Discusses Web-based distance learning and emphasizes the importance of human interaction and facilitation to ensure successful programs. Topics include corporate use of distance learning as well as academic institutions; cost effectiveness; dropout rates; social processes; avoiding technical problems; peer support systems; orientation; and student…

Using research findings and statistics to support a policy argument often leads to misinterpretations and exaggerations of public school performance. Two experts illustrate this point by discussing examples of distorted high school drop-out rates, student performance on standardized tests, and international comparisons of U.S. and Japanese…

The issue of state-imposed standards and high-stakes tests for graduation and promotion has polarized communities and school boards. Lawsuits have arisen in Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Indiana, and California. Although opinion polls still strongly support standards and accountability, a backlash is spreading in some districts. (MLH)

Concern about the high dropout rate among Mexican American high school students promoted a study to investigate how acculturation and social support influence academic achievement. Students who were highly integrated and strongly bicultural tended to have higher academic achievement. Females tended to have high GPAs; males were slightly more…

Constructed a path model mapping the effect of career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE) and degree utility on persistence of underprepared college students. Found that students who believed college would provide employment opportunities and better careers were more likely to persist, and that CDMSE has a direct effect on social and academic…

Reports the effects of a preventive intervention program on dropping out of school in a sample of disruptive boys from low socioeconomic status. Results show that the program had an indirect effect on later school dropout problems through its impact on grade retention/special education placement. The reduction of grade retention/special classroom…

In 1954, the United States Supreme Court, in a landmark decision known as Brown v. Board of Education, said, "Today education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments...it is the principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values and preparing him for later professional training and in helping him to…

The leading school reform policy in the United States revolves around strong accountability of schools with consequences for performance. The federal government's involvement through the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 reinforces the prior movement of many states toward policies based on measured student achievement. Analysis of state achievement…

College-based programs that motivate underachieving teenagers to graduate and pursue further education is part of a menu of initiatives Guilford County, North Carolina, has introduced to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of students in its middle and high schools, where racial and ethnic diversity and poverty have been on the rise. As…

This study takes a close look at the whole cycle of the 9-yr compulsory education in two communities in north China. It reveals that although there are nearly 100% enrollment and completion rates at the primary level, dropouts constitute a serious problem at the secondary level, thus rendering the 9-yr compulsory schooling an unfinished cycle.…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a National Institute of Corrections' cognitive-behavioral program for adult offenders, entitled "Thinking for a Change." One hundred male and 42 female probationers were studied. Probationers assigned to the "Thinking for a Change" program were matched with a comparison group not assigned to the program…

Introduction: Evaluative data on performance and school drop-out in the context of the Spanish university justify its current phase of structural, organizational and curricular changes currently underway here. A priority objective is to study motivation problems in university students, at the root of many of these problems. However, the complexity…

It is no coincidence, that disengagement from school by young adolescents has intensified at precisely the same time as there has been a hardening of educational policy regimes that have made schools less hospitable places for students and teachers. There can be little doubt from research evidence that as conditions conducive of learning in…

This study sought to develop a set of easily obtainable, relevant measures of a community's condition that could be used to guide its suicide prevention efforts. Existing data were gathered across 159 Georgia counties for nine potential social indicators (rates of net migration, divorce, unemployment, violent crimes reported, driving under the…

Reports on the Sixth Annual Conference of the Learning and Skills Research Network (Learning and Skills Development Agency) held at the University of Warwick, UK, in December 2002. Presents an overview of keynote speeches and reviews selected conference papers reporting on current research in the learning and skills sector.