A high school education prepares young people to participate positively in the economy and in civic life, among other positive life outcomes. However, nearly one in five American high school students does not graduate from high school on time, if ever. Progress has been made on understanding why students fail to complete high school and on raising…

Reviews the literature to identify the most important antecedents associated with adolescent initiation of sex, contraception use, and pregnancy. Results indicate that over 100 antecedents create a complex, detailed picture of the correlates of adolescent sexual behaviors. They describe characteristics of adolescents themselves, their partners,…

Used an ecological model to examine different factors impacting school completion and dropping out for Mexican American students, highlighting: the microsystem (individual settings), which emphasizes daily interactions represented by the family, the classroom, and peer relationships; the mesosystem (setting interactions); the exosystem (community…

This literature review summarizes and analyzes the current literature on variables predicting high school dropping out and the relationship between those variables and language minority youth (defined as those who are national origin minorities by birth and who speak, in varying degrees, languages other than English). After the introduction, which…

Examines the "Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning's" section on context effect. Reviews influences that shape social studies, including research, student groups, family environment, mass media (especially television), testing, curriculum mandates, and local-to-national community pressures. (CH)

Traditional sex role stereotypes, as reflected in the attitudes and values of rural southern females, educators, employers, male partners, parents, and communities, have a negative influence on the southern rural female's desire for and access to non-traditional training and employment; black females face both racial and sexual bias. Mothers exert…