A survey of 45 at-risk students enrolled in an alternative rural high school revealed that teachers appeared more concerned about students, were less authoritarian, allowed students more input into decision making, treated students more fairly, and were more enthusiastic than teachers at traditional high schools previously attended by respondents.…

Contends that many problems facing Russian society are the results of serious neglect of secondary education. Reviews education in the former Soviet Union and in Russia since the USSR's breakup. Calls for extensive experimentation in curriculum development, teaching methods, and school management. (CFR)

A new program linking the Phoenix Union High School District with local community colleges and state universities identifies high-risk high school students, brings their work up to college level, counsels them, and monitors their progress to graduation. The high dropout rate forced institutions in the different segments to cooperation. (MSE)

Examines issues in the retention of African-American students in predominantly white institutions of higher learning. Factors affecting retention are cataloged, and the responsiveness of existing retention programs to these factors is analyzed. Focus on African-American students who do persist is needed to create a climate of inclusion. (SLD)

To motivate students toward higher achievement and encourage mingling across racial and socioeconomic groups, a team of Florida seventh-grade teachers developed a plan featuring a rotating schedule, enrichment classes for all students, long time-blocks two days weekly, and heterogeneous cohesive groups. The program exposed all students to a…

A survey of 417 high-achieving high schoolers, 103 young prison inmates, and 105 dropouts enrolled in a GED program disclosed significant differences between high-achieving and less-successful adolescents regarding family background, interactions with parents, religious versus material orientation, self-motivation, and interest in school…

Replies to "Adolescent Mothers Drop Out" (Douglas K. Anderson, 1993). It is indeed true that women who begin childbearing as adolescents achieve less schooling than do women who postpone or forego childbearing, but debate about why continues. It is argued that the apparent impact of early childbearing on education may result from a common set of…

Describes a project at Rockhurst College to address attrition problems called Freshmen in Science. The project goal was to build a support system for the curriculum that would encourage students to put forth their best effort. Describes the planning process, program, and results from a six-year effort to keep students interested in science-related…

Examines the total direct and indirect effects of receiving financial aid on persistence to degree using a subsample of 1989 freshmen from the Beginning Postsecondary Student Survey. Analysis shows that although simply receiving financial aid is unrelated to persistence, the effects of financial aid on persistence appear to depend on type and…

A study of graduate and professional student within-year persistence, based on the 1993 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, compared three models of the impact of financial aid on persistence. It was found that financial aid significantly and positively influenced within-year persistence, with comprehensive aid packages having the greatest…

Analysis of data from the National Education Longitudinal Study supported the thesis that rural adolescents' disadvantages with regard to certain family and school resources and resulting low investments in education explain rural deficits in both educational attainment and standardized achievement. (Contains 67 references.) (Author/SV)

A youngster failing to thrive in one environment needs an alternative learning situation. Research shows that small, personalized schools offering authentic, engaging curricula are essential for reaching unsuccessful learners. The test-score craze can be contained by publicizing other numbers regarding consequences: absence rates, dropouts,…

A study with 72 university students in an introductory psychology course investigated effects of individual learning, cooperative learning, cooperative learning with instruction, and nonattendance on achievement. Effect of learned resourcefulness on attendance at academic self-management workshops was also studied. Students with low…

A study of student failure or withdrawal from higher education in six institutions in northwestern England investigates the relative influence of 36 possible reasons for withdrawal. Respondents were 1083 full- and part-time students. Results for noncompletion, including institutional and student variables, and their cost to the public purse are…

Addressed the internal consistency coefficients of scores on self-concept and other composites in different risk groups and the relationship between self-concept variables and variables measuring behavioral and psychological functioning. Scores from at-risk high school graduates and dropouts and not-at-risk students indicated that the reliability…