This study investigated the effects of an intervention program on variables related to school performance in which ninth-grade high school students served as subjects. Variables that served as indicators of program effectiveness were (a) grade-point average (GPA); (b) proportions of students that attain 10th-grade status as measured by units of academic credit; (c) percent-correct scores on tests of academic skills in the areas of editing, mathematics, and reading; (d) rates of absence from classes; and (e) rates of referral for disciplinary action by teachers and administrators. Qualitative evidence of program effectiveness was secured through individual student interviews. The treatment consisted of an eight-week intervention program designed to assist all ninth-grade students in the transition from junior high school into high school. Program faculty presented six topics determined to be important to student success in high school. The treatment group consisted of 72 ninth-grade students who were matched with 72 control subjects on pretest measures of GPA and absence rate. Pretest measures of the dependent variables were taken from school records compiled during the first 10 weeks of the 9th-grade prior to student participation in the treatment program. Posttest measures of the dependent variables were taken from school records during the first full semester of the 9th-grade school year immediately following the treatment program and again during the first 12 weeks of the 10th-grade school year. Analyses of covariance demonstrated significant differences (p $<$.05) between the two groups for the first posttests of GPA and absence rates. Student interviews revealed that academic planning and improvement in study skills were the components of the treatment program that students considered most important to academic success. Results of this study provided empirical confirmation of the findings of previous research which indicated that high school intervention programs can positively affect GPA and attendance. The results also suggested that further gains in GPA and attendance might be promoted by increasing the length of the treatment program.

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School attendance is a major component in the success of a student. School climate is a pivotal factor in why students come to school. The overarching goal of this research project was to determine why students at Hendersonville High School prefer to be absent and what they believe would motivate them to attend school regularly. In order to accomplish this task, quantitative and qualitative research questions were used. Quantitative 1. How do 9th grade students at Hendersonville High School rate items related to academic work and engagement on the HSSSE? 2. How do 9th grade students at Hendersonville High School rate items related to safety and engagement on the HSSSE? 3. How do 9th grade students at Hendersonville High School rate items related to environment and engagement on the HSSSE? Qualitative 1. What is the 9th grade attendance pattern at Hendersonville High School? 2. What are 9th grade students’ perceptions of academic work, safety and environment as they relate to absenteeism? Results of the study showed that teachers use limited method of instruction (lecture only), the student body is punished as a whole for individual actions, lack of art based learning, lack of technology and eating healthier. In the analysis of the focus group respondents survey data, common reasons for boredom included:(1) work not challenging enough, (2) material wasn’t interesting, (3) teaching method not interesting,and (4) half of all focus group respondents stated that a common reason for boredom was no interaction with teacher. Recommendations include the following: professional development opportunities for teachers, developing a new discipline policy for combating issues on an individual basis instead of punishing groups of people. Improving the curriculum to incorporate art based learning through grade levels, and introduce new classes and after school opportunities for students to participate in art based learning. Improve use of and accessibility to technology in the classroom and for individual student use. Improving school breakfast and lunch to include a healthier variety of foods to choose from.

Almost half of those who start therapy drop out early (Thalmayer, 2018). When therapists work to improve the therapeutic alliance, clients are more likely to stay in treatment and chances of recovery improve (D'Aniello et al., 2018; Escudero & Friedlander, 2017). However, the existing research comes almost entirely from client self-reports of the alliance. Little research has examined what occurs during the session. There has been no research to determine what specific therapeutic alliance behaviors are related to early termination. The current naturalistic study sought to discover if behaviors that strengthen or diminish the therapeutic alliance are related to early termination in therapy. Master's Students coded videos from thirty couples (fifteen matched pairs) who received therapy at the Brigham Young University Comprehensive Clinic (BYUCC) using the System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances (SOFTA-o). Four dimensions of the therapeutic alliance were examined: engagement in the therapeutic process, emotional connection to the therapist, safety within the therapeutic system, and shared sense of purpose within the family. Results from a one-sided t-test showed that the emotional connection was significant for both male and female partners and the therapist, as was the male partner's sense of safety and the shared sense of purpose. Several individual behaviors were also significant. Understanding which behavioral indicators of the alliance are associated with dropout may help therapists identify couples at risk of dropout and intervene to prevent early termination. Implications and limitations will be discussed.

Syfte: Syftet med undersökningen är att undersöka hur en grupp elever som hoppat av skolan upplever sin skolgång och hur de skulle vilja att skolan ska utformas för att de ska kunna gå där. Tanken är att elevernas svar kan ligga till grund för förslag på förbättringar av skolan.Teori: Studien tar sin utgångspunkt i utvecklingsekologi och social konstruktionism. En annan utgångspunkt tas från fenomenografiska perspektiv på lärande. Thomas Ziehes beskrivning av situationen i skolan och förändringen av lärarens ställning finner jag relevant för min undersökning. Även jämförelser med tidigare forskning av Johanna Giota om samband mellan elevmotivation och skolprestationer liksom Kristina Szönyis doktorsavhandling i specialpedagogik, som är en undersökning ur elevperspektiv och delaktighetsbegreppet har känts relevant att koppla ihop med min undersökning. Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ ansats där elevintervjuer utförts utifrån öppna frågor som tolkats med hjälp av narrativ metod. Resultat: Undersökningen visar att bristande inflytande, delaktighet och motivation bidrar till stökiga lektioner vilket tillsammans med bristande lärarrelationer, mobbing och uppgifter som inte är individualiserade efter elevens behov samverkar när elever väljer att hoppa av skolan. Elevernas förslag till förbättringar vittnar om både verklighetsanknytning och medvetenhet om vad de själva och samhället behöver när de gäller studiemiljö och ämneskunskaper / Purpose: The purpose of this investigation is to study the experiences of school made by some students who have dropped out from school and also to study the student’s ideas of how they would like school to be in order to suggest changes in school. Theory: I have studied Uri Bronfenbrenner's theories of human ecology, Ian Hacking's theory of social construction, Marton et al´s theories of learning and and Thomas Ziehe´s desriptions regarding changes of the teacher´s position in school after 1968.. I have also made comparative studies of Joanna Giota´s investigations of connections between student´s motivation and their results in school as well as studies of Kristina Szönyi´s investigation of students´s experiences of inclusion in school.Method: I have used a qualitative method with interviews of students and used an open question “Describe your experiences of school”. To interprete the student´s answers I have used a narrative method and hermeneutic interpretation.Result: My study shows that lack of influence over the education, as well as lack of inclusion and motivation leads to noisy lessons which together with a deficient relation between the teacher and the student, mobbing and student tasks that are not on the student´s level are factors that put together lie to ground when a student decides to drop out from school. The students´s suggestions for improvements in school show that they are both realistic and well aware of what they themselves and the society need when it comes to school environment and theoretical knowledge.

