hypothesis on high school dropouts

Student Engagement and School Dropout: Theories, Evidence, and Future Directions

• First Online: 20 October 2022

Cite this chapter

• Isabelle Archambault 3 ,
• Michel Janosz 3 ,
• Elizabeth Olivier 3 &
• Véronique Dupéré 3  

4365 Accesses

15 Citations

School dropout is a major preoccupation in all countries. Several factors contribute to this outcome, but research suggests that dropouts mostly have gone through a process of disengaging from school. This chapter aims to present a synthesis of this process according to the major theories in the field and review empirical research linking student disengagement and school dropout. This chapter also presents the common risk and protective factors associated with these two issues, the profiles of students who drop out as well as the disengagement trajectories they follow and leading to their decision to quit school. Finally, it highlights the main challenges as well as the future directions that research should prioritize in the study of student engagement and school dropout.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save.

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime
• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info
• Durable hardcover edition

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Dropout Prevention and Student Engagement

Risk factors for dropping out of high school: a review of contemporary, international empirical research.

Exploring determinants of school dropout across regions in India: a comprehensive meta-analysis

Afia, K., Dion, E., Dupéré, V., Archambault, I., & Toste, J. (2019). Parenting practices during middle adolescence and high school dropout. Journal of Adolescence, 76 , 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.08.012

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Agirdag, O., Van Houtte, M., & Van Avermaet, P. (2013). School segregation and self-fulfilling prophecies as determinants of academic achievement in Flanders. In S. De Groof & M. Elchardus (Eds.), Early school leaving and youth unemployment (pp. 46e74) . Amsterdam University Press.

Google Scholar  

Alexander, K. L., Entwisle, D. R., & Kabbani, N. S. (2001). The dropout process in life course perspective: Early risk factors at home and school. Teachers College Record, 103 (5), 760–822. https://doi.org/10.1111/0161-4681.00134

Article   Google Scholar  

Alliance for Excellent Education. (2013). Saving futures, saving dollars: The impact of education on crime reduction and earnings . Retrived from https://mk0all4edorgjxiy8xf9.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SavingFutures.pdf .

Appleton, J. J., Christenson, S. L., Kim, D., & Reschly, A. L. (2006). Measuring cognitive and psychological engagement: Validation of the student engagement instrument. Journal of School Psychology, 44 (5), 427–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2006.04.002

Archambault, I., Pascal, S., Tardif-Grenier, K., Dupéré, V., Janosz, M., Parent, S., & Pagani, L. (2021). The contribution of teacher structure, involvement, and autonomy support on student engagement in low-income elementary schools. Teachers and Teaching, 26 (5–6), 428–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2020.1863208

Archambault, I., & Dupéré, V. (2017). Joint trajectories of behavioral, affective, and cognitive engagement in elementary school. The Journal of Educational Research, 110 (2), 188–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2015.1060931

Archambault, I., Janosz, M., Dupéré, V., Brault, M.-C., & Andrew, M. M. (2017). Individual, social, and family factors associated with high school dropout among low- SES youth: Differential effects as a function of immigrant status. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 87 (3), 456–477. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12159

Archambault, I., Janosz, M., Fallu, J.-S., & Pagani, L. S. (2009a). Student engagement and its relationship with early high school dropout. Journal of Adolescence, 32 (3), 651–670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.06.007

Archambault, I., Janosz, M., Morizot, J., & Pagani, L. (2009b). Adolescent behavioral, affective, and cognitive engagement in school: Relationship to dropout. Journal of School Health, 79 (9), 408–415. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2009.00428.x

Basharpoor, S., Issazadegan, A., Zahed, A., & Ahmadian, L. (2013). Comparing academic self-concept and engagement to school between students with learning disabilities and normal. The Journal of Education and Learning Studies, 5 , 47–64.

Bingham, G. E., & Okagaki, L. (2012). Ethnicity and student engagement. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 65–95). Springer Science + Business Media). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_4

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Björklund, A., & Salvanes, K. G. (2011). Education and family background: Mechanisms and policies. In E. A. Hanushek, S. Machin, & L. Woessmann (Eds.), Handbook in economics of education (Vol. 3, pp. 201–247). Elsevier.

Blondal, K. S., & Adalbjarnardottir, S. (2014). Parenting in relation to school dropout through student engagement: A longitudinal study. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76 (4), 778–795. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12125

Bowers, A. J., & Sprott, R. (2012). Why tenth graders fail to finish high school: A dropout typology latent class analysis. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 17 (3), 129–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/10824669.2012.692071

Brault, M.-C., Janosz, M., & Archambault, I. (2014). Effects of school composition and school climate on teacher expectations of students: A multilevel analysis. Teaching and Teacher Education, 44 , 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.08.008

Brière, F. N., Pascal, S., Dupéré, V., Castellanos-Ryan, N., Allard, F., Yale-Soulière, G., & Janosz, M. (2017). Depressive and anxious symptoms and the risk of secondary school non-completion. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 211 , 163–168. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.117.201418

Brooks-Gunn, J., & Duncan, G. J. (1997). The effects of poverty on children. The Future of Children: Children and Poverty, 7 (2), 55–71. https://doi.org/10.2307/1602387

Brozo, W. G., Sulkunen, S., Shiel, G., Garbe, C., Pandian, A., & Valtin, R. (2014). Reading, gender, and engagement. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57 (7), 584–593. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.291

Buhs, E. S., Koziol, N. A., Rudasill, K. M., & Crockett, L. J. (2018). Early temperament and middle school engagement: School social relationships as mediating processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110 (3), 338–354. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000224

Buhs, E. S. (2005). Peer rejection, negative peer treatment, and school adjustment: Self-concept and classroom engagement as mediating processes. Journal of School Psychology, 43 (5), 407–424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2005.09.001

Cappella, E., Kim, H. Y., Neal, J. W., & Jackson, D. R. (2013). Classroom peer relationships and behavioral engagement in elementary school: The role of social network equity. American Journal of Community Psychology, 52 (3–4), 367–379. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-013-9603-5

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Caraway, K., Tucker, C. M., Reinke, W. M., & Hall, C. (2003). Self-efficacy, goal orientation and fear of failure as predictors of school engagement in high school students. Psychology in the Schools, 40 (4), 417–427. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.10092

Carmona-Halty, M., Salanova, M., Llorens, S., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2019). Linking positive emotions and academic performance: The mediated role of academic psychological capital and academic engagement. Current Psychology , 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00227-8

Chen, J., Huebner, E., & Tian, L. (2020). Longitudinal relations between hope and academic achievement in elementary school students: Behavioral engagement as a mediator. Learning and Individual Differences, 78 , 101824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2020.101824

Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (1996). Equifinality and multifinality in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 8 , 597–600. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579400007318

Chiefs Assembly on Education. (2012). A portrait of first nations and education. Retrived from https://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/events/fact_sheet-ccoe-3.pdf

Christenson, S. L., & Thurlow, M. L. (2004). School dropouts: Prevention considerations, interventions, and challenges. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13 (1), 36–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.01301010.x

Christle, C. A., Jolivette, K., & Nelson, M. (2007). School characteristics related to high school dropout rates. Remedial and Special Education, 28 (6), 325–339. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325070280060201

Cleary, T. J., et al. (2021). Linking student self-regulated learning profiles to achievement and engagement in mathematics. Psychology in the Schools, 58 (3), 443–457. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22456

Cornell, D., Gregory, A., Huang, F., & Fan, X. (2013). Perceived prevalence of teasing and bullying predicts high school dropout rates. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105 (1), 138–149. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030416

Crosnoe, R., & Johnson, M. K. (2011). Research on adolescence in the twenty-first century. Annual Review of Sociology, 37 , 439–460. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-081309-150008

Crosnoe, R., & Turley, R. N. (2011). K-12 educational outcomes of immigrant youth. The Future of Children, 21 (1), 129–152. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2011.0008

Crowder, K. D., & South, S. J. (2003). Neighborhood distress and school dropout: The variable significance of community context. Social Science Research, 32 , 659–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0049-089X(03)00035-8

Crul, M., & Mollenkopf, J. (2012). The changing face of world cities: Young adult children of immigrants in Europe and the United States (pp. 3–25). Russell Sage Foundation. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7758/9781610447911

Curhan, A. L., Rabinowitz, J. A., Pas, E. T., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2020). Informant discrepancies in internalizing and externalizing symptoms in an at-risk sample: The role of parenting and school engagement. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49 (1), 311–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01107-x

Danneel, S., Colpin, H., Goossens, L., Engels, M., Van Leeuwen, K., Van Den Noortgate, W., & Verschueren, K. (2019). Emotional school engagement and global self-esteem in adolescents: Genetic susceptibility to peer acceptance and rejection. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 65 (2), 158–182. https://doi.org/10.13110/merrpalmquar1982.65.2.0158

Datu, J. A. D., & King, R. B. (2018). Subjective Well-being is reciprocally associated with academic engagement: A short-term longitudinal study. Journal of School Psychology, 69 , 100–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2018.05.007

DePaoli, J. L., Hornig Fox, J., Ingram, E. S., Maushard, M., Bridgeland, J. M., & Balfanz, R. (2015). Building a grad nation: Progress and challenge in ending the high school dropout epidemic.

