School Characteristics Related to High School Dropout Rates

Abstract

A B S T R A C T Dropping out of high school culminates a long-term process of disengagement from school and has profound social and economic consequences for students, their families, and their communities. Students who drop out of high school are more likely to be unemployed, to earn less than those who graduate, to be on public assistance, and to end up in prison. The present study examined dropout rates in Kentucky high schools ( N = 196), using both quantitative and qualitative procedures. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were computed to identify those school-level variables that showed strong relationships to dropout rates. A sample of 20 schools with the highest dropout rates was compared to a sample of 20 schools with the lowest dropout rates using a multivariate analysis of variance. Furthermore, 4 schools from each group were selected as case examples. Information gathered from administrator surveys, staff interviews, and on-site observations provided detailed descriptions of the characteristics of schools with high and low dropout rates. The findings of this study demonstrated that a number of school variables are differentially related to dropout rate. Implications of these findings for school reform are discussed.

School Resource Officers and Exclusionary Discipline in U.S. High Schools: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…Although SROs have been implemented to increase the safety of students and schools, there may be iatrogenic effects associated with their presence, including increased rates of exclusionary discipline (Hirschfield 2008;Kupchik 2010;Kupchik and Monahan 2006) that lead to negative impacts on students and schools (Balfanz et al 2015;Christle et al 2005Christle et al , 2007Perry and Morris 2014). The Fig.…”

“…The use of exclusionary discipline is also associated with poorer outcomes for schools more generally. Schools that use more exclusionary discipline fare worse on standardized tests (Raffaele Mendez et al 2002;Rausch et al 2004) and have higher dropout and lower graduation rates (Christle et al 2007). Highly punitive environments have negative academic consequences even for students who are not direct recipients of discipline (Perry and Morris 2014).…”

School factors related to dropout from primary and secondary education in Serbia: A qualitative research

“…Studies indicate that students (particularly boys) who perceive relationships with teachers as negative are at a significantly greater risk of dropping out (Lessard et al, 2004). Additionally, positive relationships with peers, the feeling of belonging, absence of peer violence, as well as participation in extracurricular activities and different kinds of dialogue in the classroom and school are related to lower incidence of dropping out of educational system (Christle, Jolivette & Nelson, 2007;Erktin, Okcabol & Ural, 2010;European Commission, 2015;Fortin et al, 2013;Pooley et al, 2008). Furthermore, it has been shown that strict measures for punishing students with disciplinary problems or poor attendance represent a significant factor connected to dropping out.…”

“…Having examined relevant reference works (Christle, Jolivette & Nelson, 2007;Erktin, Okcabol & Ural, 2010;Fortin et al, 2013;Lessard et al, 2004;Lyche, 2010;Pooley et al, 2008), we identified the areas of school life and work which can be associated with dropping out of educational system. Therefore, interview and focus group guidelines covered the following topics: (1) Physical conditions in school, (2) Teacher-student relationship and emotional 56 PSIHOLOŠKA ISTRAŽIVANJA VOL.…”

Depressive symptoms, anxiety and academic motivation in youth: Do schools and families make a difference?

“…Academic motivation and achievement is also affected by perceived teacher support (Baeten et al (2013)), teacher attachment (Learner & Kruger (1997)) and the perceived classroom environment (Christle et al (2007)). A positive relationship has also been observed between school attachment/sense of belonging to school and academic motivation (Goodenow, 1993;Hagborg, 1998;Neel & Fuligni, 2013;Sánchez, Colón, & Esparza, 2005).…”