Part-time engagement is a significant feature of senior secondary study for large numbers of students, in a context which includes high level policy pressures to achieve better outcomes for many more and a wider proportion of the schooling population, and significant policy and practice shifts at school, system and accreditation authority levels.…

Keeping all adolescents in high school longer will not necessarily solve illiteracy, crime, and unemployment problems. Dropout prevention programs are already on a collision course with demands for higher promotion and graduation standards. What urban dropouts need is to exchange city slums for a revised version of the Civilian Conservation Corps,…

Replicates a Florida study of high school students' decisions to drop out using data for West Virginia. Confirms earlier findings that the decision to drop out is based on the student's perceptions of the economic opportunities obtained by a high school diploma. (FMW)

This paper summarizes reports of various Ohio committees and offices that have studied attendance and dropout problems and have developed strategies and recommendations for dealing with them. Those strategies and recommendations are provided along with the following: (1) a statement of the problem and its scope; (2) a list of roles and…

The existence of compulsory school attendance at the secondary level may help to assure school attendance for some students, but it does little to assure that any will learn. Both the laws requiring attendance and the basic high school programs offered in most states must be remodeled. Arizona's system provides a good example. Although Arizona's…

A working party of the Northern Ireland Department of Education has proposed a deluxe version of the Youth Opportunities Programme for the province, to reorganize secondary education and insure the right to continuous education or job training with full financial support up to age 18. (Author/SJL)

This quarterly publication contains 13 articles covering various aspects of education and youth employment in Australia. "Youth Employment Strategies: Public Service of South Australia" (Jenny Rhodes) describes opportunities for South Australian youth to enter public service. "School Influences on Retention in Victorian Government…

Two or three selected rural regions in Western Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania were surveyed to find out what happens to school leavers in rural areas of Australia and how their perceived options and actual opportunities can be enhanced. The three-phase survey began with a questionnaire being administered to all Year 9-12 students in Western…

Three regions of Tasmania (the Huon Valley, North-East Tasmania, and the Derwent Valley) were studied between June 1978 and June 1980 to discover what happens to school leavers in rural country areas and how their options and opportunities were to be considered with regard to range of occupational choices perceived to be or actually available. A…

This report analyzes the Participation and Equity Program's two objectives of reducing significantly the number of Australian students prematurely leaving full-time education and of fostering more equal education, and discusses strategies for achieving these objectives. Following a statement by the Minister of Education and Youth Affairs and an…

Besides describing actual experiences of rural students who leave school before completing Year 12, a 1978-79 study in Western Australia was also designed to investigate options and employment opportunities available to school leavers. Questionnaires from 1,371 students in Years 9-12 in 14 schools collected data on background, education,…

This annual report discusses actions taken by the Connecticut Department of Higher Education's Minority Advancement Program (MAP) over the past 10 years to increase the numbers of disadvantaged high school students prepared for success in college, to increase student access and retention among underrepresented groups, and to increase the…

This research was conducted to identify factors contributing to the enrollment of male high school students in Ohio in program areas nontraditional for their sex. Using the 1980 Executive Student Follow-up Report, 28 vocational education programs not traditional for males in Ohio (less than 20 percent male enrollment) were identified, and the top…

Analyzes the effects of high school students' economic prospects on high school completion rates for 67 Florida school districts. Concludes that students' decisions to drop out or complete high school may be influenced by their perceptions of the economic advantages that accompany a diploma. (FMW)

This paper updates available evidence on the costs to society associated with noncompletion of school by substantial numbers of American youth. The only comparable treatment of this topic was published in 1972 by Henry M. Levin. The findings of this earlier study are recast to account for current earnings projections and price levels, and for…