De Witte, K., Cabus, S., Thyssen, G., Groot, W., & van Den Brink, H. M. (2013). A critical review of the literature on school dropout. Educational Research Review, 10 , 13–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2013.05.002

Dierendonck, C., Milmeister, P., Kerger, S., & Poncelet, D. (2020). Examining the measure of student engagement in the classroom using the bifactor model: Increased validity when predicting misconduct at school. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 44 (3), 279–286. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025419876360

Dupéré, V., Dion, E., Cantin, S., Archambault, I., & Lacourse, E. (2020). Social contagion and high school dropout: The role of friends, romantic partners, and siblings. Journal of Education Psychology, 113 (3), 572–584. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000484

Dupéré, V., Dion, E., Leventhal, T., Crosnoe, R., Archambault, A., & Goulet, M. (2019). Circumstances preceding dropout among rural high schoolers: A comparison with urban peers. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 35 , 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000484

Dupéré, V., Dion, E., Leventhal, T., Archambault, I., Crosnoe, R., & Janosz, M. (2018). High school dropout in proximal context: The triggering role of stressful life events. Child Development, 89 (2), e107–e122. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12792

Dupéré, V., Leventhal, T., Dion, E., Crosnoe, R., Archambault, I., & Janosz, M. (2015). Stressors and turning points in high school and dropout: A stress process, life course framework. Review of Educational Research, 859 (4), 591–629. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654314559845

Duchesne, S., Larose, S., & Feng, B. (2019). Achievement goals and engagement with academic work in early high school: Does seeking help from teachers matter? The Journal of Early Adolescence, 39 (2), 222–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431617737626

Duckworth, A. (2015). OECD report of skills for social progress: The power of social emotional skills (Peer Commentary on IECD report). Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/seminarandlaunchofthereportskillsforsocialprogressthepowerofsocialandemotionalskills.htm

Duncan, G. J., & Murnane, R. J. (2011). Whither opportunity? Rising inequality, schools, and children’s life chances . Russel Sage Foundation.

Eurostats. (2017). Decrease in “early school leavers” in the EU. Retrived from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-eurostat-news/-/edn-20170908-1 .

Fan, W., & Wolters, C. A. (2014). School motivation and high school dropout: The mediating role of educational expectations. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 84 (1), 22–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12002

Farrell, E. (1990). Hanging in and dropping out: Voices of at-risk students . Teachers College Press.

Finn, J. D. (1989). Withdrawing from school. Review of Educational Research, 59 (2), 117–142. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543059002117

Finn, J. D., & Zimmer, K. S. (2012). Student engagement: What is it? Why does it matter? In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 97–131). Springer.

Fortin, L., Royer, É., Potvin, P., Marcotte, D., & Yergeau, É. (2004). La prediction du risque de decrochage scolaire au secondaire : Facteurs personnels, familiaux et scolaires [Prediction of risk for secondary school dropout: Personal, family and school factors]. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 36 (3), 219–231. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0087232

Fraysier, K., Reschly, A., & Appleton, J. (2020). Predicting postsecondary enrollment with secondary student engagement data. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 38 (7), 882–899. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282920903168

Fredricks, J. A., Hofkens, T., Wang, M.-T., Mortenson, E., & Scott, P. (2018). Supporting girls’ and boys’ engagement in math and science learning: A mixed methods study. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 55 (2), 271–298. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21419

Fredricks, J. A., Ye, F., Wang, M., & Brauer, S. (2019). Profiles of school disengagement: Not all disengaged students are alike. In J. A. Fredricks, A. L. Reschly, & S. L. Christenson (Eds.), Handbook of student engagement interventions (pp. 31–43). Academic Press.

Fredricks, J. A., Wang, M., Schall, J., Hokfkens, T., Snug, H., Parr, A., & Allerton, J. (2016). Using qualitative methods to develop a survey of math and science engagement. Learning and Instruction, 43 , 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.01.009

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74 (1), 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059

French, D. C., & Conrad, J. (2001). School dropout as predicted by peer rejection and antisocial behavior. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11 (3), 225–244. https://doi.org/10.1111/1532-7795.00011

García Coll, C. G., & Marks, A. K. (Eds.). (2012). The immigrant paradox in children and adolescents: Is becoming American a developmental risk? American Psychological Association.

Garrett-Peters, P. T., Mokrova, I. L., Carr, R. C., Vernon-Feagans, L., & Family Life Project Key Investigators. (2019). Early student (dis)engagement: Contributions of household chaos, parenting, and self-regulatory skills. Developmental Psychology, 55 (7), 1480–1492. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000720

Georgiades, K., Boyle, M. H., & Duku, E. (2007). Contextual influences on children’s mental health and school performance: The moderating effects of family immigrant status. Child Development, 78 (5), 1572–1591. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01084.x

Gonzales, N. A., Wong, J. J., Toomey, R. B., Millsap, R., Dumka, L. E., & Mauricio, A. M. (2014). School engagement mediates long-term prevention effects for Mexican American adolescents. Prevention Science, 15 (6), 929–939. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-013-0454-y

Goulet, M., Clément, M.-E., Helie, S., & Villatte, A. (2020). Longitudinal associations between risk profiles, school dropout risk, and substance abuse in adolescence. Child & Youth Care Forum, 49 , 687–706.

Gubbels, J., van der Put, C. E., & Assink, M. (2019). Risk factors for school absenteeism and dropout: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48 (9), 1637–1667. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01072-5

Henry, K. L., Knight, K. E., & Thornberry, T. P. (2012). School disengagement as a predictor of dropout, delinquency, and problem substance use during adolescence and early adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 41 (2), 156–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9665-3 .

Hoff, E., Laursen, B., & Tardiff, T. (2002). Socioeconomic status and parenting. In P. M. Greenfield & R. R. Cocking (Eds.), Cross-cultural roots of minority children development (pp. 285–313). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Holen, S., Waaktaar, T., & Sagatun, Å. (2018). A chance lost in the prevention of school dropout? Teacher-student relationships mediate the effect of mental health problems on noncompletion of upper-secondary school. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 62 (5), 737–753. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2017.1306801

Hong, W., Zhen, R., Liu, R.-D., Wang, M.-T., Ding, Y., & Wang, J. (2020). The longitudinal linkages among Chinese children’s behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement within a mathematics context. Educational Psychology, 40 (6), 666–680. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2020.1719981

Hosan, N. E., & Hoglund, W. (2017). Do teacher–child relationship and friendship quality matter for children’s school engagement and academic skills? School Psychology Review, 46 (2), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.17105/SPR-2017-0043.V46-2

Hospel, V., & Galand, B. (2016). Are both classroom autonomy support and structure equally important for students’ engagement? A multilevel analysis. Learning and Instruction, 41 , 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2015.09.001

Hunt, J., Eisenberg, D., & Kilbourne, A. M. (2010). Consequences of receipt of a psychiatric diagnosis for completion of college. Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.), 61 (4), 399–404. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2010.61.4.399

Hymel, S., Comfort, C., Schonert-Reichl, K., & McDougall, P. (1996). Academic failure and school dropout: The influence of peers. In J. Juvonen & K. R. Wentzel (Eds.), Cambridge studies in social and emotional development. Social motivation: Understanding children’s school adjustment (pp. 313–345). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511571190.015

Jang, H., Kim, E. J., & Reeve, J. (2012). Longitudinal test of self-determination theory’s motivation mediation model in a naturally occurring classroom context. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104 (4), 1175–1188. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028089

Janosz, M., Archambault, I., Morizot, J., & Pagani, L. S. (2008a). School engagement trajectories and their differential predictive relations to dropout. Journal of Social Issues, 64 (1), 21–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.00546.x

Janosz, M., Archambault, I., Pagani, L. S., Pascal, S., Morin, A. J., & Bowen, F. (2008b). Are there detrimental effects of witnessing school violence in early adolescence? The Journal of Adolescent Health : Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 43 (6), 600–608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.04.011

Janosz, M., Le Blanc, M., Boulerice, B., & Tremblay, R. E. (2000). Predicting different types of school dropouts: A typological approach with two longitudinal samples. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92 (1), 171–190. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.92.1.171

Janosz, M., Le Blanc, M., Boulerice, B., & Tremblay, R. E. (1997). Disentangling the weight of school dropout predictors: A test on two longitudinal samples. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26 (6), 733–762. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022300826371

Jiang, S., & Dong, L. (2020). The effects of teacher discrimination on depression among migrant adolescents: Mediated by school engagement and moderated by poverty status. Journal of Affective Disorders, 275 , 260–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.029

Jimerson, S. R., Campos, E., & Greif, J. L. (2003). Towards an understanding of definitions and measures of school engagement and related terms. The California School Psychologist, 8 , 7e28. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4405(00)00051-0

Jimerson, S. R., Egeland, B., Sroufe, L. A., & Carlson, B. (2000). A prospective longitudinal study of high school dropouts: Examining multiple predictors across development. Journal of School Psychology, 38 (6), 525–549. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4405(00)00051-0

Jordan, W. J., McPartland, J. M., & Lara, J. (1999). Rethinking the causes of high school dropout. The Prevention Researcher, 6 , 1–4.

Krauss, S. E., Kornbluh, M., & Zeldin, S. (2017). Community predictors of school engagement: The role of families and youth-adult partnership in Malaysia. Children and Youth Services Review, 73 , 328–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.01.009

Korhonen, J., Linnanmäki, K., & Aunio, P. (2014). Learning difficulties, academic well-being and educational dropout: A person-centered approach. Learning & Individual Differences, 31 , 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.12.011

Kurdi, V., & Archambault, I. (2020). Self-perceptions and engagement in low socio-economic elementary school students: The moderating effects of immigration status and anxiety. School Mental Health, 12 , 400–416. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-020-09360-3

Ladd, G. W., & Dinella, L. M. (2009). Continuity and change in early school engagement: Predictive of children’s achievement trajectories from first to eighth grade? Journal of Educational Psychology, 101 (1), 190–206. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013153

Ladd, G. W., Kochenderfer, B. J., & Coleman, C. C. (1997). Classroom peer acceptance, friendship, and victimization: Distinct relational systems that contribute uniquely to children’s school adjustment? Child Development, 68 (6), 1181–1197. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1132300

PubMed   Google Scholar  

Landis, R. N., & Reschly, A. L. (2013). Reexamining gifted underachievement and dropout through the lens of student engagement. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 36 (2), 220–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162353213480864

Lansford, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (2016). A public health perspective on school dropout and adult outcomes: A prospective study of risk and protective factors from age 5 to 27 years. Journal of Adolescent Health, 58 (6), 652–658. https://doi.org/10.1016/2Fj.jadohealth.2016.01.014

Lavoie, L., Dupéré, V., Dion, E., Crosnoe, R., Lacourse, É., & Archambault, I. (2019). Gender differences in adolescents’ exposure to stressful life events and differential links to impaired school functioning. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47 (6), 1053–1064. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-00511-4

Lawson, M. A., & Lawson, H. A. (2013). New conceptual frameworks for student engagement research, policy, and practice. Review of Educational Research, 83 (3), 432–479. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654313480891

