This paper discusses dropout prevention initiatives by the Malaysian government for the disadvantaged indigenous Orang Asli people in the rural villages of Peninsular Malaysia. The roles of the Ministry of Education (MOE) as well as the Institutes of Teacher Education (ITEs) are highlighted pertaining to efforts at improving the quality of…

The impact of the economic crisis in America is having significant consequences across all environments. Children in Alabama are being hit particularly hard, with budget constraints leading to greatly reduced services for marginalized children and families in rural and urban areas. According to the United States Census Bureau, 16.6% of the…

Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) is an independent, non-profit organization with a vision for schools that work for all children. It partnered with Coca-Cola in 1984 and began a dropout prevention program just as it was conducting the first comprehensive study of school dropouts in Texas. Its annual studies since then have…

The transition from high school to adult life is an exciting time for many young people. Youth from high poverty backgrounds, however, are considered at-risk for a host of unfavorable outcomes including academic failure, school dropout, drug abuse, unemployment and incarceration. These adolescents are more likely than their more affluent peers to…

The interaction between gender, race, and poverty and its effect on children's education is multidimensional and complex, but there are certain generalizations that can be made. The first is that women worldwide are known to be poorer than men (Buvinic and Gupta, 1997). Women in the US are 25-30% more likely to be poorer than men (U.S. Bureau of…

South Africa's public education system is going through massive transformation, moving away from limited educational opportunities based on race and poverty levels to social and educational inclusiveness. While there is still work to be done, the country's education officials are committed to increasing access to a quality education for all…

Education for All (an international movement of governments, non-governmental organizations, civil society and the media) set objectives in Jomtien (1990) and reaffirmed in Dakar (2000) that, among other things, work towards all children having access to free, compulsory, good quality primary education by 2015. School dropout may hinder the…

The Bolsa Escola program in Brazil presents a clear break from the economic growth models and supply-side based strategies of the past. Founded on the assumption that the supplemental income generated by child labour outweighs the potential benefits of primary education, Bolsa Escola attempts to address the demand-side component of high dropout…

The young people quoted in this paper attend two high schools in Umlazi Township, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Poverty is rife in the area: some students are known to go five days at a stretch without food. Parts of the vast, sprawling township are notorious for shootings and violent crime. The rape of schoolgirls on their way to and from school…