This qualitative study used focus groups to explore student perspectives on family involvement in the transition from school to adult life. Four focus groups, including students with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, and mild mental retardation, demonstrated the importance to students of family input and support.…

Describes approaches for solving the problem of students' declining motivation and performance when they move to middle-level schools. Urges educators to examine school policies, practices, and procedures, and to make changes that will make it very clear to students that effort, challenge, improvement, and mastery are the goals of schooling. (16…

Information recorded on Transition Planning Guides was compared with the perceptions of 22 students with learning disabilities and their parents regarding postsecondary goals and anticipated support needs. Findings indicate little relationship between the postsecondary outcomes and support needs recorded and those expressed by students and parents…

It is recognised that getting a good education is one of the most important determinants of a child's future, but missing at least some education remains a common occurrence for many children and young people in the United Kingdom. Over recent years, education has been placed high on the political agenda in the UK. Among other things, a wide range…

Community colleges are often criticized for the low numbers of students who ostensibly appear successful. This article takes a unique look at the pathways many community college students take and redefines success as transition. Using the full population of the Los Angeles Community College District, this article examines the intra-institutional…

With the unprecedented expansion of access to higher education internationally, today's students enter university with a broader range of expectations, motivations and support networks than their predecessors. One of the primary determinants of student success is their ability to assimilate into the academic culture, which includes aligning their…

This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of a two-quarter, extended orientation program for new, undecided students at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). The course was designed to assist students with the transition from high school to college and acquaint them with strategies to maximize their success at UCI. Of the 690 new,…

The summer 1986 High School Preparation for Raising Educational Performance (PREP) program (in its third year of operation at 25 New York City high schools) included for the second year an English as a second language (ESL) component. Designed to help students who had recently immigrated develop the English language listening, speaking, reading,…

Questionnaires completed by 777 participants evaluated 32 pilot summer programs in the United Kingdom designed to help high-risk 16-year-olds make the transition from secondary school to adult life and to enhance eight personal and social skills through outdoor activities. Results indicate the programs had a positive impact, but numerous…

Interviews with 76 former special school students (ages 16-25) found many were experiencing fractured transitions from school but were more positive about their schools than peers who attended mainstream provision. Students displayed a high level of purposefulness but lacked personal and social resources to support their progression. (Contains…

The Freshman Empowerment Program is a group process designed to support first generation freshmen. This article discusses the research compiled regarding the success of this program following its initial implementation. Results indicate that GPA was significantly higher for those students involved in the program compared to similar students who…

This article discusses recent programs and procedures based at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, designed to help students' transition from high school to university. Students are poorly prepared for university, and the meagre assistance they get from pre-university orientations, or even from longer-term programs such as University…

We conducted a research case study to ascertain the effect of a bridge program on fostering self-growth and academic readiness for college. Academic wholism provided the vehicle to promote self-awareness, self-motivation, and academic maturity. The rippling effect of this program extended beyond academics to the personal level. (Contains 2…

Focus group interviews were held with approximately 60 of the several hundred high school students who are participating in school-to-work transition programs offered through the Kalamazoo County (Michigan) Education for Employment (EFE) consortium, The 10 focus groups held involved 5-8 students each and were distributed across program types as…

The transitions students make during their years of schooling are usually major events in their lives and in the lives of their parents. The stresses created by these transitions can be minimized when the new environment is responsive to each particular age group. This digest presents a brief overview of some of the issues involved in the…