Leventhal, T., & Dupéré, V. (2019). Neighborhood effects on youth development in experimental and nonexperimental research. Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, 1 , 149–176. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-121318-085221

Lewis, A. D., Huebner, E. S., Malone, P. S., & Valois, R. F. (2011). Life satisfaction and student engagement in adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40 (3), 249–262. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9517-6

Li, Y., & Lerner, R. M. (2013). Interrelations of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive school engagement in high school students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42 (1), 20–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9857-5

Li, Y., & Lerner, R. M. (2011). Trajectories of school engagement during adolescence:Implications for grades, depression, delinquency, and substance use. Developmental Psychology, 47 (1), 233–247. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021307

Li, Y., Lerner, J. V., & Lerner, R. M. (2010). Personal and ecological assets and academic competence in early adolescence: The mediating role of school engagement. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39 , 801–815. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9535-4

Liu, R.-D., Zhen, R., Ding, Y., Liu, Y., Wang, J., Jiang, R., & Xu, L. (2018). Teacher support and math engagement: Roles of academic self-efficacy and positive emotions. Educational Psychology, 38 (1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2017.1359238

Lovelace, M. D., Reschly, M. L., & Appleton, J. J. (2018). Beyond school records: The value of cognitive and affective engagement in predicting dropout and on-time graduation. Professional School Counseling, 21 (1), 70–84. https://doi.org/10.5330/1096-2409-21.1.70

Luo, W., Hughes, J. N., Liew, J., & Kwok, O. (2009). Classifying academically at-risk first graders into engagement types: Association with long-term achievement trajectories. The Elementary School Journal, 109 (4), 380–405. https://doi.org/10.1086/593939

Mahuteau, S., Karmel, T., Mavromaras, K., & Zhu, R. (2015). Educational outcomes of young Indigenous Australians . National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Curtin University, Bentley, viewed 7 February 2017. https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/educationaloutcomes-of-young-indigenous-australians/

Marsh, H. W., & Kleitman, S. (2005). Consequences of employment during high school: Character building, subversion of academic goals, or a threshold? American Educational Research Journal, 42 (2), 331–369. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312042002331

Martin, A. J. (2007). Examining a multidimensional model of student motivation and engagement using a construct validation approach. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77 , 413–440. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709906X118036

McDermott, E. R., Donlan, A. E., & Zaff, J. F. (2019). Why do students drop out? Turning points and long-term experiences. The Journal of Educational Research, 112 , 270–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2018.1517296

McDermott, E. R., Anderson, S., & Zaff, J. (2017). Dropout typologies: Relating profiles of risk and support to later educational re-engagement. Applied Developmental Science, 22 , 217–232. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2016.1270764

Melkevik, O., Nilsen, W., Evensen, M., Reneflot, A., & Mykletun, A. (2016). Internalizing disorders as risk factors for early school leaving: A systematic review. Adolescent Research Review, 1 (3), 245–255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-016-0024-1

Mojtabai, R., Stuart, E. A., Hwang, I., Eaton, W. W., Sampson, N., & Kessler, R. C. (2015). Long-term effects of mental disorders on educational attainment in the National Comorbidity Survey ten-year follow-up. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 50 (10), 1577–1591. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-015-1083-5

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2018). Equity in education: Breaking down barriers to social mobility . PISA, OECD.

Olivier, E., Galand, B., Morin, A. J. S., & Hospel, V. (2020a). Need-supportive teaching and student engagement : Comparing the additive, synergistic, and balanced contributions. Learning and Instruction, 71 , 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2020.101389

Olivier, E., Morin, A. J. S., Langlois, J., Tardif-Grenier, K., & Archambault, I. (2020b). Internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and student engagement in elementary and secondary school. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 49 , 2327–2346. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01295-x

Olivier, E., Archambault, I., & Dupéré, V. (2018). Boys’ and girls’ latent profiles of behavior and social adjustment in school: Longitudinal links with later student behavioral engagement and academic achievement? Journal of School Psychology, 69 , 28–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2018.05.006

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2015). Helping immigrant students to succeed at school – and beyond . OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/education/Helping-immigrant-students-to-succeed-at-school-and-beyond.pdf

Pagani, L. S., Fitzpatrick, C., & Parent, S. (2012). Relating kindergarten attention to subsequent developmental pathways of classroom engagement in elementary school. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 40 (5), 715–725. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9605-4

Perry, J. C. (2008). School engagement among urban youth of color: Criterion pattern effects of vocational exploration and racial identity. Journal of Career Development, 34 (4), 397–422. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845308316293

Pintrich, P. R. (2004). Conceptual framework for assessing motivation and self-regulated learning in college students. Psychological Bulletin, 16 , 385–407.

Reeve, J. (2009). Why teachers adopt a controlling motivating style toward students and how they can become more autonomy supportive. Educational Psychologist, 44 (3), 159–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520903028990

Réseau Eurydice. (2010). Différences entre les genres en matière de réussite scolaire: étude sur les mesures prises et la situation actuelle en Europe.

Reschly, A. L., & Christenson, S. L. (2012). Jingle, jangle, and conceptual haziness: Evolution and future directions of the engagement construct. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 3–19). Springer Science + Business Media). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_1

Reschly, A., & Christenson, S. L. (2006a). Promoting school completion. In G. Bear & K. Minke (Eds.), Children’s needs III: Understanding and addressing the developmental needs of children . Bethesda.

Reschly, A. L., & Christenson, S. L. (2006b). Prediction of dropout among students with mild disabilities: A case for the inclusion of student engagement variables. Remedial and Special Education, 27 (5), 276–292. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325060270050301

Rocque, M., & Snellings, Q. (2018). The new disciplinology: Research, theory, and remaining puzzles on the school-to-prison pipeline. Journal of Criminal Justice, 59 , 3–11.

Rosenthal, B. S. (1998). Non-school correlates of dropout: An integrative review of the literature. Children and Youth Services Review, 20 (5), 413–433. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0190-7409(98)00015-2

Rumberger, R. W. (2011). Dropping out: Why students drop out of high school and what can be done about it . Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674063167

Book   Google Scholar  

Rumberger, R. W., & Larson, K. A. (1998). Student mobility and the increased risk of high school dropout. American Journal of Education, 107 (1), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1086/444201

Rumberger, R. W. (1987). High school dropouts: A review of issues and evidence. Review of Educational Research, 57 (2), 101–121. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543057002101

Samuel, R., & Burger, K. (2020). Negative life events, self-efficacy, and social support: Risk and protective factors for school dropout intentions and dropout. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112 (5), 973–986. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000406

Skinner, E. A., & Pitzer, J. R. (2012). Developmental dynamics of student engagement, coping, and everyday resilience. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 21–44). Springer Science + Business Media). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_2

Skinner, E. A., Kindermann, T. A., & Furrer, C. J. (2009). A motivational perspective on engagement and disaffection: Conceptualization and assessment of children’s behavioral and emotional participation in academic activities in the classroom. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 69 (3), 493–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164408323233

Skinner, E., Furrer, C., Marchand, G., & Kindermann, T. (2008). Engagement and disaffection in the classroom: Part of a larger motivational dynamic? Journal of Educational Psychology, 100 (4), 765–781. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012840

Skinner, E. A., & Belmont, M. J. (1993). Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85 (4), 571–581. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.85.4.571

Staffs, J., & Kreager, D. A. (2008). Too cool for school? Violence, peer status and high school dropout. Social Forces, 87 (1), 445–471. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0068

Statistics Canada (2017). Insights on Canadian society young men and women without a high school diploma. Retrived from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2017001/article/14824-fra.htm

Suárez-Orozco, C., Rhodes, J., & Milburn, M. (2009). Unraveling the immigrant paradox: Academic engagement and disengagement among recently arrived immigrant youth. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 6 , 7–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X09333647

Strand, S. (2014). School effects and ethnic, gender and socio-economic gaps in educational achievement at age 11. Oxford Review of Education, 40 (2), 223–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2014.891980

Taylor, G., Lekes, N., Gagnon, H., Kwan, L., & Koestner, R. (2012). Need satisfaction, work-school interference and school dropout: An application of self-determination theory. The British Journal of Educational Psychology, 82 (4), 622–646. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.2011.02050.x

Teese, R., Lamb, S., & Duru-Bellat, M. (2007). International studies in education inequality, theory and policy . Springer.

Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45 (1), 89–125. https://doi.org/10.2307/1170024

Tuominen-Soini, H., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2014). Schoolwork engagement and burnout among Finnish high school students and young adults: Profiles, progressions, and educational outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 50 (3), 649–662. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033898

Tyler, J., & Lofstrom, M. (2009). Finishing high school: Alternative pathways and dropout recovery. The Future of Children, 19 (1), 77–103. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.0.0019

UNESCO. (2020). World inequality database on education . UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

U.S. Department of Commerce. (2017). Census bureau, current population survey (CPS), selected years, October 1977 through 2017 . Table 2.5. Retrived from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/dropout/ind_02.asp .

U.S. Department of Education. (2016). Digest of Education Statistics 2016, table 219.70. Retrived from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017094.pdf

Van Uden, J. M., Ritzen, H., & Pieters, J. M. (2016). Enhancing student engagement in pre-vocational and vocational education: a learning history. Teachers and Teaching, 22 (8), 983–999. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2016.1200545

Véronneau, M.-H., Vitaro, F., Pedersen, S., & Tremblay, R. E. (2008). Do peers contribute to the likelihood of secondary school graduation among disadvantaged boys? Journal of Educational Psychology, 100 (2), 429–442. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.100.2.429

Wang, M. T., Fredricks, J., Ye, F., Hofkens, T., & Linn, J. S. (2019). Conceptualization and assessment of adolescents’ engagement and disengagement in school. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 35 (4), 592–606. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000431

Wang, M.-T., Kiuru, N., Degol, J. L., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2018). Friends, academic achievement, and school engagement during adolescence: A social network approach to peer influence and selection effects. Learning and Instruction, 58 , 148–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.06.003

Wang, M. T., Fredricks, J. A., Ye, F., Hofkens, T. L., & Linn, J. S. (2016). The math and science engagement scales: Scale development, validation, and psychometric properties. Learning and Instruction, 43 , 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.01.008

Wang, M. T., & Degol, J. (2014). Motivational pathways to STEM career choices: Using expectancy-value perspective to understand individual and gender differences in STEM fields. Developmental Review, 33 , 304e340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2013.08.001

Wang, M.-T., & Fredricks, J. A. (2014). The reciprocal links between school engagement, youth problem behaviors, and school dropout during adolescence. Child Development, 85 (2), 722–737. https://doi.org/10.1111/2Fcdev.12138

Wang, M. T., & Peck, S. C. (2013). Adolescent educational success and mental health vary across school engagement profiles. Developmental Psychology, 49 (7), 1266–1276. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030028

Wang, M.-T., Willett, J. B., & Eccles, J. S. (2011). The assessment of school engagement: Examining dimensionality and measurement invariance by gender and race/ethnicity. Journal of School Psychology, 49 (4), 465–480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2011.04.001

Wang, M.-T., & Eccles, J. S. (2012). Adolescent behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement trajectories in school and their differential relations to educational success. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22 (1), 31–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00753.x

Wehlage, G. G., Rutter, R. A., Smith, G. A., Lesko, N., & Fernandez, R. R. (1989). Reducing the risk: Schools as communities of support . The Falmer Press.

