For ease of comparison, the common stragegies (that were found in schools with high drop out rates) are contrasted with the demonstrably successful PD strategies.
Determine If any schools retain over 75% of their students without access to special resources.
Groups (composed of parents, teachers, and school administrators) were provide with a list of schools (identified by an arbitrary identification number), a calculator, and data on the number of students enrolled in Grade 1 in 1999, Grade 2 in 2000, and remaining in Grade 3 in 2001. Participants calculated the retention rates for all 63 schools in the region. Eight schools with retention rates from 78% to 100% were identified as potential PD schools. Program Coordinators then contacted these schools to ask if they were willing to participate in the Positive Deviant Inquiry (PDI).
It is important to note that giving the schools arbitrary identification numbers allowed the potential PD schools to be identified based solely on data, rather than on the participants' perceptions of the schools. In addition, it is important that the participants discovered the PD schools. Although it would have been quicker for one individual to calculate these rates, this would have deprived participants of the experience of identifying and choosing the schools for themselves.
In some school districts in rural Argentina, almost half of the students drop out before they complete the third grade. Although economic difficulties left many teachers and schools feeling like this problem was intractable, the Positive Deviance design has allowed parents and schools to see possible solutions by identifying what is going right. Using Positive Deviance, these schools discovered that within their district there are schools (the 'positive deviants') who are able to retain over 75% of their students,without access to any special resources. By examining the specific strategies and practices employed by these PD schools, the schools have come to see that there are things that can be done today to improve student retention.
Step 3: Discover