Date of Award

Fall 12-2011

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Chair

Rose McNeese

Committee Chair Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Member 2

David E. Lee

Committee Member 2 Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Member 3

Thelma Roberson

Committee Member 3 Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Member 4

Kyna Shelley

Committee Member 4 Department

Educational Studies and Research

Abstract

Mississippi has been overly burdened with a high dropout rate for generations but in 2007 began a program to correct this problem based on the requirements of No Child Left Behind that requires all school to reduce their dropout rate. The purpose of this study was to compare the attitudes, knowledge, and experiences of Mississippi teachers and administrators with the State of Mississippi’s dropout prevention efforts and ultimately determine if they are supportive of the dropout prevention efforts. The study used a questionnaire designed by the researcher. A total of 386 questionnaires were returned from school districts across the six geographic regions of the state. The dependent variables were the knowledge, attitudes, and experiences with the dropout prevention efforts, and the independent variable was the respondent’s position- teacher or administrator. A MANOVA was used to analyze the data. There was a significant difference in the attitudes, knowledge and experience of teachers and administrators with the Mississippi dropout prevention efforts. A follow-up analysis indicated that knowledge and experience had the greatest differences. These findings indicate that administrators and teachers support the states dropout prevention efforts but teachers reported that they need more training in the states dropout prevention plan.

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