Examines Colorado's Second Chance Pilot Program for Dropouts, designed to reduce the number of dropouts through Second Chance Centers giving students the opportunity to complete requirements for a high school diploma or equivalent certificate. Although limited in success, the program provides a model for the funding of alternative schools. (SLD)

Examines the relationship of career guidance to public-policy interventions designed to address social exclusion. Analyzes the nature and origin of the concept of social exclusion and reviews the roles of career guidance in response to it, particularly in relation to young people who have dropped out of formal education or are at high risk of…

Examines the longitudinal course of psychological distress in a cohort of 457 first-time college freshmen over 4 years. Both high- and low-risk individuals reported a clear, steady decline in distress across the four years, which appeared more a function of adaptation than an artifact of collegiate attrition. (JPS)

Examines the school adjustment process among South Asian children who immigrated to the United States with their parents, and had below average grades. Three major themes were found: congruence of parents' and children's beliefs on the value of education; congruence of parents' and children's beliefs that education is the tool to achieve goals;…

State department data on Nevada 12th graders in schools with high versus low dropout rates showed differences in school-to-career (STC) experiences. Five significant variables were unpaid school-year or summer internshps, service learning, volunteering, and other workplace experience. High unemployment in the state may have diminished some of…

Examined the relationship between student-athlete graduation rates and academic support services. Found an inverse relationship between services offered and graduation rate, indicating that schools that admit student athletes with weaker academic profiles are providing more academic support services. Also found that summer school before freshman…

Career academies now number more than 1,500 nationwide. The concept has roots in colonial times and in the German continuation model. High-risk academy students have lower dropout rates, are more engaged in the curriculum, and continue on to postsecondary education at a higher rate than their nonacademy peers. They also have improved job…

Conceptual issues related to dropping out, student engagement, and school completion are raised. Thirteen criteria are described as guidelines for designing, evaluating, and documenting programs to enhance successful school completion for all students. Recommendations for future research and practice include implementation of interventions,…

Describes what qualitative research is in theory and how mid-level student affairs administrators can best use it to enrich their understanding of the deep complexities of the student clientele. Aids administrators in initiating a qualitative research process appropriate to their own departmental needs. (EV)

A problem-based methodology was used to explore why three students withdrew from a transition to postsecondary education program. The method treats dropout as students' solution to a problem and investigates their problem-solving processes, beliefs, motivations, and contextual conditions. For two students, withdrawal was a habitual response to…

Describes experiences of teachers, administrators, and students in a freshman academy in a medium-sized midwestern city high school designed to help ninth-graders, many with at-risk behaviors, to make smooth transitions from middle school to high school. (PKP)

Despite the promise of "Brown v. Board of Education," segregation is alive and well in today's schools. African American students are overrepresented in special education, have higher dropout rates, are suspended and expelled at higher rates, and are subject to persistent educational inequity. The role of psychoeducational assessment at the…

Purpose - The paper aims to review the National Open Apprenticeship Scheme and how it has fulfilled its mandate of promoting skill acquisition and youth employment in Nigeria, in the 17 years since the inception of the National Directorate of Employment NDE. Design/methodology/approach - Site visits to trainers' workshops were carried out to…

Early assessment grades are recorded and distributed each semester to selected students at Muskingum College. The assumption is that students will take adverse signals and respond positively, leading to fewer academic difficulties and higher retention. This paper examines the validity of such assumptions by considering the probability that an…

The UN Millennium Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality, an expert advisory group commissioned by the UN Secretary-General, was asked to examine how dramatic improvements in education can be achieved in the developing world. The task force investigated the problems of low enrolment, early drop-out and poor learning outcomes that so…