The Future of Education
Education and Early School Dropout: An Empirical Analysis of Students’ Attitudes and Awareness
Camelia Delcea, Bucharest University of Economic Studies (Romania)
Bianca Cibu, Bucharest University of Economic Studies (Romania)
Ioana Ioanăș, Bucharest University of Economic Studies (Romania)
Andra Sandu, Bucharest University of Economic Studies (Romania)
Abstract
Early school dropouts remain a key challenge for the educational systems. The consequences of this phenomenon are far-reaching, not only for individual educational attainment but also for labour market integration and long-term employability. An early education dropout produces consequences by reducing access to stable employment, limiting career development opportunities, and increasing vulnerability to social and economic exclusion. Thus, understanding the factors that shape students’ intentions for dropout is a key element for both educational policy and labour market sustainability. In this context, the present study examines dropout intention by considering a series of determinants from scientific literature, among which the attitudes toward schooling and awareness of the long-term benefits of education play a key role. Also, a series of context related factors, such as alcohol or substance use, family background, and school-related aspects are taken into account. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire. In order to analyze the complex relationships among these variables, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) has been employed, combined with bootstrapping techniques. Based on the obtained results, it has been noticed that attitudes toward education significantly influence dropout intention, while awareness of education–career link reduces dropout intention. Also, it has been observed that students who better understand the connection between educational attainment, employability, and labour market participation are less prone to consider leaving school prematurely. Differentiated patterns are observed in gender-based analyses, which can serve as a starting point for targeted intervention strategies. Overall, it can noted that by reinforcing positive attitudes toward learning and clarifying the education–labour market link, schools and policymakers can provide better strategies which can have effect on diminishing the early school dropout and further support sustainable workforce development.
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Keywords |
early school dropout; education and labour market; student attitudes; educational awareness; employability; PLS-SEM |
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REFERENCES |
[1] Hassan,M.A., Muse,A.H. and Nadarajah,S.(2024). Predicting Student Dropout Rates Using Supervised Machine Learning: Insights from the 2022 National Education Accessibility Survey in Somaliland. Applied Sciences, 14(17), p. 7593. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14177593. [2] Kumar,M., Singh,A. and Handa,D. (2017). Literature Survey on Educational Dropout Prediction. International Journal of Education and Management Engineering, 7(2), pp. 8-19. https://doi.org/10.5815/ ijeme.2017.02.02. |
Acknowledgement: This work was funded by the EU’s NextGenerationEU instrument through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of Romania - Pillar III-C9-I8, managed by the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization, within the project entitled „JobKG—A Knowledge Graph of the Romanian Job Market based on Natural Language Processing”, contract no. 760274/26.03.2024, code CF 178/31.07.2023
