| Many high school students fail to complete high school in the United States, as nearly 25% dropout annually. Over the last 3 years, one state has had a 5% persistent dropout rate. The Sarah Pyle Academy for Academic Intensity (SPA) is the only stand-alone dropout-prevention program in the state, and only students who live in the district are permitted to attend. Now that the program is in its 6th year of operation, education stakeholders need to better understand how teachers at SPA prevent high school students from leaving school early. Evaluators determined the academic outcomes and participants’ satisfaction of the SPA program; however, there was no investigation of how teachers prevented students from dropping out. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to identify teachers’ self-efficacy regarding student retention, distinguish instructional approaches, describe how teachers developed relationships with students that precluded noncompletion, and describe how teachers motivated students to work toward high school completion. Social-bonding theory was the underlying framework for the study. Six teachers participated in the study and data were collected through interviews and classroom observations. Interview data were analyzed using typological coding. Results indicated that the SPA teachers had high self-efficacy about their ability to limit students from leaving school early; connectedness, bonding, and student relationships were important factors in reducing dropout. Implications for positive social change include the development of statewide programs that can result in higher high school retention rates. |