Wentzel, K. R., Jablansky, S., & Scalise, N. R. (2020). Peer social acceptance and academic achievement: A meta-analytic study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113 (1), 157–180. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000468

Zhou, Q., Main, A., & Wang, Y. (2010). The relations of temperamental effortful control and anger/frustration to Chinese children’s academic achievement and social adjustment: A longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102 (1), 180–196. https://doi.org/10.1037/a001590

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

Isabelle Archambault, Michel Janosz, Elizabeth Olivier & Véronique Dupéré

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Isabelle Archambault .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

Amy L. Reschly

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Sandra L. Christenson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Archambault, I., Janosz, M., Olivier, E., Dupéré, V. (2022). Student Engagement and School Dropout: Theories, Evidence, and Future Directions. In: Reschly, A.L., Christenson, S.L. (eds) Handbook of Research on Student Engagement. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07853-8_16

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07853-8_16

Published : 20 October 2022

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-031-07852-1

Online ISBN : 978-3-031-07853-8

eBook Packages : Behavioral Science and Psychology Behavioral Science and Psychology (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

Understanding Dropouts: Statistics, Strategies, and High-Stakes Testing (2001)

Chapter: 1. background and context, 1 background and context.

F ailure to complete high school has been recognized as a social problem in the United States for decades and, as discussed below, the individual and social costs of dropping out are considerable. Social scientists, policy makers, journalists, and the public have pondered questions about why students drop out, how many drop out, what happens to dropouts, and how young people might be kept from dropping out. Currently, many voices are arguing about the effects of standards-based reforms and graduation tests on students' decisions to drop out and about which dropout counts are correct. A significant body of research has examined questions about dropouts, and this section of the report provides an overview of current knowledge about these young people. We begin with a look at the history of school completion.

CHANGING EXPECTATIONS FOR STUDENTS

Expectations for the schooling of adolescents in the United States have changed markedly in the past 100 years. Indeed, the very notion of adolescence as a phase of life distinct from both childhood and adulthood came into common parlance only in the first decades of the twentieth century, at roughly the same time that educators began to develop increasingly ambitious goals for the schooling of students beyond the eighth grade ( Education Week, 2000:36). At the turn of the last century, as Sherman Dorn noted in the paper he prepared for the workshop, “fewer than one of every

ten adolescents graduated from high school. Today, roughly three of every four teens can expect to earn a diploma through a regular high school program” (Dorn, 2000:4).

High school in the early part of the century was a growing phenomenon, but it was still made available primarily to middle- and upper-class students and was generally focused on rigorous college preparatory work. At the turn of the century, the lack of a high school diploma did not necessarily deter young people from going on to successful careers in business or politics. As the number of students enrolled in high school grew, from approximately 500,000 in 1900 to 2.4 million in 1920 and then to 6.5 million in 1940, notions of the purpose of postelementary schooling were evolving.

Dorn provided the committee with an overview of trends in graduation rates over the twentieth century, noting three features of the overall trend that stand out: 1 (1) a steady increase in graduation rates throughout the first half of the twentieth century; (2) a decrease around the years during and immediately after the Second World War; (3) a plateau beginning with the cohort of students born during the 1950s. He discussed possible explanations for these changes in school completion rates.

One possible explanation is the influence of changes in the labor market. A number of developments had the effect of excluding increasing numbers of young people from full-time employment in the early decades of the twentieth century, including the mechanization of agriculture, increases in immigration, and the passage of new child labor laws. As teenagers had more difficulty finding work, increasing numbers of them stayed enrolled in school. The dip during the later 1940s is correspondingly explained by the fact that it was not only adult women who moved into the workforce to replace male workers who left employment for military service, but also teenagers of both sexes. The postwar dip and plateau also correlates with the growing availability of part-time employment and other labor opportunities for teenagers, which challenged the perception that completing school was important to financial success.

Dorn describes a pattern in which participation in successive levels of schooling gradually increases until the pressure spills over into the next level. Increasing proportions of the potential student population tend to

1 Dorn based his discussion of the trendlines on the Current Population Survey, census data, and state and district administrative data sources.

participate in schooling to a given level until saturation is reached—that is, until virtually all are enrolled. Expectations regarding participation in the next level then expand, and the pattern is repeated. In the United States, the norm has moved from primary schooling, to the eighth-grade level, and then to high school completion. State laws regarding school enrollment have moved along with these expectations. Currently, most states require that students stay enrolled through the age of 16. The steady increase in high school enrollment during the first half of the century thus reflects the gradual development of the now widely shared conviction that all teenagers should complete high school. Current political discourse reflects a developing expectation that the majority of students will not just complete high school but also participate in some form of higher education.

It was not until the 1960s that dropping out was widely considered a social problem because it was not until midcentury that sufficient percentages of young people were graduating from high school so that those who did not could be viewed as deviating from the norm. Dorn illustrated the views of dropping out that were becoming current in that period with this 1965 quotation from sociologist Lucius Cervantes (quoted in Dorn, 2000:19):

It is from this hard core of dropouts that a high proportion of the gangsters, hoodlums, drug-addicted, government-dependent prone, irresponsible and illegitimate parents of tomorrow will be predictably recruited.

A number of scholars have argued that as enrollments have increased, high schools' missions have evolved. Many jurisdictions responded to the arrival of waves of immigrants by making it more difficult for families to avoid enrolling their children in school, arguing that public schools were the best vehicle for assimilating these new citizens and would-be citizens ( Education Week, 2000:4). As the children of the lower and middle classes entered high school, however, expectations and graduation standards were lowered. Thus, the postwar plateau might also be explained by the notion that, as Dorn put it, “by the 1960s high schools really had succeeded at becoming the prime custodians for adolescents” (Dorn, 2000:10). If high schools were actually providing little benefit for the students on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder, according to this reasoning, there was little motivation for increasing the graduation rate from 70 or 80 percent to 100 percent.

Another notable trend was the general decrease in gaps between completion rates for whites and nonwhites and other population subgroups.

Observers have noted that this narrowing of the gap relates to the saturation effect described earlier—completion rates for Hispanics and African Americans have moved up while those for whites have remained level (Cameron and Heckman, 1993a:5). At the same time, however, alternative notions of school completion have proliferated (discussed in greater detail below). Dorn called attention to the fact that in Florida six different types of diplomas are available and that other states have adopted similar means of marking differing levels of achievement. The categories of school completion are not fixed and apparently not of equivalent value; it may be that many minority students who have converted statistically from dropouts to school completers have in fact moved to an in-between status that needs to be better understood. This circumstance significantly complicates the task of statisticians and others who attempt to keep track of students' progress through school. It also complicates policy discussions about social goals for young people, expectations of the education system, and possible solutions to the problem of dropouts.

LOOKING AT DROPOUTS

A recent report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shows that five percent of all young adults who were enrolled in grades 10-12 (519,000 of 10,464,000) dropped out of school between October 1998 and October 1999 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000:iii). That report provides a wealth of other important information, noting, for example, that Hispanic and African American students are significantly more likely than white students to drop out and that students from poor families are far more likely to drop out than are students from nonpoor families. The report provides information on trends in dropout rates over time and comparisons among students by age, racial and ethnic characteristics, and the like.

The statistical information in this and other reports is valuable, but it provides only a snapshot of the situation across the country. General statistical reports are not designed to reveal the effects of particular policies, programs, and educational approaches on particular groups of students, but variations in the numbers suggest possible sources of more detailed understanding. School completion rates reported by states and districts show wide variation, for example, from 74.5 percent for Nevada to 92.9 percent for Maine. The rates at which students complete school vary over time and are different for different population subgroups, regions, and kinds

of schools, and for students who differ in other ways. (The school completion rate is only one of several ways of measuring dropout behavior; see discussion below). The reported data (from NCES) suggest that particular factors are associated with dropping out, such as single-parent homes, teenage pregnancy, history of academic difficulty, and retention in grade. Other researchers have identified specific school factors that are associated with dropping out, discussed below.

The rates can be calculated in different ways, which means that dropout or school completion rates for the same jurisdiction can look very different, depending on which method is used. Indeed, there is no single dropout measure that can be relied on for analysis; there are many rates based on different definitions and measures, collected by different agents for different purposes. The NCES report, for example, opens by presenting two calculations of dropouts, 5 percent and 11 percent, respectively, for slightly different groups, as well as a percentage of school completers, 85.9 percent (2000:iii).

The confusion about counting dropouts is not surprising when one considers the challenges of counting students in different categories. Numerous decisions can drastically affect the count: At what point in the school year should student enrollment be counted? Should it be done at every grade? How long should a student's absence from school be to count as dropping out? What age ranges should be considered? What about private and charter schools and students who are home-schooled? In most school districts and states, significant numbers of students move into and out of their jurisdictions each year, so school careers are difficult to track. Even within a jurisdiction, many students follow irregular pathways that are also difficult to track—they may drop out of school temporarily, perhaps more than once, before either completing or leaving for good. Different jurisdictions face different statistical challenges, depending on the composition of their student populations. Districts with high immigrant populations may have large numbers of young people who arrive with little documentation of their previous schooling, so that determining which among them have completed school is difficult. What students do after dropping out is also highly variable. Alternative educational and vocational programs, which may or may not be accredited means of completing secondary schooling requirements, have proliferated. A significant number of students take the General Educational Development (GED) Test every year; many (but not all) of them receive school completion credentials from their states.

