Against all odds: the natural history of an alternative-adult high school program

The traditional high school program is not appropriate for all students. Some students cannot cope with the pressures from social! family background, personal problems (independent of social/family) and school factors, and thus look to relieve these pressures outside of the educational system. The combination of these pressures, or risk factors, can cause a student to become a high school dropout, resulting in negative educational, social, and financial consequences to self and the nation. No single alternative will solve the dropout problem; however, studies have found that alternative programs can play a major role in the reduction of the dropout rate by enabling students to complete their secondary education. In order to better address the dropout issue, there is a need to document the history of an alternative education program, to gain understanding of a special population, and to obtain current information that can contribute to the improvement of services to dropouts. This study focused on the establishment and development of an alternative-adult high school program, located in suburban Virginia, from 1955 to 1993. The research questions were: 1. What were the social, political, and educational conditions which contributed to the establishment of this alternative-adult high school program? 2. What program characteristics were operable during the existence of this program? 3. In what ways did the program evolve over time, and how did evaluation feedback contribute to this evolution? Data were compiled and analyzed from student survey results, in-depth interviews with faculty, and archival documents. Findings indicated that the adult education movement, integration, and financial commitment from local school board contributed to the establishment of the program. Furthermore, the major program characteristics that were operable included dedicated and caring staff, a supportive learning environment, and flexible scheduling. Evaluation was based on enrollment, graduation, and dropout figures as well as informal assessment.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Curriculum and Instruction

Department dc:contributor.department

Curriculum and Instruction

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

1995

Author dc:creator

• Barnes, Charline J.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Gatewood, Thomas E.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Carr, D. G.
• Garrison, James W.
• Cline, Marvin Gerald
• McKeen, Ronald L.

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

etd-06062008-163950

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/38251