High School Dropout Rates of Japanese Youth in Residential Care: An Examination of Major Risk Factors

Abstract

Youths in Japanese residential care institutions often face challenges with social adaptation and career trajectories. This study aimed to examine the risk factors that lead residential care youths in Japan to drop out of high school. Eighty-nine residential care facilities completed a questionnaire that focused on the characteristics of residing high school students, their educational status, experiences of maltreatment before residence, diagnosed disabilities, and the timing of admission. A sample composed of 773 youths was analyzed. Among the facilities, the high school dropout rate among youths in residential care was 19.3% (n = 149). Data revealed that the time of admission had the utmost significant effect. The risk of dropping out for youths admitted at junior high school age was significantly higher than for youths admitted before that age. Overall, residential care youths had a higher risk of not adapting to high school, and youths receiving short-term care demonstrated difficulty continuing high school. These results illustrate the importance of psychological treatment and educational support for youth who enter residential care during adolescence. Hence, attention should be focused on improving youth engagement in school to improve their social and career outcomes.

Exploring the Potential for Music Therapy to Support 21st Century Education Goals

“…Similar concern has been expressed globally, with scholars in countries such as Australia (Pascoe et al, 2020), and India arguing for better initiatives to address the issue (Maheshwari et al, 2020). Such calls include increased support for marginalised groups at higher risk of dropout, such as young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds (McFarland et al, 2018), youth in institutional care (Ozawa & Hirata, 2020), young people of colour (Brown & Rodríguez, 2009), and neurodivergent or disabled youth (Plasman & Gottfried, 2018;Syvertsen et al, 2020).…”

The effect of family support on student engagement: Towards the prevention of dropouts

“…For instance, "behavioural engagement refers to students' active engagement (e.g., a student pays attention, participates, listens, and is involved in class activities"; McKellar et al, 2020, p. 2), which is considered to be essential to prevent dropout (Simons-Morton & Chen, 2009). Engagement is a significant predictor of dropout (Fall & Roberts, 2012;Ozawa & Hirata, 2020). Archambault et al (2009) verified that those students who reported low engagement from the beginning of high school presented higher risk of later dropout.…”

“…Engagement is a significant predictor of dropout (Fall & Roberts, 2012; Ozawa & Hirata, 2020). Archambault et al (2009) verified that those students who reported low engagement from the beginning of high school presented higher risk of later dropout.…”

Relación entre las competencias docentes, la planeación didáctica y el compromiso del estudiante: Una perspectiva desde la educación secundaria

“…El compromiso del estudiante está relacionado con numerosos resultados académicos (Ayala y Manzano, 2018), incluidas las calificaciones de los estudiantes y la finalización de la escuela secundaria (Hershberger y Jones, 2018). En particular, se ha señalado que el compromiso es un predictor significativo de abandono escolar (Ozawa y Hirata, 2020). En este sentido, Archambault et al (2009) comprobaron que aquellos estudiantes con bajo compromiso desde el inicio de la educación secundaria presentaban mayores riesgos de abandono escolar posterior.…”