Tracking dropout behavior is clearly messy. In response, statisticians have devised a variety of ways of measuring the behavior: status dropout rates, event dropout rates, school completion rates, and more. Unfortunately, the many measures often lead to confusion or misunderstanding among people trying to use or understand the data. A later section of this report addresses in greater detail some of the reasons why measuring this aspect of student behavior is complicated and describe what is meant by some of the different measures that are available. First, however, it is worth summarizing the general picture of high school dropouts that has emerged from accumulated research. These general observations describe trends that are evident regardless of the method by which dropouts are counted.

WHO DROPS OUT

The overall rate at which students drop out of school has declined gradually in recent decades, but is currently stable. A number of student characteristics have been consistently correlated with dropping out over the past few decades. 2 First and most important, dropping out is significantly more prevalent among Hispanic and African American students, among students in poverty, among students in urban schools, among English-language learners, and among students with disabilities than among those who do not have these characteristics. The characteristics of the students most likely to drop out illustrate one of the keys to understanding the phenomenon: that dropping out is a process that may begin in the early years of elementary school, not an isolated event that occurs during the last few years of high school. The process has been described as one of gradual disengagement from school. The particular stages and influences vary widely, but the discernible pattern is an interaction among characteristics of the family and home environment and characteristics of a student's experience in school.

Family and Home Characteristics

Income In general, students at low income levels are more likely to drop out of school than are those at higher levels. NCES reports that in

2 Data in this section are taken from National Center for Education Statistics (1996, 2000), which are based on the Current Population Survey. The numbers are event dropout rates.

1999 the dropout rate for students whose families were in the lowest 20 percent of income distribution was 11 percent; for students whose families fall in the middle 60 percent it was 5 percent; and for students from families in the top 20 percent it was 2 percent.

Race/Ethnicity Both Hispanic and African American students are more likely to drop out than are white students, with the rate for Hispanic students being consistently the highest. In 1999, 28.6 percent of Hispanic students dropped out of school, compared with 12.6 percent of black students and 7.3 percent of white students. It is important to note that among Hispanic youths, the dropout rate is significantly higher for those who were not born in the United States (44.2%) than for those who were (16.1%). Two important issues relate to this last point: first, a significant number of foreign-born Hispanic young people have never been enrolled in a U.S. school. Second, the majority of those who were never enrolled have been reported as speaking English “not well” or “not at all.” The status of Hispanic young people offers an illustration of the complexities of counting dropouts. Young people who have never been enrolled in a U.S. school but have no diploma typically show up in measures of status dropout rates (people of a certain age who have no diploma) but not in measures of event dropout rates (students enrolled in one grade but not the next who have not received a diploma or been otherwise accounted for). This issue is addressed in greater detail below.

Family Structure Research has shown an increased risk of academic difficulty or dropping out for students who live in single-parent families, those from large families, and those, especially girls, who have become parents themselves. Other factors have been noted as well, such as having parents who have completed fewer years of schooling or who report providing little support for their children's education, such as providing a specific place to study and reading materials.

School-Related Characteristics

History of Poor Academic Performance Not surprisingly, poor grades and test scores are associated with an increased likeliness to drop out, as is enrollment in remedial courses.

Educational Engagement Researchers have used several measures of stu-

dents' educational engagement, including hours of television watched, hours spent on homework, hours spent at paid employment, and frequency of attending class without books and other necessary materials. Each of these factors has been associated with increased likeliness to encounter academic difficulties and to drop out. That is, the more time a student spends at a job or watching television, the more likely he or she is to drop out. Students who spend relatively little time on homework and who are more likely to attend school unprepared are similarly at increased risk of dropping out.

Academic Delay Students who are older than the normal range for the grade in which they are enrolled are significantly more likely to drop out of school than are those who are not. Similarly, students who have received fewer than the required number of academic credits for their grade are more likely to drop out than other students are.

Interactions

Risk factors tend to cluster together and to have cumulative effects. The children of families in poverty, for example, have a greater risk of academic difficulty than do other children, and they are also at greater risk for poor health, early and unwanted pregnancies, and criminal behavior, each of which is associated with an increased risk of dropping out (National Center for Education Statistics, 1996:11). Urban schools and districts consistently report the highest dropout rates; the annual rate for all urban districts currently averages 10 percent, and in many urban districts it is much higher (Balfanz and Legters, 2001:22). Student populations in these districts are affected by the risk factors associated with dropping out, particularly poverty, in greater numbers than are students in other districts.

WHY STUDENTS DROP OUT

Students who have dropped out of school have given three common reasons ( ERIC Digest, 1987:1):

• A dislike of school and a view that school is boring and not relevant to their needs;
• Low academic achievement, poor grades, or academic failure; and
• A need for money and a desire to work full-time.

These responses in no way contradict the statistical portrait of students who drop out in the United States, but they offer a somewhat different perspective from which to consider the many factors that influence students' decisions about school and work. Shifts in the labor market can have profound effects on students' behavior that are evident in national statistics, particularly those that track changes over many years. Scholars have also identified socioeconomic factors that correlate with the likelihood of a student's dropping out. However, each student whose life is captured in dropout statistics is an individual reacting to a unique set of circumstances. The circumstances that cause a particular student to separate from school before completing the requirements for a diploma can rarely be summed up easily, and rarely involve only one factor. Nevertheless, educators and policy makers alike see that dropping out of school diminishes young people's life chances in significant ways, and look for ways to understand both why they do it and how they might be prevented from doing it.

Dropping Out as a Process

Rumberger summarizes a key message from the research on the factors associated with dropping out:

Although dropping out is generally considered a status or educational outcome that can readily be measured at a particular point in time, it is more appropriately viewed as a process of disengagement that occurs over time. And warning signs for students at risk of dropping out often appear in elementary school, providing ample time to intervene (Rumberger, 2000:25).

Beginning with some points that can be difficult to discern in the complex statistics about dropping out, Rumberger noted that the percentage of young people who complete high school through an alternative to the traditional course requirements and diploma (through the GED or a vocational or other alternative) has grown: 4 percent used an alternative means in 1988 while 10 percent did so in 1998—though the calculated school completion rate among 18- to 24-year-olds remained constant at about 85 percent (Rumberger, 2000:7). Several longitudinal studies show that a much larger percentage of students than are captured in event or status dropout calculations drop out of school temporarily for one or more periods during high school. Doing so is associated with later dropping out for good, with a decreased likelihood of enrolling in postsecondary schooling, and with an increased likelihood of unemployment.

Focusing on the process that leads to the ultimate decision to drop out, Rumberger stresses the importance of interaction among a variety of contributing factors: “if many factors contribute to this phenomenon over a long period of time, it is virtually impossible to demonstrate a causal connection between any single factor and the decision to quit school” (Rumberger, 2001:4). Instead, researchers have looked for ways to organize the factors that seem to be predictive of dropping out in ways that can be useful in efforts to intervene and prevent that outcome. As noted above, two basic categories are characteristics of students, their families and their home circumstances, and characteristics of their schooling.

Rumberger pays particular attention to the concept of engagement with school. Absenteeism and discipline problems are strong predictors of dropping out, even for students not experiencing academic difficulties. More subtle indicators of disengagement from school, such as moving from school to school, negative attitude toward school, and minor discipline problems can show up as early as elementary and middle school as predictors of a subsequent decision to drop out. The role of retention in grade is very important in this context:

. . . students who were retained in grades 1 to 8 were four times more likely to drop out between grades 8 and 10 than students who were not retained, even after controlling for socioeconomic status, 8 th grade school performance, and a host of background and school factors (Rumberger, 2000:15).

Rumberger's work confirms other research on family characteristics that are associated with dropping out, particularly the finding that belonging to families lower in socioeconomic status and those headed by a single parent are both risk factors for students. He also looked at research on the role that less concrete factors may play. Stronger relationships between parents and children seem to reduce the risk of dropping out, as does being the child of parents who “monitor and regulate [the child's] activities, provide emotional support, encourage decision-making . . . and are generally more involved in [the child's] schooling” (Rumberger, 2000:17).

At the workshop, David Grissmer touched on some other factors that don't make their way into national statistics but that could play a significant role for many young people. He pointed to studies of hyperactivity and attention-deficit disorder that indicate that while the percentage of all young people affected is small, roughly 5 percent, the percentage of high school dropouts affected is much larger—perhaps as much as 40 percent. He noted that dyslexia, depression, and other cognitive or mental health

problems can have significant effects on students' capacity to learn and flourish in the school environment, but that these situations are often overlooked in statistical analyses.

Schools also play a role in outcomes for students. Rumberger presented data showing that when results are controlled for students' background characteristics, dropout rates for schools still vary widely. Rumberger's (2000) review of the literature on school effects identifies several key findings:

• The social composition of the student body seems to influence student achievement—and affect the dropout rate. That is, students who attend schools with high concentrations of students with characteristics that increase their likelihood of dropping out, but who don't have those characteristics themselves, are nevertheless more likely to drop out. This finding relates to the fact that dropout rates are consistently significantly higher for urban schools and districts than for others (Balfanz and Legters, 2001:1).
• Some studies suggest that school resources can influence the dropout rate through the student-teacher ratio and possibly through teacher quality.
• The climate, policies, and practices of a school may have effects on dropping out. Indicators of the school climate, such as attendance rates and numbers of students enrolled in advanced courses, may be predictive of dropping out. There is some evidence that other factors, such as school size, structure, and governance, may also have effects.

Interventions

A variety of different kinds of evidence point to the importance of early attention to the problems that are associated with subsequent dropping out. The correspondence between the many risk factors that have been enumerated is not, however, either linear or foolproof. Dynarski (2000) notes that despite strong associations between a variety of characteristics and dropping out, using individual risk factors as predictors is tricky: research that has evaluated the predictive value of risk factors has shown that the one “that was best able to predict whether middle school students were dropouts—high absenteeism—correctly identified dropouts only 16 percent of the time” (Dynarski, 2000:9).

