The Italian university system has long been characterised by high non-completion rates, though aggregate data show a slight reduction of dropouts in recent years. The most straightforward theoretical ...explanation for this lies in the lowering opportunity cost of studying due to the financial and economic crisis. Nonetheless, this interpretation is likely to be partly misleading. Indeed, when the crisis hit Italy, enrolment rates had been declining for years and the sample of freshmen has become increasingly selected according to family 'social class', family cultural background, type of high school diploma and individual ability. Since a good family background, as well as other individual characteristics, significantly increases students' probability of succeeding, the recent decline in dropout rates could partly depend on sample selection. By applying probit selection models and decomposition techniques to a sample of Italian university students enrolled in different periods of time, I find that changes in students' background and students' characteristics play a major role in the recent reduction of the aggregate dropout rate. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).
Student dropout is a multi-causal process. Different theoretical models on student dropout consider dysfunctional study behavior (e.g., academic procrastination) and low study satisfaction as ...possible determinants of students’ dropout intentions during their university studies. However, these models neglect contemporary conceptualizations that assume reverse relationships between dropout intentions and other determinants of the dropout process. Until now, empirical evidence on these assumptions is scant. The present three-wave longitudinal study explored the reciprocal relationships between academic procrastination, study satisfaction, and dropout intentions over one semester. To this end, we used data of
N
= 326 undergraduate students enrolled in mathematics and law. Our latent cross-lagged panel model replicated existing empirical cross-sectional findings between the variables (i.e., academic procrastination, study satisfaction, and dropout intentions). Regarding the longitudinal relations, as expected, the cross-lagged effects showed that higher dropout intentions significantly related to subsequent higher academic procrastination and lower study satisfaction. Unexpectedly, academic procrastination did not significantly relate to subsequent dropout intentions. Additionally, higher study satisfaction significantly associated with subsequent higher dropout intentions—possibly due to unfulfilled expectations. Further, higher study satisfaction significantly related to subsequent higher procrastination—possibly due to more confidence among satisfied students. Our results broaden the view on dropout intentions as part of the dynamic interplay of student dropout determinants and the need to refine dropout models’ assumptions accordingly. Practically, realistic expectations seem important to reduce dropout intentions. Further, student counselors should have a closer look at the reasons for academic procrastination to develop individual solutions for this dysfunctional behavior.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: High school dropout represents an important public health issue. This study assessed the 3 distinct dimensions of student engagement in high school and examined the relationships ...between the nature and course of such experiences and later dropout.
METHODS: We administered questionnaires to 13,330 students (44.7% boys) from 69 high schools in the province of Quebec (Canada). During 3 consecutive high school years, students reported their behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement to school. Information on later dropout status was obtained through official records.
RESULTS: Although many adolescents remained highly engaged in high school, one third reported changes, especially decreases in rule compliance, interest in school, and willingness to learn. Students reporting low engagement or important decrements in behavioral investment from the beginning of high school presented higher risks of later dropout.
CONCLUSION: School‐based interventions should address the multiple facets of high school experiences to help adolescents successfully complete their basic schooling. Creating a positive social‐emotional learning environment promises better adolescent achievement and, in turn, will contribute to a healthier lifestyle.
Using a model of student dropout with only two possible outcomes– "still in school" or "dropout" –hides the complex reasons that students leave high school. We offer a model with three outcomes: in ...school, pushed out or pulled out. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Survey, we find that for black students, differences in SES explain higher likelihoods of being either pushed or pulled out as compared to white students, but Latino students remain more likely to be pulled out even after we control for SES. We also find that SES moderates the relationship between race/gender and being pushed out, and that higher levels of SES may be detrimental to students of color in the context of high poverty schools.
This prospective study of 276 Virginia public high schools found that the prevalence of teasing and bullying (PTB) as perceived by both 9th-grade students and teachers was predictive of dropout rates ...for this cohort 4 years later. Negative binomial regression indicated that one standard deviation increases in student- and teacher-reported PTB were associated with 16.5% and 10.8% increases in the number of dropouts, respectively, after controlling for the effects of other predictors, including school size, student body poverty and minority composition, community crime rates, and performance on standardized achievement testing. The predictive values of student and teacher perceptions of PTB were comparable in magnitude to the predictive values for other commonly recognized correlates of dropout rates. These results provide new evidence that the prevalence of peer victimization in high school is an important factor in high school academic performance.
Higher education dropout has been considered a major concern for several researchers in the field of education around the World. Although different studies were carried out to deal with the topic, ...they all faced common limitations. This paper explores the twofold research conducted to investigate higher education dropout in Education studies at two of the main Catalan public universities. First, a review of the different theoretical perspectives that tackled dropout was carried out to combine the direct and indirect dropout predictors. Second, some research was conducted in the faculties of Education in the selected two Catalan public universities to investigate the antecedents of higher education dropout. The utilized instrument discussed in this paper is the survey. In the first part, the predictors of higher education dropout were combined in a 5-layer model called the "Dimensions of Academic Dropout" wheel (Naaman, 2018). In the second part, the results of the survey analyzed quantitatively revealed that dissatisfaction from the program and academic failure are the most important antecedents of higher education dropout in education studies in Catalonia.
