Journals / Journal of Family Counseling and Education / 2026 / Cilt: 8 Sayı: 1

Reasons for High School Dropout: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study Based on Students' Common Experiences

Arif Arslan(HACETTEPE UNIVERSITY)0000-0002-5025-1655
Adem Peker(ATATURK UNIVERSITY)0000-0002-3594-9166
Pages
57–73
Publication Date
2023-06-30
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

In the study, these reasons were classified as low academic motivation, risky behaviors and social disadvantage.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:The purpose of this study is to describe the shared experiences of high school students who have left school.
📊
Key Findings & Data:The sample of the study consists of 10 students who left school at the secondary level. "Criteria sampling" which is among purposeful sampling methods was used when determining the sample.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:In the study, these reasons were classified as low academic motivation, risky behaviors and social disadvantage.
🔬Design:Modeling & Simulation
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Early School Leaving · School dropout · High School Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe the shared experiences of high school students who have left school. The study is based on the qualitative research pattern of "Descriptive Phenomenology". The sample of the study consists of 10 students who left school at the secondary level. "Criteria sampling" which is among purposeful sampling methods was used when determining the sample. The data obtained from semi-structured interviews with students who had left the school were subjected to content analysis, which is a qualitative data analysis method. MAXQDA qualitative data analysis program was used when this analysis was carried out. As a result of the analysis, it is seen that students leave school due to reasons such as low academic achievement, class repetition, absenteeism, poor economic situation, work, reluctance, apathy, negative behaviors, bad peer group, bad social environment, disciplinary referrals, peer bullying, different career orientations and negative role models. In the study, these reasons were classified as low academic motivation, risky behaviors and social disadvantage.

🔖

Cite This Article

Arslan, A., Peker, A. (2023). Reasons for High School Dropout: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study Based on Students' Common Experiences. Journal of Family Counseling and Education, Cilt: 8 Sayı: 1, 57–73. https://doi.org/10.32568/jfce.1271237

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (49)

