The influence of participation, identification and parental resources on early school leaving of boys in the lower educational track

Abstract

Why do some students drop out while others do not? The role of participation and identification in the process of early school leaving is studied. In addition, the contributions of socio-economic background and available resources are assessed. Boys in the lower vocational track of education, which traditionally has a large number of early school leavers, were studied using the variables from a national cohort study and the responses to some additional questionnaires. The participation-identification model is not found to have much explanatory power. The determinants of early school leaving appear to be the cultural and social resources provided by the parents rather than participation, achievement or identification.