School dropout factors: a teacher and school manager perspective

ABSTRACT

The phenomenon of school dropout is perceived as a process that is caused by a variety of factors. Through a questionnaire, teachers in different academic functions (teaching and management) are surveyed to study their perception of school dropout factors at the secondary education level. Factors related to the student, school, family and commitment to learning were noted. According to teachers, the group of factors that most affect school dropout is related to commitment and support for students. In addition, statistically significant relationships between the different groups of dropout factors are verified, and no significant differences were observed between the responses of teachers with teaching functions and those with management functions. Various strategies for preventing school failure are proposed.

KEYWORDS:

• School dropout
• teachers
• school managers
• secondary education
• Spain

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alfonso J. Gil

Alfonso J. Gil is assistant professor in Business Administration at University of La Rioja. He attended his Ph.D. course and post graduations at UNED – Madrid, Spain. Dr. Gil’s research interests include learning in organisation and school dropout.

Ana María Antelm-Lanzat

Ana María Antelm-Lanzat is a high school counselor, graduated in Psychology from the University of Valencia, and she has done postgraduate at UNED – Madrid. Ana María is a Ph.D. student at the University of Jaen. His research interests focus on emotional education and school dropout.

María Luz Cacheiro-González

María Luz Cacheiro-González is professor at the School of Education at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) in Spain. She graduated in Pedagogy and Psychology from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and holds a Ph.D. in Education from UNED. She is the coordinator of the Master’s in Strategies and Technologies for the Teacher’s Role in a Multicultural Society. Her teaching focuses on educational technology in the Social Education Degree. Her research fields include digital teacher competence, instructional design and digital portfolio as a strategy for teaching and learning.

Eufrasio Pérez-Navío

Eufrasio Pérez-Navío is a professor in the Pedagogy Department at the University of Jaén. He currently works as vice-dean of Education at this university. His lines of research are focused on teacher training, modern teaching methods, information and communication technologies, didactics, school organisation etc.