Profiles some of the efforts of Appalachian educators to connect area children with their heritage while combating the trends toward school dropout and poverty. Teaching students the history behind their own dialect and customs helps them accept the customs and speech of others and helps them overcome stereotypes. (SLD)

Using self-determination theory, the authors tested a motivational model to explain the conditions under which rural students formulate their intentions to persist in, versus drop out of, high school. Analyses showed that the provision of autonomy support within classrooms predicted students' self-determined motivation and perceived competence.…

This article summarizes relevant research on students who are deaf in higher education and suggests directions for educational researchers interested in enhancing the academic success and retention of students who are deaf in higher education programs. The need for improved career education, academic accommodations, and self-advocacy skills are…

Advocates the implementation of a formal youth apprenticeship program similar to that of the German system, which offers incentives to employers, students, and educators. Argues that such a system would increase the productivity and economic opportunities of non-college minority youth and reduce at-risk behaviors. (FMW)

Concerns of students at risk of dropping out of school in an urban setting were studied using innovative ethnographic methods. Students served as collaborators to tape dialogues between themselves and peers. Results for 77 dialogues among 61 individuals indicate the importance of pressure from outside and boredom within the school. (TJH)

Issues that emerged within the context of an Australian national project on secondary education--"Reports and Records of Achievement for School Leavers"--are addressed. The role of external examinations, move toward standards-based assessment, certificates/records, tertiary selection, reporting, student-to-teacher relationship, teacher…

In this review of the "Tenth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Education of the Handicapped Act" (Public Law 94-142), data are cited concerning: current status of services, dropout rates from secondary special education, implementation of preschool special education services, and state variations in the…

Compares the performance in college algebra for four testing strategy classes: a homework class; a quiz class; a test class; and the control class. Adjusted mean scores in performance and adjusted final attitude were not different among the four strategy groups. The test class had a higher attrition rate than the homework class. (YP)

Recent studies in South Australia and Western Australia have shown that approximately one-third of all students fail to graduate, with the largest dropout occurring by the end of the first year of higher education. Research on student retention is discussed and steps to improve retention are suggested. (MLW)

Describes the Young Adult Learning Academy in New York (New York), a collaborative offering educational services to dropouts between 16 and 24 years old whose low reading levels make them ineligible for adult education programs. Emphasizes cooperation, staffing, and development of the instructional program. (FMW)

At Rough Rock Demonstration School in Arizona, a bilingual, bicultural curriculum helps Navajo students discover the power and validity of their own lives as tools for learning. (Author/TE)

A survey of 95 students withdrawing from dental school investigated the reasons for dropping out. Predental school academic achievement was not found to be a significant predictor of withdrawal, but curricular and professional concerns were most commonly cited, followed by economic issues. (MSE)

The adult adjustment of 101 dropouts with learning disabilities (LD), whose graduating class had been out of school for 1 year, was investigated in terms of employment rate, occupational status, hours worked, wages, and benefits; vocational training, postsecondary education, and usefulness of high school; instructional model used; gender; and…

A study of 233 nontraditional-age and 92 traditional-age university students investigated the utility of Vincent Tinto's model of student attrition for age-related sensitivity. Student variables considered include demographic, individual, educational, academic integration, social integration, and commitment factors. Results suggest the model fits…

Use of technology in education can help reduce the high drop-out rate among minority students. Interactive classrooms, distance education, electronic mail, and online services such as CompuServe offer substantial educational benefits while allowing students to be judged on the basis of their ideas, rather than their race. Includes examples from…