This ethnographic research examines the sociocultural and educational experiences of migrant youth living in liminality in urban Yangon. Their liminality exemplifies the interplay between poverty, social-choice of dropping out of school and the militant culture of schooling. The research argues that narratives provide comprehensive understandings…

Increasing numbers of youngsters are at risk of early school leaving. In this study, we examine educational decision-making of inner-city youth during their educational trajectories and how this could contribute to the decision to leave school without an educational qualification. Based on interviews with 34 youngsters in a Flemish city (Antwerp,…

This study examined whether recent disruptive events would increase the likelihood of high school dropout among both rural and urban youths, and whether the types of disruptive events preceding dropout would be different in rural vs. urban environments. Based on interviews conducted with early school leavers and matched at-risk schoolmates (N =…

A total of 1,150 returning students identified themselves in a questionnaire answered by 86% of all regular Toronto high school students. The results produced the following profile of the "typical" returning student. He is male (60%); dropped out of a Toronto school (75%); dropped out once (86%); dropped out at age 15, 16 or 17 (76%);…

Uses data collected from London school to explore processes through which inner-city, working-class students leave school at the age of 16. Draws attention to issues of identity and inequality. Highlights the ways in which the young people viewed themselves as "not good enough" and "knew their limits" in relation to…

Data from Ecuador's Living Standard and Measurement Surveys were used to analyze the characteristics and determinants of child labor and schooling. Of particular interest was the influence of adult wages on child labor. Survey data on children aged 10-17 included sex, age, rural or urban residence, monthly wages, whether or not attending school,…

The everyday lives and the cultural identities of early school-leavers in the Republic of Ireland are explored, drawing up a political practice, a cultural politics, that relates to the position of early school-leavers. This practice is theorized within a poststructuralist and post-Marxist framework. Part 1 presents conversations with urban early…

This paper examines how policies on student behavior and attendance are used to push students into dropping out of school. Although in the public mind the proliferation of dropouts is associated with a drain on the economy, there is no real evidence to indicate either that there actually are large numbers of dropouts or that dropping out is…

The dropout rate is one of the most critical issues that Canadian educators face. Based on a 3-year study in the greater Toronto area, this book established a new frame of reference for understanding the dropout dilemma. This book suggests that race, class, gender, and other forms of social difference can affect how education is delivered. For…

The study reported in this book was designed to address the experiences of educationally disadvantaged young people in English cities. The study, called "Changing Lives," involved a survey of over 3,000 inner-city 16-year-olds from 34 schools in 6 urban areas of England. The young people surveyed were eligible to leave school in spring…

A study was done of the destinations of secondary school dropouts in 1990 in the Northern Territory of Australia, focusing on aspects of the school-to-work transition. The study contacted students through mailed surveys and telephone interviews. Information on dropouts not contacted through these methods was gained from the Northern Territory…

Findings of a 3-year study of the experiences of Black and African-Canadian students in the Ontario public school system are presented. The paper focuses on urban students in four schools and on their parents' perceptions of public schooling. Interviews were held with nearly 150 African Canadian students, including 22 dropouts, some of whom…

The preliminary findings of an on-going 3-year study examining the experiences of black students in a Canadian public school system are discussed. The project has been using students' narratives of their experiences in an inner-city public school system to explore the influences of race/ethnicity, class, gender, power, and social structures on…