Operation Second Chance trained school dropouts for vocational skills in three areas in North Carolina--the mountainous West, the Piedmont plains, and the coastal farmlands. Length of the training varied from the six weeks nurses' aide program to the 12-week sewing for upholstery program through the 16-week carpentry, upholstery, welding,…

Project Emerge, funded under Title VIII of the 1965 Elementary Secondary Education Act, is located in the Model Cities Area, a black-inhabited west side section of Dayton, Ohio. The target school student population is 2,300 of which 20 percent come from families with low incomes. Project Emerge's major objectives are to reduce the dropout rate in…

Vocational Village was opened by the Portland (Oregon) School District in 1968 to provide opportunities for students who had not been successful in traditional high school programs. A basic concept of the programs initiated at Vocational Village was the desire to personalize and individualize instruction. However, as operations got under way it…

This paper describes a community-based approach to delinquency prevention utilizing indigenous nonprofessionals as behavior change agents. Adult residents in two Model Cities communities served as "buddies" of youth referred for behavior and academic problems. The principles and techniques of behavior modification were used in the training of…

Funded under ESEA Title I, this program was designed to provide income and work experience for disadvantaged junior high school youths age fourteen and above; and, to provide incentives which would motivate youths to continue their education through high school. The wages earned were intended to enable the student to provide for some of his…

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a counseling program designed to improve pupil self-esteem, thereby hopefully reducing the number of future school dropouts The program was conducted at Cooley Education and Vocational Guidance Center and served 87 pupils. The need for such a program was apparent when the high rate of secondary…

Lack of money may not be the major factor in student dropout rates. Some studies indicate that attrition rates are more affected by learner attitudes and goals and a good "fit" between student and institution. Current theories about student retention and attrition are reviewed. (Editor/LBH)

Reviews the status of minority students in California's educational system, pointing to high dropout rates, community college enrollment trends, and social factors. Highlights the correlation between educational performance and expectations, urging a well-orchestrated effort focusing on guidance, retention, and standards of excellence across all…

Describes a survey of 356 adult students enrolled in university-level courses at the Open Learning Institute which was conducted to assess the predictive validity of Tinto's theoretical model of student dropout. It was found that, overall, the Tinto model appears to be a useful framework for such investigations. (Author/LRW)

A model of institutional attrition was tested by comparing undergraduate dropouts and continuing students at Washington State University based on the constructs of individual attributes, past educational experience, goal commitment, institutional commitment, social integration, and academic integration. (MSE)

An action research study attempted to identify the learning style prevalent among 7 male and 3 female adult learners in an Adult Basic Education (ABE) program in New York City and the attributes of a classroom environment that promote the retention of adult learners. These four learning style modalities were considered: concrete experience,…

This paper considers the effect of high stakes promotion tests on early high school dropout patterns. Analysis of data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988, a nationally representative survey of 8th grade students in the United States, indicates that the presence of an 8th grade promotion test requirement is strongly…

A study examined the issues and experiences of 89 women teachers, head teachers, and girls in and out of school in two contrasting Ghanaian cultural contexts. Data were collected via life history interviews, analyzed, and presented around three domains: culture of the home; relationship between culture and the economy, and culture of the school.…

Economic theory suggests that when the reduction in earnings from dropping out of school is minimal, dropout rates will be high. As earnings loss for dropouts grows, however, the dropout rate should decrease. This chapter examines whether these predicted effects actually occur by looking at changes in dropout rates in Kentucky in the 1970s and…

A seminar on migrant out-of-school youth was organized based on a survey of migrant education practitioners. Seminar participants heard speakers discuss questions raised by the survey, then met in strategy groups to develop recommendations. This report summarizes questions and recommendations in the four major areas discussed: (1) identification…