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Marlene Kaye's List: Marlene Kaye WP#2 Eng 102 Adams

  • Introduction

    Why do students drop out of high school? I have often wondered what causes a student to decide that they do not need education to be successful in life. High school graduates generally earn more money and have better jobs than non graduates. This information is widely publicized in our country and yet, our graduation rate in the state of Arizona is at an embarrassing 70.3%. This has become more of an epidemic than an "issue" as it has been referred to in many research materials. We, particularly Arizonans, are in the crosshairs of a calamity if something is not done about the dropout rate. Arizona currently ranks 49th among states for graduation rates and it is estimated that we will be unable to fulfill high wage modern jobs in the future. With high school dropouts underqualified to attain employment in our changing marketplace, they will create a financial strain on our economy and force tax payers to compensate for their inability to contribute to our economy in a positive way, this should concern us all.

    There are many reasons for dropping out that have been documented over the years, some more than others. Little to no support at home, financial obligations, teen pregnancy, and violence in school, are all reason indicated in my research materials. Resources were fairly easy to come by, the majority of my research collected from e-libraries, with some information coming from webcasts, and online testimonials from drop outs. Sadly, due to the severity and increasing dilemma of the dropout rate, there is almost an unlimited amount of research conducted on this topic. I simply searched for high school drop outs and several articles populated the screen. Much of the information seemed to be common knowledge however, there were some perspectives that were surprising to me which I would like to explore going forward.

  • Sep 22, 11

    This broadcast is located on youtube.com. I searched for teenage dropout information. CBS is a longstanding source for reliable news for a variety of topics. They have been responsible for a number of groundbreaking interviews and continue to push the envelope with hard hitting interviews and topics that affect us. This broadcast directly relates to my article and reinforces my theory of high school drop outs.

    Whitaker, Bill. "CBS America's High School Drop Out Epidemic." America's High School Drop Out Epidemic. CBS. CBS, 17 June 2010. Www.youtube.com. Web. 21 June 2011.

    www.youtube.com/watch Eng 102

  • Oct 09, 11

    This article was found on the Educational Issues@Suites101.com and is written by an educator with over 25 years of experience. The author has been involved in many grades levels, K-post secondary, in several capacities, including principal. The article list percentages by reasons students claim they dropped out. This information is helpful to my research.

    Pytel, Barbara. Dropouts Give Reasons:Why Do Students Leave High School without a Diploma? Educational Issues@Suite 101, 04 Nov. 2006. Web. 08 Oct. 2011.

    barbara-pytel.suite101.com/dropouts-give-reasons-a8681 Eng 102 WP#2

  • Oct 09, 11

    This article was found in the Mesa elibrary. This article takes an interesting and controversial approach to the drop out issue. It specifically names family members, close friends, and peers as influences as to why or why not students will finish high school. I used this article because this reason has not been mentioned in any of my other resources. This is a scholarly reviewed article written by an educator.

    Terry, Marion. "The Effects that Family Members and Peers Have on Students' Decisions to Drop Out of School." Educational Research Quarterly 31.3 (2008): 25-38. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 8 Oct. 2011.
    .

    login.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/login Eng 102 WP#2

  • Sep 19, 11

    This article discusses the reasons behind some students dropping out of high school and how they feel about the decision they made. The article includes detailed accounts and personal stories of experiences they had in high school and what prompted their decisions to leave. The article is published in the Journal of Education and is well researched and reviewed.

    BICKERSTAFF, SUSAN1 bickerstaff@tc.edu. Journal of Education; 2009/2010, Vol. 190 Issue 3, p37-45, 9p. Article.

    web-ebscohost-com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/...detail Eng 102

  • Oct 01, 11

    This article was found in the MCC library database. This article directly correlates high school drop outs with the unemployment rates and low job performances. It discussed the lack of educted youth who will not be capable of attaining employment in the future. The is in line with my topic and was found in the Mesa e-library and published in USA Today.

    N.A. "Major cause of joblessness lies within U.S. schools." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 Oct. 2011.

    web-ebscohost-com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/...detail

  • Oct 09, 11

    This resource was found as a link through a website called "Do Something.org" which is an organization of youth dedicated to uplifting, supporting and challenging their peers to make good decisions. Kid Source is a similar organization operated by parents. The information collected for this article was taken from national statistics and teen testimonies. The information provided supports much of the material I currently have.

    Schwartz, Wendy. "New Information on Youth Who Drop Out." KidSource OnLine Welcome Page. Kid Source Online, 20 Apr. 2000. Web. 08 Oct. 2011.

    www.kidsource.com/...youth.drop.out.html Eng 102 WP#2

  • Oct 09, 11

    This article was found in the Mesa e-library and is important to my research as is states several reasons, indicators and potential solutions for the high school drop out rate. The article has ironically utilized a standardized test to determine "at-risk" students, despite naming standardized testing as one of the reasons for the drop out rate.

    Rycik, James A. "RETHINKING THE REFORM AGENDA FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS." American Secondary Education 2007: 49+. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 8 Oct. 2011.
    .

    web-ebscohost-com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/...pdfviewer Eng 102 D#8 WP#2

  • Oct 01, 11

    This article is found on the MCC elibrary. It is scholarly reviewed and contains national statistics and personal stories to validate the information. This article gives me a different perspective from the research I've already collected. This puts some responsibilty on the school and teachers rather than social and developmental reasons.

    Nancy Padak, et al. "A Teacher's Words Are Tremendously Powerful: Stories from the GED Scholars Initiative." Phi Delta Kappan 87.4 (2005): 311-315. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 Oct. 2011.
    .

    web-ebscohost-com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/...detail Eng 102 D#7 HW#3

  • Conclusion

    While I have been able to collect several different types of research material, I do not feel as though I have enough information on my topic. I will continue to pull research to gain more insight into different perspectives and reasoning’s behind the decision to drop out of high school. My next step will be to conduct primary research with two different types of students; one group who dropped out and never completed, as well a second group who dropped out but returned to complete with a diploma. Both groups contain subgroups of subjects between the ages of 16-21 and 22-35 years old. The reason I selected these age groups is because a 16 year old dropout who returned to school has done so on their own accord. Arizona law states that a child can make the decision to drop out of school without any consequences at the age of 16. The more mature age group (22-35 year old) were selected because I feel that the job market has changed significantly in the last 10 years, this age group will have experienced the effects of the marketplace and can comment on the impact in their lives.

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