Discussion of the problem of student procrastination in distance education focuses on interviews with administrators and professors in two distance education programs. Perceived reasons for student attrition and noncompletion are described, and the concept of procrastination as a cause for noncompletion of courses is discussed. (12 references)…

Examines losses--financial, personal, and more--suffered by the university, the student, and the profession when a minority student nurse drops out. Suggests possibilities to prevent such attrition. (Editor/JOW)

For some youth, schools provide more structure and stability than any other source. Project Pioneer, a pilot project at a Wichita (Kansas) high school, helps create a support base for high risk youths entering high school. Success depends on extensive staff training and close counseling for potential dropouts. (MLH)

Keeping all adolescents in high school longer will not necessarily solve illiteracy, crime, and unemployment problems. Dropout prevention programs are already on a collision course with demands for higher promotion and graduation standards. What urban dropouts need is to exchange city slums for a revised version of the Civilian Conservation Corps,…

Examined attrition and weight loss in 235 female obese binge eaters, episodic overeaters, and nonbingers in 26-week program of behavior modification/very low calorie diet. Found no significant differences among conditions in number of program completers. Episodic overeaters were more likely than others to drop out during last seven weeks of…

Examined late adolescents who drop out of church and others who remain committed to it. Survey of Seventh-day Adventist youth found commitment related to cognitive, experiential, and activity dimensions of religion. Ethical considerations, perception of one's importance to local congregation, and peer influence also played part in stepwise…

Examined effect of tutoring on persistence of academically underprepared minority college students. Tracked 679 academically underprepared minority students for 3 semesters. Students (n=282) who were tutored showed significantly higher persistence rates than did students (n=397) who were not tutored. (Author/NB)

In the period before World War I, New York schools did provide some opportunities for immigrant children, but, despite compulsory education laws, the majority of immigrant students dropped out and went to work. (SK)

School counselors identified, using qualitative judgments alone, adolescents who they believed to be at moderate risk for dropping out. The students (N=53) were administered a dropout prediction scale. Results indicate that the counselors accurately identified potential dropouts. Discusses the ties between dropout identification and consultation…

As this historical overview shows, viewing grade retention as a panacea for education woes ignores its negative effects on children. Today's retention rate is high, matching that of the early 1900s. Retained students are more likely to drop out, have underprivileged backgrounds, be male and African American, and have less educated parents.…

Studies of the impact of short vs. long time delays between initial referral and first appointment for relationship counseling of 60 clients. Results indicate that clients offered appointments within two weeks of referral were significantly more likely to attend for first appointment than were clients whose appointment came between 4 and 12 weeks…

Study addresses school violence and dropout and proposes that the underlying factor of school connectedness/school climate should guide preventive and intervention efforts. Principal components analysis revealed five distinct factors: school connectedness/positive school climate, causes of violence, causes of school dropout, interventions for drop…

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth show that acquisition of the General Educational Development (GED) credential results in wage increases for dropouts who left school with weak skills, but not for those who left with strong skills. Postsecondary education and training are associated with higher wages for male dropouts. (SLD)

This article discusses the issues and problems which typically arise in the process of compiling non-completion statistics, using the example of an empirical investigation of student non-continuation on an institution-wide language programme. The research highlights the fact that the validity of seemingly neutral dropout figures depends on the…

Accountability is the catchphrase for today's educators, who recognize that they and the institutions they represent are expected to demonstrate value--to students, faculty, administrators and the larger community. But instructional accountability is about far more than standardized test scores, dropout rates or transiency and attainment of…