Summarizes a third-year evaluation of the Houston Independent School District's Beating the Odds (BTO) program, initiated in the 1988-89 school year. Designed for at-risk secondary students, BTO provides in-school counseling and guidance, community outreach and family case management, and specialized teacher training. The program helped curb the…

Reports on a qualitative study of the psychosocial dynamics of school completion. A group of high school dropouts were compared with school completers in a large group of Haitians in New York City. Social support for education was the key variable that differentiated the two groups. (JPS)

Interviews with 56 Dutch adult students, 46 ex-students, and 27 teachers revealed that the centrality of school in the social environment was the same for persisters and dropouts. There was a clear correlation between dropout and the degree of disparity between student self-images and those teachers have of them. (SK)

Among 166 American Indian first-year college students studied for 6 years, only 16% graduated during the period. Typical college entrance criteria did not necessarily predict persistence. Interviews with 11 Navajo students examined going-home behavior, early educational intentions, and acculturation, and suggested culturally distinct…

School boards should require districts take the following actions: (1) make programs for at-risk students an ongoing priority; (2) assign the same quality of staff for at-risk programs as for other programs; (3) hold staff members, students, and administrators strictly accountable; and (4) insist that all district departments give equal services…

The relationships among grade, substance assessed, and type of measurement and statistical analysis used in the detection of external validity threats resulting from subject attrition in a modal follow-up study were examined in 6 successive 2-year panels of adolescents, including 4,819 overall stayers and 1,897 dropouts. (SLD)

Examines the impact of affirmative-action college-admission policies on black student dropout rates in the nation's top higher education institutions. Black student dropout rate comparative data are provided that show graduation rate percentages of Ivy League schools, less-selective state universities, and historically black colleges. (GLR)

Describes an experiment at the Open University in Great Britain that expanded the use of home-based microcomputers for distance education students enrolled in higher education courses. Results of an evaluation of the program are discussed, computer conferencing is described, student drop-outs are examined, and future possibilities are considered.…

To address the retained-student dropout rate and increase parent involvement, a Fort Lauderdale (Florida) middle school principal devised a program to help overage seventh graders catch up with their peers in one year and help parents achieve their own education goals. The Rogers' Achievement Program stresses basic skills, student-designed…

A sample of 1,237 university students completed the Institutional Barriers Instrument regarding institutional, dispositional, situational, and physical barriers to participation. Factor analysis identified four deterrents: (1) lack of confidence; (2) family responsibilities; (3) institutional encouragement; and (4) time. (SK)

An urban Louisiana school system successfully graduated 23 adult dropouts, awarding them real high school diplomas, thanks to the collaborative efforts of various social service agencies, intensive staff development, and sensitivity to students' economic and affective needs. Although schools cannot solve all the personal problems confronting the…

Changes in occupational structure, demographics, and social values are affecting the career development of young workers, reentry women, and older adults in Japan. Counseling must adjust to meet new needs, such as increased high school dropout and joblessness. (SK)

Appalachian Kentucky's low rates of labor utilization were the result of underinvestment in human capital and unequal distribution of marketable skills. Large proportions of growth in employment have been absorbed by returned workers, young adults who otherwise would have left the region, and in-movers. Unbalanced labor utilization made the…

Presents a bibliography of materials published in English, French, Spanish, and German on literacy in developing countries. Highlights include orality and literacy; literacy and development; conceptual approaches to literacy; learners and dropouts; the role of primary education in literacy; and operational issues in implementing literacy programs.…

Discusses the reasons why many poor, urban Black adolescents intentionally have children despite the debilitating life consequences. Emphasizes a family pattern in which early parenthood is repeated from generation to generation. (FMW)