Outlines what school administrators can do to increase their understanding of local dropout programs and to decrease dropping out. Suggestions include analyzing local data, instituting early tracking of potential at-risk students, creating alternative programs, reorganizing to improve school climate, and initiating new forms of student assessment.…

Reviews information on American Indian dropouts. Surveyed 991 American Indian women, aged 17-36; found no simple formula for school success or dropping out. However, an important factor in the lives of women who completed high school or college was the support of their families, particularly mothers and grandmothers. Contains 56 references. (SV)

Much literature on American Indian dropouts accepts cultural discontinuity between home and school as an explanation for the high Indian dropout rate, despite little proof from research. An exclusive focus on culture and curricular innovation obscures the possibility that economics and social structure may be more important factors. (SV)

Reviews current literature on dropout prevention strategies and suggests intervention strategies that might be appropriate for small rural schools. Discusses unique characteristics of small rural schools and considers strategies of early identification, networking, group counseling, family counseling, academic tutoring-counseling combinations, and…

The decisions of 83 American Indian undergraduates to drop out of school were investigated based on the influence of their self-beliefs, social support, and comfort. Although all three accounted for academic nonpersistence decisions, social support was the strongest predictor. Discusses implications for increasing academic persistence of students,…

Reports on how the Self-Monitoring Scale was used to predict academic and social integration among 380 community college students. Finds that among men, high self-monitors were more likely to achieve social integration than low self-monitors while low self-monitors were more likely to integrate academically than high self-monitors regardless of…

Discusses the focus of this special issue on college student retention and describes the issue's articles, which advance recommendations for institutional action that emanate from theory and research rooted in several different theoretical orientations: organizational, sociological, and psychological. (EV)

The purpose of this study was to design, implement and evaluate a program for senior secondary regional students making choices about their future careers. The program provided information and experiences to help students decide whether to pursue their interest in early childhood through studying at their local university. Nineteen students…

Educators in a range of schools share tools and strategies for successfully working with youth who have become marginalized from school or are at risk of dropping out. The educators emphasize the importance of personally connecting with their students and nurturing the teenagers' interests. They also discuss the challenges of trying to establish…

Latino student dropout is a national concern that must also be addressed strategically in local communities. Although national studies are important for pointing out areas of concern, local studies can provide more specific information for local policy development and implementation. This paper presents an example of local community-initiated…

Qualitative studies indicate that mathematics does not work well in e-learning. The current study used quantitative methods to investigate more objectively the extent of problems with mathematics in e-learning. The authors used student attrition as a simple measure of student satisfaction and course viability in two studies, one investigating…

"School refuser" is an always-already negative child identity. The term is used to categorize children or adolescents who appear to dislike and fear school (or aspects of school) and persistently refuse to attend or attend very unwillingly. Given that school attendance is generally considered a necessary social good, regular and anxious…

Miami Valley Career Technology Youth Connections, an alternative high school located in Dayton, Ohio, has an enrollment of 160 students and was created as a joint venture among local politicians to address the high dropout rates in Montgomery County, Ohio. To achieve this, the Montgomery County commissioners created a task force to develop…

The withdrawal policies of many universities are based on the supposition that being able to withdraw without grade point repercussions will encourage students to return to the institution at a later date. This study focused on withdrawing students and examined the differences between those who re-enroll after a withdrawal and those who do not.…

Adolescents are influenced by a variety of social factors and institutions. Prior research confirms what many of us know instinctively: that parents can be one of the strongest influences in adolescents' lives. For example, higher levels of parental involvement in their adolescents' lives are linked with lower levels of delinquency, violent…