A quantitative look at the effectiveness of dropout prevention pro-

grams can seem sobering, but it is important to bear in mind that even a perfectly successful program—one that kept every potential dropout in school—would affect only a small fraction of students. Any program that is an attempt to intervene in time to prevent dropping out must begin with a group of students who share defined risk factors, but of whom only a fraction would actually have dropped out. That is, even among groups of students with many risk factors, the dropout rate rarely goes over approximately 15 percent, and it is only these 15 of 100 students who receive an intervention whose fates could potentially be changed. When resources are limited, correctly identifying the students who will benefit most from intervention (those who are most likely to drop out) is clearly important. However, since many different kinds of factors affect dropout behavior, using them as predictors is not easy. This point is also relevant to Rumberger's point that if numerous factors contribute to a multiyear process of dropping out, isolating a cause or an effective predictor would logically be very difficult.

Though the quantitative evidence of effectiveness is not overwhelming, Dynarski (2000) used the results of a Department of Education study of the effectiveness of dropout prevention programs to provide a description of some of the strategies that seem to work best. Providing individual-level counseling to students emerged as a key tool for changing students' thinking about their education. Another tool was creating smaller school settings, even within a large school, if necessary. Students are more likely to become alienated and disengaged from school in larger settings, and are likely to receive less individualized attention from teachers and staff. 3 Not surprisingly, providing counseling and creating smaller school settings requires more staff, and, in turn, the expenditure of more resources per pupil (Dynarski, 2000).

Others who have explored the effectiveness of dropout prevention programs have come to conclusions that amplify and support Dynarski's findings. McPartland and Jordan (2001) advocate, among other things, that high schools be restructured to provide smaller school settings and to both increase student engagement with school and strengthen students' relationships with school staff. McPartland has also suggested specific supports for students who enter high school unprepared for challenging academic work,

3 The work of Lee and Burkam (2001), Fine (1987), and others on the structure of high schools is relevant to this point.

including extra time to complete courses and remediation outside of school hours.

In summary, the committee finds several important messages in the research on dropout behavior:

• A number of school-related factors, such as high concentrations of low-achieving students, and less-qualified teachers, for example, are associated with higher dropout rates. Other factors, such as small school settings and individualized attention, are associated with lower dropout rates.
• Many aspects of home life and socioeconomic status are associated with dropout behavior.
• Typically, contributing factors interact in a gradual process of disengagement from school over many years.

Conclusion: The committee concludes that identifying students with risk factors early in their careers (preschool through elementary school) and providing them with ongoing support, remediation, and counseling are likely to be the most promising means of encouraging them to stay in school. Using individual risk factors to identify likely dropouts with whom to intervene, particularly among students at the ninth-grade level and beyond, is difficult. Evidence about interventions done at this stage suggests that their effectiveness is limited.

The role played by testing in the nation's public school system has been increasing steadily—and growing more complicated—for more than 20 years. The Committee on Educational Excellence and Testing Equity (CEETE) was formed to monitor the effects of education reform, particularly testing, on students at risk for academic failure because of poverty, lack of proficiency in English, disability, or membership in population subgroups that have been educationally disadvantaged. The committee recognizes the important potential benefits of standards-based reforms and of test results in revealing the impact of reform efforts on these students. The committee also recognizes the valuable role graduation tests can potentially play in making requirements concrete, in increasing the value of a diploma, and in motivating students and educators alike to work to higher standards. At the same time, educational testing is a complicated endeavor, that reality can fall far short of the model, and that testing cannot by itself provide the desired benefits. If testing is improperly used, it can have negative effects, such as encouraging school leaving, that can hit disadvantaged students hardest. The committee was concerned that the recent proliferation of high school exit examinations could have the unintended effect of increasing dropout rates among students whose rates are already far higher than the average, and has taken a close look at what is known about influences on dropout behavior and at the available data on dropouts and school completion.

READ FREE ONLINE

Welcome to OpenBook!

You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

Show this book's table of contents , where you can jump to any chapter by name.

...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

Switch between the Original Pages , where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter .

Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

View our suggested citation for this chapter.

Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

Get Email Updates

Do you enjoy reading reports from the Academies online for free ? Sign up for email notifications and we'll let you know about new publications in your areas of interest when they're released.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Int J Environ Res Public Health

Attachment and School Completion: Understanding Young People Who Have Dropped Out of High School and Important Factors in Their Re-Enrollment

Gro hilde ramsdal.

1 Department of Social Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9404 Harstad, Norway; [email protected]

2 Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9038 Tromsø, Norway

Associated Data

Not applicable.

When students drop out of high school, this is often negative for their development as well as for society, as those who drop out have an increased risk of unemployment, health problems, and social problems. The aim of the present study was to synthesize knowledge regarding processes related to school dropout in general and school re-enrollment in particular. We performed a narrative review of the literature, focusing on Norwegian and Nordic studies, but we also included studies from other countries when relevant. We discussed the findings in relation to attachment theory and our own research on the topic. As a result, we identified five main challenges to upholding education-related goals in long-term dropout processes: lack of relatedness, overchallenged self-regulation capacity, compensating for a history of failure, wounded learner identities, and coping with prolonged stress. In conclusion, the identified challenges converged on the importance of belonging and social support. The prerequisite for addressing the challenges seemed to be the establishment of a trustful relationship between the students who have dropped out and at least one teacher, and preferably also with other supportive adults. These relationships may provide sufficient social support and aid the students’ motivation to complete school.

1. Introduction

Formal qualifications have become a necessity for permanent employment and participation in present-day society [ 1 ]. Thus, much effort has gone into easing adolescents’ transition from secondary education into employment or higher education [ 2 ]. Most adolescents in industrialized countries complete their secondary education. In Norway, 79.6% of high school students complete high school within a 5/6 year period [ 3 ]; however, if the remaining students do not re-enroll and complete high school, this represents a huge loss for those not completing as well as for society. In Norway, the newest calculations show a financial cost of USD 1.7 million for each dropout student [ 4 ]. The students that leave school early must endure an increased risk of unemployment, incarceration, drug addiction, and becoming social security recipients [ 4 , 5 , 6 ].

The rather stable dropout rates during the last 30 years seem to challenge a basic idea of the Norwegian welfare state, namely the belief in equalizing social inequalities through education [ 7 ]. The situation in Norway reflects that of other comparable OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, where a significant minority of secondary school students are left behind [ 8 ]. The report clearly shows that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are overrepresented in the dropout rates [ 8 ]. A systematic review could not determine which interventions were the most effective in decreasing dropout rates [ 9 ]. Interestingly, one pervasive characteristic of effective measures did stand out; at a minimum, effective interventions must establish trust and build caring relationships with the students, regardless of the context [ 9 ].

This unsuccessful search for a single effective intervention to increase school completion is most likely explained by the many factors found to influence graduation and dropout rates, including individual characteristics of students and factors associated with their families, schools, and communities [ 5 ]. Reviewing 203 studies, Lim and Rumberger [ 5 ] conclude that no single factor can explain the decision to stay in or leave school. Several salient factors within the various domains were associated with the risk of dropping out of school. Most studies were unable to establish a strong causal connection, but they did suggest a connection. The review concludes that academic achievement is one of the most widely studied predictors of school dropout, based on the indicators of test scores and grades. Grades turn out to be the most robust and consistent of the two indicators, as they subsume both ability and effort [ 5 ].

A meta-analytic review including 75 studies and 635 risk factors for school dropout found that grade retention, low IQ, learning difficulties, and low academic achievement have large effects [ 10 ]; however, the risk domains with the largest effects for school absenteeism included negative attitudes towards school, substance abuse, internalizing and externalizing problems, and low parent involvement, thus confirming that many factors are involved in school dropout processes. Moreover, various symptom profiles of psychological ill-being are also found to be associated with school dropout intentions [ 11 ].

Nevertheless, most dropout students tend to score within the normal range on IQ, despite their lower levels of academic achievement [ 12 , 13 ], indicating that high school graduation may not exclusively depend on inherent cognitive ability. Staying in school may also depend on how children become motivated to appreciate and master educational challenges through experiences in the parent–child relationship. In a remarkably thorough follow-up study of risk and adaption from birth to adulthood, Sroufe and colleagues [ 14 ] found that at the age of three and a half years, school dropout could be predicted with 77% accuracy from the early “quality-of-care variable”. This variable included parental responsivity to the child, parent–child attachment quality, and quality of the early home environment. In their largely lower socioeconomic status (SES) sample, neither IQ nor achievement data improved on this prediction. Sroufe and colleagues [ 14 ] conclude that it is not primarily their inherent lack of ability that is causing dropouts to leave school early. Dropouts gradually become unable to master the educational demands of school, much due to the influence of psychosocial factors, or as Finn expressed it, some children may “arrive at school predisposed to nonparticipation and non-identification” [ 15 ] (p. 130).

The importance of relationships also emerges in interview studies on school dropout processes [ 16 , 17 ]. When young people who had dropped out of school and stayed out of education and employment and training for 2–5 years were asked about their experiences with leaving school early, they described lives characterized by abandonment and lack of social support. They had been separated from one or both parents over longer periods of time, many had struggled to find friends in school, they could not remember one single teacher who had been supportive or helped them in mastering school tasks, and several had struggled with mental health issues after being bullied. Other dropouts described themselves as invisible at home and at school [ 18 ]. Furthermore, parenting practices are found to be related to the risk of school dropout, and even after controlling for previous academic achievement, adolescents from authoritative families were less likely to drop out than adolescents from authoritarian and neglectful families [ 19 ]. Moreover, many dropouts have been found to live in families where communication and supervision were minimal [ 20 ].

In addition, other types of relationships also seem to matter in school dropout processes. For example, an important factor in helping adolescents with mental health problems graduate from high school seems to be the teacher–child relationship. Positive teacher–child relationships were found to have the potential to reduce the association between early mental health problems and school dropout [ 21 ]. Although teacher support seems to have a particularly positive effect on school engagement and completion, relationships in general seem to play an important role in the motivational processes leading to school dropout. Both teacher support and loneliness in the school context were found to be strong predictors of students’ intention to leave school early [ 22 ].

