Education Commons^™

A Program Evaluation Of An Alternative Educational Program In A School District In North Carolina For High School Students At-Risk For Dropping Out, Janice Duffie

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation of an alternative educational program in North Carolina for high school students at-risk for dropping out. The CIPP model was used to evaluate to what extent the alternative educational program is achieving its stated mission. This mixed-method evaluation consisted of quantitative and qualitative data that included interviews with district- and school-level leaders, surveys from selected staff at six high schools and the alternative educational program, and historical data. The program evaluation explored the program’s strengths and weaknesses, and recommendations for improvement. Based on the findings, the research questions examined …

Factors That Influence Students’ Decision To Drop Out Of An Online Business Course, Sandra Gail Robertson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although online enrollments at community colleges have increased in recent years, student dropout rates in online classes have also increased and educational researchers wonder why students are dropping out of online courses and if online instruction can contribute to student success. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to investigate the online experiences of students who dropped out of the Introduction to Business online course at a community college in a Mid-Atlantic state and the factors that led to their decision. The research questions concerned how students who took the Introduction to Business online course described their decision to …

Short- And Long-Run Effects Of Early Grades, Luca Facchinello

Research Collection School of Economics

Does early grading affect educational choices? To answer the question, I exploit the staggeredimplementation of a reform which postponed grade assignment in Swedish compulsoryschool. I identify short- and long-term effects of early grading, for students with differentacademic ability and socioeconomic status (SES). When graded early on, high-ability students(especially if high-SES) perform better, and are more likely to choose academic coursesduring compulsory school. Low-ability students react in the opposite way, in particular iflow-SES. While high school attainment increases for high-ability low-SES students, collegeattainment decreases for low-ability low-SES students. None of these effects carry over tothe labor market. This suggests that early …

The Effect Of A Minimum Credit Diploma Pathway On High School Graduation Rate, Teresa Strickland

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There are many paths to high school graduation. The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has driven schools to be creative in seeking strategies by which students successfully earn their high¬¬¬¬ school diploma. In this non-experimental, causal-comparative study, a large Western North Carolina school district utilizes a minimum credit diploma to help students who previously experienced repeated academic failure achieve high school graduation by earning 21 course credits. The district requires traditional diploma-seeking students to earn seven additional credits to the 21 required by the State. Participants included high school graduates from the 2013-2014 school year. Both traditional …

Mental Health Treatment Effects In An Alternative Middle Schools, Beth Devilla

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an alternative school in West Virginia. The school enrolled sixth to eighth grade students who had been suspended, expelled, or were facing expulsion. Using archived data, the academic performance of students who were in a mental health treatment program was compared to the performance of students who were in the alternative school but were not enrolled in the mental health program. All archival data was de-identified by the Psychologists on staff at the agencies so there were no identifiable human subjects. The research staff was provided access to existing …

The Effect Of Work-Related Programs On Dropout Rates: A Meta-Analysis, Jill Young

Master's Theses

One in four students drop out of school, which has long-lasting implications for the individual, employers, and society at large. Work-related programs, such as those that include career exploration or vocational training, are often employed by schools and communities to reduce school dropout rates. This thesis provides an update to a meta-analysis of experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations of dropout prevention programs conducted by Wilson, Tanner-Smith, Lipsey, Morrison, and Steinka-Frey in 2011, focusing on work-related dropout prevention programs. This study determined through meta-analysis of the logged odds-ratios that work-related programs have an odds-ratio of 1.66, indicating that work-related programs significantly reduce …

Perceived Parental Investment In School As A Mediator Of The Relationship Between Socio-Economic Indicators And Educational Outcomes In Rural America, Kimberly L. Henry, Thomas M. Cavanagh, Eugene R. Oetting

Thomas M. Cavanagh

Dropping Out: A Cross-Case Exploration Of Why Students In One West Virginia County Choose To Leave School, Debra Hunt Young

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The indicators and predictors of dropout as documented in the literature are vast and encompass influences such as family, motivation, socio-economic status, and academic achievement, and could be accepted as universal reasons students choose to leave school and not return. This qualitative study investigated the reasons why students in one West Virginia county choose to drop out of school. Using cross-case analysis, the perceptions of current students identified as at-risk of dropping out, former students, and Attendance Directors and Guidance Counselors were explored to determine emergent themes and provide proactive and reactive strategies to prevent dropout. This study resulted in …

Assessment Of The Neighborhood, Housing, Family, And Personal Characteristics That Affect Whether Students Drop Out Of High School, Montara Renée November

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This paper seeks to present research that will allow education officials to identify and target individuals who are likely to drop out of high school. By simultaneously using neighborhood, housing, family, and personal factors to identify at-risk students, education officials can link students to the social programs they need to meet their individual needs. Parent’s educational level had statistically significant effect on whether students dropped out of high school. The lower the education level the more likely a student will drop out of school. Parents who are high school dropouts are more likely to earn less and their children are …

The Relationship Of The Transformational Leadership Of The Administrators In America's Middle College High School And Their Feeder Institutions To Selected Indicators Of Effectiveness, Christine M. Michael

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Middle college high schools in America identify potential college students who are at-risk in the traditional high school environment. These students are placed on the college campus to take high school and college classes and receive dual credit for the latter. The program is specifically designed to keep these pupils in high school, graduate them, and send them on to higher education. This investigation focused on the leadership style of the administrators of both the middle college high schools and their traditional feeder high schools and its relationship to four indicators of effectiveness: attendance rate, dropout rate, graduation rate, and …

Students’ Dropout In Continuing Education: A Namibian Case Study, Vekaama Heroldt Murangi

Master's Capstone Projects

This study was undertaken in Namibia, to determine causes for student dropouts m continuing education face-to-face centers. The utilized sample in the study consisted of one hundred and seventy learners (including both current & non-continuing learners), and sixty tutors. In this context, dropout refers to those students enrolling for a course (Grade 10, Standard 10) at face-to-face centers and discontinuing their studies before completing the entire course. It is required from all learners to attend classes regularly before they can sit for the final external examination taking place annually in October or November.

Chapter 1 of the study gives a …

A Follow-Up Study Of A Dropout Intervention Program Utilizing Experimental Counseling Strategies, Cynthia Sue Ferguson

Graduate Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the long range effects of a seven week summer dropout intervention program. The program featured academic remediation, job skills training and random assignment to one of three counseling models: Multidimensional, group or individual. Twenty-four male and 24 female economically and academically disadvantaged students averaging 15.5 years of age were tested in a pre-test, post-test, follow-up format on measures of dropout potential, locus of control and academic achievement. The Demos Dropout Scale revealed no change in attitude over the nine month period. Results obtained from Rotter's Internal/External Scale revealed a general movement to …