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.

Magister Scientiae (Occupational Therapy) - MSc(OT) / School dropout particularly amongst youth living in impoverished areas is a major concern in South Africa because of limited opportunities and resources. Therefore, these youth may experience leisure boredom, engage in sensation seeking and other risky behaviours, such as substance use, which influences their health and wellbeing. However, little research has explored youth who have dropped out of school with a specific focus on their free time experience and use of substances. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore and describe free time experience and substance use amongst youth who have dropped out of school in Cape Town. Methods: A sequential explanatory mixed methods study with two phases including quantitative (Phase one) and qualitative (Phase two) was conducted. In Phase one, data from an existing dataset was analysed. The data were from 970 youth who had dropped out of school in Cape Town who had completed the HealthWise Risk Behaviour Survey in 2016. Descriptive statistics regarding the use of free time and the prevalence of substance use were computed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. In Phase two, thirty-two participants were selected using convenience sampling who took part in one of four focus group discussions to explore in-depth the results computed in Phase one of the study. Steps were taken to enhance the validity, reliability and trustworthiness of the data.

Magister Scientiae (Occupational Therapy) - MSc(OT) / School dropout particularly amongst youth living in impoverished areas is a major concern in South Africa because of limited opportunities and resources. Therefore, these youth may experience leisure boredom, engage in sensation seeking and other risky behaviours, such as substance use, which influences their health and wellbeing. However, little research has explored youth who have dropped out of school with a specific focus on their free time experience and use of substances.

Dropping out of high school is an issue that has faced the educational system for years. At a high school in Mississippi, the dropout prevention plan implemented was not beneficial to all at-risk students because it mainly focused on academic issues. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand why students dropped out of high school and to gather strategies for a dropout prevention plan. The conceptual framework was based on 5 factors: general deviancy, deviant affiliation, family socialization, structural strain, and academic quandary. The research questions inquired about experiences that caused students to drop out and suggested strategies for a new dropout prevention plan. Data collection methods included interviews with 18 teachers, 3 counselors, and 20 former students who dropped out between 2007 and 2012. Interpretive data analysis was used to analyze data. Open and axial coding was used to develop themes about why students dropped out of high school. Those themes included behavioral issues, peer and work-related influences, family structure, school environment, and academic problems. Data analyses indicated that tutoring, staff development, mentoring, counseling, parental involvement, teenage mother programs, and alternative options were useful in preventing students from dropping out. These findings were used to develop a high school dropout prevention plan to benefit at-risk students. The overall goal for this project was to decrease high school dropout rates. By implementing the high school dropout prevention plan, schools may enable more students to further their education and become productive citizens within their communities.

Syftet med vår studie har varit att ta reda på varför vissa ungdomar gör avbrott från singymnasieutbildning. Vi har använt oss av en kvalitativ metod och genomfört totalt åttasemistruktuerade intervjuer. Våra respondenter är två dropoutungdomar, som vi intervjuat för att få en inblick i och djupare förståelse för individuella och strukturella orsaker som ligger bakom beslutet att hoppa av skolan. De övriga sex respondenterna är samtliga studie- ochyrkesvägledare, varav fyra är verksamma på kommunala och fristående gymnasieskolor, eninom grundskolan och en arbetar inom det kommunala uppföljningsansvaret. Intervjuernamed dessa professionella personer har vi gjort i syfte att undersöka vilka subjektiva och objektiva förklaringar de har till att elever slutar skolan i förtid och hur de arbetar med dropoutsen. Med denna undersökning har vi kommit fram till att de bakomliggande orsakerna till att vissa elever hoppar av skolan alltid är personliga, men att bakgrunden utgörs av enblandning av individuella och strukturella faktorer. Vårt resultat av intervjuerna har vi tolkat och analyserat med hjälp av Becknes teorier om objektiva och subjektiva förklaringar till studieavbrott. Vi har även utgått från Becknes teori om tidiga och sena avbrytare och delvis kunnat kategorisera våra två dropoutrespondenter enligt denna.

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This study examined school staff’s trauma-informed practices and experiences in an urban alternative high school that serves former high school dropouts, many of whom have experienced trauma. In light of the growing concern about trauma among students and the interest in trauma-informed education, this study offers a significant contribution by analyzing educators’ meaning-making, highlighting both what their practices look like “on the ground,” and identifying the consequences. Framed by Contemporary Trauma Theory as well as the concept of educational trauma (Sullivan, 2004), this study used ethnographic methods to examine the practices school staff used to create a schooling environment that was responsive to the needs of students with trauma histories. Observations and interviews were conducted with a total of 8 staff and 27 students over the course of one school year. The findings indicate that staff members’ trauma-informed practices centered on building relationships and using those relationships as a knowledge base in order to decipher and respond to negative student behavior. Together, these practices overlap with defining features of trauma-informed schools outlined in the literature. Staff practices had both positive and negative impacts on the school community. / Urban Education

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-04T18:32:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CRISTIANE APARECIDA DOS SANTOS BAGGI.pdf: 303676 bytes, checksum: 8914e5262f6e1e3211a29b0638ff9f66 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-24 / School dropout is one the major educational problems both public and private colleges and universities have to face, especially in periods of economical crisis, provoking severe social, academic, and financial consequences. The objective of this research is to discuss the theoretical production surveyed at the Digital Library of Thesis and Dissertations which deal with school dropout and higher education evaluation produced after 1990. After this period, a great increase in the amount of private higher institutions in Brazil was observed. However, researches show that families have been unable to afford their children s education, among other factors that result in dropping out. The methodology adopted in this work was based on a state-of-the-art research referred to as bibliographical investigation, which helps us discuss and map out academic production, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses. The results of the bibliographical investigation on school dropout rates show that, among the most diverse areas of Science, there is a gap or dispersion in theoretical and methodological debates about this issue and few teaching institutions, whether public or private, have specific programs to handle the problem of school dropout. / A evas?o ? um dos problemas educacionais que mais atingem as Institui??es de Ensino Superior, sejam p?blicas ou particulares, principalmente em per?odos de crise econ?mica, gerando graves consequ?ncias sociais, acad?micas e financeiras. O objetivo desta pesquisa ? discutir a produ??o te?rica constante da Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Disserta??es, que aborda os problemas da evas?o e da avalia??o no ensino superior, a partir do fim da d?cada de 1990. A partir desse per?odo, registrou-se, no Brasil, uma intensa expans?o do ensino superior privado, no entanto pesquisas demonstram que as fam?lias t?m tido grande dificuldade em financiar o estudo de seus filhos, al?m de outros fatores que redundam em evas?o. A metodologia adotada neste trabalho baseia-se na pesquisa denominada estado da arte ou estado do conhecimento, definida como uma investiga??o de car?ter bibliogr?fico, que auxilia na discuss?o e no mapeamento da produ??o acad?mica, combinando a an?lise qualitativa com a an?lise quantitativa. Resultados da pesquisa bibliogr?fica sobre a evas?o indicam que, nas mais diferentes ?reas da Ci?ncia, h? uma lacuna ou dispers?o em termos de reflex?o te?rica e metodol?gica sobre o tema, bem como s?o poucas as institui??es de ensino, p?blicas ou particulares, que t?m programas espec?ficos para enfrentar o problema da evas?o.