School Dropout Problem Research Articles

Are Charters the Best Alternative? A Cost Frontier Analysis of Alternative Education Campuses in Texas

Previous research on the relative efficiency of charter schools focused on schools that serve a general student population. In Texas, as in many other states, some charter schools have been designed specifically to serve students who are at risk of dropping out of school. Such “alternative education campuses” may have very different cost and efficiency profiles than schools designed to serve students in regular education programs. In this article, we estimate a translog stochastic cost frontier model using panel data for alternative public high school campuses in Texas over the five‐year period 2007–2011, and find that alternative education high school campuses operated by charter schools are systematically more efficient than alternative education high school campuses operated by traditional public school districts. Policies that encourage the formation of alternative education charter campuses may thus be a sensible component of strategies to combat the pervasive and pernicious problem of high school dropouts.

Evaluation of a Public Awareness Campaign to Prevent High School Dropout.

Many advocacy organizations devote time and resources to increasing community awareness and educating the public in an effort to gain support for their issue. One such effort, the Dropout Prevention Campaign by America's Promise Alliance, aimed to increase the visibility of the high school dropout problem and mobilize the community to take action. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the framing of the Dropout Prevention Campaign in television news media. To evaluate this campaign, television news coverage about high school dropout in 12 U.S. communities (N=982) was examined. A content analysis of news transcripts was conducted and coded to determine the definition of the problem, the reasons for dropout and the possible solutions. Findings indicated that the high school dropout problem was most often framed (30% of news segments) in terms of the economic and societal implications for the community. Individual student factors as well as broader societal influences were frequently discussed as possible reasons for dropout. The most commonly mentioned solutions were school-based interventions. News segments that mentioned America's Promise Alliance were more likely to frame the issue as a crisis and to use statistics to illustrate that point. Solutions that were more likely to appear in America's Promise segments promoted community and cross-sector involvement, consistent with the messages promoted by the Dropout Prevention Campaign. The findings suggest that a media content analysis can be an effective framework for analyzing a prevention campaign.

Framing Narratives: Youth and Schooling, Silencing and Dissent

As completing upper secondary school has become increasingly important for young people to take their place in society, the problem of school dropout has prompted extensive research to identify the decisive underlying individual and school-based risk factors. However, less attention has been paid to interactions between individual students and institutions (Bunting & Moshuus, 2017). Such a shift redirects our attention from seeing dropout as an accumulation of risk factors (Rumberger, 2011) towards a focus on the processes leading some students to drop out (Brown & Rodriguez, 2009). From this perspective, this paper explores how interaction frames and silences those young people that drop out (Fine, 1991). Based on ethnographic narrative interviews, this qualitative longitudinal study explores schooling experiences through young people’s own accounts. The interpretation of the data reveals issues of young people having a voice or being silenced, staying and completing school or being excluded from school as silenced individuals or (less frequently) as outspoken dissidents. The study explores how these young people frame their narratives, as this factor seems to contribute to diametrically opposed outcomes (dropping out or completion). The findings indicate that young people who employ similar negative frames to describe their interactions both at home and at school are the most vulnerable to dropping out. Article first published online: March 1, 2017; Issue published: March 1, 2017

Active Methods Of Teaching-Learning In The Health Area: The Problems In Nursing Education

Introduction: Currently, educational institutions are inadequate in preparing health professionals for the social demands of the Brazilian health system. Because of this, educational institutions have been encouraged to reform their didactic and pedagogical practices and develop processes that, among other things, have equity, recognise the health needs of the population and foster multidisciplinary teamwork. These education reforms are seen as necessary steps for changing the health care model. Objective: To describe the applicability of active methodologies, such as the learning strategy of the Charles Maguerez Arc, in nursing education. Method: This is an experience report, conducted in a State School of Professional Education in the macro-region of Cariri, of Ceara state, Brazil. The participants were 38 students from the nursing course integrated to the high school, aged between 13 and 15 years. The problematisation methodology through the Charles Maguerez Arc was used. The activity was divided into four parts. First, we gave a presentation to the participants, followed by an explanation of the problematisation strategy and the Charles Maguerez Arc. Then a text was read to the students to get them thinking about an issue and the class was divided into small groups for the implementation of the Arc. Finally, there was a presentation by the groups on these Arcs. Results: The application of the Charles Maguerez Arc as an active methodology of teaching and learning enhanced the development of group discussions. Starting from the elected problem of high school dropout, the keywords identified were vocation, motivation, family adaptation, bullying, self-esteem and interpersonal relationships. Final considerations: The class showed collaboration while engaging in this work, proving that the implementation of active methods in health education is feasible at the technical level. The previous organisation and systematisation of the meeting facilitated the development of the proposal, and the explanation of the problematisation method through the Charles Maguerez Arc facilitated the activity process and reflection.

