Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth for 1979 through 1991 are used to demonstrate that acquisition of the General Educational Development (GED) credential is associated with an increase in the rate of wage growth for male high school dropouts. (SLD)

A cohort of 782 Soweto (black South African) students was traced during students' first 4 years of schooling, 1987-90 (apartheid still in effect). Only 55 percent completed second grade in 4 years, but repetition in grade was a much greater problem than dropping out. Discusses postapartheid policy implications for improving educational efficiency…

A seven-year ethnographic study of Navajo and Ute youth in a border reservation community suggests the following factors in understanding why youth left school: (1) racial and economic relations in the community and school; (2) home child-rearing patterns of noninterference and early adulthood; and (3) cultural integrity and resistance. (KS)

A recent survey found that 90 percent of high school seniors/respondents perceived the world as stressful and the majority of people as phony. These views may partly explain the high suicide, pregnancy, dropout, and drug usage rates among high school seniors. Teachers can help students overcome stress by modeling coping strategies and providing…

In a review of research on children without friends, the author notes the serious implications of growing up friendless. Issues covered include the process of identifying these children, their sociometric status and behaviors, the relation between children's status and dropping out of school, and considerations for teachers. (LB)

Recounts the story of "The Media Academy," a successful special program at Fremont Academy in Oakland, California, which challenges at-risk students to excel in journalism. Notes that the program is built on three firm tenets: heterogeneous classes, writing across the curriculum, and "less is more"--fewer topics in greater…

Discusses a specific type of mentoring: matching retired, older persons with young people enduring a crisis period in their lives. Programs such as the Teaching Learning Communities (T-LC) Mentoring Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan, assign elders as mentors and tutors to junior high school students in danger of dropping out. Strong elder-youth bonds…

Most discussions about at-risk students focus on remedying deficiencies in basic skills, often narrowly defined as English literacy and ability to perform mathematical computations. Omitting appealing subjects from a "streamlined" curriculum will only worsen the situation. Through careful planning, administrators can add the power of music to…

This paper on at-risk deaf adolescents discusses the social impact of school dropouts, causal and behavioral characteristics of at-risk persons, groups that tend to be affected, issues facing deaf adolescents including parent-child conflicts, the role of schools in addressing student alienation and motivation, and intervention recommendations.…

Describes a New York City high school's experience with Outward Bound, a cooperatively funded experiential learning program. Rock climbing was used to teach youngsters how to deal with the metaphorical walls facing everyone. The program's success (a 90% graduation rate) depended on faculty commitment, administrative support, motivated student…

When students help teach one another, active learning, listening, and a spirit of cooperation flourish. A reciprocal tutoring program in three New York City high schools allows all students to be tutors and learn through teaching and has all tutors experience the tutee/apprentice role. This experimental program had better achievement results than…

Examines the problem of high attrition rates after the introductory compulsory year for students studying languages other than English (LOTEs) in Australian high schools. A quantitative study is described that determined students' intentions to continue with language studies in the following year. Implications for LOTE teaching are discussed. (51…

Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Graduate Scholars Program for minority students is supported by systems that create a social-psychological "comfort zone" for participating graduate students. The program encourages interdisciplinary cooperation and a balance between the disparate concerns and perspectives of the student and…

Interviews with 18 registered nurses elicited 7 themes describing participation in baccalaureate programs. Findings identified a new participation variable--commitment--and demonstrated the role of life transitions in making the time right to pursue a degree. Sources of power, load factors, and effect of margin size on persistence (McClusky's…

Comparison of 502 former and 148 active participants in a prevocational intervention for at-risk students and 157 at-risk nonparticipants found (1) comparable dropout rates, self-concept scores, and reading and math achievement; (2) decline in participants' grades and attendance after the program; and (3) higher degrees of internality in cognitive…