The focus of this research was to identify primary interventions that participants in the study perceived to have influenced them to persist to remain in high school. This was accomplished by analyzing data gathered in a survey administered to 901 program completers who were rising 10th, 11th, and 12th graders who completed the Eighth-toNinth-Grade Summer Transition Program in 2009, 2010, and 2011 in one Florida School District.

The aim of this study is to examine how students at disadvantaged schools in Costa Rica experience and cope with the educational transition between 6th and 7th grade. Furthermore, to analyse which are the major contributing factors and how to aid this passage for students at risk through the term, Lifelong learning. This study will be conducted through an analysis of Costa Rica’s contemporary education policy documents through OECD’s educational report (2017). Thereafter the empirical data will be collected from seven semi-structured, qualitative interviews. Central findings shows that the school should provide more individual attention, equal career counselling in primary schools, start earlier with topics concerning identity and more engaging with parents or persons that are responsible. / Minor Field Studies

Annually in the United States, over one million students do not complete high school. Furthermore, more than 80% of those students fall behind at the beginning of Grade 9, leaving behind costs for society, including relying upon public assistance (Hughes et al., 2018; Letgers and Balfanz, 2010). Gaining a proper education is essential for children, determining a child's adult life, including higher earning potential, improved health, and a longer lifespan (Hahn and Truman, 2015; McKee and Caldarella, 2016). To conduct this study, the researcher used a qualitative methodology exploring the perceptions of eight returning adult education students between the ages of 18 and 24 in one Virginia school division. The researcher conducted one-on-one interviews to determine the participants' perceptions of why they dropped out of high school and the rationale, and why they returned to an adult education program to continue their education. Findings from this study showed that returning adult education students experience a variety of life experiences and rationale when making the decision to drop out of school prior to earning a high school diploma or GED credential. The findings identified from the collected data in this study resulted in five implications for school personnel. School personnel must equip the parent(s) and the student(s) with strategies and resources that will help high school students maintain overall school success, both now and in the future. Those strategies and resources should be geared towards helping identifying students who are at risk of becoming high school dropouts. / Doctor of Education / Gaining a proper education is essential for children, determining a child's adult life, including higher earning potential, improved health, and a longer lifespan (Hahn and Truman, 2015; McKee and Caldarella, 2016). The decision to dropout of school is linked to adverse individual and social consequences (Lee-St. John et al., 2018). Students who fail to graduate from high school experience health issues and a poorer quality of life (Letgers and Balfanz, 2010). To conduct this study, the researcher used a qualitative methodology exploring the perceptions of eight returning adult education students between the ages of 18 and 24. The researcher conducted one-on-one interviews to determine the participants' perceptions of why they dropped out of high school and the rationale, and why they returned to an adult education program to continue their education. Findings from this study showed that returning adult education students experience a variety of life experiences and rationale when making the decision to drop out of school prior to earning a high school diploma or GED credential. The findings identified from the collected data in this study resulted in five implications for school personnel. School personnel must equip the parent(s) and the student(s) with strategies and resources that will help high school students maintain overall school success, both now and in the future. Those strategies and resources should be geared towards helping identifying students who are at risk of becoming high school dropouts.

The aim of this study is to examine how students at disadvantaged schools in Costa Rica experience and cope with the educational transition between 6th and 7th grade. Furthermore, to analyse which are the major contributing factors and how to aid this passage for students at risk through the term, Lifelong learning. This study will be conducted through an analysis of Costa Rica’s contemporary education policy documents through OECD’s educational report (2017). Thereafter the empirical data will be collected from seven semi-structured, qualitative interviews. Central findings shows that the school should provide more individual attention, equal career counselling in primary schools, start earlier with topics concerning identity and more engaging with parents or persons that are responsible.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the rates of attrition at each level within US Women’s Artistic Gymnastics. Using USA Gymnastics membership information, this thesis explored trends within raising and falling membership rates by level and the potential predictive information this can offer gyms, coaches, parents and athletes. Until this study, previous research had only looked at the causes of attrition. The results of this study provided insight into when this attrition will be most likely to occur. This will assist in preparing coaches, parents and athletes to make informed decisions in regards to the training and commitment necessary in pursuing a future in competitive gymnastics. It also informs the gym on attrition within their program, which offers opportunities to better cater the program to the athletes, including additional coach’s education at these levels. After reviewing the current and past number of athletes participating, it was concluded that attrition peaks for athletes going into Level 5. A significant drop in athletes from Level 4 occurs, and the trend continued, at a smaller degree, as the number of athletes drops at each level through Level 10.