  1. Aküzüm, C., Yavaş, T., Tan, Ç., & Uçar, M. B. (2015). İlköğretim kurumu öğrencilerinin devamsızlık ve okul terki nedenleri. Uşak Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 8(2), 167-192. Arslan, A. (2021). Predictors of school dropout risk in secondary school students: School engagement and school burnout. Journal of Ankara University Faculty of Educational Sciences, 54(2), 431-458. https://doi.org/10.30964/auebfd.669522
  2. Backman, O. (2017). High school dropout, resource attainment, and criminal convictions. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 54(5) 715-749. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427817697441
  3. Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., & Iver, D. (2007). Preventing student disengagement and keeping students on the graduation path in urban middle-grades schools: Early identification and effective interventions. Educational Psychologist, 42(4), 223-235. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520701621079
  4. Borgna, C., & Struffolino, E. (2017). Pushed or pulled? Girls and boys facing early school leaving risk in Italy. Social Science Research, 61, 298-313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2016.06.021
  5. Boyacı, A., & Öz, Y. (2018). Dropout in secondary education and social capital: A qualitative study. Journal of Economy Culture and Society, 58, 67-89. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS403224
  6. Bridgeland, J. M. (2010). The new dropout challenge: Bridging gaps among students, parents, and teachers. New Directions for Youth Development, 127, 101–110. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.366
  7. Cairns, R. B., Cairns, B. D., & Neckerman, H. J. (1989). Early school dropout: configurations and determinants. Child Development, 60(6), 1437-1452. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130933
  8. Christenson, S. L., & Thurlow, M. L. (2004) School dropouts: Prevention considerations, interventions, and challenges. Current Directions In Psychological Science, 13, 36-39. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.01301010.x
  9. Creswell, J. W. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4. Edition). Siyasal.
  10. Creswell, J. W. (2019). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (2. Edition). Edam.
  11. Doll, J. J., Eslami, Z., & Walters, L. (2013). Understanding why students drop out of high school, according to their own reports: Are they pushed or pulled, or do they fall out? A comparative analysis of seven nationally representative studies. Sage Open, 3(4), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013503834
  12. Ermish, J., & Francesconi, M. (2001). Family matters: Impacts of family background on educational attainment. Economica, 68(270), 137–156. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0335.00239
  13. European Statistics Office (2018). Early leavers from education and training. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Early_leavers_from_education_and_training
  14. Fall, A. M., & Roberts, G. (2012). High school dropouts: interactions between social context, self-perceptions, school engagement, and student dropout. Journal of Adolescence, 35(4), 787–798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.11.004
  15. Fan, W., & Wolters, C. A. (2014). School motivation and high school dropout: The mediating role of educational expectation. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 84(1), 22-39. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12002
  16. Farah, N., & Upadhyay, M. P. (2017). How are school dropouts related to household characteristics? Analysis of survey data from Bangladesh. Cogent Economics & Finance, 5, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2016.1268746
  17. Fortin, L., Marcotte, D., Diallo, T., Potvin, P., & Royer, E. (2013). A multidimensional model of school dropout from an 8-year longitudinal study in a general high school population. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 28(2), 563-583. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23421910
  18. Harlow, C. W. (2003). Education and correctional correctional Bureau of Justice statistics (Rapor No. NCJ-195670). Washington: US Department of Justice. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ecp.pdf
  19. Itzhaki, E., Itzhaky, H., & Yablon, Y. B. (2018). The contribution of parental and societal conditional regard to adjustment of high school dropouts. Journal of Adolescence, 62, 151- 161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.11.014
  20. Jimerson, S. R., Ferguson, P., Whipple, A. D., Anderson, G. E., & Dalton, M. J. (2002). Exploring the association between grade retention and dropout: A longitudinal study examining socio-emotional, behavioral, and achievement characteristics of retained students. The California School Psychologist, 7(1), 51–62. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03340889
  21. Jimerson, S., Egeland, B., Sroufe, L. A., & Carlson, B. (2000). A prospective longitudinal study of high school dropouts examining multiple predictors across development. Journal of School Psychology 38(6), 525–549. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4405(00)00051-0
  22. Karacabey, M. F., & Boyacı, A. (2018). Factors contributing to secondary school dropouts and the dropouts’ socioeconomic profiles: Şanlıurfa sample. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 24(2), 247-293. https://doi.org/10.14527/kuey.2018.007
  23. Koçtürk, N., Bilge, F., & YÜKSEL, F. (2018). Erken yaşta evlenen ergenlerin bireysel ve ailesel özellikleri, okul terki ve evlilikle ilgili sorunları. Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Journal, 8(50), 1-28. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/571499
  24. Lan, W., & Lanthier, R. (2003). Changes in students’ academic performance and perceptions of school and self before dropping out of schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed At Risk, 8(3), 309-332. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327671ESPR0803_2
  25. Lansford, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (2016). A public health perspective on school dropout and adult outcomes: A prospective study of risk and protective factors from age 5 to 27 years. Journal of Adolescent Health, 58, 652- 658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.01.014
