This article focuses on the response from a specially constructed questionnaire which was completed by 431 education social workers/education welfare officers located throughout England and Wales in 2005. The findings are supported by interview data obtained from fifty-nine education social workers/education welfare officers in selected local…

This book offers profiles of 30 high school students at Oak Park and River Forest (OPRF) High School, in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois. Located in a neighborhood characterized by great disparity among residents' incomes, the school is one of the country's premier secondary schools. The book was written by the school dean, who taught a…

This special issue of the serial SET for 1996 contains seven newly commissioned articles and four reprints all related to the education of children at risk. This issue includes: (1) "Students at Risk: An Overview" (Margaret Batten, Graeme Withers, and Jean Russell); (2) "Inquiry into Children in Education at Risk through Truancy and…

The Absent Student Assistance Program (ASAP) began as a collaboration between the one Houston (Texas) precinct and two middle schools to reduce unexcused absences. By 1996-97, the program had expanded to a second precinct and additional middle and high schools. Program implementation in Precinct 7 was evaluated for the 1996-97 school year. Schools…

The report presents results of a computer summary of Sacramento City Unified School District data on high school level dropouts for the four school years from 1980 to 1984. The district dropout rate fluctuated mildly from 1980-83; from 1982-83 to 1983-84, however, there was a drastic decline in the dropout rates. Each regular high school showed a…

A dropout prevention program was developed to address the needs of middle school alternative students, those students who have been labeled as severely disruptive and who fall into the high-risk category for potential dropouts. Many of the students have a history of physical violence, abusive language, truancy, and police arrests or juvenile…

This survey of Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools was done to answer the following four questions about student discipline: (1) To what extent is student discipline perceived to be a problem? (2) What are the perceived causes of student behavioral and discipline problems? (3) How are the schools planning and administering discipline? and…

The development, implementation, and evaluation of a policy to increase student attendance in Albemarle High School, Virginia, is described here. Implemented in 1976, the policy called for mandatory grade reduction for students with large numbers of unexcused absences. The program evaluation revealed that the basic objective of improving student…

The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Cambridge (Massachusetts) has developed a School-Juvenile Court Liaison Program. Central to the effectiveness of this program is the appointment of a school staff member who fills the role of a liaison or "linking mechanism" between the school and court. The overall objective for the liaison is to…

The data from this study, conducted in conjunction with the Preparation through Responsive Educational Programs (PREP), indicate that no general statements can be made about the relationship among school absenteeism, juvenile delinquency, and other measures of school performance. However, the special approach used to reduce absenteeism did work…

The School Organization program of the Center for Social Organization of Schools is currently concerned with authority-control structures, task structures, reward systems, and peer group processes in schools. This report, prepared by the School Organization program, examines one aspect of authority-control structures in high schools--content of…

Examines to what extent school absenteeism and dropout status as an adolescent have implications for performance of other roles subsequently in the life cycle. Domains of adult functioning studied among former truants and dropouts include occupational and educational attainment, health status, delinquency, and patterns of drug use. (GC)

Many gifted students have problems that are not simply academic, but also social and emotional. Gifted students frequently experience self-doubt, boredom, frustration, and social isolation or ridicule from peers. Teacher education courses should equip high school teachers to deal with the emotional problems of gifted adolescents. (JN)

This article describes an attempt to reduce truancy through intervention in the school system. This strategy had two goals: (1) amelioration of truancy as manifested in individual patterns of behavior; (2) elimination of setting events and/or contingencies within the school system that evoke or reinforce truancy. (Author/KC)

Urban schools in America seek solutions to problems caused by outside elements. Instead, the focus should be on basic dilemmas and detriments within the schools. Twelve internal changes could occur immediately in all American urban schools to bring improved choices, research, and leadership to administration and faculty. (SB)