Background: High school dropout represents an important public health issue. This study assessed the 3 distinct dimensions of student engagement in high school and examined the relationships between the nature and course of such experiences and later dropout. Methods: We administered questionnaires to 13,330 students (44.7% boys) from 69 high…

The development of students should be the primary mission of higher education. The consequences of significant attrition in many universities are not trivial. This study identified relevant variables and appropriate methodologies for enhancing undergraduate retention at one university. By employing records analyses, system definition, and a…

"A Vision for the Future," a comprehensive long-range plan to develop, implement, and evaluate a multipart program to reduce the dropout rate in the Charleston, South Carolina, school district, is described in this report. Goals and objectives are presented, followed by a description of 18 intervention strategies. Components of the plan…

Few studies have been conducted on nontraditional student attrition in postsecondary vocational educational programs. This lack of attention is due to methodological limitations, lack of priority on data collection in vocational education, and lack of perceived need for research. The conceptual model of student attrition in postsecondary…

This practicum paper describes the design and implementation of a mentoring program to improve the academic achievement of black male urban high school students. The program utilizes black adult mentors from both the community and the school's faculty. Mentors function as role models, advisers, and resource persons. The program design includes the…

The hearing was convened to address the problems in American education and to identify and lend support to those successful and cost-effective policies, practices and programs that have emerged since 1965. This is one in a series of regional hearings designed to obtain diverse viewpoints, examine proposed solutions and agree on viable solutions to…

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.…

The hierarchical clustering technique was used to differentiate college dropouts from persisters, and to determine how student clusters differ from one another on relevant outcome variables. Subjects were 618 freshmen who entered a community college with the intention of completing a two-year associate degree. There were 432 persisters who…

Responses to a survey questionnaire completed by 1,070 migrant students who returned to school after dropping out were tabulated and listed by response frequency to determine student characteristics that will help migrant educators predict dropout behavior and address its causes. Participating students were enrolled in 13 High School Equivalency…

A study examined the difficulties encountered by first-year, part-time Technical and Further Education (TAFE) students that cause them to consider withdrawing from, and in many cases, dropping out of their TAFE programs. Questionnaires were administered to 4,150 early withdrawers (persons who dropped out between January 1 and May 16, 1986), 2,940…

This paper suggests that the current wave of educational reform carries with it a conception of "excellence" derived from concern for the productivity of the nation's human potential. First, differing concepts of excellence are addressed, followed by a discussion of recent educational reforms that are perceived as threats to students who…

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…

This book is the result of a series of workshops designed for school personnel desiring to improve educational programs for disadvantaged youth and potential dropouts. The workshops were conducted at Cornell University during the summer of 1964 through 1967. The chapters in this book on milieu, basic issues, dropout problems, counseling the…

In recent years a number of new institutions; i.e., "street academies", have been established to educate students who have dropped out or are prone to drop out of inner city secondary schools. There is reason to believe that many of these schools have been successful with youths who had not succeeded before, and therefore that lessons might be…

The self-concept of minority youth serves as the organizing focus for this paper. The various social and cultural forces which converge on this population are highlighted, as are the resulting deficiencies: (1) poor self-image; (2) frustration about high school; and (3) limited ability to communicate. A special program at the Casa Grande, Arizona…