School Dropout – A Social Problem in Romania

With this work we want to draw attention to a social problem that manifests itself with an increasingly strong intensity from year to year in Romania, namely school dropout problem, mainly due to deepening poverty (especially in rural areas but not only). In the elaboration of this work we started from processing and interpretation of statistical data provided by the National Institute of Statistics and the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection. Analysis of these data revealed that school dropout occurs from secondary education to the post high school and university levels. Develop programs, policies and actions to combat social problems is a goal of social assistance system with implications at the micro and macroeconomic level.

The Personal and School-Related Variables that Impact School Dropout

The dropout phenomena has remained consistent for decades, causing it to be labeled a ‘crisis’ and ‘America’s silent epidemic’. Therefore, the purposes of this research study were to add to the body of research on school dropouts and to determine if a relationship existed between internal motivation, dropping out of school, and the student’s unalterable social background against alterable school-related practices. The content from five research studies were analyzed to answer the research questions that guided this study. The findings of this study concluded that students with low internal motivation were at an increased risk for dropping out; however, it was determined that student motivation was regulated through the student’s background and the school’s climate. All students from lower income households were placed at a greater risk for school dropout. However, all students with low internal motivation, negative peer associations, from lower income households, that had to change schools more than once (forced mobility), were incarcerated, with parent(s) that had less than a high school diploma, and/or parents that did not have quality parent-child discussions about class assignments with their children were at the greatest risk for dropping out. ELL, Black, Latino, Native American, Alaskan Native, Cambodian, Laotian, Hmong, and Vietnamese students were at an increased risk for dropping out; with males being placed at a greater risk than females. Family structure was not found to be a risk factor over and beyond parental involvement. This study concluded that after controlling for the student’s social and academic background negative student/teacher relationships, low teacher expectations, negative classroom interactions, and the school’s climate predicted dropping out. The additional school-related risk factors found to be related to school dropout were: low academic and social support, eighth grade course failure, a lack of credit accumulation in eighth and ninth grade, being bullied, prolonged (five or more years) special education placement for non-White and all students, being over age in ninth grade, poor performance on 8th grade standardized testing, the anticipation of senior exit exams, and being retained before or during the ninth grade. Yet, students at the greatest risk were those who received the ABC’s prior to dropping out which includes: excessive absences (A), excessive disciplinary infractions or behavioral problems (B), and prolonged academic/course (C) failure; which in the ninth grade was also found to culminate and be a major independent predictor variable to dropping out. Additionally, students who were socially promoted between the sixth and ninth grades were also at the greatest risk for the ABC’s and dropping out compared to retained students. It was also concluded that there is a severe shortage of both males and non-White Pre-K to 20 faculty, teachers, and administrators and that any interruptions and disruptions (e.g., excessive absences, forced mobility, incarceration) in schooling without interventions to achieve and sustain proficiency, significantly increases school dropout. Therefore, this study concluded that dropping out is a long-term consequence and a culmination of five or more years of: unmonitored student achievement and/or social and behavioral problems, a lack of quality teaching and preparation in Pre-K through 8th grades, a lack of ongoing strategic school and political leadership that incorporates interventions to improve, support, and sustain academic success, in addition to a lack of quality parental involvement. Lastly, political leadership and higher education have supported the school’s failure to provide an equitable and safe learning environment for all students to succeed and contributed to the school dropout problem in the United States school system for decades.

Prevalence of Substance Use Disorder and Psychiatric Comorbidities

Prevalence of substance use disorder and psychiatric comorbidities Introduction The substance use disorder (SUD) is one of the most common disorders in adolescence. The lifetime prevalence is 3% to 32%. Alcohol and tobacco are the most used licit substance and cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance. Studies indicate that approximately 75% of patients with SUD have psychiatric comorbidities such as conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and affective d isorder. Adolescents with SUD and comorbid mental disorder have high risk for continuing problems in adulthood. The costs of treating SUD and a psychiatric comorbidity is twice as high when treated separately. Objective To find the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities in adolescentes with SUD. Methods The diagnostic instrument Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School aged Children 6-18years (K-SADS-PL) was used to identify SUD and all psychiatry disorders in adolescents admitted to a clinic for SUD treatment. Results In a sample of 30 adolescents with SUD, 8 adolescents (26,6%) has ADHD comorbid and 14 (46,6%) has conduct cisorder comorbid. Four (13,3%) patients has affective disorder comorbid. Conclusion Early diagnosis of a psychiatry comorbidity can improve the treatment in adolescence and prevent further complications such as legal and medical problems, suicide, learning difficulties, school dropout, unemployment and interpersonal relationship problems.

