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-DO6MERT'RESUME ED 324 743 EA 022 198 AUTHOR Weis, Lois, Ed.; And Others TITLE Dropouts from School: Issues, Dilemmas, and Solutions. REPORT NO ISBN-0-7914-0109-X PUB DATE 89 NOTE 245p. AVAILABLE FROMState University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246 ($16.95 paperbackISBN-0-7914-0109-X; $49.50 hardcover--ISBN-0-7914-0108-1; $2.00 shipping and handling). PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Collected Works - General (020) EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS Athletes; Black Community; Disadvantaged Environment; Disadvantaged Youth; *Dropout Characteristics; Dropout Prevention; Dropout Programs; Dropout Research; *Dropouts; Economically Disadvantaged; Elementary Secondary Education; Females; Lower Class Students; Minimum Competency Testing; Poverty; Rural Schools; School Effectiveness; Social Environment; Social Services; Socioeconomic Influences; Student Evaluation; Student Motivation; Urban Teaching ABSTRACT A holistic analysis of the dropout problem is presented in this collection of essays, which critically examines a variety of research traditions. The book examines the major groups within the dropout population, factors within schools that contribute to dropping out, and the larger social and economic context within which dropping out occurs. Articles include: "Dropping Out: Can Schools Be Expected to Prevent It?" by Gary G. Wehlage; "Bein' Wrapped Too Tight: When Low-Income Women Drop Out of High School," by Michelle Fine and Nancie Zane; "Dropout Issues'and Problems in Rural America, with a Case Study of One Central Appalachian School District," by Alan J. DeYoung with Karen Huffman and Mary Ellen Turner; "Dropping Out of Academics: Black Youth and the Sports Subculture in a Cross-National Perspective," by R. Patrick Solomon; "Social Services in High Schools," by Eleanor Farrar and Robert L. Hampel; "Urban Teachers and Dropout-Prone Students: The Uneasy Partners," by Charles Payne; "Competency Testing and Dropouts," ty Amelia E. Kreitzer, George F. Madaus, and Walt Haney; "Reducing Student Alienation in High Schools: Implications of Theory," by Fred M. Newmann; "The Individual in Collective Adaptation: A Framework for Focusing on Academic Underperformance and Dropping Out among Involuntary Minorities," by John U. Ogbu; and "American Realities: Poverty, Economy, and Education," by Michael W. Apple. (LMI) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. _ ol tio - " U.& DEPARTMENT OF tOUCATION Office of Educational Research end Improvement 144AISSION TOREPRODUCE TH'I'e EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION iMATERIAL IN MtCROFICHE ORLY CENTER (ERIC) g,HAS BEEN GRANTED BY 10413document has been reproduced u received from the person or organization Ongineling it 1,1144,4 C Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction qualify points of view or opinions stated in thrsdocir ment do not nocessanly represent official TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES OERI posOlon or poky. -,9q9,9,humm Cgtfrtil(.Rip).7 ,L Ly.--4147145:4, L,"4 SUNY Series FRONTIERS IN EDUCATION , Philip G. Altbach, Editor The Frontiers in Education Series features and draws upon a range of disciplines and approaches in the analy- sis of educational issues and concerns, helping to reinter- pret established fields of scholarship in education by en- couraging the latest synthesis and research. Other books in this series include: Class. Race, and Gendei in American Education Lois Weis (ed.) Excellence and Equality: A Qualitatively Different Perspective on Gifted and Talented Education David M. Fetterman Change and Effectiveness in Schools: A Cultural Perspective Gretchen B. Rossman, H. Dickson Corbett, and William A. Firestone The Curriculum: Problems, Politics, and Possibilities Landon E. Beyer and Michael W. Apple (eds.) Crisis in Teaching: Perspectives on Current Reforms Lois Weis (ed.) 3 Published by State University of New York Press, Albany (tD 1989 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the Upited States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dropouts from school. (SUNY series, frontiers in education) Bibliography: p. Includes index. I. High school dropoutsUnited States.2. Socially handicapped youthEducation (Secondary)United States. 3. MinoritiesEducation (Secondary)United States. I. Weis, Lois.H. Farrar, Eleanor.III. Petrie, Hugh G.IV. Series. LC146.6.D761989373.12'913'097388-34932 ISBN 0-7914-0108-1 ISBN 0-7914-0109-X (pbk.) