The relationship of students' certainty about academic and career plans to student retention and persistence to graduation was investigated. The effect of race was also considered. In fall 1979 a survey was administered to 3,277 freshmen entering a major, public, research university. Respondents indicated reasons for choosing a college, their…

Five articles on higher education in Australia and New Zealand are presented, along with two review articles. "Australian Higher Education Research and Society. Part I: Post-War Reconstruction and Expansion, 1940-1965" (D. S. Anderson and E. Eton) is a review of research on higher education in Australia and New Zealand since World War…

Several areas related to minority student college attendance are presented in this research review including the current enrollment situation, financial considerations, prediction of college persistence, college characteristics which affect persistence, and special assistance programs. Current enrollment statistics are cited on the percentage of…

The Asian Commanding English (CE) program at the General College, University of Minnesota, which provides coursework in reading, writing, and oral communication to students from Southeast Asia, is described. The program was selected as a model for the development of a retention package specifically directed to the Southeast Asian student…

An experimental preservice teacher education program was developed to train prospective high school teachers to increase academic learning time through identification and arrangement of instructional tasks of personal and social significance. Participants were 34 junior-level prospective teachers who were subjected to two treatments which…

The focus of this study was the relationship between campus-based child care services at the State University of New York (SUNY) community colleges and the academic success of student-parents. Academic success was defined as completion of a degree or certificate program, transfer, or continued enrollment. Data were collected through surveys mailed…

The document examines the connection of commitment and dedication to excellence in teaching, and the extent to which their intensity can be measured as variables. The study expands the knowledge base of 19th and early 20th century teaching by discovering and documenting examples in the historical literature of dedication and commitment. The…

This paper discusses the New Teacher Retention Project, a collaborative partnership between San Diego State University and the San Diego Unified School District, California. The purposes of this project are to develop a practical model of support and assistance to new teachers, particularly those working with students from culturally diverse…

A trial program at Montana State University (MSU) was designed to enhance students' chances for academic success by running an experimental seminar for students suspended for the first time. A unique problem exists for MSU students suspended at the end of the spring quarter. Since summer school is not a quarter, those suspended for the first time…

In spring 1988, a survey was conducted of students who attended St. Louis Community College (SLCC) in fall 1987, did not graduate, and did not return for the spring semester. A questionnaire was mailed to 20% (N=2,270) of the fall 1987 non-returning students, requesting information on educational goals, attainment of or progress toward these…

Valencia (Florida) Community College's (VCC's) REACH Program offers high school students a 10-week college preparatory program, including 1-hour instructional units in communications, mathematics,and Afro-American history; 30-minute presentations by black professionals each week; and a personalized prescription for learning based on diagnostic…

This article reviews the literature on university student attrition and comments on general implications for secondary school counselors. The reasons that dropouts leave school are assessed, e.g., lack of interaction with faculty, a perceived lack of progress, and financial/family problems; and characteristics of non-returning students are…

The way that the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has tried to depoliticize minority admissions through the use of predicted graduation equations that are race specific is examined. Multiple regression and discriminant analyses were used with nine independent variables (primarily academic) to predict graduation status of 1974 entering…

Three regions of Tasmania (the Huon Valley, North-East Tasmania, and the Derwent Valley) were studied between June 1978 and June 1980 to discover what happens to school leavers in rural country areas and how their options and opportunities were to be considered with regard to range of occupational choices perceived to be or actually available. A…

This document reviews the literature on elementary and secondary school dropouts and notes the effects and possible solutions to the dropout problem. Statistical findings about dropouts from the 1960's to the present are presented along with methods of predicting who the dropouts will be. Dropout characteristics, including psychological, social,…