This research captured the voices of 578 current university students investigating whether they have considered leaving university without completing their studies, what caused them to consider leaving their studies, and explored the reasons that led them to stay. The majority of participants had considered leaving university without completing…

Many remote Aboriginal Australian students live away from home for periods of time to access secondary education through boarding schools. While financial, political and community support is burgeoning for boarding models that provide scholarships, sports programs, or accommodation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, very little…

The National Student Outcomes Survey (SOS) collects information about students who completed their vocational education and training (VET) in the previous calendar year. The gathered information on the surveyed VET students includes their reasons for training, employment outcomes, satisfaction with training, and further study outcomes. The survey…

Despite institutional strategies to prevent student withdrawal, attrition remains a concern across higher education sectors in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. In the case of Australian universities, attrition rates have remained consistently high since 2002. Some level of attrition is inevitable, but universities can influence…

The objective of this paper is to better understand the factors that affect the chances of re-engaging early school leavers in education, with a particular focus on the importance of time out from school (duration dependence) and school-related factors. Using data from three cohorts of the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth and duration…

Attrition, which courses in the humanities and social sciences particularly suffer from, is a major problem for universities and students. This paper investigates the reasons students give for prematurely discontinuing studying the Bachelor of Arts. This is a qualitative study that thematically analyses semi-structured interviews. The sample…

Skills shortages have reinvigorated ongoing debate and concern about high attrition rates among Australian apprentices and trainees. Low apprentice and trainee wages have often been cited to explain this ongoing problem. This paper discusses the factors contributing to non-completion among apprentices and trainees in regional Victoria, and how the…

Reports a study examining the characteristics, study habits, and motivation of students who officially withdrew from the University of Adelaide (Australia) without failing. Causes of first year withdrawal were study being more difficult or less interesting than expected and weak academic motivation. Previously enrolled withdrawals were…

This paper, based on a questionnaire and interview study of 118 married and single mothers who had interrupted their studies at one of three New South Wales universities, explores the question of what factors prevent successful completion of study. A cluster analysis was performed on the responses to an item that listed 21 reasons for dropout. A…

A study was done of the destinations of secondary school dropouts in 1990 in the Northern Territory of Australia, focusing on aspects of the school-to-work transition. The study contacted students through mailed surveys and telephone interviews. Information on dropouts not contacted through these methods was gained from the Northern Territory…

This article reports research concerned with understanding the factors that influence the decision of young males to withdraw from their studies in certificate courses at a Technical and Further Education (TAFE) College in Western Australia. The research focused on males aged between 17 and 21 years and their reasons for either dropping out of or…

A study explored whether mature age students' conspicuous academic success could be partially explained by motivation. It compared motives of a sample of mature "graduate mothers" to those of a sample of mature age "student mothers" who had interrupted a program of study. The 117 graduate participants were randomly chosen from…

Survey of 22 rural Australian youth, aged 12-18 and not attending school or work, found that youth were strongly motivated towards creative, practical, and life skills learning. Describes a model of the phenomenon of "street kids" at the intersection of youth unemployment, homelessness, and truancy. Recommends establishment of pilot…

As part of a larger, ongoing study, this research examined how Australian boys' early school leaving may be linked to boys' decision-making processes and regional discourses of masculinities. Interviews with 22 boys from three locations (provincial, metropolitan, and rural) in Queensland indicated that commonalities existed across the transcripts…

Besides describing actual experiences of rural students who leave school before completing Year 12, a 1978-79 study in Western Australia was also designed to investigate options and employment opportunities available to school leavers. Questionnaires from 1,371 students in Years 9-12 in 14 schools collected data on background, education,…