By "nature of persistence" do you mean on the part of the student?  For
me, the one thing I've noticed in the years I've been teaching, the
biggest reason people keep coming no matter what they face is their own
personal "drive"; the "I want it bad enough to overcome anything" 
drive. That's not quantifiable though. It can't be measured and it's
going to vary from student to student.  On the flip side of that, you
have students who really do have drive and determination that if there
were no personal barriers to their persistence, they would continue to
attend and make progress. 

I don't think you can look at persistence and supports to persistance as
two different issues when they are so very much inter-dependent on one
another.

Regards
Katrina Hinson


>>> <MWPotts2001 at aol.com> 07/11/06 11:10 AM >>>

 
John and All,
 
You have hit here on my question: What is the difference between program
 
supports to persistence and the nature of student persistence? I see
them as two  
different things, and most of the posts have been dealt with supports. 
If  
we can identify the nature of persistence, we might be able to recruit
to the  
point.  This may not be a popular stance, but given the drop out rate
and  
even the stop out rate, perhaps we should give it a try.
 
Meta Potts
FOCUS on Literacy
Glen Allen, Virginia