Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-04, page: 1954. Adviser: Sally W. Vernon. Includes bibliographical references.

Education is one of the strongest predictors of health, and well-being. Early termination of education can lead to poorer health, shorter lifespans, and increased stress on the healthcare system. Improving overall high school graduation rates has been debated and discussed by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the Ministry of Education, however, there is a paucity of research on increased graduation rates as they relate to public health in the Canadian context. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of liaison public health nurses (PHNs) who worked directly with the TDSB regarding their roles in terms of influencing students in Toronto, Ontario to complete high school. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model was the underlying conceptual framework for the study.Purposive sampling was used to select 10 PHNs who were interviewed regarding their role and involvement in high schools. The data was subjected to triangulation and analyzed to identify commonalities, trends and patterns. Findings from this study indicated that liaison PHNs believe that high school dropout rates are a public health issue and collaboration between the Ministry of Education and Public Health is needed to take action. Recommendations include more Canadian research that explores connections between health and school achievements and the expanded role of PHNs in Canadian high schools. Social change implications for this research include highlighting high school dropout rates as a public health concern in Canadian schools, particularly in communities of lower socioeconomic status. With increased research and resources, the Toronto public health system may work toward making improving graduation rates among their core mandate.

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative, comparative study was to determine whether there were significant differences in fall-to-fall retention and graduation rates, between first-time, full-time students who engaged in at least one early post-secondary opportunity (EPSO) while in high school and those who did not. Archival data for this study were collected from the participating community college between 2015 and 2018. The sample for this study included 2,911 students enrolled in academic programs at the community college and included retention rates and graduation rates for students who participated in EPSOs (N = 622) and those who did not participate in EPSOs (N = 2289). Other data collected for each participant included: (a) socio-economic status as determined by Pell eligibility, (b) at-risk status as determined by an ACT score of 17 or below, and (c) gender. Chi-square tests using a two-way contingency table with cross tabs or independent sample t-tests were used to evaluate each of the research questions. The findings demonstrated that participation in EPSOs resulted in increased retention and graduation rates. Findings from this study may contribute to the existing body of knowledge as to whether high school participation in EPSOs is associated with improved retention and graduation rates at community colleges.

High school graduation rates and the leadership of principals are important measures of accountability within schools. Principal leadership has been investigated through qualitative and correlational studies in mostly urban areas. Limited research has focused on the educational leadership characteristics of the high school principals and graduation rates in rural areas. The purpose of this study was to identify, describe, and categorize the leadership characteristics of veteran and novice principals with respect to graduation rates in selected rural schools. Bolman and Deal's 4 frames of leadership informed this study and helped to create the broad leadership categories of interpersonal skills, leadership and communication styles, and collaboration skills. The research questions focused on understanding the leadership characteristics and differences between novice and veteran principals. Purposive sampling was used to select 21 participants for in-depth interviews in 7 high school settings. The methodology combined interviews with a review of district data and documents. The data were thematically analyzed by a constant comparative method and category construction. Trustworthiness was ensured with member checking and triangulation. Key findings indicated that all principals had general leadership characteristics such as active listening, collaboration, a communication style, and promotion of school/home partnership. Three out of 4 high graduation rate schools tended to have veteran principals. Veteran principals focused on professional development and cultivating relationships, whereas novice principals focused on using data in decision making. Identifying and developing specific characteristics in leaders and matching them with schools will improve the instructional environment for students and strengthen the expertise of the faculty and staff.

Low graduation rates in many Tennessee high schools present a significant problem. Many students are not prepared to graduate. Parent involvement advocates contend that the more involved parents are in their children’s education, from preschool through the secondary schooling levels, the better the probability their children will graduate from high school (Blendinger and Jones, 2003). The purpose of this investigation focusing on “best practices” literature in the area of parent involvement was to develop a strategic parent involvement model having potential for improving graduate rates among Tennessee’s high schools. The study explored the published works of Joyce Epstein, Jack Blendinger, and Linda T. Jones in the field of parental involvement for the purpose of developing a parent involvement model for implementation in Tennessee high schools confronted with low graduation rates. The model produced holds significant potential for increasing graduation rates. A qualitative research design, referred to as archival research, was used in this investigation. Data were collected for more than a 25-year period (1987-2015). Textual criticism provided an analytical method for determining practical applications regarding what educational researchers attempted to communicate in their published works. Blendinger and Adams (2015) developed a technique for data analysis involving published works that they called the majority text method. The technique employs close (critical) reading strategies for the purpose of examining similarities and differences occurring in the content provided in research reports, books, journal articles, and so forth produced by the same author or authors over a substantial period of time. Insight gained from examining the documents were transcribed in the form of notes. The notes were then carefully reviewed and analyzed. Reoccurring themes, patterns, and phrases that emerged were recorded. Themes and patterns were separated into categories to make connections between the archival data and the research question driving the study. Findings based on the published works of Epstein, Blendinger, and Jones led to the development of a strategic parental involvement model known as The Nifty Nine. The Nifty Nine consists of 9 parent involvement strategies designed to improve the partnership between home and high school.

