Research and public attention into boys’ education has increased in recent times among an emerging concern about the performance and retention of boys in schools. This concern, in many ways, constitutes a “moral panic” (Foster, Kimmel & Skelton, 2001, p.1) sometimes producing generalised and alarming statements such as ‘all boys are underachieving in school’ and are therefore becoming the “new disadvantaged” (Foster, et, al., 2001, p.7). Alongside these populist concerns about boys in schools generally, is an emerging body of contemporary academic studies into early school leaving, (Trent & Slade, 2001; Smyth, Hattam, Cannon, Edwards, Wilson & Wurst,. 2000; Smyth & Hattam, 2004) boys’ experiences of schooling, (Martino & Pallotta-Chiarolli, 2003), as well as some broader statistical evidence indicating a general decline in school retention rates in Australia since the early 1990s (Lamb, 1998). Performance in schools generally, and declining retention rates specifically, has been described as an “unacknowledged national crisis” (Smyth & Hattam, 2002, p.375). This study investigates boys’ education generally and early school leaving specifically, by focusing on boys who leave school before completing year 10. The study explores the stories, meanings and constructed experiences of a small sample (5) of young boys aged 14 – 16 years, who have left secondary school just prior to being interviewed. This is a qualitative critical ethnographic (L. Harvey, 1990) study located within a constructivist epistemology (Crotty, 1998). It aims to investigate early school leaving through narrative (Cortazzi, 1993; Way, 1997) and ethnographic inspired analysis (Robson, 2002) of transcribed interview data. Such analyses are referenced against a macro socio-political, economic, and cultural context characterised by changing global socio-economic and political circumstances, especially in regard to how these impact on schools and future possibilities for young people (Spierings, 2002). It seeks further understanding by drawing from a framework of concepts that invoke discussion of school culture, identity practices and how these are inferred (Smyth & Hattam, 2004), produced, understood and enacted within schools and social contexts. This study reveals that schools (as cultural and institutional practices) co-construct the often painful, lengthy and contradictory processes and experiences of early school leaving. Early school leaving therefore needs to be seen as an institutional and not merely personal or individual phenomenon. Appreciating the way schools assist in the process of early school leaving is important to understand, as it is within this domain that alternative educational practices can be located, constructed and enacted. It is hoped that this study will contribute to the current public policy debates on boys in schools, and as such be seen as an important contribution to public discourses and policy processes that help shape responses to boys in schools in general, and early school leaving in particular.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2999-01-01

This paper deals with the key issues of early school leaving and youth unemployment in Europe and takes a look at the causes and consequences of these problems. A summary of relevant early school leaving statistics and research studies which describe the situation in Austria is presented. Measures and initiatives to reduce early school leaving that have been implemented in Austria since the Lisbon 2000 Strategy are discussed along with the questions of whether, and if so which, EU policy documents have influenced Austrian measures to tackle early school leaving. The conclusion critically sums up the following relevant results: although many of the policies recommended by the EU have been implemented in Austria, many preventive measures are also still outstanding. These include, for example, the continued lack of (tertiary level) training for kindergarten teachers and the failure to introduce comprehensive schools. The call for the latter was not met by Austrias' introduction of so-called new middle schools, a workaround which has not led to a reduction in social inequalities in educational pathways. The supra-company apprenticeship training concept is a positive development, since it reaches some of the countrys' early school leavers. (authors' abstract)

Early school leaving continues to be an issue that garners much attention from administrators, educators, and academics. In this study I review the existing literature on risk factors relating to early school leaving while examining the role of social context on educational aspirations and expectations. Research findings (Alberta Learning, 2001; Ferguson, Tilleczek, Boydell, & Rummens, 2005; Satchwell, 2004) show that early school leaving is a long process of disengagement that arises from multiple factors associated with experiences both inside and outside of school. In this study I carry out a qualitative analysis of both school and non-school related risk factors deemed to be significant to the early leaving of four young Portuguese-Canadian men. Their stories attest to the complexity of the phenomenon as they affirm the impact of both school and non-school related factors on early school leaving such as irrelevant curriculum, learning community, socio-economic status, and social context. In recounting their stories, and analyzing them through Bourdieu and Passeron’s (1979) understanding of “cultural capital” and “habitus,” I provide insights in this study into how administrators, educators and policymakers, alike may make learning more meaningful and authentic in order to curb early school leaving. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2010-05-29 09:54:48.856

International evidence indicates that school systems need to change in order to tackle early school leaving and improve social inclusion in education and society. Policy-makers and school actors require practical tools to assist them in this process, made all the more urgent by the EU2020 headline target to reduce early school leaving. This report develops such practical tools; it is designed to inform strategic policy and practice by offering an innovative framework of structural indicators for early school leaving prevention and inclusion in school. It draws upon key European Council and Commission policy documents on early school leaving prevention, and also on the Paris Declaration 2015 on promoting common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education, which includes a focus on social marginalization.

