Determinants of educational persistence

Different situations or factors will impact, either positively or negatively, on the educational persistence and success of young people. When there is an accumulation of risk factors*, the likelihood increases that a student will abandon her/his studies. These factors, which may vary greatly, tend to feed on one another and exert influence on all or part of the development process of the young person. Generally, the factors can be grouped into four categories: family, personal, school, social/environmental (related to lifestyle or the community).

*which may lead to dropping out

FAMILY FACTORS

Parental educational practices (childhood and adolescence):

• placing value on education
• parental guidance

The family situation has a decisive influence on the development of the child. Parental behaviours and attitudes, such as encouraging children in their studies, congratulating them on their achievements, expressing tenderness, properly supervising, having high expectations and a positive attitude to education and school tasks, being a good parent-reader and getting involved in school life... all these factors impact positively on the likely success of a young person.

Conversely, a lack of emotional support, low parental involvement in school follow-up, negative perception of the child’s likelihood of succeeding, little importance placed on education, or low educational aspirations for the child may all impact negatively on a young person’s persistence, particularly with respect to aspirations, motivation and even academic performance.

PERSONAL FACTORS

SOCIAL

Self-monitoring and social and behavioural conduct (childhood and adolescence)
Maintaining positive social interactions with peers and adults, having good social skills (empathy, assistance, listening, etc.) and controlling impulses (self-control) are all linked to achievement. The ability of children to control their behaviour and impulses is associated with higher scores in reading, vocabulary and mathematics. This performance is recognized as a determinant of educational persistence.

Association with peers (adolescence)
Adolescence is a period of life during which individuals develop their personality and refine their interests. At this time, the young are susceptible to negative influences, as well as to the models and images all around them. Therefore having friends who are motivated to stay in school may determine the attitude of an individual towards education. The Youth in Transition Survey (2002) sheds a revealing light on this reality. Some 65% of dropouts surveyed said their friends believed it was important to finish high school. The proportion rises to 86% among continuers and high school graduates. On the other hand, 50% of dropouts had a friend who was a dropout, compared to only 20% among the continuers and graduates.

LIFESTYLE

Diet and exercise (childhood and adolescence)
Lifestyle, including diet and exercise, is fundamental to the development of young people. It is crucial to their well-being, self-esteem, personal/social development and health, as well as influencing academic success. Young people who practise a sport generally have a better attention span in school and exhibit better cognitive performance. On the other hand, inadequate diet and sedentary behavior can interfere with learning and academic success.

Smoking/alcohol/drugs (adolescence)
The abuse of tobacco, alcohol and drugs is sometimes symptomatic of unhappiness at school or in a young person’s personal and family life. In some cases, consuming alcohol and drugs becomes a strategy to avoid educational responsibilities, including choosing a career. It also has a detrimental effect on the overall development of the young, both physically and psychologically, at a time in life when brain and body are not fully matured. And it may be a predictive factor for dropping out.

Work-study balance (adolescence)
Balancing work and study schedules is a harsh reality for a growing number of young people. Working while studying allows young people to become familiar with the job market while gaining a better idea of educational and work aspirations: thus they can acquire the skills needed to become more self-reliant. For some young people, it is also a necessity in order to pay for their further education. On the other hand, overscheduling can lead young people who have more risk factors to drop out. Certain periods of the year are critical, when a heavier workload at school (end-of-year exams) may coincide with an employer’s increased staffing needs (holiday season for stores, early and late summer for the tourism industry, etc.).

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Feelings of depression (childhood and adolescence)
Throughout life, young people can be confronted with important events affecting some aspect of their lives: repeated school failures, relationship break-ups, rejection by peers, difficult family situations (finances, divorce of parents), bereavement, etc. Depending on the resilience of the individual and his/her ability to adapt or deploy problem-solving strategies, such difficulties can lead to episodes of depression, sometimes severe. In addition to their structural impact on brain development, mental health problems can also affect the motivation of the young at school, and thus educational persistence.

Self-esteem (childhood and adolescence)
Self-esteem is the awareness of the value one places on oneself in different areas. It includes awareness of strengths, difficulties and personal boundaries. Through interaction with parents, classmates and teachers, young people become aware of their value. A young person who has faith in her/his skills and abilities will not hesitate to engage in learning activities and to persevere. On the other hand, a young person experiencing difficulties or facing failure may lose confidence in his/her own abilities and avoid engaging in school tasks in an attempt to maintain a positive self-image.

COGNITIVE

Academic performance in reading, writing and mathematics (childhood and adolescence)
Performance in reading, writing and mathematics appears to be a determinant of student retention. The Youth in Transition Survey (2002) revealed that dropouts achieved lower grades than graduates, notably in their capacity to understand, use and analyze written texts. However, reading and writing is necessary for learning in all subjects, including mathematics. Therefore, difficulty in reading and writing is likely to impact on the overall performance of a young person in all matters, including continuance of their studies. Moreover, success in English and mathematics courses and exams is a condition in the English school system’s educational plan for obtaining a high school diploma.

