BBC – Judith Burns
“Schools should encourage pupils with poor grades to mix with stronger students if they want to keep them in education, suggests a study. Positive parental and friendship group influences are key to cutting drop-out rates, according to Arizona State University research. The researchers interviewed vulnerable students at a Chicago high school. Parents’ influence fell if pupils had too much contact with other disaffected students, the researchers found. The researchers spoke to 125 pupils, aged 15 to 18, at a school with one of the worst drop-out rates in the city and analysed their records.”(more)