Jerry Trusty’s Research on School Dropout:

 These studies investigated identification of students with potential to drop out of school, alienation from school, and counseling methods for dropout prevention.

Findings do not support an additive model of alienation for students. That is, negative school experiences do not steadily and progressively work to alienate students from schools. Rather, early negative school experiences seem to impact students in the late middle-school years.

With regard to identification of dropout potential in students, identification methods need to be multifaceted and school-based. That is, causes of dropout are particular to the schools that students attend.

With regard to counseling, a bicultural model seems appropriate for helping students stay in school.

The studies are copyrighted by the particular organizations that publish the journals. For more specific information, consult the particular journal/article. These journals are widely available in university libraries, and some may be available in full-text, online.

Trusty, J., Mellin, E. A., & Herbert, J. T. (2008). Closing achievement gaps: Roles and tasks of elementary school counselors. Elementary School Journal, 108, 407-421.

Trusty, J. (1996).  Counseling for dropout prevention: Applications from multicultural counseling.  Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 24, 105-117.

Trusty, J. (1993).  The alienation/dropout paradigm: Helping students stay in school.  Alabama Counseling Association Journal, 19(1), 23-33 .

Trusty, J. & Dickey, K. (1993).  Development of methods for identifying students with potential to drop out of school.  Special Services in the Schools, 7, 21-33.

Trusty, J., & Dickey, K. D. (1990).  Identification of potential school dropouts and implications for prevention.  Thresholds in Education, 16, 6‑8.

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