That said, school dropout may be only a postponement of high school completion. Barrat and Berliner [ 23 ] found that about 19% of the 2011 graduating cohort had dropped out, and of these students, 22% had re-enrolled within a year; however, only 30% of the re-enrollees had graduated six years later. Other studies also indicate that early school leavers are less likely to re-enroll and complete formal learning [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Thus, many of the results described above indicate the relevance of early intervention in school dropout processes; however, early interventions do not always solve the problem, and some children develop problems later in their development, or their problems are discovered much later in their developmental process. These young people are also in need of some kind of intervention, some as late as after dropping out of high school. Consequently, to understand the core characteristics of a successful dropout prevention strategy, it seems essential to focus more on understanding the re-enrollment process [ 16 , 27 , 28 ].

In a prior study, we interviewed young people who had dropped out of school and work and had joined an intervention program aimed at re-enrolling them in school [ 29 ]. The participants were interviewed at the beginning of the program and again when they were about to complete it. The program offered assistance to school dropouts aged 18 to 25 in their struggle to re-enroll in and eventually graduate from high school. This was a training and support program providing long-term (more than one year) dropout students with structure and support. The participants met experienced social workers every weekday at nine for breakfast and then participated in group activities such as basketball, courses in personal economy, CV writing, and they visited potential employers, thus getting to know the local job market. The participants were provided with daily support from personnel experienced in working with young people and whose focus was on helping the participants discover their skills and find their motivation and thus gradually help them re-enroll in work or education [ 29 ].

We found that the participants who had dropped out of school and stayed out of education and regular work for long periods reported three main challenges at the beginning of their re-enrollment processes: confusion about what to do with their lives, lack of any kind of inner motivation, and lack of endurance when facing adversity. After nine months, the participants described how the intervention had strongly stimulated their inner motivation and substantially reduced their confusion about what to do with their lives. Several pointed to a re-socialization process that drew them away from watching TV and playing video games all day. The one thing they were still struggling with was resilience in the face of adversity. When problems occurred or they struggled to learn something, their first response was to withdraw into absenteeism [ 29 ]. In the aftermath of our study, we were inspired to search for relevant literature that could help us to understand these and other results on re-enrollment more thoroughly and thus contribute to the discussion on important issues in school re-enrollment processes.

2. Materials and Methods

There is a need for more synthesized knowledge regarding processes related to school completion. In the present study, we perform a narrative review of literature pertaining to high school dropout and re-enrollment. The purpose of a narrative review is to synthesize the literature in a particular field of study [ 30 , 31 ]. This is achieved by interpreting prior results narratively, pinpointing current topics and recent developments [ 32 ]. A narrative review approach is especially useful when attempting to gain an overview of a research field characterized by a high number of studies with different approaches and topics, as is the case of the dropout/re-enrollment literature. We are particularly interested in literature that sheds light on how the theory of attachment relates to high school dropout and re-enrollment.

We searched databases, including Google Scholar and PsycInfo, for literature related to our field of interest. We used different search terms, including various combinations of ‘reenrolment’, ‘reengagement’, ‘re-entry’, ‘school’, ‘youth’, ‘adolescent’, ‘child’, etc. Initial searches gave a high number of publications, and we gradually narrowed and refined our search to studies focusing on factors relating to the re-enrollment process and particularly to studies inspired by attachment theory. While we considered relevant studies from all countries, we strived especially to include relevant literature from Norway and the other Nordic countries.

The purpose of the present review is to identify and sum up central findings in the literature and to discuss these findings considering our own research relating to school dropout and school completion.

3.1. Attachment Theory and School Completion

We have been interviewing long-term high school dropouts for the last ten years and all participants in these studies had one thing in common, namely some kind of abandonment experiences in the form of being separated from one or both parents during childhood thus lacking stable adults and social support in their lives [ 16 , 17 , 29 ]. Dropout research in general indicates that various predictors of school dropout may combine into individual disengagement processes [ 27 ]. Nevertheless, some children face different kinds of adversity and still manage to adapt and complete school [ 33 ]. The most robust predictor of such resilient adaption is supportive and responsive parenting [ 34 ]. Thus, Masten and Coatsworth [ 33 ] concluded their review of resilience research by commenting that the development of competence is protected by powerful systems, and that the quality of parent–child relationships is among the most prominent of these.

The influence of parent–child relationships on school disengagement processes has been studied from various angles: parenting practices, parenting styles, or parent–child attachment quality [ 35 ]. The most robust predictor of long-term resilience, however, is early family relationships [ 34 ]. Bowlby’s attachment theory is the most dominant approach to understanding such early family relations. Bowlby assumes that the child’s early experience of security constitutes a causal mechanism in development [ 36 , 37 ]. Only by increasing and upholding the proximity to the attachment figure, can the child keep safe and thereby facilitate the acquisition of skills necessary to survive [ 36 , 37 ]. Caretakers can either permit, ignore, or reject the child’s attachment behaviors. Based on these early interactive experiences, children develop different kinds of trust in their attachment figure. The various kinds of trust involve different expectations of support and comfort depending on the availability of the caretaker. These experiences constitute the basis for attachment quality.

Ainsworth and her colleagues explored these individual differences in attachment quality, categorizing them into secure, insecure ambivalent, or insecure-avoidant attachment [ 38 , 39 ]. These three different attachment qualities also define differences in children’s strategies for solving adaptational problems. Insecure avoidant children will not use the attachment figure as a safe haven, or a base for exploration, and do not seek to be comforted by the caregiver. Insecure ambivalent children will try to use the attachment figure as a safe haven by clinging to him or her, but without succeeding in establishing trust and security. Nevertheless, they all have a strategy for dealing with separation and insecurity. Some children demonstrated a lack of such a strategy through disorganized behaviors in the face of separation and were classified as disorganized or disoriented attachment [ 40 ]. Disorganized attachment was associated with high-risk environments and behavioral problems [ 41 , 42 ]. While Bowlby focused on the socio-emotional outcomes of variations in attachment quality, it is possible that developing insecure attachment strategies could involve a potential for disturbing the child’s basic learning processes [ 43 ].

Having no strategy or an insecure strategy for dealing with separation and insecurity, will expose these children to additional challenges in solving adaptational problems. Being less able to use their attachment figures as a safe haven, these children have less access to support in regulating their emotions. Furthermore, when children focus their attention on emotion regulation activities, they will be distracted from their exploration of the environment [ 44 ]. In the long run, such patterns may negatively influence school learning processes and academic performance, setting the children up for school disengagement and school dropout. As an example of this kind of potential mediation, Mancinelli and colleagues [ 45 ] found that maternal attachment directly and indirectly through self-control influenced adjustment difficulties. Moreover, individual differences in self-control reliably predict academic attainment and course grades [ 46 ].

Looking at parent–child attachment patterns as a causal factor in development, calls for potentially mediating mechanisms explaining the association between attachment on one side with school achievement and dropout on the other. Ijzendoorn and colleagues [ 43 ] introduced a framework of four main hypotheses for such mediating mechanisms. The attachment explorations hypothesis argues that being able to effectively reduce emotional stress, as in a secure attachment, increases the time and motivation available to explore the environment, learn to solve new tasks, and overcome problems. The attachment-teaching hypothesis states that mothers of securely attached children provide more supportive frames for child exploration and give better assistance in problem-solving situations. The social network hypothesis asserts that as early relational experiences are organized into mental representations that serve as a guide for understanding and coping with new relationships, these secure inner working models may help the child develop positive new relationships. The attachment-cooperation hypothesis declares that because secure children develop positive working models of the self and the self with others, they are consequently less anxious when away from their parents and comply better with the demands of the situation, for example, at school and in test situations. Reviewing the research related to these hypotheses, we constructed a model illustrating how many mediating influences seem to form a dynamic system of interaction [ 28 ]. The model suggests a possible mediation through all four mechanisms described by IJzendoorn and colleagues [ 43 ]. The research suggested that school dropout is a long-term developmental process influenced by early psychosocial factors that set the stage for disengagement processes.

3.2. Developing Education-Related Goals

One of the first things we noticed about the participants’ description of their dropout and re-enrollment processes, was their problems with developing appropriate personal goals in general and education-related goals specifically [ 29 ]; however, almost no studies have attempted to examine individuals’ personal goals over a longer period [ 47 ]. According to Salmela-Aro [ 47 ], future research should aim to create an intervention program helping in the construction of functional personal goals and building strategies for goal attainment during critical life transitions. Such construction of education-related goals was the main objective of the re-enrollment intervention program described above [ 29 ]. Although this study only followed dropout students during the nine months that the intervention lasted, the participants reported spontaneously on goal development during critical life transitions.

The participants reported a long-lasting experience of confusion about their education-related preferences [ 29 ]. They had negative experiences with school, including several unfulfilled education-related goals. Gradually, they had become ambivalent about formulating any kind of education-related goals, not wanting to disappoint themselves or others, again. Little, Salmela-Aro, and Phillips [ 48 ] declare that it is the demands, challenges, and opportunities that people encounter at a particular period in their life span that influence the kind of personal goals they construct. People seem to make choices based on these personal goals, and these goals come to influence how people manage their development. Thus, when young people become confused about their education-related goals, this might influence their ability to make choices and manage their developmental transition into young adulthood, according to a life-span model of motivation [ 49 , 50 ]. It is this construction of goals that will optimize or reduce a person’s potential to deal successfully with developmental transitions such as completing education and entering employment [ 47 ].

The confusion caused by faltering educational goals may also negatively influence their endurance when facing educational challenges or failures [ 29 ]. Subsequently, low academic expectations, confusion about education-related goals, and problems with endurance and adjustment of these goals in the face of adversity, as described by dropout students [ 16 , 17 , 29 ] seemed to result in what Salmela-Aro [ 47 ] (p. 66) calls a lack of “predictable, socially recognized roadmaps for human lives”. In line with this kind of thinking, intervention programs aiming at re-enrollment in high school must focus on the re-construction of these road maps.

