Dropout Rates in University
In England, 7.1 per cent failed to complete their first year, compared with 6.7 per cent prior to the student fees increase. The data shows that the proportion of undergraduates in the UK who failed to complete their first year at university increased by 0.3 per cent to 7.4 per cent in 2006-07, the year the government raised top-up fees to £3,000.
Education is must in today’s competitive world and higher education is necessary for every student so that he can compete and move ahead along with world. The under representation of poorer students in college or university education was an issue of great policy concern in the most of the countries including England. Chowdry et.al (2008) mentions that if a disadvantaged pupil reaches sufficient level of achievement in higher secondary school, he/she has fair chance of getting into the university. Further it is stated that though the university sector in England had low level of dropout rates (Dearing, 1997; NAO, 2007), the recent data shows that there has been considerable increase in the university dropout rates with only 78.1% of students completing their degree. (Vignoles and Powdthavee, 2008) There are numerous studies contributing towards the cause of dropout while exploring the several aspects of the problems like intellectual, emotional, motivational, interpersonal and attitudinal characteristics. R.E. Pandey (1973) states that though there are several studies on the issue, continued research would enable us to serve at least four important purposes like giving additional reliability to the dominant factors found to the cause of dropout across geographical and social conditions, improve the effectiveness of psychological measurements, compare the findings between the old and new studies and provide up to date information to the educators and counsellors so that they can formulate strategy for the retention and withdrawal of students. A ‘dropout’ is an individual who does not complete or is not able to complete his or her education due to geographical, socio economic and political factors.
According to Higher Education Statistics Agency increasing number of students will dropout from the universities as more people go into higher education from the so-called non traditional backgrounds, who may be first time university goers, don’t have the experience of relatives and wider social networks to draw on. As per the data revealed from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 7.4% students left after a year in 2007 as against 7.1% in 2006 which shows that there has been considerable increase in the university dropout rates.
According to Gardner, (2007), there are at least 10,000 students who drop out of their degree courses because they feel that to go to university is “a waste of time.” Going to a university requires time and tuition fees cost them a lot (p. 1). This finding was part of the results of a survey by National Audit Office. This is happening although many universities have created more programs to keep students in university.
University drop-out rates have reached their highest level for three years, according to annual figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
The data shows that the proportion of undergraduates in the UK who failed to complete their first year at university increased by 0.3 per cent to 7.4 per cent in 2006-07, the year the government raised top-up fees to £3,000 (http://www.studentloans.co.uk/news/2009). In England, 7.1 per cent failed to complete their first year, compared with 6.7 per cent prior to the student fees increase. (ibid)
In contrast, between 15 per cent and 19 per cent of students at the universities of Greenwich, Sunderland, Bolton and London Metropolitan failed to complete their first year, while one in five studying at the University of Ulster dropped out (ibid).
Students are not able to complete their higher education in the universities due to incompatibility between student and institution, lack of preparation for higher education experience, lack of commitment to the course, financial hardship, and poor academic progress. Due to these factors, students decide to drop out of the university and discontinue the completion of their courses (Yorke, 1997 as qtd in Quinn, 2004).
In a study conducted by Christie et al (2004) between the continuing and the non-continuing students in the Scottish universities, they have found that there was no specific major cause why university students are not able to complete higher education. Instead, they found a series of factors linked together that lead the students from withdrawing from the university. These factors that are identified are poor course choice, difficulties getting involved in student life, negative perceptions of university environment and financial difficulties.
Quinn et al (2005) also conducted an interview on 67 students who left university for various reasons. The data of the study found that most of its participants dropped out of the university in their first year wherein half of them had left in their first semester, leaving earlier than expected.
Wrong Choice
Choosing the right course was also one of the reasons the respondents identified to be the reason why they left the university. These cases involved being “rushed” to choosing their courses other than choosing something they thought would be “interesting” for them. Some students had experienced culture shock when they enter the university. They found the transition from school or college to university difficult to adjust due to increased workload. Being in the university also provide more room for being free such that they have more opportunities to evade the responsibilities as a student, thus making them lose control and eventually fall behind the class. As a result they lose confidence in themselves opting to leave the university instead of facing the difficulties that they meet (Quinn et al, 2004).