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Acknowledgments Introductivn ix Lois Weis, Eleanor Farrar, and Hugh G. Petrie I. Dropping Out: Can Schools Be Expected to Prevent It? 1 Gary G. Wehlage PART I: WHO ARE THE DROPOUTS? THE TOPIC RECONSIDERED 2. Bein' Wrapped Too Tight: When Low-Income Women 23 Drop Out of High School Michelle Fine and Nancie Zane Dropout Issues and Problems in Rural America, with a 55 Case Study of One Central Appalachian School District Alan J. De Young with Karen Huffman and Mary Ellen Tunu:r 4. Dropping Out of Acaderritc. Black Youth and the Sports 79 Subculture in a Cross-Nation& l'enpective R. Patrick Solomon PART II: INSIDE SCHOOLS 5. Social Services in High Schools Eleanor Farrar and Robert L. Hampel 6. Urban Teachers and Dropout-Prone Students: The Uneasy Partnets Charles Payne vi Contents 7. Competency Testing and Dropouts 129 Amelia E. Kreitzer, George F. Madaus, and Walt Haney , ., 8. Reducing Student Alienation in High Schools: 153 1 Implications of Theory Fred M. Newmann A 3 PART III: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES: t, A LOOK AT THE LARGER CONTEXT 9. The Individual in Collective Adaptation: A 4. 181 3 Framework for Focusing on Academic : Underperformance and Dropping Out - Among Involuntary Minorities John U. Ogbu ,71 ,. 10. American Realities: Poverty, Economy, and Education 205 Michael W. Apple -..-. .: -; Contributors 225 P. -.c -, Index 227 -,, 1111.010, _ Acknowledgments Numerous people provided assistance as this volume took shape. Sharon Hladczuk and Sandra Mitchell copyedited the manuscripts, and Carol Norris and Marilyn Faulise provided much-needed secre- tarial assistance. Our sincere thanks to all those who encouraged and enabled us to bring this volume to press. vii n s 0 Introduction LOIS WEIS, ELEANOR FARRAR, AND HUGH G. PETRIE Within the past several years, school dropouts has emerged once again as a significant issue.* Although the primary focus in American education is currently excellence, it has become increasingly clear that a large number of students do not make it through school at all. A relatively high proportion of these students are racial and linguiie.: minorities who reside in our central cities, although dropping out is a rural and subnrban problem as well. Increasingly, policy makers, prac- titioners, and scholars have become aware that these youth cannot be ignored, that they have their own distinctive set of educational prob- lems which cannot be addressed simply by intensifying cries for excellence. The concern for dropouts is based on some hard realities. It has been estimated that the nation loses about $77 billion dollars annually because of school dropouts$3 billion in crime prevention, $3 billion in welfare and unemployment, and $71 billion in lost tax revenue.' Behind the recent push for dropout prevention programs is the fact that it may make better economic sense to put money into prevention and retraining programs to keep youth in school rather than deal with the heavy economic and social consequences later. There is also an un- stated sense in the debates on school dropouts that American society, given its largely egalitarian ideology, cannot be divided into such ob- viously unequal sectors which reflect racial and class divisions. The national dropout rate has been reported to be between 25 and 28 percent, although figures of 50 and 70 percent for blacks and His- panics, respectively, are often cited.' The present concern about school dropouts stems from one reaction to the excellence reports of the early *Some of the ideas for this introduction were drawn from a working document on at- risk students prepared by Jeanne Weiler and Eleanor Farrar. SUNY Buffalo. June 1987. ix 9 Introduction l980s. These reports centered on the quality of education and demand- ed a renewed emphasis on raising standards. An underlyingassump- tion of the reports was that our economy is failing becauseour schools are failing and that we must renew our efforts toward quality education if America is to retain its competitive edge.3 The excellence reports have been criticized in a number of places, and it is not our intention to repeat that criticism here.' Whatmust be, pointed out, however, is that the reports generateda counterdiscussion of the possible effects of raising standards on those alreadyat risk of dropping out of school.' It is this issue that we will explore here. The literature on school dropouts is varied, and there has beensur- prisingly little research done on the subject to date. A majorconcern which has come to characterize the literature is the lack otan agreed- upon definition for the term dropout. The Bureau of the Census has defined a dropout as "any person who is not enrolled in schoolor who is not a high school graduate or the equivalent." As Anthony Cipollone points out,