This document explores the problem of educational wastage in elementary and secondary schools of United Nations member countries. Educational wastage exists in the (1) failure of a system to provide universal education, (2) failure to recruit children into the system, (3) failure to hold children within the system, (4) failure of the system to set…

Project Process, funded through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VIII, is an integrated model within the existing school system concentrating on reducing the number of dropouts via an institutional change strategy. The basic goal of the project is to develop a flexible atmosphere where learning can take place. Within this goal is…

A sample of nonpersisting students is compared with persisting counterparts at Pepperdine University in terms of receipt of financial aid, grades awarded, etc. The findings suggest that financial aid is awarded to students with a higher probability of persisting to the end of the term. (LBH)

Results of a survey of British doctoral students not completing their graduate programs are reported. Students' reasons for dropping out include individual characteristics, personal problems and accidents, problems inherent in research projects, and poor supervision. Faculty attitudes and government policy are discussed. (MSE)

Interviews were conducted with 104 Mexican American high school graduates and dropouts to determine why some students leave school. The interviewees reported similar family backgrounds (parental educational and occupational levels), but graduates were more likely to report having more friends, more siblings who had graduated, better overall…

Results of this preliminary study of college students indicate that (1) the dropout pattern for high communication apprehensives is more severe than that for low communication apprehensives and (2) high communication apprehensives achieve lower grade point averages than do low communication apprehensives. (PD)

Students who drop out of school face a difficult future. For students with disabilities, the risks are intensified. Their dropout rate is about 40 percent--more than twice that of their peers without disabilities. However, families can play an important role in making sure their student with or without disabilities graduates. This brief provides…

This report builds upon a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988. It presents estimates of most rates in 2004, provides data about trends in dropout and completion rates over the last three decades (1972-2004), and examines the characteristics of high school…

The dropout rate is one of the most critical issues that Canadian educators face. Based on a 3-year study in the greater Toronto area, this book established a new frame of reference for understanding the dropout dilemma. This book suggests that race, class, gender, and other forms of social difference can affect how education is delivered. For…

Describes strategies used in a successful program to reduce dropout, failure, and suspension rates among Black and other minority group students in an urban high school. (ST)

Cites references from the ERIC junior college collection which relate to retention and persistence in the community college and includes a bibliography of doctoral dissertations on the subject. (AYC)

Discusses the Young Adult Learning Academy (YALA) in Manhattan, which offers an opportunity for school dropouts to get an equivalent of a high school degree and partake in job preparation programs. Describes the role of technology and the Youth Internship Program which trains students to work in day-care centers. (AEF)

Statistical analysis of a sample of the 1979 entry cohort to Lancaster University indicates that the likelihood of non-completion is determined by various characteristics including the student's academic ability, gender, marital status, work experience prior to university, school background, and location of home in relation to university.…

Reviews research on instructional practices that help at-risk students. The programs reviewed fall into three general categories: prevention programs at the primary level, classroom change programs, and supplementary/remedial programs. Lists general features that characterize these programs. (TE)

The conventional wisdom on how tomorrow's scientists are identified and trained in elementary and secondary schools is being questioned. The importance and reasons behind encouraging students to stay in science and mathematics are emphasized. (KR)