Dropping out from undergraduate medical education is costly for students, medical schools, and society in general. Therefore, the early identification of potential dropout students is important. The ...contribution of personal features to dropout rates has merited exploration. However, there is a paucity of research on aspects of student experience that may lead to dropping out. In this study, underpinned by theoretical models of student commitment, involvement, and engagement, we explored the hypothesis of using inferior participation as an indicator of a higher probability of dropping out in year 1. Class participation was calculated as an aggregate score based on teachers’ daily observations in class. The study used a longitudinal dataset of six cohorts of high-school entry students (N = 709, 67% females) in one medical school with an annual intake of 120 students. The findings confirmed the initial hypothesis and showed that lower scores of class participation in year 1 added predictive ability to pre-entry characteristics (Pseudo-
R
2
raised from 0.22 to 0.28). Even though the inclusion of course failure in year 1 resulted in higher explanatory power than participation in class (Pseudo-
R
2
raised from 0.28 to 0.63), ratings of class participation may be advantageous to anticipate dropout identification, as those can be collected prior to course failure. The implications for practice are that teachers’ ratings of class participation can play a role in indicating medical students who may eventually drop out. We conclude that the scores of class participation can contribute to flagging systems for the early detection of student dropouts.
Leisure constraints theory was used as a framework to systematically review factors associated with dropout of organized sport among children and adolescents. Keyword searches for the population, ...context and construct of interest (i.e. dropout) identified articles from the entire contents of the following databases: Academic Search Complete, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and SPORTDiscus. The initial search yielded 557 studies, and 43 met the selection criteria. Most studies focused solely on adolescents, and 89% of participants were male. Most studies were cross-sectional using quantitative approaches. Almost 30 different sports were included in the reviewed studies; however, the most represented sports were soccer, swimming, gymnastics and basketball. Findings from this review indicated that intrapersonal and interpersonal constraints are more frequently associated with dropping out of sport than structural constraints. Although many discrete factors associated with dropout were identified, five major areas emerged: lack of enjoyment, perceptions of competence, social pressures, competing priorities and physical factors (maturation and injuries). Rarely were the interrelationships between factors or the underlying dimensions of factors examined. Future research would benefit from mixed-methods and prospective approaches. These approaches would allow children and youth to explain how their experience of sport shaped their motives to dropout and allow researchers to probe the extent to which affordances and motives for participation aligned with athletes’ reasons for dropping out.
University students may encounter situations where they perform poorly in a course and contemplate dropping out. This intention to drop out of a course manifests not only in thoughts or ideas but ...also in a cognitive self-evaluation of their performance and skills, enabling them to reflect on the possibility of dropping out. In this sense, there is a shortage of instruments that evaluate the intention to drop out of a course, so the aim was to develop and validate the Course Dropout Intention Scale (CDIS). Data from two samples (N1 = 198; N2 = 675) were used; the first was for the EFA, and the second was for the CFA, GRM, and SEM. The one-factor model was derived from the EFA and confirmed in the second sample, exhibiting appropriate goodness-of-fit indices. Similarly, the GRM obtained adequate fit indices; all items discriminated adequately, and the difficulty parameter had a monotonic increase. The SEM model of the effect of satisfaction with studies on the CDIS showed a negative and statistically significant effect. Thus, it was demonstrated that the CDIS is a robust instrument in its psychometric properties and empirical evidence with other variables.
Dan Bloom of MDRC examines policies and programs designed to help high school dropouts improve their educational attainment and labor market outcomes. So called "second-chance" programs, he says, ...have long provided some combination of education, training, employment, counseling, and social services. But the research record on their effectiveness is fairly thin, he says, and the results are mixed. Bloom describes eleven employment- or education-focused programs serving high school dropouts that have been rigorously evaluated over the past thirty years. Some relied heavily on paid work experience, while others focused more on job training or education. Some programs, especially those that offered paid work opportunities, generated significant increases in employment or earnings in the short term, but none of the studies that followed participants for more than a couple of years found lasting improvements in economic outcomes. Nevertheless, the findings provide an important foundation on which to build. Because of the high individual and social costs of ignoring high school dropouts, the argument for investing more public funds in services, systems, and research for these young people is strong. The paucity of conclusive evidence, however, makes it hard to know how to direct resources and magnifies the importance of ensuring that all new initiatives provide for rigorous evaluation of their impacts. Bloom concludes with recommendations for policy and research aimed at building on current efforts to expand and improve effective programs for dropouts while simultaneously developing and testing new approaches that might be more effective and strengthening local systems to support vulnerable young people. He stresses the importance of identifying and disseminating strategies to engage young people who are more seriously disconnected and unlikely to join programs. A recurring theme is that providing young people with opportunities for paid work may be useful both as an engagement tool and as a strategy for improving long-term labor market outcomes.
PDF
