This paper discusses the outcomes of two intervention models designed to prevent students with disabilities from dropping out of school in Finland. The first model, the "Creating Own Career" model, is based on the main ideas of the City as School projects. The model is designed to emphasize young peoples' own motivation,…

This study questioned a previously observed relationship between seventh grade academic failure and later dropout behavior using five mediating variables. Researchers estimated a causal model with data from individuals tested in seventh through ninth grades and as young adults. Certain mediating factors (e.g., low motivation and perception of peer…

Early school leaving within the first five years of secondary education was studied in the Netherlands using a sample from the national Educational Priority Policy study. Over 5,000 students were selected initially. Some 4.7% appeared to have dropped out without the educational system's basic qualification by the fifth year for a variety of…

Examimes the effects of various measures of social capital on the likelihood of dropping out of school early. Results indicate that specific indicators of social capitol can account for all of the effect of attending a Catholic school, but for only a fraction of the effect of family structure on leaving school early. (Author/RB)

Presents a study conducted at the Hellenic Open University that focused on higher education offered by methods of distance learning, including the use of computers and other technology, and investigated causes of student dropouts and dropout rates. Highlights include student characteristics, including age and gender; and correlations between…

Discussion of at-risk students focuses on the possible role of the school library in the prevention and reduction of dropouts. Topics discussed include locating relevant resources both within and external to the school; database searching; teaching information skills; integrating relevant materials into the curriculum; and making available…

Used an ecological model to examine different factors impacting school completion and dropping out for Mexican American students, highlighting: the microsystem (individual settings), which emphasizes daily interactions represented by the family, the classroom, and peer relationships; the mesosystem (setting interactions); the exosystem (community…

Career academies, after more than four decades of development and three decades of evaluation, have been found by a conclusive random assignment study to be effective in improving outcomes for students during and after high school. Career academies have therefore become the most durable and best-tested component of a high school reform strategy to…

In the modern world, higher education is transitioning from enrollment mode to recruitment mode. This shift paved the way for institutional research and policy making from historical data perspective. More and more universities in the U.S. are implementing and using enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, which collect vast amounts of data.…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "The High Cost of Low Educational Performance": New OECD Report Finds that 25 Point Increase in PISA Scores…

In the history of mankind three important philosophical and scientific revolutions have taken place. The first of these revolutions was the mathematical-axiomatic revolution in ancient Greece, when the philosophers from Thales of Miletus to Archimedes built up the abstract deductive method used in pure mathematics. The second took place in the…

In this study we assess lifetime and recent drug use patterns among 261 heterosexually identified 18- to 25-year-olds through brief street intercept surveys conducted in New York City. Marijuana, hallucinogens, powder cocaine, and ecstasy were the most frequently reported drugs for both lifetime and recent use. Findings further suggest significant…

Transactional theories of development suggest that displaying high levels of antisocial behavior early in life and persistently over time causes disruption in multiple life domains, which in turn places individuals at risk for negative life outcomes. We used longitudinal data from 1,137 primarily African American urban youth (49.1% female) to…

Objective: The present study investigated the influence of race on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment among 94 African American and 214 Caucasian female victims of interpersonal violence participating in 2 studies of cognitive-behavioral treatment for PTSD that were conducted sequentially and continuously. Method: In each study,…

Virtual schooling has the potential to offer K-12 students increased access to educational opportunities not available locally, but comparatively high dropout rates continue to be a problem, especially for the underserved students most in need of these opportunities. Creating and using prediction models to identify at-risk virtual learners, long a…