This sourcebook provides information for educators and community leaders involved in dropout prevention planning. The indexed, looseleaf notebook places boldface keywords in each entry's upper right-hand corner. Thirteen sections contain summaries of sources and ordering procedures. Section A deals with general reports and literature reviews;…

This guide explores ways that schools can put the idea of integrating educational and community support for dropout prevention to work in the school and community. Part 1, "Implementing a Plan for Restructuring the School," recommends the formation of a task force to involve the community and school staff from the start. It also describes the…

An overview is provided of the problem of student attrition and the essential components of effective retention programs. Following introductory arguments that the secret of retention is in the development of communities committed to education rather than retention, the paper discusses several major causes of student attrition, including academic…

This study was conducted to identify factors that affect disadvantaged women in their efforts to gain long-term employment or to complete vocational and technical education programs. Following a review of literature, a questionnaire was prepared and administered to 160 disadvantaged women in Texas. An analysis of the questionnaire responses…

Since the National Defense Education Act of 1958, a primary objective of federal higher education policy has been to increase access to higher education for those who would not otherwise attend, especially those from low income backgrounds. Increasing attention is now being paid to enhancing student retention and graduation, making sure that…

A study in 12 New South Wales (Australia) high schools investigated differences in motivation for Aboriginal (n=496), migrant (n=487), and Anglo (n=1172) students. A consistent picture of the urban Aboriginal child emerged, and key variables in his decision making (self-reliance, confidence, and goal direction) were identified as well as…

This how-to guide, which is designed to assist state and local welfare reform efforts, explains how to design, implement, and manage mandatory stay-in-school (learnfare) programs for teenage parents on welfare. The following topics are discussed in the guide's five chapters: the importance of focusing on teen parents on welfare, Ohio's Learning,…

This instructor's guide consists of four modules teacher educators can use in preparing prospective teachers to teach basic vocational education students. The modules cover the following topics: (1) characteristics of basic vocational education students or students at risk for dropping out of high school; (2) program requirements of the basic…

This monograph reviews the literature on intervention for potential dropouts at the secondary school level in order to determine factors responsible for students being at risk and to provide information on a variety of projects and programs that are effectively alleviating the number of such students who fail to complete their education. The…

This practitioner's guide is designed to provide an overview of a schoolwide study skills program that accommodates individual student learning styles of at-risk students who may be potential dropouts at the secondary education level. The schoolwide skills model described here is appropriate for all grade levels especially secondary levels as it…

This paper addresses the notion that persons at risk of failure to achieve an adequate education are in that position partly because of their social circumstances, i.e., their ethnicity, culture, language, or economic status. It discusses the impact of culture on what one does and how one does it, addresses the manner in which culture frames as…

School reform efforts today have a personal focus that emphasizes attending to the problems faced by individual at-risk students. After outlining the impact of student dropouts, this document uses information from a review of 150 at-risk student programs described in related professional literature to describe six basic weaknesses in current…

This publication presents the evaluation of the Secondary Special Education Initiative, a 5-year partnership between the New Jersey State Department of Education and nine school districts. The initiative was established in 1983 to enhance the development of high-school programs and services for educationally handicapped pupils. The initiative had…

The design and features of a model minority retention program are discussed. Components of successful retention programs include: commitment to attract and retain minority students, ongoing sessions to sensitize the campus community to minority students, academic involvement, tenured minority faculty and staff, support services, and minority…

STRIVE was a special instructional program which provided a nurturing, caring, intensive instructional milieu for over-aged, low-performing ninth graders, who were perceived to be at risk of dropping out of school, at Barbara Jordan High School for Careers in Houston (Texas) during the 1988-89 school year. This report evaluates the effectiveness…