Examined extent to which high-risk students identified school staff as significant others, and whether relationship between students and these staff members had effect on students' decision to remain in or drop out of school. Findings from high school students did not support hypothesis that students who had significant other adult in school would…

Examined effectiveness of 14-week program to build self-esteem with at-risk ninth-grade students by comparing participants (n=35) to no-treatment controls (n=33). Concluded that program, based on concepts of rational emotive therapy, was effective in improving self-concept, self-management, and academic achievement. (Author/NB)

In 1954, the United States Supreme Court, in a landmark decision known as Brown v. Board of Education, said, "Today education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments...it is the principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values and preparing him for later professional training and in helping him to…

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.…

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students regularly face obstacles during the transition to high school and have the highest dropout rate of all U.S. racial and ethnic groups. Educational theorists and researchers have various explanations for this high failure rate, each with its own prescriptions. These explanations include: (1) deficit…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Comprehensive evaluations of two dropout prevention/reentry demonstration programs, sponsored by the Department of Education, one funded under the School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program (SDDAP) and one funded under the Cooperative Demonstration Program (CDP), are provided in this paper. Both programs were designed to demonstrate effective…

Texas schools were required by educational reform legislation to identify students at risk of dropping out and to notify their parents. The Austin Independent School District developed operational definitions for the State criteria. For grades 9-12 the brief descriptors for these definitions are age, achievement, Fs, and the Texas Educational…

Using the findings of an earlier study regarding differences between student and teacher perceptions of what circumstances might contribute to a student's being "at risk," a follow-up study investigated what teachers and other school personnel can do to help at-risk students. Based on responses to two open-ended questions from the…

Using the state-mandated Texas at-risk criteria to identify students at-risk for dropping out, the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) followed those students for three years to determine the accuracy of the mandated state criteria. The study focuses on the classification and follow-up of 25,587 students in 1987-88, 25,292 students…

Institutions of higher learning must focus on new ways to serve the at-risk student and the black male at-risk student in particular. By developing and implementing a plan, any teacher can foster retention of at-risk students, even in the absence of institutional support. Twenty effective techniques are: (1) learn students' names; (2) assign…