Alternative education for at-risk youth : an analytical review of evaluation findings /
The purpose of this research synthesis was to assess the
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1997.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=739841961&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | The purpose of this research synthesis was to assess the overall effectiveness of alternative education settings for youth at risk for academic failure. The methodology was dictated by the data elements collected, which included both quantitative and qualitative information. Traditional meta- analysis as well as other methods for summarizing both types of data were employed. The analyses focused on how alternative education programs for at-risk youth could be categorized, how effective such programs were in ten-terms of student performance, and what were the substantive and methodological factors that could influence program effectiveness. A critical examination of the quality of the evaluation studies reviewed was included. A total of 41 evaluation studies of 36 different alternative education programs for at-risk youth was identified for inclusion in the research synthesis. Four categories of alternative programs emerged from the data: alternatives designed to assist students with special needs, those which provided remedial instruction, those with a student-based curriculum and experiential learning instructional approach, and those programs to which students are referred for disciplinary reasons. Alternative education was found to have a positive effect on student achievement, although these findings were limited to remedial programs and programs with an innovative curriculum. Programs with a particular curriculum focus were also found to have a positive effect on student attendance. Small effects were observed regarding student attitudes. Alternative education was not found to be a successful deterrent for early withdrawal from school; however, student dropout rates did not increase as a result of enrolling in an alternative education program. Student behavior was the only area of student performance where enrollment in an alternative education program resulted in a negative outcome. The positive effects observed for student achievement in reading and mathematics and student attendance rates were smaller when a more stringent research design was utilized or overall study quality improved. Of all the program elements identified in the literature as a characteristic of effective alternatives, only student choice was found to be consistently associated with positive student outcomes. Finally, the generalizability of the reported results is severely limited by small sample size. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Educational Psychology". |
| Physical Description: | x, 111 leaves ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilms Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references: pages 91-101. |