Teaching staff sees students inability to choose appropriate courses according to their ability as the main cause of students dropping out of the university. Oftentimes, students make poor decisions in choosing the courses that they take up in the university. As a result, they end up in the wrong course. In addition, once they have realized that their decision was wrong, students are less likely to talk about it. Instead, they usually blame it on the course not being able to meet their expectations. The teaching staff attributes students capability of making the wrong choice due to influences from the media, such that television programmes tend to exaggerate the situations that are happening in real life. As an effect, students tend to expect too much from their courses then eventually get disappointed because their expectations were not met about the course (Young, 2007).
Social Class
One of the identified causes of university students dropping out from their higher education is their social class. It is important to increase young people, adult and the society awareness about class differences, as class intervenes in individual choices. Class differences leads to unequal opportunities. People from middle and upper class background can have better education, houses, jobs, and higher standard of life. Middle class children have the money and support that assist them to get to the higher education. Parents who come from middle class background involve themselves in their children’s education and influence their children’s education as most of them are educated and financially capable to send their children to higher schools, colleges and universities level. As debated by Gazette, Middle class students have higher standard of English than the working class. One study of language acquisition, he said, showed that, ‘by age 3, the children of professionals had vocabularies of about 1,100 words; those of parents on welfare had mastered only 525 words. The difference was reflected in IQ scores: an average of 117 for the first group, and 79 for the second’(www.news.harvard.edu/gazette, 2007).
Drop out is an unknown fact in the middle class. Middle-class university students usually take courses or subjects in medicine, which have lower dropout rate. The course that middle class students usually take such as medicine have greater trajectory compared to the courses that working class students take. This way, students are able to see what their career path would be in the future, unlike other course where they have difficulty seeing what the outcome of their courses would be like. Such courses like medicine have a well-defined outcome that keeps the students from leaving the university. It helps student to identify their skills and determine where exactly would they fit. Conversely, working class students are not equipped with such ability to assess themselves, their skills, and hone them in order to create an environment where they would assume themselves effective in such area (Quinn, 2004).
Working class parents cannot always provide high quality education to their children as much as middle class parents can. Having low income the working class parents encourage their children to work instead of going to a higher education as for them, having a financial support is more important than having a social success. Working class students have harder financial life than other. Some of them work to help their family or they just support themselves financially.
However, while working-class parents see the value of education, they may not be able to give as much support to their children’s education as middle-class parents. As Hatcher (1998) says:
‘Actual probabilities of success at given levels of attainment are higher for middle-class pupils … because of their parents’ greater cultural capital, as measured by parental education levels. Parental cultural capital enhances success probability through two mechanisms. One is knowledge about the education system, which facilitates strategic behavior … The second mechanism is the more effective help that middle-class parents are able to give with their children’s school work. In addition, the social networks among higher-class children and parents are effective in facilitating diffusion processes of information about education and destinations, practical help and support, and shared aspirations for higher levels of education’ (Hatcher (1998).
Findings from the survey conducted by Informing Change (2005) revealed that working class has viewed entry to university as a path to break the jinx of poverty but ironically they are the ones are who are leaving the place early, much earlier than getting graduated. The survey revealed that students didn’t find the subjects interesting and useful and moreover felt that they were channeled through their high schools. It was also found that universities did not encourage students to change courses, go part time or take time out, students didn’t had the confidence to negotiate with their lecturers, and adding to that poor family background with insufficient resources which landed them in a situation to accept dead end jobs or stay unemployed.
Family support
“The family background and social context are the primary influence in determining children’s achievement” (New York University, 1989)
The researchers concluded that families could influence their children’s achievement. Parents are naturally supportive to their children. However not all of the parents involve in their children’s education. On the other hand, many parents involve in their children’s elementary and secondary education to support them as they are aware of the good effect behind their support and how it necessary and permissible, ‘for their own actions with and on behalf of children’ (Kathleen V. Hoover-Dempsey and Howard M. Sandleer, Vanderbilt University. 1997).
Parents play an important role in shaping young people’s attitudes to education. They are also probably the most important source of advice and help when decisions. Other family members, particularly brothers and sisters, are also useful sources of information about post-16 options, (http://www.ericdigests.org/family.htm)
However most of the students do not receive informal support from their families, this has effect on their achievement, ‘School pupils are affected by family attitudes towards the value of schooling. In some cases the family (or at least one parent) exerts such a powerful influence that this exceeds that of culture or class.’ Mortimore (1991), p.22.
