiated programs to reduce the number of high school dropouts. Based on the recommendations of two studies, the New York City Board of Education's Division of High Schools established outreach centers…

In fall 1993, the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) contracted with two community-based organizations to serve eligible AISD dropouts during the 1993-94 school year. The American Institute for Learning and Middle Earth Unlimited, Inc. provided services through the Creative Rapid Learning Center (CRLC) and the 78702 RAYS program,…

A group of three conference papers, all addressing the subject of effective programs to decrease the number of school dropouts, is presented in this document. The first paper, "Systemic Approaches to Reducing Dropouts" (Michael Timpane), asserts that dropping out is a symptom of failures in the social, economic, and educational systems.…

The consequences of not graduating from high school are increasingly serious for both individuals and society as a whole. As a result, policymakers and the federal requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have placed a new focus on increasing graduation rates and reducing dropout rates. While the dropout problem has generated research and new…