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The likelihood that children will complete school is enhanced by their healthy attachment to others and to key institutions. School completion and dropping out of school are developmental processes with strong social and emotional antecedents. The early development of attachment bonds, and subsequent positive and negative behaviors and relationships set an early path toward school completion or drop out. Emotional bonds to parents broaden to peer and teacher relationships and the school setting, affecting academic progress. Ways to enhance emotional bonds before and during the school years are discussed.

The Problem. This study investigated the frequency with which employees (N = 272) in a computer sciences company in the United States were the target of supervisor and coworker incivility as well as the link between this incivility and worker engagement. Participants completed a paper-and-pencil survey consisting of the Workplace Engagement Scale (Shuck) and modified versions of the Workplace Incivility Scale (Cortina, Magley, Williams, & Langhout). The Solution.Results indicated that 78% of the participants had experienced supervisor incivility and 81% had experienced coworker incivility during the past year. MANOVA analysis revealed that females had experienced more coworker incivility and males had experienced more supervisor incivility. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that after controlling for gender and age, both incivility variables were negative predictors of safety and availability engagement. Specifically, coworker incivility more powerfully predicted safety engagement whereas supervisor incivility was more closely linked with availability engagement. Recommendations for HRD research and practice are discussed. The Stakeholders. Stakeholders include workplace supervisors/managers, HRD professionals, HR managers, organizational leaders, and employees.

The authors investigated how student-student friendships, student-teacher relationships, and attachment styles link to General Educational Development program completion among 127 women and 117 men. Students' relationships with students and instructors, as well as secure attachment style were positively associated with earning a GED. After statistical control for demographic variables, hierarchical logistic regression analyses demonstrated that both student-student friendships and student-instructor relationships positively predicted attachment and subsequent General Educational Development program completion. The overall model, which correctly classified 85.7% of the cases, was statistically reliable in distinguishing between those people who earned GEDs and those who did not. In addition, 2-way analyses of variance revealed that those who had secure attachment styles had better relationships with their fellow students and instructors. The results extend J. Bowlby's (1969, 1973, 1988), M. D. S. Ainsworth's (1989), and T. Hirschi's (1969) theoretical notions that attachment positively influences learning-related outcomes. Educational professionals can use these results to inform instructional efforts and promote optimal learning environments.

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