A study of student failure or withdrawal from higher education in six institutions in northwestern England investigates the relative influence of 36 possible reasons for withdrawal. Respondents were 1083 full- and part-time students. Results for noncompletion, including institutional and student variables, and their cost to the public purse are…

This article considers links between instructional group size and student engagement, caseload and academic achievement, and caseload and special educator attrition. Findings indicate larger caseload and group sizes negatively affect math and reading achievement, student engagement increases when group sizes decrease, and high teacher attrition…

A Michigan State University group advising program designed to provide a more intrusive advising format for freshmen and sophomores on probation and reluctant to meet with advisors is described. The program has helped students better understand the skills needed to maintain academic excellence. Results of the activity suggest it has been a…

A teacher of adjudicated students wonders: why teach? The money is not good. The call for accountability is based on the misperception that teachers perform poorly. The work is stressful and complicated by imposition of standards that don't address all aspects of a good education. He reasons that he can't find anything more rewarding than working…

Argues that quality of life is a vital measure when counseling students to determine their best educational pathways to success. Explains that a student's current life status and his/her projected future are useful tools for making recommendations for development and for instilling motivation. Urges college personnel to actively engage students in…

This chapter summarizes useful and relevant resources and information on the topic of serving minority populations in community colleges, and presents information about several programs and services that have been successful in ensuring minority student success.

Inconsistent performance by gifted students has been a source of frustration for both parents and educators for decades. Several studies on gifted under achievement point to a connection between student learning styles and classroom performance.This study examined the learning styles of gifted middle school students, student perceptions of the…

How does one become an effective teacher? What can be done to stem high attrition rates among beginning teachers? While many teachers are left to "sink or swim" in their first year--learning by trial and error, there remain a number of outstanding examples of collaboration and collegiality in teacher induction programs. Analysis of the…

In this age of heightened concern about teacher quality, calls for new policies and practices concerning recruitment, induction, and retention are familiar to many. The current enthusiasm for policies to recruit, support, and retain new teachers runs the risk of adding more clash and clang to an already cacophonous policy environment. In this…

This study examined the individual and household determinants that affected the chances of Cambodian rural children being enrolled in or dropping out of school before completing grade four. Data were obtained from interviews with 159 children aged between 12 to 18 years and their families from two rural villages in Pursat province of Cambodia. The…

There is a growing population of young adults who are underserved by community colleges in the United States, students who are poorly prepared for college work and are at risk of poverty, social problems and failure to realize their full potential. Educational programs offered by community colleges represent this group's best hope of overcoming…

This research argues that despite all of the obstacles that African Americans have confronted in the history of the United States, they have made substantial progress in higher education attainment from the 1970s to the beginning of the 21st century. It reveals that the rise in attainment of college and university degrees has resulted in a…

Over the past year, a number of journals have reprised many of the questions plaguing higher education--providing a full year's worth of sleepless nights. While each of these issues justifies considerable dialogue and attention, the one issue on which parents, students, the public, and educators can agree is the importance--and the challenge--of…

While many studies have reported the predictors of teacher attrition, we know little about what predicts the attrition of school leaders. Using the Colorado state data on elementary school principals' and assistant principals' career paths from 1999 to 2001 and school achievement-level data, we addressed two research questions: 1) How do the…

A total of 204 K- 12 teachers were surveyed for the purpose of investigating the effect of pre-service student teaching on teachers' career goals, affective measures and classroom teaching. The study also explored whether different levels of supervision of student teaching may have had different effects on teachers' personal and professional…