This book describes an initiative that has proved effective in keeping more young people from dropping out of education, training or employment. The authors present case studies based on in-depth interviews with participants from five widely divergent European countries--the UK, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ireland--which illustrate the…

This article investigates the impact of the relationship between learning providers and young people who have experienced Not being in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) on the latters' agency development. Agency is defined as not only bounded but generated by intra-action with relations of force, including learning providers themselves.…

The purpose of this historical case study was to gain an understanding of dropout recovery programs from an interpretive historical perspective. Dropout Recovery is an Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education initiative that provides high school dropouts an opportunity to re-enroll in school, gain academic credit, and participate in…

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…

The purpose of this mixed-design study was to use quantitative and qualitative research to explore the effects of High School Success (a course for at-risk ninth graders) and its effectiveness on student achievement, attendance, and dropout prevention. The research questions address whether there is a significant difference between at-risk ninth…

After realizing that the traditional modes of tuition in Zimbabwe's andragogy had either gone obsolete or over-crowded, BUSE ventured into a "virtualised" model of open and distance learning as a way of out-doing other competing universities. However, as the programme was rolled out, there came a myriad of challenges affecting the…

We evaluated a program to improve literacy instruction on the Kenyan coast using training workshops, semiscripted lesson plans, and weekly text-message support for teachers to understand its impact on students' literacy outcomes and on the classroom practices leading to those outcomes. The evaluation ran from the beginning of Grade 1 to the end of…

Too many students in high-poverty, urban communities drop out of high school, and too few graduate prepared for college and careers. Three national organizations--Talent Development Secondary, City Year, and Communities In Schools--have formed "Diplomas Now" in an effort to transform urban secondary schools so fewer students drop out and…

The Pre-GED (General Education Development) and Skills Options Program was a response by one state to the national increase in high school dropout rates. However, more than a decade later dropout rates continued to rise. As a result, an evaluation of the program was needed. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the purpose of the program,…

There is a new endangered species in this country--the black male. The education of the black male in the United States has recently garnered much-needed national attention. Two national reports in 2010 have heightened the awareness of the fact that the black male student is not successfully navigating our public school systems, often dropping…

This paper describes a development project aimed at reducing the large number of dropouts in online degree project courses. The idea was that the introduction of group tutorials in virtual seminars, combined with extensive support materials, would reduce dropout rates. Among the students who participated, the dropout rate was reduced by 50%…

Marginalized boys at risk of dropping out of high school have for a long time been a problem in the Western world. 100 such Danish 14-16 year old boys were in the summers of 2013, 2014 and 2015 exposed to a new school program, "The Boys Academy," inspired by Seligman and the American KIPP schools suggesting seven character strengths to…

Purpose: This exploratory case study examines how school systems and other local organizations have been working within two major U.S. cities to improve high school graduation rates. Systematically assessing active interorganizational dropout prevention networks may reveal characteristics affecting communities' capacity to support school…

This paper provides an active discourse on the use of innovative solutions to conduct an in-depth investigation on the success and viability of 9th Grade Freshman Academies, Centers, and Center Models to aid in the retention of at risk students. These types of academic programs provide an active solution for the retention and projected completion…

An early warning system is an intentional process whereby school personnel collectively analyze student data to monitor students at risk of falling off track for graduation and to provide the interventions and resources to intervene. We studied the process of monitoring the early warning indicators and implementing interventions to ascertain…