This study investigates the change in students' cognitive engagement as a result of participation in a Flexible Learning Programme. Using an understanding of engagement as both a process and a relationship between the students and their school, we sought to determine whether students' perception of competency, willingness to engage, and…

Although vocational education and training is considered to be a good option for improving livelihood opportunities for marginalised youth in developing countries, it often suffers from an image problem. This situation affects the quality of entrants, instruction and skills acquisition in training programmes. In this article, the researchers…

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to understand the academic disengagement and reengagement process from the perspective of students enrolled in a dropout recovery charter school. Specifically, this study focused on students' perceptions of the factors that influenced their lack of success in the traditional school setting, the…

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…

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.…

This report on California dropouts draws on a large body of current research and features the correlates known to be associated with dropouts. It also details what is known and not known about the magnitude of the dropout phenomenon. Section I provides an introduction to the report. Section II presents a description of the reasons that students…

An alternative dropout-prevention program is examined from the students' perspectives. Findings from interviews and observations suggest that the program is effective in keeping the students in school but does little to help the students develop daily living and social skills. Policy implications are discussed and suggestions for future research…

This report assesses the first year of a school achievement program in Lowell, Massachusetts (Lowell Achievement Program, LAP). The program targeted seventh and eighth grade students who were at risk for dropping out of school. The main goals of the program were to identify these students and to stimulate them to participate in their own learning…

This report on the high proportion (25 percent) of California high school students who drop out is divided into five major sections. The first discusses the historical shifts in reform efforts to address, alternately, "relevance" and "excellence." It finds that high school students are now more bored and apathetic than…

The study examines the relationship between success upon leaving an alternative school program and immediate measures of program effect. The strength of the relationship was used to determine the degree to which the program effected its long term goals of preparing students for future academic or vocational success. Student success was defined as…

As the 21st century rapidly approaches, America will be directly confronted with the reality that its nationwide public education system has failed to adequately and accurately train its future generation of citizens. Socioeconomic status and race have been implicated as the two biggest factors related to dropping out. Current researchers have…

The Occupational Proficiency Training Program (OPT) was initiated in Mitchell County High School, Georgia, to identify potential dropouts, place them in an alternative vocational education program, provide special communications and mathematics assistance, and maintain knowledge through recordkeeping of a student's progress through the program.…

Data on dropout patterns in New York City Public Schools are provided and analyzed in order to identify issues to be addressed and contribute to the establishment of standards and criteria for program development. Part I introduces the key questions to be asked. In Part II, the term dropout is defined according to State Education guidelines; the…

This booklet focuses on the roles of student activities and student activity advisers within the school. It opens with definitions and characteristics of at-risk students and details some program guidelines for these students. Trying to make at-risk students feel connected to the world of work or the world of school is the book's central theme. In…

This paper describes a dropout prevention, residential summer program on university campuses in Arkansas. The Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) progam began in 1988 at Henderson State University and by 1990 five Arkansas universities hosted programs. Funds for the program are provided through state agencies, the universities, vocational funds,…