We explain what school dropout is, what factors intervene in this phenomenon, its causes, consequences and how it can be avoided.
What is school dropout?
School dropout, school dropout or premature school leaving is understood as moving away from the formal educational system, before having obtained the final degree corresponding to the completion of their studies. This phenomenon can occur in both primary and secondary education.
Due to its important consequences on the cultural and professional development of the community, there are numerous local, regional and international initiatives dedicated to combating it.
Furthermore, school dropouts It occurs both in countries of the industrialized world and in those belonging to the so-called Third World.. The difference is that in the first case it usually occurs in the tertiary or post-secondary education processes, while in the second throughout the school chain: primary, secondary and tertiary.
Types of school dropouts
There are five forms of school dropout, which are:
- Early dropout. When the student has been accepted into a school program and never goes to the educational center or completes his or her classes.
- Early desertion. When the student abandons the study program during the first four semesters.
- Late desertion. When the student abandons the study program from the fifth semester onwards.
- Total desertion. When the student completely abandons an educational plan and never returns to it.
- Partial desertion. When the student takes a temporary leave of absence for a certain duration and then resumes his studies.
Causes of school dropouts
Dropping out of school does not have a simple or single cause, but is due to various factors, both conditioning factors (that facilitate or complicate the study) and determinants (that completely prevent or allow the study).
In both cases, it is generally a set of social, cultural and economic causes that come together so that students leave school and dedicate themselves to something else. The desertion It doesn't happen simply because people don't want to study.but it is a complex phenomenon that reveals other deeper reasons in society.
Consequences of dropping out of school
school dropout impoverishes the culture and educational level of societymaking her more vulnerable in many ways. This is because the formal educational apparatus is much more than simply a way of incorporating practical or usable knowledge to the student.
On the contrary, by abandoning formal education, the student also loses the opportunity to take advantage of what the system offers as a process of early socialization, of education in civic, moral, and democratic values, which the individual will later put into practice during adulthood. , when connecting with others.
To this must, obviously, be added the interruption of the professional educational process, which truncates the individual's possibilities of self-improvementforcing him to live by performing less profitable, more sacrificial or even illegal work, since he lacks more complex tools to be useful to society in other ways.
Factors involved in school dropout
The factors of school dropout are the elements and conditions that trigger it. They can be:
- Socioeconomic factors. Such as low family income and lack of school support, the need for early work to support oneself or the total lack of school incentives (supplies, books, public institutes, etc.).
- Personal factors. Those of an emotional, motivational type, which respond to very particular conditions of the individual.
- Psychological factors. Such as learning difficulties, autism, etc.
- Institutional factors. Lack of study opportunities or institutional helplessness, such as the absence of places, the absence of scholarships, etc.
- Family factors. It is very difficult to continue your studies if you live in a dysfunctional, violent, disjointed family, in which abuse, drug addiction or death are present.
- Social factors. Vulnerability to criminal situations, membership in criminal gangs, student drug addiction, etc.
How to avoid school dropouts?
The fight against school dropouts involves the joint fight against all the factors that promote itsuch as poverty, exclusion, drug addiction or crime. So it is not an easy task. However, good steps in that direction are the following:
- Promote good educational environments. In which students have real opportunities for growth and learning: material resources, decent facilities, teachers prepared for teaching, an environment free of bullying and other harmful socializations, etc.
- Offer reintegration opportunities. These may be late or evening study plans, adult education, educational development plans, offers of scholarships or study aid, etc.
- Invest in public education. It is very complicated, especially in developing countries, for a person to study if they have nothing to eat. To do this, the State can invest part of its budget in quality public education, which offers free opportunities to those who do not have them.
- Promote international aid programs. There are international institutions and sponsorships that combat school dropouts, and which can be accessed if you have the necessary information.
School dropouts in Mexico
School dropout figures in Mexico increase as the age of the students increasesaccording to the 2015 Intercensal Survey of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi). Thus, between 6 and 11 years old, 98% of children attend school, but as the age increases to the range of 12 to 17, the dropout rate also increases.
In 2015, in fact, 2.2 million adolescents dropped out of school (16.2%). The main reasons for such dropout are disinterest in studying, lack of aptitude or resources for income (48.3%) and poverty (14.2%).
References
- “School dropouts” on Wikipedia.
- “School failure” on Wikipedia.
- “Why do they leave school? School dropouts in children and young people” (video) in Flacso México.
- “School dropout” by Ciro Corzo, at the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo.
- “School dropouts and their consequences” in Eres Mama.
- “School Drop out: Patterns, Causes, Changes and Policies” at UNESCO.
