University dropout is a phenomenon of growing interest due to the high financial costs that it involves for both families and states. Various variables have been studied in order to understand why this problem occurs. Satisfaction with the degree choice, study self-regulation and social adaptation within the university are some of the variables…

Purpose: This study aims to advance the understanding on individual variations in PhD candidates' personal interest in their doctorate and supervisory and research community support, and several individual and structural attributes potentially having an impact on the profiles. Design/methodology/approach: The authors explored the interrelationship…

Academic failure is an important and personal event in the lives of university students, and the ways they make sense of experiences of failure matters for their persistence and future success. Academic failure contributes to attrition, yet the extent of this contribution and precipitating factors of failure are not well understood. To illuminate…

Researchers have been working to understand the high dropout rates in computer science (CS) education. Despite the great demand for CS professionals, little is known about what influences individuals to complete their CS studies. We identify gains of studying CS, the (learning) environment, degree's usefulness, and barriers as important predictors…

There are many factors which might cause a student to drop out of a course of study; some of these are preventable. This paper describes the piloting of a survey tool designed to identify students at risk of not completing. Attendance was found to be the strongest predictor of module completion; low or declining scores on the survey were also…

While Aboriginal children appear to be particularly disadvantaged in educational performance and outcomes, very little is known about the determinants of school motivation for this group. Commonly it is believed that Aboriginal girls perform better at school and continue longer than Aboriginal boys. This study examined the similarities and…

Reported is a two-part study to identify factors that contribute to student success in a remedial mathematics course for first-year college students. Data from 263 students testing into remedial algebra was collected on 3 academic variables, 2 affective variables, and class attendance. Multivariate analysis results failed to find moderate…

Three groups of secondary school students were identified in the sample of over 7,000 high school students from the 1987/88 California Substance Use Survey based on patterns of involvement with alcohol and other drugs. Of primary interest are high risk users (HRUs) who engage in socially deplored and often dangerous forms of substance use. HRU…

Studied characteristics distinguishing successful and failing Hispanic innercity high school students, using 24 high dropout-risk and 24 low dropout-risk Hispanic tenth graders (22 males and 26 females). When compared to high-risk counterparts, low-risk students were more satisfied with their school and maintained social groups predominantly free…