When children are failing to learn well at school or leaving school, it means that children are not being properly cared for at home and so when the child that isn’t performing well at school is mostly not well cared for at home. The issue is that their home life does not necessarily equip them for a learning environment, perhaps it can be a part of the reason but not the only reason in making children blaming it for their failure. (http://www.brunel.ac.uk)
After 1980s, there was increasing concern about the quality of education in this country. Therefore, parents were concern about their children’s achievement, so parents were encouraged to support their children academically. As Cotton K and Reed K debated, parent started to involve in Educational Schools to improve their children’s education. (Cotton K and Reed K Wikelund, 1989) (SIRS), (www.nwrel.org ) The research overwhelmingly presents parent involvement in children’s learning is positively related to achievement. The research also shows that the more intensively parents are involved in their children’s learning, the more beneficial are the achievement effects. This holds true for all sorts of parent involvement in children’s learning and for all sorts and ages of students. (ibid)
Stephen J. et.al (2000) founded during their survey that most of the dropout students were not interested with the course they entered into and dropped out to follow their parents’ profession. It is further stated the social exclusion plays a vital role in the decision of students who opt to drop out from the university. The study also states that most of the students were found working in full time or part time employment which was ignored by the policy makers. Of the 15 students interviewed, most of them were the citizens of II World War and moved to UK, all of them were partly employed and don’t enjoy the status of being fully qualified, which shows that they were never inclined towards education either due to social or political factor. It is further revealed that family background also had vital impact on the career of students making them to change the path from education to job so that they can provide financial sustainability to their family.
University graduates, on the other hand, provide both economic and social benefits to society. In addition to earning higher wages, which results in attendant benefits to local, state, and national economic conditions, high school graduates live longer (Muennig, 2005), are less likely to be teen parents (Haveman et al., 2001), and are more likely to raise healthier, better-educated children. In fact, children of parents who graduate from high school are themselves far more likely to graduate from high school than are children of parents without a high school degree (Wolfe & Haveman, 2002). High school graduates are also less likely to commit crimes (Raphael, 2004), rely on government health care (Muennig, 2005), or use other public services such as food stamps or housing assistance (Garfinkel et al., 2005). Additionally, high school graduates engage in civic activity, including voting and volunteering in their communities, at higher levels (Junn, 2005).
In a recent survey of University dropouts, respondents indicated that they felt alienated at school and that no one even noticed if they failed to show up for class. High school dropouts also complained that school did not reflect real-world challenges. More than half of respondents said that the major reason for dropping out of high school was that they felt their classes were uninteresting and irrelevant (Bridgeland & di Iulio, 2006). Others leave because they are not doing well academically; only about 30 percent of high school students read proficiently, which generally means that as the material in their textbooks becomes increasingly challenging, they drop ever further behind.
Social Support :
The concept of social support has a great potential to help students understand the value of education and complete their education successfully ( Drennon-Gala p.19). This concept had an aid of inner containment believing that if a person is content with his life, he will not engage in deviations from the society like drugs, crime, violence and alcohol etc. The sensitivity from teachers and parents have found to be most crucial in reducing the behaviour problems among the young people. If there was no support then the young people feel helpless and left out and engage themselves in delinquent behaviour. They get influenced by their friends who live on street and lead a ‘rule’ free life. This leads to them dropping out of school and engage in anti-social acts.
Bonding of children with their parents and the teachers have proved to be an important element in healthy development of a child. The emotional attachment and love that a child gets in the infancy plays a vital part in development of his emotional and psychological aspect. This in turn plays an important role in the education of a child ( Drennon-Gala p.24). It is found in the study that the people who he is attached with matters a lot as it influences his decisions regarding his education and behaviour patterns.
In Young et al’s (2007) study comparing the views of the teaching staff and the students on the early leaving of nursing university students, they found that students identify the causes of leaving the university on their experience of university education rather than personal issues or circumstances. Insufficient support from the university was one of the most common answers that students provided as a cause of dropping out of the university. Such support may be lack of guidance from the staff on their coursework.
Some universities, on the other hand, extend their support to the students through support groups or personal tutors who advices them to work in groups and support each other. However, the problem persists when they are mixed with students who have the same academic level and difficulties. Part time and local students find it also difficult to socially involved due to the limited time that they stay in the university and transportation problems. Students who continuously live with their families also refuse to become socially involved in the university (Quinn, 2005).
In addition, another problem raised by some students regarding the support that the university lends them is that universities also lack efforts to make the students aware of the general support that the university provides the students. Some were not aware any support was available; some had a vague idea but no meaningful sense of where or how to access it. Most were not able to identify the kind of support they most needed (Quinn, 2005).
