Friday, 6 January 2012

An Information System for Coping with Student Dropout

an article by Ester Aflalo and Eyal Gabay (Hemdat Hadarom College, Israel) published in International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education Volume 7 Issue 3 (July-September 2011)

Abstract

Student dropout prevention is one of the most important challenges of the education system. This study examines the effectiveness of a Local Authority Information Center (LAIC), developed in Israel to cope with that problem. The research population included 418 regular attendance officers (RAOs), educators who deal with students who drop out and those who are at risk of dropping out. The RAOs were divided into an experimental group, who performed their work using the information system, and a control group who used manual means.

The research findings show that the information system improved the comprehensive nature of the information and its relevance for students at risk of dropping out, and resulted in an increase in the number of students treated by the RAOs. This improvement was maintained over a period of three years. The LAIC is likely to offer an effective and professional approach to reducing the problem of student dropout.


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