The academic dropout of higher education students represents one of the most significant challenges that university institutions have to face today. This research analysed the university academic trajectory of students who dropped out of university for good. The aim of this paper is to examine in depth the factors that influence the idea of the…

Within OECD countries, 20% of university students continue no further than the first year. The objective of this research is to analyse the antecedents of student commitment, so as to design action plans for reducing dropout rates within higher education. Educational engagement, student--university identification and perception of performance were…

In many Western societies, earning a degree is considered an ultimate educational achievement. Second chance education (SCE) serves as a distinct pathway for those who have dropped out of school, allowing them to re-enter the educational system. Understanding the specific obstacles and needs of students in SCE is crucial for providing…

The increasing number of students enrolled in higher education institutions and the growing demand in the labour market for university graduates make the analysis of study success and study dropout more and more important. Dropping out from higher education is a complex process and students have very different motives for leaving university…

Early school leaving is a major social problem and a socio-political priority in knowledge-based societies, especially in southern European countries that have a tendency for comparatively high dropout rates. The literature has focused strongly on the exogenous factors that cause students to leave school early. Meanwhile, endogenous factors, such…

Early school leaving (ESL) is considered one of the most serious problems in the functioning of European education systems. In particular, Spain has traditionally exhibited one of the largest ESL rates in Europe. This study aimed to shed light on the role of the month of birth as a factor conditioning the probability of ESL. Using high-quality…

Truancy is known to: Hamper academic achievement, predict a range of school-related problems and cause early school leaving. Hence, the development and implementation of measures to tackle truancy are considered as important strategies to prevent early school leaving in Europe. Despite this, there is almost no comparative research which studies…

This qualitative study captured the reflections of 53 English language teachers from 40 different contexts including Bangladesh, Colombia, France, India, Scotland, Taiwan, Türkiye and the United Kingdom on teaching English during the times of COVID-19 and its post-effects on their practices. Data were collected through an online form consisting of…

This article addresses Early School Leaving (ESL) as a phenomenon that is identified in the EU and European countries such as Portugal as being the result of school disaffection that can be associated with social and educational problems. The relevance of this problem at the European level is highlighted by the large number of European guidelines…

National cultures are known to influence educational institutions and practices in many ways. It therefore seems reasonable to assume that drop-out from university is also influenced by differences in national cultures. In this article, we compare drop-out from Danish universities with drop-out from European universities. Based on Danish national…

This study presents in-depth empirical analyses of drop-outs from all Swiss universities for the entire student population between 1975 and 2008. The results show that most identifiable factors associated with a greater or lesser probability of dropping out are identical to those found in a recent Systematic Review (Larsen et?al., 2013). The main…

This article analyses the effects of the language policy in Catalonia on the transition of immigrant students to upper secondary education in Barcelona by focusing on the language learning experiences and academic trajectories of two case-studies of Pakistani students whose communicative resources remain invisible despite the official celebration…

Spain has one of the highest levels of early school leaving and educational failure of the European Union. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the anatomy of early school leaving in Spain and its characteristics. In order to do so, in the first part we discuss the measurement problems related with this concept and the evolution of drop-out…

This article presents a comparative analysis of the determinants of early school leaving (ESL) at the country level. We decompose ESL rates into two components: a "primary" rate reflecting unqualified school leaving from initial education, and a second component accounting for early school leavers who participate in training programmes.…

Early school leaving has been identified as a key policy priority across Europe. In this article, we critically discuss the underpinning assumptions and rationale for this policy focus, challenging the association that is made between early school leaving, economic growth and employment. We suggest that ESL is important, not because it is…