Single Parenting:
A child is a product of both, man and a woman. Nature has endowed them both with different qualities and hence responsibilities. Man is responsible for working and earning the livelihood for the family and provide financial support while woman is responsible for taking care of home and children and provide emotional support. However, with the phenomenon of single motherhood, the child is completely missing out on having a role model who will teach him how to be a man of family, how to take responsibilities of people around him, how to become financially independent and how to have a respectable position in the society.
Single mothers, mostly, live in a neighbourhood that is not conducive for development of a healthy and respectable human being. For a mother to be loving and caring towards her child, she has to experience love, care, respect, financial freedom and healthy social acceptance. However, as single mothers become busy earning a livelihood for themselves and become cold towards their children because of the hardships they suffer in life, the children end up being neglected and lack the love from their mother. And not just that, the absence of father makes the matter worse and they are left to look after themselves.
In a study conducted by Astone and McLahanan (1994), they found that during the school year, children from single parent families are more likely to move. The high mobility that these students possess greatly affects their scholastic standing. In addition, a 30% difference in the risk of dropping out from school was identified with children from stepfamilies and from those with families that are intact due to residential mobility. However, their study also proved that the percentage of children who drops out from school which is associated with single-parent families are similar to those of children from highly mobile families.
Being the sole provider of the family, parents in a single parent family are usually faced with financial hardships that has a positive effect on students’ non –completion in the university. In a literature reviewed by Kosor (2009), he quoted Callendar’s (1999) findings in his study in England whereas the latter found that those who had the most financial difficulties are full time students, students over 19 years at the start of their studies, single parents and couples with children.
Education as compulsion:
Students and parents attitude towards education has changed a lot. Students are considering High School education as more of a compulsion and a burden from society than a need or necessity. Parents are kind of responsible for this attitude as today’s parents think that once their children get educated from the Collage, their responsibility is over. There is no sense of warmth, love and bonding among the parents these days (Gray p.26).
Gender
Gender also affects students’ decision to drop out of the university such that it affects the process of socialisation. Men, as opposed to women, find it easy to take advantage of social opportunities. However, men find it more difficult to admit difficulties. If their peers do not say anything about any difficulty in the university, they do not do the initiative of taking about it first. Men, as found in the study, are also reluctant to seek any help concerning their higher education. They are so afraid to “look like an idiot” in front of other students, therefore, they would rather quit the university than look ridiculous in front of their friends and other university students (Quinn, 2005).
“Stereotypical attitudes to young, white, working-class men as being rough and even dangerous, but at the same time weak and feckless, had had an impact on their educational progress. Sometimes it diverted them from the educational path that might have led to success, as with this student who was encouraged to drop maths for engineering and ultimately found his university course too boring to continue (Quinn, 2005)”
Marriage
Obviously, younger generations have been getting into a family life. While still in the university, students steps into a commitment bound by marriage. Either they get into the family life before or while in the university, students are faced with many challenges that require both their time and attention. In this case, the students’ time and attention are divided into their responsibilities in the home and in the university.
Students’ marital status was found to greatly affect the rate of dropouts in the university. Married students are likely to have more time-consuming family obligations and financial strains than single students, thus increasing their probability of non-completion. This argument is supported by evidence from studies (Bean, 1983; Johnes, 1990; Johnes and McNabb, 2004 as qtd by Kosor, 2009)
In today’s world, where on one hand education reforms are being introduced, the percentage of university dropout is on the rise. Many young students leave their courses midway. While some continue with it for few months and then abandon it, there are others who leave the course after a period of one year. All of them have different reasons for leaving. Some discontinue with the course as they are unable to cope with the academic pressure. But there are others who could have pursued their course and were even wiling to do so but are forced to quit for personal reasons. A majority of the students nearly 32 percent leave the course midway for their desire to acquire a job and earn money. Some of the students leave the course as they find education boring. However they fail to understand that a basic level of education is a must for getting a decent job. As a result they end up doing petty jobs. Unable to cope up with the expectations of the society they become frustrated and get involved in anti-social activities. The society treats them with disregard. Therefore the dropout from schools costs heavily to both the society and the individuals. A research among these students reveals that most of them would have been able to complete their education had they got the necessary assistance and support from the school authorities. But many of them felt demotivated in schools as the authorities failed to address to their needs. Its consequences are not limited to the students who drop out but also extend to the society and the economy.
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