The Complexity of Non-Completion: Being Pushed or Pulled to Drop Out of High School

A Community‐based Complex Systems Approach to High School Completion

“…Researchers have already been able to satisfactorily employ complex systems approaches to begin answering important and interesting educational policy questions (Montes, 2012;Kasman, 2014;Maroulis et al, 2014;Salgado et al, 2014). The current body of research on high school completion reveals a consensus that it exhibits complex system properties, with heterogeneous policy effects, interconnectedness and adaptation (Rumberger, 1987;Labaree, 1997;Bradley & Renzulli, 2011;Harris & Kiyama, 2013). However, we have not encountered any extant complex systems models of high school completion.…”

Social Bonding to School and Educational Inequality

“…Student characteristics such as native English speaker, gender, misbehavior, positive peers; family characteristics such as SES, structure, and involvement; and school characteristics such as location, proportion of racial and ethnic minorities, proportion of English language learners, poverty, size, and social and physical disorder are known to be linked to social bonds to school and/or dropping out (Peguero et al 2011;Bradley and Renzulli 2012;Cataldi et al 2009;Kozol 1991Kozol , 2005Lareau 2011;Rumberger 2011;Stearns and Glennie 2006;Stewart 2003). Student characteristics such as native English speaker, gender, misbehavior, positive peers; family characteristics such as SES, structure, and involvement; and school characteristics such as location, proportion of racial and ethnic minorities, proportion of English language learners, poverty, size, and social and physical disorder are known to be linked to social bonds to school and/or dropping out (Peguero et al 2011;Bradley and Renzulli 2012;Cataldi et al 2009;Kozol 1991Kozol , 2005Lareau 2011;Rumberger 2011;Stearns and Glennie 2006;Stewart 2003).…”

“…The event of dropping out is arguably the educational event most likely to derail academic progress and have detrimental effects on adults' social and economic success (Crowder and South 2003;Kozol 1991Kozol , 2005Rumberger 2011). For instance, there are number of "push" and "pull" factors that influence the likelihood of the event of dropping out, particularly for racial/ethnic minorities and adolescents who attend urban and rural public schools (Bradley and Renzulli 2012;Stearns and Glennie 2006). Research consistently demonstrates that the likelihood of dropping out is higher for racial/ethnic minorities and the occurrence of dropping out is more common in urban and rural schools, as compared with suburban schools.…”

How states can reduce the dropout rate for undocumented immigrant youth: The effects of in-state resident tuition policies

“…Policies of receiving governments as well as attitudes of natives can shape the non-monetary psychological cost and benefits of education (Portes and Rumbaut 2001, 2006). Within the school system, these social discrimination barriers serve as “pushout” factors that hinder the development of supportive school relationships and discourage students from staying in school (Bradley and Renzuilli 2011). By overriding the federal government’s more exclusionary tuition policy, IRT policies are actively welcoming undocumented youth into their higher educational system and potentially reducing the psychological costs associated with social marginalization.…”

“…Moreover, as these youth enter high school they begin their “transition to illegality” as they confront legal limitations in obtaining a driver’s license, applying for a part-time job, and accessing higher education (Gonzales 2011). As a result, many of these youth are “pulled-out” of high school to help meet family economic needs and to adhere to the strong work-ethic values associated with Mexican labor migration (Bachmeier and Bean 2011; Bradley and Renzulli 2011). …”