An evaluation was conducted of a 3-year demonstration program the purpose of which was to demonstrate the efficacy of projects that included vocational education as a key component in encouraging at-risk youth to remain in or return to school. Six of the 10 project grantees, funded under the Cooperative Demonstration Program of the Carl D. Perkins…

In order to address gang concerns, educators should develop intervention strategies that keep youth from considering gang involvement. It is vital that schools reach the students before gang members are able to influence them. Intervention strategies should stress prevention, conversion, and address the causes of gang activity and not merely the…

Every aspect of children's lives affects their ability to learn and succeed in school. However, conditions associated with poverty environments are major factors in students' dropping out. Children whose home environments and social backgrounds result in development different from the mainstream enter school at a distinct educational disadvantage.…

One of the six national goals in the United States is to achieve a 90 percent graduation rate by the year 2000. In the last 50 years, high school graduation has become the norm. Concurrent with the new expectation of high school graduation came the dominance of the word "dropout" to describe those without diplomas. Many Americans view…

The transition from undergraduate to graduate school is a point when female students may lose interest in pursuing engineering degrees, and the percentage of women enrolled in engineering graduate programs is small in comparison to that of males. To attempt to mitigate the potential isolation of women graduate engineering students, the Women in…

In fall 1996, California's Los Angeles Harbor College instituted the use of a drop notice survey to notify instructors when students dropped their course. Students dropping a course checked off their reasons on a notice card, which was recorded for research and student service purposes and sent to the instructor within the day. In addition, the…

In many Sub-Saharan African countries, there are concerns about high rates of pregnancy-related school dropouts. Data from the 1988 Botswana Family Health Survey, in conjunction with focus group interviews, were used in this study. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of family life education on schoolgirl pregnancy, and to identify…

This paper discusses retention techniques that can be used with minority students at predominantly white colleges, focusing on four phases that are critical to the retention and academic achievement of minority students: acceptance, acclimatization, responsibility, and productivity. In the acceptance phase, the college community should attempt to…

Project RETAIN (Retention in Education Technical Assistance and Information Network) is a Florida project to assist school districts through identification and dissemination of effective practices that keep students with mild disabilities in school. One part of the project attempted to establish a consensus among experts in the fields of…

Answers to questions most often asked about the second National Education Goal are provided in this document. Goal 2 states that "by the year 2000, the high school graduation rate will increase to 90 percent." Among the areas covered are school strategies to improve graduation rates, community and business roles, incentives to stay in…

This document is a report of a panel discussion on literacy conducted at an adult education conference in Quebec (Canada). Panelists included Leona Grise, Brenda Lee, and Nicole Snaauw; Ann M. Gauvin was the moderator. The discussion centered on student recruitment, the dropout factor, and alternate methods of learning for individuals lacking…

A study was done of pre-admission or early performance predictors of persistence versus academic failure among baccalaureate program nursing students. As part of a larger longitudinal research project, 155 students from four successive classes of students admitted to the program were studied, using multiple predictor and criterion variables. The…

Many rural youth in Russell County, Virginia, are at risk of becoming dropouts due to economic and social factors seen throughout Appalachia. These influences include high levels of unemployment and poverty, adult illiteracy, low self-esteem, and lack of role models that demonstrate the value of educational attainment. United Way of Southwest…

A study compared the ninth-grade performance of students who were randomly admitted to New York City career magnet high schools to those who were randomly not offered seats in those schools. The research measured the effect of career magnets on students of average and low reading ability whose academic records were not strong enough to gain them…

Mentoring at-risk students has become one of the fastest growing and frequently used strategies across the nation to help young people. This document examines the structure and implementation of mentoring programs. Chapter 1 discusses mentoring as an appropriate and effective strategy. The mentoring relationship is examined, natural versus planned…