A Study of High School Dropout Prevention and At-Risk Ninth Graders' Role Models and Motivations for School Completion

This study describes the results of a research evaluation of a school dropout prevention program and adolescents' self-reported perceptions of their motivations and role models. The program was a partnership between an urban university and an urban school district that was designed to prevent 9th grade students from dropping out of high school. It included tutoring, personal development, summer enrichment, and parental involvement. The specific research goals were 1) to evaluate whether this approach to intervention with these urban, at-risk teens was effective in changing educational attitudes and behaviors, as well as school grades, and 2) to examine these teens' career goals and role models. The participants were 140 ninth grade, male and female, primarily African-American, low income, public high school students in a major urban city in the Midwest (n=75 experimental group; n=65 comparison group). Findings were mixed. Results are discussed in several contexts, including the role of school transitions, especially the adjustment required when moving into high school. (Contains 2 tables.)