This guide is intended to encourage South Carolina secondary vocational education administrators, teachers, and counselors to implement programs designed to keep potential dropouts in school and recover those who leave school prematurely, as well as to provide those educators with research findings relevant to such activities. Following an introduction that describes the magnitude of the nation's and South Carolina's dropout problem, chapter 2 states a philosophical base for vocational education's role in dropout prevention and recovery. Chapter 3 describes characteristics of at-risk youth, and chapter 4 discusses the key components of vocational education that enhance its ability to address the needs of at-risk youth. Chapter 5 lists key elements of successful programs. Chapter 6 lists nonvocational educational resources. Chapter 7 discusses community resources for dropout prevention and recovery activities. The eighth chapter describes the South Carolina Office of Vocational Education Dropout Prevention Pilot Program, including its activities in Cherokee County, Fairfield County, and Florence. Chapter 9 discusses alternative scheduling as a method for making dropout recovery easier. Chapter 10 discusses staff development as a necessary ingredient in successful programs. Following a short conclusion, three appendices contain guidelines for observing behavior and identifying characteristics; teacher, student, and parent questionnaires; an in-school referral form; guidelines for matching teaching style to students' learning style; and questionnaires and worksheets on which to identify parents and others in the community who can act as resources or provide resources. A 34-item bibliography concludes the document. (CML)