Withdrawal from vocational courses in colleges of Further and Higher Education in Northern Ireland

Abstract

This article is concerned with factors likely to contribute to student withdrawal from vocational courses in colleges of further and higher education. The method involved posting questionnaires to all noncompleting students from colleges across Northern Ireland. The questionnaire was designed to elicit responses in six specific areas: biographical details; motivational disposition; initial interactions; perceived satisfaction with course and college; reasons for terminating; and current status. The aim was to provide an account of students' backgrounds, their expectations, perceptions and experiences of both the vocational course and college, and to compare reasons for withdrawal with previous findings from research. One-hundred-and-sixty-five non-completing students responded. Findings indicated that non-completion was not driven by preentry deterministic factors, but, rather, appears to occur as a result of a complex decision-making process with an array of factors impacting on the student.