Motivation (commitment) (childhood and adolescence)
Students who are motivated about learning in school tend to get involved in activities and tasks in class. They participate actively in the courses (taking notes, team work, etc.) and in the class work and homework set by teachers, and they give the necessary time and effort to learning activities. This investment is needed to learn, succeed and obtain qualifications. However, less motivated students tend to adopt behavioural patterns that are not consistent with learning and success in school, such as passivity, insufficient effort and botched work, which may jeopardize the continuation of their studies.

Educational and career aspirations (adolescence)
The educational and career aspirations of young people tend to determine their persistence. Students with well defined aspirations find the motivation to continue their studies. Their determination is often linked to the perception they have of their cognitive skills (ease of learning; satisfaction with their school results; seeing themselves as being as smart as others). It is also associated with the efforts they make (time devoted to school activities and tasks), their educational history (successes or failures) and the educational level of their parents. Students lacking a clear trajectory are more at risk of changing programs or abandoning their studies. This is why it is important to help young people to know themselves and to define their educational and career aspirations.

SCHOOL-RELATED FACTORS

IN THE CLASS

Teacher-student relationship (childhood and adolescence)
The teacher is an important adult figure for young people, in a similar way to their parents. The quality of the teacher-student relationship is crucial to the young person’s level of achievement, an influence that is sometimes underestimated by teachers themselves. The intellectual process of learning requires a fundamental sense of security and well-being, and the teacher can contribute to this by promoting friendly, positive interactions. Teachers also have a major impact on students’ perceptions of their own skills, their commitment to school, their appreciation of the value of school materials, their expectations of success and their academic performance. The quality of the relationship is even more important for students exposed to a number of dropout risk factors. Student who drop out often cite conflicts with teachers as the reason.

Teaching and educational practices (childhood and adolescence)
Since a high school diploma is obtained through the acquisition of knowledge and qualifications in certain academic subjects, the way this knowledge is conveyed also plays a role in student persistence. The pedagogical approach taken by teachers will affect the student’s level of interest in the material taught and more broadly on his/her assessment of the learning experience. Successful teaching strategies are related as much to class management as to actual teaching techniques. The attention given to students’ questions, high expectations of what students can accomplish, structured lessons, positive reinforcement, checking that lessons have been understood… these all form part of successful teaching strategies in terms of student persistence.

IN THE SCHOOL

Management practices (childhood and adolescence)
Is the school adapting to the social make-up and characteristics of its environment? For example, is it taking account of the concentration of students from underprivileged backgrounds in the classrooms? Or if the school draws on a more affluent catchment area, does it offer an appropriate learning experience for students with broader-based general knowledge and experience? What mentoring practices are in place to help the young people in their academic and career path? Are communications between school, families and the community two-way, effective and prioritized? What support is available for teachers? Is sufficient value being placed on team work among the various stakeholders who influence the students’ lives? The importance given by managers to the issue of student retention and tracking the success of young people will be reflected in the organizational structures and educational practices deployed. The quality and relevance of the measures taken will impact on the numbers graduating.

Support for struggling students (childhood and adolescence)
The ability of a school to intervene with a young person who is likely to drop out may be significant in preventing it. Young people left to themselves to solve their personal problems – academic, family or social – will be more at risk of dropping out. The earlier an at-risk student is given mentoring, the better the outcome. Consultation and continuity among daycare, primary school and secondary school services will make it easier to identify at-risk students and facilitate the transitions. Services should also be adapted to the problems being experienced by the young individual. Support can take different forms: school and professional orientation, monitoring of academic results, referrals to external resources, communication with parents and examining their involvement, multidisciplinary professionals working on the case, etc.

Academic climate (childhood and adolescence)
Young people spend, on average, more than 30 hours a week within the confines of their school, including classes, extracurricular activities and “hanging out.” It is their main environment, the place where their friends are, where they experience success and failure, and where they face various realities. The school is a microcosm of society in which social problems can sometimes be found (violence, intimidation, etc.), but also such positive influences as solidarity, working together on projects, etc.
The school is very much a reflection of the mileu in which it is situated. An investigation by Quebec’s Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport conducted in 2003 among 3,682 young people revealed that 72% of students who have a very positive opinion of the climate in their school consider their academic results good or very good. Among students who feel their school climate is bad, less than half (49%) say the same thing.

SOCIAL FACTORS (COMMUNITY)

Socio-cultural and socio-economic background (childhood and adolescence)
Neighborhood of residence (childhood and adolescence)
According to the Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal (2008), children are influenced by their peers and have a tendency to imitate and conform to the characteristics of their neighborhood. In other words, young people living in the same community will be inclined to adopt the behaviour of their circle, be it positive or negative. This determinant is obviously closely linked to the socio-cultural and socio-economic environment. Underprivileged neighbourhoods, remote rural areas and places with a high concentration of immigrants tend to manifest problems in differing degrees, often including school dropout. When analyzing the socio-cultural and socio-economic context, it is especially important to consider local rates of unemployment and inactivity, as well as the education of the parents, mainly that of the mother.

Resources (childhood and adolescence)
In most communities, there are various resources, peripheral to the schools, to support young people and their families: social services, daycare centres, youth centres, youth-employment centres, healthcare resources, public libraries, sports infrastructure, community stakeholders, etc. Access to these services may be problematic for some young people and families, for example due to remoteness, availability of places or the deployment of resources among districts. Coordination between services and defining their respective roles in preventing school dropout can also be a challenge.