Compared decliners (n=102), students who exhibited 20% decline during sophomore year from first-year grade point average (GPA) and maintainers (n=94), students who maintained or improved their first-year GPA. During sophomore year, lack of commitment to school, absenteeism, educational goals, extracurricular activities, and perceptions of…

Develops failure indices and analyzes student teacher failure through snapshots of individuals unable to fulfill either their personal and professional expectations and/or those of their teacher preparation program. Research at three university sites found several relevant factors (age and gender distribution, poor interpersonal skills,…

A follow-up in-depth study of 100 seventh graders who had been previously identified as at risk (39% of whom were identified as eligible for special education) found that, although at-risk students received more intervention strategies than their counterparts, they were still being retained in grade and failing to a greater degree. (SLD)

Social-historical lineages of adolescent alcohol and other drug use prevention programs are examined, tracing risk factor research from assumptions of deviance regarding the mentally ill and considering patterns that have inhibited advances in prevention. To achieve program success, protective factor and harm reduction approaches must be explored.…

Describes a competence/risk theory that hypothesizes that people can use personal competence to influence the probabilities of success or failure in an adventure, providing their perceptions are correct. In a series of linked pathways and feedback loops, a model illustrates the impact of a risk-taking activity on the participant's emotional and…

Despite Professor Wraga's positive claims (in this same "Educational Administration Quarterly" issue), there is a substantial record of failure associated with the comprehensive high school--a stratifying institution that broadens the gap between the fortunate and disadvantaged. Urban high schools have low standards and are resistant to…

This article reviews teaching strategies expected to be effective in alternative education programs for students at risk for school failure, dropout, and delinquency. The need for alternative education programs for students in both special and general education is discussed, along with recommended alternative education strategies and program…

Addresses the poor functioning of the previously black schools in South Africa spawned by apartheid that is commonly termed as 'the breakdown of the culture of teaching and learning.' Analyzes the schools' organization in order to understand why 'the breakdown' and explores interventions to remedy it. (CMK)

An administrative team member/restructuring facilitator analyzes the failure of a block scheduling reform in a small, suburban district. The prevailing dynamics that obstructed success were fear of change, propagandizing of data, and a culture of complacency. These problems could have been avoided by training staff to work in longer periods,…

Whether a success-promoting assessment schema (SPAS) can be designed to have a positive impact on the mathematics learning of failure-experienced students was studied with 200 noncollege-bound students in Israel. Results suggest that the SPAS in conjunction with suitable curricular materials could support student learning by changing student…

A third-grade Mexican-American boy, failing in school, proved to be an apt and avid reader and learner when instructional talk was related to recurrent themes in his daily life. The study suggests that instructional talk can be modified in ways that invite and involve learners' lives, allowing teachers to engage students more fully. (SLD)

Argues that talk is a critical variable in work with struggling readers, contributing to their problem solving and engagement in reading tasks. Speculates about factors that contribute to children's failure: child and family factors, constraints within which teachers and schools operate, and the adversarial nature of the discourse surrounding…

Examines the politically laden nature of several current school reform efforts building on proposals to bolster the economy and promote traditional values. All appear moot when considering the postmodern condition, which deprecates the quest for better science and "best" schooling conditions. Change is nonlinear and apolitical. (Contains 105…

Reports that the introductory level Principles of Accounting classes at Southwest Virginia Community College (SVCC) had high unsuccessful grade rates between 1989 and 1999. Describes a study conducted to determine whether there was a statistical difference in the test scores and GPA of successful versus unsuccessful accounting students. Finds that…

Educational reforms fail because they are usually based on certain myths about training, advocacy, theory, knowledge dissemination, complete restructuring, paradigm shifts, and small-scale studies. These misconceptions result in wasted resources for staff development and dissemination, few professional validation standards, repeat cycles of…