Arts education and the high school dropout problem

Arts education advocates belief that quality education in the arts can engage at-risk students in ways other subjects cannot and is therefore an important tool in preventing high school dropout. Although some studies point to lower dropout rates, most do not follow a large number of students over time or account for student and school characteristics expected to influence one’s educational path. We fill this gap in the current literature by tracking nearly 175,000 first-time 9th-graders for 5 years using survival analysis with longitudinal administrative data from Texas. We find that cumulative credits in the arts are consistently associated with reduced dropout, even after controlling for prior achievement and contemporaneous course completion in core subjects. Our results provide evidence that the arts are a potential lever in education reform. Experimental and/or quasi-experimental research studies are needed to isolate the salient conditions under which arts participation can reduce dropout.

Abandono escolar y desvinculación de la escuela: perspectiva del alumnado

This study addresses the problem of high school dropout in Spain. It aims to gain a more profound understanding of the reasons and processes that lead to students leaving school, based on the point of view of the teenagers themselves. A qualitative methodology and a biographical approach were chosen. The results reveal the multiple factors that play a role, and the fact that high school dropout should be seen as a process. They also show the roles of the different actors, the influence of a group of equals, and the challenges of educational institutions and families to fulfill their educative duties.

Arts Education and the High School Dropout Problem

Arts education advocates believe that quality education in the arts can engage at-risk students in ways other subjects cannot and is therefore an important tool in preventing high school dropout. Although some studies point to lower dropout rates, most do not follow a large number of students over time or account for student and school characteristics expected to influence one’s educational path. We fill this gap in the current literature by tracking nearly 175,000 first-time 9th graders for 5 years using survival analysis with longitudinal administrative data from Texas. We find that cumulative credits in the arts are consistently associated with reduced dropout, even after controlling for course completion in core subjects. Our results provide evidence that the arts are a potential lever in education reform. Experimental and/or quasi-experimental research studies are needed to isolate the salient conditions under which arts participation can reduce dropout.

The early identification of risk factors on the pathway to school dropout in the SIODO study: a sequential mixed-methods study.

BackgroundSchool dropout is a persisting problem with major socioeconomic consequences. Although poor health probably contributes to pathways leading to school dropout and health is likely negatively affected by dropout, these issues are relatively absent on the public health agenda. This emphasises the importance of integrative research aimed at identifying children at risk for school dropout at an early stage, discovering how socioeconomic status and gender affect health-related pathways that lead to dropout and developing a prevention tool that can be used in public health services for youth.Methods/designThe SIODO study is a sequential mixed-methods study. A case–control study will be conducted among 18 to 24 year olds in the south of the Netherlands (n = 580). Data are currently being collected from compulsory education departments at municipalities (dropout data), regional public health services (developmental data from birth onwards) and an additional questionnaire has been sent to participants (e.g. personality data). Advanced analyses, including cluster and factor analyses, will be used to identify children at risk at an early stage. Using the quantitative data, we have planned individual interviews with participants and focus groups with important stakeholders such as parents, teachers and public health professionals. A thematic content analysis will be used to analyse the qualitative data.DiscussionThe SIODO study will use a life-course perspective, the ICF-CY model to group the determinants and a mixed-methods design. In this respect, the SIODO study is innovative because it both broadens and deepens the study of health-related determinants of school dropout. It examines how these determinants contribute to socioeconomic and gender differences in health and contributes to the development of a tool that can be used in public health practice to tackle the problem of school dropout at its roots.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SCHOOL DROPOUTS WITH A SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICALLY COMPARISON GROUP OF URBAN SLUM INHABITANTS IN MAHARASHTRA

Background and Objective: Getting children to school is one thing, keeping them there is quite another. Indeed a low school completion rate is one of the biggest threats to human development in India, it is imperative to find ways to reduce this and to do so one must examine the potential risk factors for the high dropout rate. This study was therefore undertaken to find out the magnitude of the problem of school dropouts and the etiological factors related to it. Methods: This study uses a community based descriptive cross-sectional design to identify school dropouts, socio-demographic profile, and a comparison of these factors responsible for school dropouts with non-school dropouts conducted in an urban slum area after the informed consent from all the participants. Descriptive analysis for socio-demographic factors in dropouts was done using Univariate analysis. P value less than 0.05 was the level of significance. Result: Comparison of socio-economic status in dropout and comparison group (Table-5) that the chances of dropouts were more in socioeconomic class V (69.1%) and IV (43.8%) than class III (16.7%). None of the 200 households belonged to Upper class (I). The relation between socio-economic status of dropout and comparison groups was found to be highly significant (p 0.0001). Conclusion: In this study, the commonest reason as perceived by dropouts for dropping out of school was cited as poverty by 41.8% respondents.

