The 1989 Teacher of the Year, Mary V. Bicouvaris discusses social studies education, public education, and teachers. Stresses the importance of geographic and international education and addresses the problems of falling test scores, use of illegal drugs, teenage pregnancies, and school dropouts. (RW)

Results are reported from a study that attempted to find the objective effects of a 3-month high school teachers' strike on 134 first year university students. Findings indicate that no important differences existed between strike students and others with regard to grades, failures, or withdrawals. (IAH)

Reports a study on minimum competency testing in American high schools. Discusses the effects on students who fail to pass it, and the perceptions of educators and administrators about the value and barrier aspects of these tests. Implications of the findings for research, policy making, and educational practice are explored. (JS)

Discussion of at-risk elementary and secondary school students focuses on the use of computers and appropriate software as tools to help keep these students in school. Uses of software are described for skills building, as a motivational tool, to strengthen critical thinking, and as a tutor in specific subject areas. (LRW)

Relationships between personality variables and entrance into and persistence in engineering and racial differences in personality profiles of engineering students were studied for 129 freshmen in engineering and 85 persisting engineering students. Results suggest that personality differences play a vital role in persistence but that racial…

Examining the grades for an entire urban high school in a Midwestern city shows that the distribution of grades among students remains constant at all grade levels, even though many students drop out. The result is a depression of grades and an increase in student dissatisfaction among those who receive the lowest grades. (SLD)

How students' cultural backgrounds and the variation of these backgrounds in different educational units affect the phenomenon of dropout and change of career plans was studied with 39,831 Finnish college students from 1985-90. Students' tendency to drop out is connected to some degree to sociocultural background. (SLD)

Principal Charles E. Mingo is working to revolutionize Du Sable High School in Chicago located near the nation's largest public housing development. Mingo and his staff have reduced truancy, doubled the percentage of graduates, and started an alternative school for dropouts. (MLF)

Presented is a discussion of the state of undergraduate education in science and engineering based on the interviews with a number of college students. Discussed are the underlying issues: recruitment, motivation, retention, curriculum, teaching incentives, role models and mentoring, hands-on experience, the nerd image, and quality of life. (KR)

Describes a distance learning course at Brunel University that was developed to encourage the initial training of physics teachers. Required coursework and practical experience are described, student attrition is discussed, costs are considered, and the role of the teacher is examined. (eight references) (LRW)

Describes past and present economic and social conditions of rural Victoria (Australia). Discusses disadvantage and advantage in rural areas and the need for lifelong learning. Analyzes the policy development of the Country Education Project (CEP) and obstacles to the implementation of the CEP. Outlines challenges and issues for the organization.…

Project EXCEL improves Hispanic opportunities and achievement through six community-based models: Academia del Pueblo, Project Success; Project Second Chance, Parents as Partners, Family Reading Program, and Teacher Support Network. (SK)

Based on dropout research, testimony from task force hearings, and the theoretical framework of school-home cultural discontinuity, school-based causes of Indian dropouts are identified: large schools, uncaring or untrained teachers, passive teaching methods, culturally inappropriate curriculum and testing, tracked classes, and lack of parent…

In Australia, several governments are providing direct financial grants to students from low-income families to encourage school continuation through grade 12. This paper examines the potential role one scheme (ASTUDY) plays in student decision making about school continuation. Data suggest that the prospect of obtaining a grant did not…

Studied Community-Based Learning program, Job Training Partnership Act-sponsored drop-out prevention effort focusing on youth service, career exploration, civic education, and academic development. Found that learning in community could be effective in improving attendance and school grades, as well as helping students to learn. Major contributor…