Abstract
This study used ethnographic methodology to explore the academic world of regular and learning disabled high school students to determine what aspects of that world might relate to potential dropout behavior. It was conducted in a high school that was discovered to have a lower dropout rate than anticipated in view of national or local trends.
We describe the accommodating nature of this high school that may enhance the ability of students to become and remain academically engaged and hence accounts for the comparatively low dropout rate. This accommodation is described in terms of institutional, classroom, and interpersonal processes that reflect the school’s responsiveness to the needs of students as those needs are perceived by various institutional actors. The effect of these accommodation processes results in a modification of demands made of students and the provision of support for students to enhance their ability to meet those demands.
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