Despite the substantial efforts made by higher education institutions to reduce dropout rates, a considerable proportion of students still discontinues their initial study program. In view of this situation, the present study aims to investigate whether participation in first-year courses for personal and academic support goes along with a…

To stimulate a flexible lifelong learning system students can enter university via lateral entry. Unlike traditional first-year students, lateral entrance students are not well-studied. Therefore this study focuses on comparing first-year students with a specific group of lateral entrants, namely bridging students at the Faculty of Engineering…

The expansion of the higher education sector in Australia opened up new pathways into university increasing the diversity of the student population. For non-traditional students, those who did not successfully complete secondary school, barriers to gaining entry into university have been dismantled, however, previous research suggests that…

Increasing disparities in out-of-school suspension and dropout rates have led a number of school districts to develop alternative models of education to include alternative learning centres (ALCs). Using an exploratory mixed methods design, this study explores dimensions of social inclusion among ALCs, located in the southeastern region of the…

Transitions into and out of the middle grades can be challenging for many reasons. Students need to acclimate to new policies, practices, and buildings; teachers require accurate data about their new students' capacities; and families must navigate relationships with new personnel. All school transitions present different and, at times, puzzling…

Transition into the ninth grade has long been a critical juncture for students as they make the move to a larger environment with less personal support and a more rigorous academic challenge. In an effort to help make the move from middle-to-high-school transition as smooth as possible, school districts are using Ninth Grade Academies, or…

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is responsible for approximately 41,051 American Indian and Alaska Native children at 183 elementary and secondary schools on 64 reservations in 23 states. The educational services the BIE provides is vital to current and future students who are their tribes' future. This report presents Special Education…

Policymakers nationwide continue to wrestle with a basic question: At what grade level should students move to a new school? In the most common grade configuration in American school districts, public school students make two school transitions, entering a middle school in grade 6 or 7 and a high school in grade 9. This pattern reflects the…

This fourth annual update on America's high school dropout crisis shows that for the first time the nation is on track to meet the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020--if the pace of improvement from 2006 to 2010 is sustained over the next 10 years. The greatest gains have occurred for the students of color and…

In this important resource, Dr. Fleming (a noted expert in the field of minority retention) draws on educational evaluations she has developed in the course of her distinguished career. This book analyzes the common factors and the role institutional characteristics play in minority student retention to show what really works in increasing…

In the 2007 edition of "Diplomas Count", "Education Week" reported that nationally more than one-third of the students lost from the high school pipeline fail to make the transition from the ninth to the 10th grade. This explains why, for more than two decades, schools and districts across the country have struggled to develop freshman transition…

Dropout, migrant, ethnic minority youth attended General Educational Development (GED) programs and/or one of four sociocultural transition programs: Foxfire, computer practicum, employment competency, or peer mentoring. Compared to controls or GED-only groups, transition participants showed significantly higher achievement, especially students…

This 15th annual "KIDS COUNT Data Book" examines the issues surrounding America's most at-risk young adults. It examines who they are, why it is so critical that they receive help, and what they need to succeed. Just as important, it outlines a number of ways the path of their lives can be altered thus increasing the odds that they too,…