| The purpose of this retrospective study was to develop an understanding of how one group of adults who graduated from a Virginia regional alternative program made sense of their experience in an alternative education setting. Specifically, this study sought to determine if adult participants, several years later, perceived participation in the alternative program influenced their successes and or failures in adulthood. Using a three series interview format, the objective of this study was to illuminate the perspectives of former alternative school graduates regarding their experiences in an alternative education setting through the identification of specific program characteristics that are associated with the participants' perceived successes and or failures in adult life. In order to gain an understanding of how the alternative school graduates made sense of their lives, specifically relative to the impact of their alternative education experience, the following areas were examined: their current life circumstances related to citizenship, self-sufficiency, health and safety, and social-emotional competence; their perspectives on their early life and educational experiences; their perspectives on the impact of their alternative education experience; and their perspectives on alternative program design and effectiveness. While difficult to generalize outside of the specific alternative school setting and "treatment", findings of this study revealed a significant perceived relationship between alternative program participation and graduates' lived experiences. |
