Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1992

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Education

Major Professor

Norma T. Mertz

Committee Members

Don Dessart, George H. Harris, Peter M. Husen

Abstract

There is a presumption that the students who dropout of school are primarily those who are two or more grade levels behind their peers in the areas of reading and/or mathematics. Two other characteristics that permeate the dropout research are: 1) these early school leavers are individuals for whom a high school diploma has little or no meaning and/or value, and 2) they are individuals who have failed at least one grade. The bulk of research supports these three characteristics as being significant in the identification of the dropout or early school leaver.

The purpose of this study was to examine these assumptions and to discover if there were a group of early school leavers who did not fit this recognized profile and who therefore were not eligible and/or appropriate for the many intervention strategies and programs developed to address and remedy this national problem of the school dropout.

The study examined the "dropouts" at the Center School, a school opened in the fall of 1989 to serve students between the ages of 17 and 19 who had "dropped out". These students were individuals who had officially separated themselves from the regular high school environment and had chosen not to return. The study focused on the 164 students in attendance at The Center School during its first two years of operation.

All subjects were given the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, the FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation-Behavior), and the Student School-Perception Inventory. In-depth interviews were conducted with 28 of the students. The demographic and academic backgrounds of these students were examined by means of school records. Data were analyzed inductively and deductively to identify and to test patterns. Statistical analyses were utilized wherever data were appropriate.

Among the conclusions were: (1) there were early-school leavers who were academically able and who were not behind their peers in skill acquisition; (2) there was a group of early school leavers who, although separating themselves from the regular school process prior to graduation, valued a high school diploma; and (3) there was a group of early school leavers who were unidentified and for whom the intervention strategies and programs, instituted to reduce the numbers of early-school leavers, were not appropriate.

A portrait of this heretofore unidentified early school leaver emerged from the data. This portrait provided identifiers for the group members. These identifiers, in addition to allowing for early recognition of these potential dropouts, also supplied a means by which these students could be assisted and retained by the school system.

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