We use data drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort to study the effects of leaving school in an economic downturn on sleep quality and quantity. We account for the potential endogeneity of economic conditions at school leaving using instrumental variables based on birth year and early state of residence. We find that men who leave school in an economic downturn initially experience lower quality sleep, but these men are able to experience improved sleep quality over time. Women who leave school in an economic downturn experience better sleep quality, although the effect emerges over time. We find that leaving school in an economic downturn increases sleep quantity among men and women. We document heterogeneity by work type.

This dissertation presents multiple facets of the assessment system reform of the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exam in Nepal through grounded theory methodology. The main purpose of this study is to develop a substantive grounded theory of the reform that explicates a complete process of the assessment reform, i.e., how this reform was conceptualized, what was done as a foundational preparation, how it was implemented, and what were the preliminary responses to the reform implementation. In order to theorize the reform process, this study applied a constructivist grounded theory approach, specifically based on the work of Charmaz (1996, 2005, 2006, 2012), as the research methodology. The data were collected by conducting 10 focus group discussions and 24 one-on-one semi-structured interviews. The participants represented almost all the categories of stakeholders (e.g., policymakers, employers, teachers, students) as well as experts and educators. The emergent conceptual categories and sub-categories from the interviews and focus group discussions were categorized under three constructs: (1) Conceptualization of the reform, (2) implementation of the reform and (3) reform effects. The first construct covers those theme categories and sub-categories that state the origin and type of the reform, reform aims, and framework as well as preparation for the reform. Similarly, the second construct includes those theme categories and sub-categories that inform the mechanism underpinning reform related information dissemination, the strategic plan used to implement the reform and factors that could influence the reform process. Finally, the third construct comprises those categories that discuss reform associated quandaries and condemnation, factors contributing to magnifying the quandaries, resultant opportunities from the reform, reform impact, step forward, and other relevant categories. The findings have been explicated under three phases- the pre-implementation phase, the implementation phase and the post-implementation phase as the integrated grounded theory. The theoretical components presented under the pre-implementation phase include exhaustive analysis of need and feasibility; input from experts, educators and key stakeholders; clarity on reform aims and objectives; cooperative triangular relationships; comprehensive documentation; explicit roadmap and exhaustive planning; infrastructure and resource management, and capacity building. Similarly, three major theoretical components- teacher advocacy, stakeholder ownership, and timely and authentic information have been described under the implementation phase. Finally, eight major theoretical components, such as identification and analysis of resulting issues, immediate actions for the urgent/sensitive issues, special programs for the low-grade holders, bridge between academic and vocational programs, need for impact analysis, effective communication channel, need for institutional memory, need for an unconventional assessment system, and need for a resourceful unit of assessment and testing have been presented under the post-implementation phase. The combination of the theoretical components described under the three phases mentioned above is the integrated substantive grounded theory of the assessment system reform in Nepal. This study contributes by adding value for those involved in assessment reform as well as the academicians and researchers because it puts forward recommendations for foundational preparation and homework in the conceptual phase of assessment reform; action steps to minimize the possible resistance to reform; strategies to implement the reform successfully; and initiatives to institutionalize the reform or address the resulting issues and concerns.

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The main topic of this dissertation is the phenomenon of premature exits from high-school studies which more often end by the really finish of studies. The problem is bigger that it seems to be and it is not only the problem just for education but it is the problem for the whole society with connetions to the economic, psychology, sociology and other areas. The term of this disseration is not only to determine the premature exits from high schools, their reasons and connections but to determine the pupil's personality from the evolutionary psychology view. The parts of this dissertation are also my own experiences and special arrangements to stop the premature exits from abroad. In the theoretical part I take the extract not only from the professional literature but my other sources are professional magazines, the National Education Institute and the Education Law. The practical part is based on the empirical research which is divided into few parts. It uses the quantitative research made by the data from the school register, and it is added of questionnaire for pedagogues, headmasters and new coming students. From the research we know that the premature exits mostly apply to the apprentices. It depends mostly on the disinterest in the course of study. In this part I connected the research with the...

The topic of this thesis are problematic types of test items in the listening sub test of the didactic test of common part of Maturita school - leaving exam in French language. Introductory chapter of the theoretical part of the thesis focuses on the description of Maturita school-leaving exam, its origin and contemporary model. The following chapters deal with characteristics of the didactic test, its parts and individual test items. These chapters also provide a description of the examined sample, concise characteristics of grammar schools (Gymnasiums) where the research was conducted, and introduces the analytical tools which were used when examining the listening subtest in French language. On the basis of students' answers the most difficult test items of the sub test were pinpointed. KEYWORDS: didactic test, listening sub test, French language, Maturita school-leaving exam, state high school leaving exam, test item