Alternative education has become an integral program, in one form or another throughout most school districts in the United States. Alternative education is a very complex and controversial issue that is best understood through the stories of former alternative education students looking back on their lived experiences. Children in the alternative…

Even seasoned public relations (PR) practitioners can find it difficult to handle communications during a crisis situation when the consequences of making poor decisions may seem overwhelming. This article shares results from using a collaborative simulation to teach college students about crisis communications in an advanced-level PR course.…

How many students repeat a grade each year? How do retention rates vary across states and over time? Despite extensive research on the predictors and consequences of grade retention, there is no systematic way to quantify state-level retention rates; even national estimates rely on imperfect proxy measures. We present a conceptually simple…

Adolescents are routinely demonised by politicians and the media.Ross Deuchar's compelling research into the views of some of the toughest--youths who are growing up in socially deprived urban areas of Glasgow in Scotland--reveals the true facts. They talked to him about their lives, gang culture and territorialiity and he passes on their words…

The California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) was developed to ensure that graduating students can demonstrate competency in reading, math, and writing. The high failure rates have created concern among stakeholders. The study was to identify factors that contributed to student success on passing the CAHSEE for students enrolled in SIATech in…

Double-shift schooling has been implemented in Mexico for several decades as a strategy to achieve universal access to basic education. This study provides evidence on the existence of social inequalities related to the implementation of this schooling model. Using quantitative data from several databases including the National Census, the…

This study investigated the impact of learning communities on the academic success of university students at-risk of academic failure. The effects of learning communities (LC) at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) on cumulative GPAs, retention rates, and earned cumulative hours of students with ACT sub-scores of 17 or 18 in math who were…

The issue of boys' literacy has been explicitly named as "dangerous territory"--difficult to negotiate in terms of the validity of "failure" rhetoric, the stereotyping of boys' abilities and interests and the intersection of gender with factors such as class and geographical location. In this article, we address the issue of…

Teachers in 1 middle school learned about the positive effects of writing praise notes to students, which is 1 component of a positive behavior support. The authors intended for this procedure to promote a positive school environment and reinforce the appropriate use of social skills. Also, the authors instructed the teachers to use a direct…

Though many psychologists and researchers argue over the age at which humans first experience shame, all agree that by age two children have the capacity to be shamed (Lansky and Morrison 1997). School-aged children have invariably been exposed to shame at home and receive an extra dose of it in our current school system. This essay investigates…

If teachers knew in advance whether their students are at risk of school failure, they would have the opportunity to supply these students with additional or special instruction. In Luxembourg, the likelihood of failure in school is particularly high. Taking this result into account, this paper deals with the identification of variables of primary…

This article explicates the viewpoints of school managers from various dysfunctional, historically black African schools. The 56 school managers from four Eastern Cape districts addressed several questions pertaining to what is really causing the lapse of management and leadership in various "failing schools". Both these aspects…

When a student fails to master academic material, educators face a range of choices--they can provide extra tutoring, place the student in summer school, or, as a last resort, hold the student back for a year. This last option--retention--often proves to be a difficult and contentious issue for both schools and parents. California currently lacks…

The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to evaluate the Positive Alternative Credit Experience (PACE) Program using an objectives-oriented approach to a formative program evaluation. The PACE Program was a semester-long high school alternative education program designed to serve students at-risk for academic failure or dropping out…

This preliminary investigation examined the effects of a computerized supplemental reading program on the oral reading fluency, reading growth rates, and comprehension of 8 African American first graders. Participants were selected for this study according to scores within risk categories on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills…