The Center for Community Organization and Area Development prods residents of a tri-state area to understand their problems and then stirs them to come up with solutions. (Editor)

Describes the Australian Traineeship System (ATS), a program integrating formal education and employment designed to increase options for dropouts. Discusses problems involving the centrality of ATS's educational component and implementation of a program evaluation strategy. Includes two references. (MLH)

Describes a project to help keep Washington, DC, youths in foster care enrolled in school and to improve their school attendance, academic and job performance, and self-esteem. Intervention program strategies included peer mentorship, employment, and social support. (SO)

Strain theory, which is widely criticized, presumes a negative relationship between social class and delinquency. The theory is strengthened with the following variables added to the analysis: (1) grade level, (2) social status, (3) achievement, (4) absences and dropout frequency, and (5) tracking. The paradigm of collective behavior may also be…

Profiles the current trend of parents' choosing to educate their children at home. Provides data on the numbers and motivations of such parents and examines the surrounding legal issues. Challenges the premise of compulsory schooling on the basis of achievement data that document the superior performance of home-schooled children. (KH)

Discusses the concept of pacing as it relates to distance education. Highlights include the relationship of pacing to academic standards, activity scheduling, student independence, student interaction, effective utilization of media, course materials, learning methods, student motivation, drop-out rate, and the cost effectiveness of pacing. (LRW)

Flo Wiger, Chairperson, Department of American Indian Studies, University of Minnesota/Minneapolis, shares her experiences and views on Indian Education. Dropout rates; higher enrollment; more relevant curricula; increased Indian faculty and staff availability; and community, tribal, and governmental involvement are included. Educational change to…

A study of 9,800 Swiss and foreign students born in 1956 and enrolled in Swiss higher education found that two-thirds passed their final examinations and graduated before leaving the institution. Students in programs oriented to specific careers had a higher success rate. Very few became dropouts or perpetual students. (MSE)

A study of the effects of a pre-freshman summer session on the academic, personal, and social development and retention of a group of Black Clemson University students found no better academic performance or retention than for a control group, suggesting that the program's assumptions were flawed or inadequate. (MSE)

The Reading (Pennsylvania) School District, in conjunction with local youth and family services, has developed a program to address the needs of unwed mothers. Its goals are to reduce their dropout rate and to provide support services including child care, transportation, counseling, health care, and instruction in parenthood skills.(TE)

To manage increased demands despite limited resources, schools need to invoke safeguards. They must clarify the scope of school involvements, demand adequate funding, reject accountability for the failure of other social institutions and structures (like the family), and use their considerable expertise to resolve the dropout problem. (MLH)

Reports on a study of the effects of seven preenrollment characteristics (i.e., ability, socioeconomic status, race, sex, high school program, high school grades, and educational aspirations) and three student-institutional characteristics (i.e., entry status, full/part-time status, and curriculum type) on student retention in college. Looks at…

Education is the most important key to racial progress in the United States. Leaders of historically Black colleges must seek financial stability for their institutions, develop programs to redeem talented Black dropouts and push-outs, and implement a curriculum that addresses the concerns of the Black community. (GC)

Pace University's efforts to attract and retain adult students include contacting nonmatriculated students to encourage commitment and resolve problems and contacting part-time students the first semester they stop attending. The results of the university taking the initiative have been increased retention and greater information about student…

The relation between residence arrrangement and college attendance patterns was studied. The degree to which the nature of the group with whom a freshman college student lives may influence that student's decision to continue enrollment into the sophomore year was assessed. (MLW)