  26. Ministry of National Education (2013). Secondary education monitoring and evaluation report. Retrieved from https://www.memurlar.net/common/news/documents/457200/14013735_ortaretimrapor2013.pdf
  27. Montmarquette, C., Viennot-Briot, N., & Dagenais, M. (2007). Dropout, school performance, and working while in school. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 89(4), 752–760. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest.89.4.752
  28. Mussida, C., Sciulli, D., & Signorelli, M. (2019). Secondary school dropout and work outcomes in tendeveloping countries. Journal of Policy Modeling, 41, 547- 567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2018.06.005
  29. Nakajima, M., Kijima, Y., & Otsuka, K. (2018). Is the learning crisis responsible for school dropout? A longitudinal study of Andhra Pradesh, India. International Journal of Educational Development, 62, 245- 253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2018.05.006
  30. National Dropout Prevention Center (2005). Information about the school dropout issue. Retrieved from https://dropoutprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/School_Dropout_Facts-2005.pdf
  31. Ottosen, K. O., Goll, C. B., & Sørlie, T. (2017). The multifaceted challenges in teacher-student relationships: A qualitative study of teacher’ and principals’ experiences and views regarding the dropout rate in Norwegian upper-secondary education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 61(3), 354–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2016.1147069
  32. Ottosen, K. O., Goll, C. B., & Sørlie, T. (2019). ‘From a sense of failure to a proactive life orientation’: First year high school dropout experiences and future life expectations in Norwegian youth. International Social Work, 62(2) 684–698. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872817746225
  33. Özer, A., Gençtanırım, D., & Ergene, T. (2011). Prediction of school dropout among Turkish high school students: A model testing with moderator and mediator variables. Education Science, 36(161), 302–317. Retrieved from http://egitimvebilim.ted.org.tr/index.php/EB/article/view/1041/303
  34. Özgü, M. (2015). Examining the risk of school refusal and school dropout of secondary school students according to bullying-victimization categories (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from CoHE Thesis Center (Thesis No: 388177).
  35. Prakash, R., Beattie, T., Javalkar, P., Bhattacharjee, P., Ramanaik, S., Thalinja, R., … Isac, S. (2017). Correlates of school dropout and absenteeism among adolescent girls from marginalized community in North Karnataka, South India. Journal of Adolescence, 61, 64- 76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.09.007
  36. Stoner, M. C. D., Rucinski, K. B., Edwards, J. K., Selin, A., Hughes, J. P., Wang, J., … Pettifor, A. (2019). The relationship between school dropout and pregnancy among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa: A HPTN 068 Analysis. Health Education and Behavior, 46(4) 559– 568. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198119831755
  37. Tabuchi, T., Fujihara, S., Shinozaki, T., & Fukuhara, H. (2018). Determinants of high-school dropout: A longitudinal study in a deprived area of Japan. Journal of Epidemiology, 28(11), 458- 464. https://doi.org/10.2188/jea.JE20170163
  38. Taş, A., Selvitopu, A., Bora, V., & Demirkaya, Y. (2013). Reasons for dropout for vocational high school students. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 13(3), 1561-1565. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2013.3.1398
  39. Tatar, Ü. (2016). Lise düzeyindeki öğrencilerin okul terk nedenlerinin sosyolojik incelenmesi (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from CoHE Thesis Center (Thesis No: 443233).
  40. The Ministry of Education in Turkey (2013). Ortaöğretimde sınıf tekrarı, okul terk sebepleri ve örgün eğitim dışında kalan çocuklar politika önerileri raporu. Retrieved from https://www.meb.gov.tr/earged/unicef/S%C4%B1n%C4%B1f%20Tekrar%C4%B1,%20Okul%20Terki%20Politika%20Raporu.pdf
  41. Timæus, I. M., & Moultrie, T. A. (2015). Teenage childbearing and educational attainment in South Africa. Studies in Family Planning, 46(2), 143-160. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4465.2015.00021.x
  42. Townsend, L., Flisher, A. J., & King, G. (2007). A systematic review of the relationship between high school dropout and substance use. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 10(4), 295–317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-007-0023-7
  43. UNICEF (2014). Global ınitiative on out-of-school children. Retrieved from http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/out-of-school-children-south-asia-country-study-education-2014-en.pdf
  44. White, S. W., & Kelly, F. D. (2010). The school counselor’s role in school dropout prevention. Journal of Counseling and Development, 88(2), 227- 235. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2010.tb00014.x
  45. Wils, A., Sheehan, P., & Shi, H. (2019). Better secondary schooling outcomes for adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: Projections of cost-effective approaches. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65, 25- 33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.03.024
  46. Wood, L., Kiperman, S., Esch, R. C., Leroux, A. J., & Truscott, S. D. (2017). Predicting dropout using student-and school-level factors: An ecological perspective. School Psychology Quarterly, 32(1), 35-51. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000152
  47. Yadav, S., Kalakoti, P., & Ahmad, N. (2010). Determinants of school dropouts in children. Review of Global Medicine and Healthcare Research, 1(1), 232-245. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277003433_Determinants_of_school_dropouts_in_children
  48. Zorbaz, O., & Özer, A. (2020). Do student characteristics affecting school dropout risk differ from one school to another? Education and Science, 45(202), 191-210. http://dx.doi.org/10.15390/EB.2020.8266
  49. Aküzüm, C., Yavaş, T., Tan, Ç., & Uçar, M. B. (2015). İlköğretim kurumu öğrencilerinin devamsızlık ve okul terki nedenleri. Uşak Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 8(2), 167-192.