Glendale (Arizona) Community College (GCC) conducted a survey of students who attended the college in fall 1984 and did not return for the spring 1985 term to determine former students' perceptions of GCC, reasons for not reenrolling, educational goals, transfer and employment experiences, salaries, and characteristics. Study findings, based on…

A sample of students who withdrew from Mesa (Arizona) Community College (MCC) during spring 1986 was surveyed to determine reasons for withdrawal and dropout characteristics. Study findings included the following: (1) the primary reason for withdrawing was conflicting job hours, with 52% of the students who were employed working over 40 hours per…

Many studies of dropouts have examined race, gender, ethnic background, and socioeconomic status as factors predisposing students to drop out of school. A study was conducted to examine the school-related factors influencing high school students' decision to drop out, as well as the attitudes of high school dropouts toward public education today.…

This paper focuses on data concerning the characteristics, attitudes, and school experiences of rural dropouts. The discussion, which draws largely upon the High School and Beyond database, considers two primary concerns. The first deals with differences between rural dropouts and their rural counterparts who stayed in school. Areas of inquiry…

To improve Chippewa Indian retention in higher education, 277 Indian students, 7 key informants, and 11 service providers were surveyed to determine facilitating factors as well as obstacles. Of the 277 students, 125 responded to the questionnaire. The sample included former college graduates, college dropouts, and current students. Service…

Research has shown that between 20 to 40% of secondary school students feel they are wasting their time in school. A good proportion drop out; others stay on only because they have no better alternative. To determine whether the Greater Victoria (Canada) School District was meeting the needs of its students, 450 students in grades 7, 10 and 12…

Based on 3,522 one- to two-hour personal interviews conducted in 1973, this study compares the 1973 views and attitudes of American youth to a survey conducted in the late 1960's. As a result, significant trends are traced through an era filled with events that deeply affected the lives of young people, such as the peak and ending of the Vietnam…

Seven groups were surveyed during March through June 1972 as to the importance, quality, and extent of use of various student service functions at Harrisburg Area Community College. Faculty, administrators, student services staff, and four student groups (current, graduates, nonreturning, and student counselors) comprised the survey population. Of…

Students' decisions to complete high school or to drop out are interpreted as rational in terms of their perceptions of the relative payoffs and costs of educational attainment. High school completion rates relate positively to comparative post-high school economic and educational opportunities and negatively to the costs of schooling. (AF)

Reviews the origins and development of the 20th-century term "drop-out." Asserts that the social construction of the drop-out problem explicitly marks the time when secondary education became a common expectation in the United States. Contends that secondary education's success created the concept of a drop-out "problem." (CFR)

Examined the effects of individual characteristics and types of parental involvement on participation in advanced mathematics from grades 8-12. Data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth indicated that mathematics participants had higher socioeconomic status than dropouts at every grade level. Gender, attitude, and achievement affected…

A study explored whether mature age students' conspicuous academic success could be partially explained by motivation. It compared motives of a sample of mature "graduate mothers" to those of a sample of mature age "student mothers" who had interrupted a program of study. The 117 graduate participants were randomly chosen from…

In fall 1992, a survey was conducted of two subgroups of students who had enrolled for less than six credits in one of the seven community colleges in the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota during fall quarter 1990, and who had not re-enrolled as of fall quarter 1992. The two subgroups surveyed included those classified as "completers"…

This paper presents a study designed to determine the reason first and post-first year students (N=61) chose to leave Chicago Urban University (CUU) prior to graduation. Data were sought from a random sample of 100 students via either a mailed or a telephone survey, with a 61% response rate. The 54-question interview/survey instrument examined the…