Need for Human Rights Education for Female Children: A Case Study in Tuticorin District, Tamil Nadu

Education is a fundamental human right as well as a catalyst for economic growth and human development. Women's education is extremely important intrinsically as it is their human right and is required for the flourishing of many of their capacities. The present study has been conducted with an objective to have in-depth insight into the problem of female school dropouts in primary to higher secondary classes in Tuticorin District of Tamil Nadu.

Need for Human Rights Education for Female Children: A Case Study in Tuticorin District, Tamil Nadu

Education is a fundamental human right as well as a catalyst for economic growth and human development. Women's education is extremely important intrinsically as it is their human right and is required for the flourishing of many of their capacities. The present study has been conducted with an objective to have in-depth insight into the problem of female school dropouts in primary to higher secondary classes in Tuticorin District of Tamil Nadu.

Examining School Related Factors Leading to Dropout Through Children's Conceptions and Experiences: Development of a Scale for Attitudes Towards Elementary School

Despite state support for mass education in Turkey, there are many primary school children who do not attend school or who drop out before finishing school. This study is part of a project investigating the problem of school dropout in a district of Istanbul. Factors related to school, such as failure, non-acceptance by teachers and peers, poor attendance, and low levels of involvement, have been associated with increased likelihood of dropout. Modifying the instructional environment, strengthening school membership, and creating alternative schools have been suggested as means to prevent dropout. A questionnaire assessing attitudes toward school was administered to 480 students from 13 elementary schools for the purpose of identifying the characteristics of schools that lead to dropout. Factor analysis results indicated five factors of school-related attitudes, including attitudes toward learning; toward teachers; toward school and school facilities; and students' perceptions of parent-school relationships.

A Research and Development Framework for the School Drop-out Problem

Persistent school drop-out rates signal limitations in existing research and development frameworks. Alternatives are needed. The alternative framework provided here begins with a new conception of student success. It illuminates the need for P-16, whole systems education reform. It emphasizes early warning and rapid response systems focused on four target populations, while illuminating the special needs of high-poverty school communities challenged by social exclusion and social isolation. Improved dropout planning depends on expanded models of school improvement, new roles for social/health service providers, expanded conceptions of teaching and learning, and genuine collaboration.

A Research and Development Framework for the School Drop-out Problem

Persistent school drop-out rates signal limitations in existing research and development frameworks. Alternatives are needed. The alternative framework provided here begins with a new conception of student success. It illuminates the need for P-16, whole systems education reform. It emphasizes early warning and rapid response systems focused on four target populations, while illuminating the special needs of high-poverty school communities challenged by social exclusion and social isolation. Improved dropout planning depends on expanded models of school improvement, new roles for social/health service providers, expanded conceptions of teaching and learning, and genuine collaboration.

The Role of Non-governmental Organizations in Minimizing School Dropouts

Peter et al, (2004) studied the factors associated with the school dropouts of SC and ST students in Chennai Corporation Higher Secondary schools. The problem of school dropouts should be a matter of great concern to the Government and the society as a whole, since it can lead to lopsided development of the different sections of populations and ultimately widen the gap between the haves and have-nots. There is no doubt that the development of human resource through a good education which is free from the problem of dropouts opens the doors for opportunities for the future and it should be the responsibility of the society as a whole, to ensure that these doors are not shut for the students of the poorer sections of the community. Towards this, the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) can play a major role by providing training and development Programmes for this particular category of secondary school dropouts.

Strategies to Help Solve Our School Dropout Problem

Strategies to Help Solve Our School Dropout Problem

Dropping out of school: A review of intervention programs

This article reviews the literature on dropout prevention for school-aged children. A review of dropout prevention programs identified in the literature highlights methodological concerns, with a discussion of design, sampling, statistical analysis, and implementation issues. The interventions employed with greatest frequency in the studies reviewed emphasized academic enhancement, psychosocial skill development, mentoring, and parent/teacher behavior management training. Programs that were academically oriented or those that were multi-component programs emerged with the most promising empirical base. However, at the present time, there is a lack of consistent and persuasive outcome evidence that meet Kratochwill and Stoiber's [Sch. Psychol. Q. 15 (2001) 233] criteria for empirically supported interventions. This deficiency leads to the conclusion that there is no one particular best practice or beneficial treatment currently available to address the problem of school dropout even though a number of intervention programs appear to hold promise. Implications for school psychologists include both practice and research applications.