Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T03:49:03.304Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Identifying students at risk of early withdrawal from secondary school

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Graham Bradley
Graham Bradley*
Affiliation:
Griffith University
*
Faculty Of Education And The Arts, Griffith University-Gold Coast, Private Mail Bag 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre Qld 4217, Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Past research has identified many correlates of failure to complete 12 years of high school, but further work is required to synthesise this knowledge prior to the implementation of appropriately targeted intetventions. In the current study, a detailed questionnaire containing items relevant to school leaving was constructed using the findings from past research. The questionnaire was administered to 299 students in Years 9 to 11 at a Queensland coeducational state high school. Factor analysis of the students' responses yielded nine factors which were related to an intention to withdraw from school prior to Year 12. Discriminant analysis indicated that early school leaving was most parsimoniously predicted by a combination of scales measuring academic and occupational values, past school performance, family support, and a “masculine-jock” orientation.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 11 , Issue 1: Special Issue: Adolescence , May 1994 , pp. 1 - 7
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbott-Chapman, J. (1987). Dropping out or staying on? Factors affecting secondary retention in Tasmania. The Bulletin for the Clearinghouse for Youth Studies, 6(1), 24–29.Google Scholar
Adams, M. J., Ball, S., Braithwaite, R. J., Kensell, H. J., Low, B. C., & Parker, P. (1989). The challenge of retention. Canberra: A.G.P.S.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1992). Schools Australia (Catalogue No. 4221.0). Canberra: A.G.P.S.Google Scholar
Bradley, G. L. (1992). Student retention: Issues and strategies. Youth Studies, 11(2), 37–42.Google Scholar
Caterall, J. S. (1987). An intensive group counselling drop-out prevention intervention: Some cautions on isolating at-risk adolescents at high school. American Educational Research Journal, 27(4), 521–540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Commonwealth Schools Commission. (1980). Schooling for 15 and 16 year olds. Canberra: A.G.P.S.Google Scholar
Ekstrom, R. B., Goertz, M. E., Pollack, J. M., & Rock, D. A. (1986). Who drops out of high school and why?: Findings from a national study. Teachers’ College Record, 87(3), 356–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fine, M. (1988). Why urban adolescents drop into and out of public high school. Teachers College Record, 87(3), 393–409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitzgerald, J. (1990). Students at risk: Are secondary teachers able to identify potential school dropouts? Education, 11(2), 226–229.Google Scholar
Haynes, N. M. (1990). Acomparison of learning and motivation among high school students. Psychology in the Schools, 27, 163–171.3.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kagan, D. M. (1990). How schools alienate students at-risk: A model for examining proximal classroom variables. Educational Psychologist, 25(2), 105–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poole, M. E. (1983). Youth: Expectations and transitions. Melbourne: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Power, C. (1984). Factors influencing retentivity and satisfaction with secondary schooling. The Australian Journal of Education, 28(2), 115–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rumberger, R. W. (1987). High school dropouts: A review of issues and evidence. Review of Educational Research, 57(2), 101–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (1989). Using multivariate statistics (2nd ed.). New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Wehlage, G. G. (1986). At-risk students and the need for high school reform. Education, 107,18–28.Google Scholar
Western Australian Legislative Assembly. (1992). The final report of the select committee on youth affairs. Perth: Office of the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.Google Scholar
Williams, T. (1983). Staying and leaving. In Browne, R. K. & Foster, L. E. (Eds.), Sociology of education (3rd ed., pp. 249–261). Melbourne: MacMillan.Google Scholar