Using a Delphi approach, 10 experts identified 186 practices from the fields of transition and dropout prevention that would be effective with high-risk students, including those with mild disabilities. Rating these practices indicates that many prevention practices are important and feasible to implement. (SLD)

Describes a new instrument to predict dropouts, the Student At-Risk Identification Scale (SARIS). The SARIS consists of two subscales, one from student records and one that is a self-report. Scale construction is described, and narrative data are presented, along with evidence of reliability and validity. Predictive and diagnostic values of the…

Describes Colorado's Eagle Rock School, which offers troubled teens a fresh start by transporting them to a tuition- free campus high in the mountains. The program encourages spiritual development as well as academic growth. The atmosphere is warm, loving, structured, and nonthreatening. The article profiles several students' experiences at the…

Discusses empirical studies conducted between 1950 and 1970 examining the relations between psychological characteristics of students and subsequent high school dropout. Results clarified some methodological requirements for research on school completion and suggested that social and emotional variables explain some of the variance in school…

In this paper, the author discusses the recent National Center for Education Statistics study of students from the 1998 eighth-grade who had dropped out. The study found a surprisingly high percentage of these students had managed to obtain further education. The study defined a dropout as a student absent from school for four consecutive weeks or…

This grounded theory study was designed to investigate the factors that influenced 20 "traditional" university freshmen to withdraw prior to the end of their first year at two Midwestern universities. A two-hour audio-taped interview was conducted with each of the participants, and the grounded theory method was utilized to analyze the interview…

Those who teach know that it is difficult and demanding. Relentlessly, teaching requires much and seldom gives much back. Needless to say, many teachers find the challenges frustrating and complex. It is easy to understand that "teacher burnout" is as much a part of the profession as overhead projectors and textbooks. In 1995, the Brigham Young…

The "EQUIP3 Newsletter" is an e-newsletter that is currently sent to subscribers quarterly. It provides updates on EQUIP3 activities and initiatives, and shares excerpts from relevant youth development resources. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Bangladesh Youth Employment Pilot (BYEP); (2) CSY [Cross-Sectoral Youth]/YED…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the experiences of full-time doctoral students transitioning from professional employment. Interview data were interpreted through a student transition and socialization conceptual framework. Five themes emerged: identity, integration, support systems, perseverance, and success vs.…

Noting that many of the nation's high schools are beset with major problems, such as low student reading and math achievement, high dropout rates, and an inadequate supply of effective teachers, Steve Fleischman and Jessica Heppen survey a range of strategies that educators have used to improve low-performing high schools. The authors begin by…

This study examined the development of community involvement in a place-based high school program for at-risk youth. Teachers and community members founded the program to address concerns about low achievement and high dropout rates among Native Hawaiians. In addition to funding, community members provided program development, supervision of…

We investigate graduate school outcomes for students who entered economics Ph.D. programs in Fall 2002. Students in Top-15 ranked programs and those with higher verbal and quantitative GRE scores are less likely to have dropped out, but no more likely to have graduated. Those with undergraduate degrees from Top-60 U.S. liberal arts colleges and…

"New Chance," a program for young welfare mothers who have dropped out of school, aims to improve both their employment potential and their parenting skills. Participants take GED (General Educational Development) preparation classes and complete a parenting and life skills curriculum. Once they complete this first phase of the program,…

In 2003/4, 13 Australian universities took part in a follow-up survey of occupational stress following an earlier one conducted in 2000. More than 6000 staff participated at each time, of whom 969 (stayers) participated at both times. This paper presents the cross-sectional data obtained on both occasions as well as the longitudinal data provided…

The size of schools and districts in which they are located has become a salient policy issue in recent years. While consolidation of school districts and expanding high school size were in vogue from the 1960s until recently, funding agencies are now sponsoring projects to reduce school size under the assumption that smaller schools will lead to…