Schools in the United States have struggled with graduation rates for nearly 140 years. School divisions are continuously searching for new and creative curriculums to address changing student needs. From the U.S. Department of Education to local school board members, educators are working to discover creative and accountable alternatives to address these issues. Development of online programs continues to offer students some of the curriculum resources they need for success and provides an alternative way to approach instruction for school systems. Educators in Lee County are researching new policies and programs to assist students in obtaining their high school diplomas. Understanding perceptions of the administrative staff plays a key role in program development and implementation of programs for students. This qualitative case study addresses the particular issue of perception in relation to the implementation of a new form of instruction. By understanding staff perceptions education leaders can develop plans and procedures to address issues related to staff development and program implementation. The following set of policies and procedures were necessary for the online program: Each individual school needed the opportunity to use the program as they deemed necessary for student needs.The online program would be used as a secondary curriculum to assist students in the areas of dropout prevention, alternative education and credit recovery.Administrators provide consistency of the implementation to all students in the county.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if the number of Career and Technical Education (CTE) graduates who go on to postsecondary education or some other training program, to the military, or to employment upon high school graduation was significant in comparison to the state baseline for secondary placement. This study further compared CTE graduation rates to overall graduation rates. The graduation rates were compared based on gender as well. School systems that provided CTE courses and that had CTE concentrators for the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years were used for this study. Eight school districts were chosen in the upper east Tennessee region and were evaluated using graduation data and secondary placement data from the Tennessee Department of Education Report Card. The research cited in this study supported the supposition that CTE graduates do in fact help to increase the overall graduation rates for school districts. This study focused on five research questions and each null hypothesis was tested using a one-sample chi-square test. Results indicated that there were positive significant differences for CTE concentrators who proceed to postsecondary education, military, and employment as compared to the state baseline for secondary placement. The study further revealed that the graduation rate for Tennessee CTE concentrators was higher than the overall graduation rate for the selected school districts in this study. Positive differences were also noted between the sample CTE graduation rate and the overall Tennessee CTE graduation rate as well as between those rates and the overall Tennessee graduation rate for all students. Further analysis revealed that no significant differences existed between male CTE graduates and female CTE graduates. The research findings suggested that CTE graduation rates can help improve a school district's overall graduation rate.

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As the United States struggles to be globally competitive with the number of students completing a college degree higher education leaders continue seeking answers to improving student retention and graduation rates. Decades of research has been conducted on investigating factors that impact student retention and graduation with the majority of that research being centered on student attributes and students’ precollege characteristics. Research has been limited on institutional characteristics and their associations with student retention and graduation rates. Therefore the purpose of this study was to examine the extent that specific institutional characteristics predict first-year, full-time, fall-to-fall retention rates and 6-year graduation rates. The sample for this study consisted of 4-year institutions in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) region that have been granted Level III accreditation status and also report data annually to the Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS). All data used for this research were publicly available archival data available from IPEDS. Sixteen research questions were investigated about institutional student variables, environment variables, resource variables, financial variables, and interaction variables. Multiple linear regressions were conducted for all research questions, representing the statistical method of analysis. The findings showed that the most useful predictors for retention rates were students scoring at or above the 75th percentile ACT scores, physical library collections, expenditures for academic support, and tuition and required fees. When investigating to what extent institutional characteristics predict 6-year graduation rates the findings showed that 75th percentile ACT scores, physical library collections, expenditures for instruction, the percentage of full-time faculty, and cost were the most useful predictors. Findings also showed that student-faculty ratios and the percentage of full-time faculty were not significant predictors for student retention. Some institutional predictor variables may be significant predictors for both retention rates and graduation rates, while other predictor variables may be significant predictors for only one of the criterion variables.

The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics and relationships of participants and non-participants of the summer academic program in a local school district. The summer program also includes a component providing support to students as they progress through four years of high school. The study used 5,369 student records to conduct the study of the first cohort of students who entered their ninth grade in the 2009-2010 academic year.