According to the life-span model of motivation, people’s socialization can be described by the four Cs: Channeling, Choice, Co-agency, and Compensation [ 51 , 52 ]. When young people grow up in different environments, these various experiences will channel their developmental trajectories. Salmela-Aro [ 47 ] describes these environments as “opportunity spaces”, influencing people’s motivation, thinking, and behavior. Moreover, people are also active in their own development by making choices that influence the development of these opportunity spaces [ 53 ]. Personal goals are one factor involved in this mechanism [ 47 ]. Although young people make their own choices based on their own goals, other people are present in their opportunity space, giving them feedback and voicing role expectations and herby influencing goal construction.

The construction of personal goals is thus part of co-agency processes requiring compensations for failures and adjusting goals according to feedback. Eccles [ 54 ] suggested that these co-agency processes play a particularly important role in the construction of education-related goals and trajectories. For example, choosing to bond with friends characterized by antisocial behavior, may limit their opportunity spaces and eventually have a negative effect on academic attitudes, motivation, and school completion [ 55 , 56 , 57 ]. Accordingly, students with externalizing problems who are rejected by their teachers and their prosocial peers, seem particularly at risk of school dropout [ 55 , 58 , 59 ]. Parent–child attachment is a vital factor in the development of these co-agency processes and secure attachment has been found to promote active involvement in building effective relationships with peers and friends [ 60 ].

The young people in our studies of high school dropouts described opportunity spaces characterized by a lack of personal, parental, and teacher expectations, an excessive number of potential educational choices combined with a lack of social support [ 16 , 17 ]. These co-agency experiences evidently channeled their confusion about education-related goals and problems with goal adjustment, thus reducing their opportunity spaces and their choices until finally, they experienced no other option than dropping out of school. According to Wrosch and Freund [ 61 ], managing non-normative developmental demands such as school dropout requires more self-regulatory skills than managing normative events. Accordingly, Salmela-Aro [ 47 ] suggests that a lack of success with educational-related goals may act as a signal for activating goal disengagement and self-protection. Such increased demands on self-regulation followed by goal-disengagement and self-protection constitute relevant explanations to the confusion described by the participants in an intervention program aimed at high school re-enrollment [ 29 ].

The participants reported that upholding education-related goals became impossible in the face of high absenteeism and school dropout and that at the same time parents, peers, and society in general communicated that fulfilling these goals was essential. The participants described their self-regulatory skills as overchallenged by having to cope with repeated failures resulting in confusion about preferences and realistic opportunities. In addition, their self-regulation capacity was overchallenged due to their lack of experience with dividing long-term goals such as school completion into short-term goals such as completing a semester, reducing absenteeism to a minimum next month, and so on. Setting up their goal two or three years ahead meant this goal did not produce any immediate rewards. They experienced that it was impossible to activate their inner motivation over such long periods of time, without any kind of milestones to look forward to and no strategy for self-rewards; therefore, future intervention programs aimed at re-enrollment in high school should focus more on addressing the re-establishment and upholding of the participants’ trust in and strategies for realizing relevant, realistic education-related goals.

3.3. Intrinsic Motivation and Flow

The life-span model of motivation suggests that being unable to compensate for failures and adjust your goals, is likely to lead to depression [ 47 ]. Such compensation failures might help to explain the absence of intrinsic motivation found in our study [ 29 ]. Intrinsic motivation is supposed to bring a state of consciousness that is so enjoyable as to be autotelic (i.e., having its goal within itself) [ 62 ]. According to self-determination theory, intrinsic motivation leads to engagement [ 63 ], and the self-system model suggests that engagement is the main mediator between intrinsic motivation and academic performance [ 64 ]. A particular kind of intrinsic motivation is called ‘flow’ and is characterized by an intense and focused concentration on the present moment, merging of action and awareness, loss of reflective self-consciousness, a sense of control of one’s actions, and distortion of temporal experience [ 65 ]. The concept of flow has caught the interest of practitioners focused on the fostering of positive experiences, such as teachers in formal schooling, according to Nakamura and Csikszentmihalyi [ 65 ].

Fostering intense positive experiences is also imperative when trying to re-enroll disillusioned young people in high school and make them endure educational and social challenges. Strong positive experiences are essential to compensate for their history of failure and low self-esteem [ 66 , 67 ]. However, keeping up a feeling of flow is demanding due to the fragile balance between keeping the challenge interesting and rewarding without exceeding the person’s skills [ 65 ]. The importance of this fragile balance became evident, in the re-enrollment project, when staff tried to rekindle the inner motivation and education-related goals of the participants. The participants described the importance of the staff monitoring the fluctuations between boredom and anxiety tightly. Keeping participants in touch with their intrinsic motivation was described as essential for making them enroll in, engage in, endure, and complete the intervention program [ 29 ]. The all-time presence of staff and their constant follow up of the fragile balance between anxiety and depression on one side and boredom on the other were imperative to activate and develop enduring inner motivation and engagement.

3.4. Wounded Learners, the Re-Invention of Learning Identities

Hegna [ 68 ] interviewed male Norwegian high school students about their transition processes from being students in school, to becoming apprentices in real working life. The study emphasizes the importance of identity transformations in these processes. Although the young men did describe some positive experiences with specific teachers at school and moments of joy, these narratives were exceptions to the rule. Their experiences with school were characterized by disengagement, failure, dropout, and teachers treating them unfairly, ignoring them, administering undue punishments, or having no expectations whatsoever to their academic achievements and no confidence in them in general; however, none of these young men blamed their teachers, their school, or the system. The adolescents took full responsibility for their failure and explained them as personal failures [ 68 ].

Hegna [ 68 ] characterizes these stories as descriptions of wounded student identities, meaning that the students had stopped thinking about themselves as people who are interested in learning and able to learn. According to Hegna [ 68 ], constant negative feedback and feelings of failure substantially affected the way these young men looked at themselves and how they thought about their future. These observations are in line with the social-cultural perspective of learning, where learning and identity formation develop through a mutual interaction [ 69 , 70 ]. Hegna [ 68 ] suggests that, to accomplish successful apprenticeships for wounded learner identities, the workplace must offer the apprentices a learner identity that enables them to heal their wounded learner identities. More specifically, learner identity is about how students see themselves in general, but more particularly, about “how they interpret their participation and engagement with learning” [ 71 ] (p. 169). Thus, identity comes to be a precondition for learning.

What the students in Hegna’s study have in common with students in our studies are the stories they tell about their wounded student identities, the image of themselves as “not being a school person” as one of them expressed it [ 16 , 29 ]. The participants in the two latter studies and the apprentices from Hegna’s study, have another factor in common, namely their narratives about going through transitions. The apprentices describe transitions from school to working life, while the dropouts describe the transition from school to unemployment or the transition from being a dropout and subsequently becoming recruited into re-enrollment processes aimed at completing high school. Ecclestone [ 72 ] maintains that such transitions can become problematic when the learner identity from one context turns out to be incompatible with the learner identity necessary to succeed with the transition into another context.

Accordingly, transitioning back into school may depend on stressful identity work or becoming re-socialized into the school environment. In this line of thinking, the problem is not that they are lacking the capacity for learning, but that they have a wounded relationship with learning. Lange and colleagues [ 73 ] claim that wounded learners need to discharge and transform their former identities and make room for new and more appropriate identities. Consequently, it is a bit disconcerting that none of the dropouts we have interviewed across three studies ever described this kind of identity work initiated by teachers, counselors, or school leaders in high school [ 16 , 17 , 29 ]. Although several of them had been through two or three re-enrollment processes, there had been no attempts at transforming their wounded learner identities into more viable learner identities. Furthermore, they had received no support in changing their relationship with learning. Trying to learn from dropouts with repeated experiences of unsuccessful re-enrollment seems to indicate that the development of effective strategies to change re-enrollers’ relationships with learning is a topic in need of more systematic exploration.

3.5. The Management of Stress in the Re-Enrollment Process

Wounded learner identities are often explained as resulting from long-term negative stress reactions, although the concept of ‘stress’ is not often used within the field of dropout research [ 27 ]. Stress models have especially been implemented to explain the development of mental illnesses such as depression [ 74 ]. Some researchers indicate that this research underscores the relevance of stress for academic achievement and suggests the stress process as a new angle to look at dropout [ 75 ]. Dupéré and colleagues [ 75 ] specify that while high school dropout is not a mental illness, they see it as a withdrawal from stressful social situations associated with failure and/or humiliation. These kinds of external circumstances and experiences or stressors may challenge the adolescents’ adaptive capabilities and give rise to adjustment problems by restricting the ‘opportunity space’ of adolescents at risk of dropping out and those trying to re-enroll in school.

Some adolescents develop mental health problems due to such stress [ 17 ]. Lazarus and Folkman [ 76 ] state that it is the perception of lacking the necessary resources to cope with the situation that results in stress. This would imply that the experience of lacking the appropriate resources to meet the academic and social demands necessary to complete high school is one stressor in the lives of re-enrollment students; however, stressors can be both discrete disruptive events such as experiencing school dropout, and more long-term adversity such as poverty or parental drug abuse. The stress process model explains how various stressors are associated with the development of adjustment problems [ 75 ]. The model includes the unequal distribution of stressors and resources among high and low socioeconomic status groups, making some individuals more vulnerable to stress than others. Stress proliferation is a concept explaining how stress seems to accumulate. Lucio, Hunt, and Bornovalova [ 77 ] found a cumulative effect showing that the presence of at least two risk factors puts an individual at risk of academic failure. These results are consistent with the developmental model claiming that it is the accumulation of risk more than the nature of factors that are essential in predicting academic underachievement [ 33 ]. Nevertheless, reviewing re-enrollment interventions with NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), Mawn and colleagues [ 78 ] describe them to have a pragmatic approach, combining skills-based classroom training with on-the-job training. The interventions did not primarily target important psychological barriers to work engagement, such as enhancing confidence or reducing stress. Considering the high-stress reactivity during adolescence would nevertheless make the stress model highly relevant to re-enrollment research [ 79 , 80 ].

3.6. Belonging and Social Support

So far, we have suggested that understanding early psychosocial development, developing education-related goals and intrinsic motivation, mending wounded learning identities, and managing stress are central issues when trying to understand high school re-enrollment; however, none of these issues can be solved by these young people on their own. Education-related goals, for example, are developed through a co-agency process dependent on feedback [ 81 ]. This implies that dropouts in school re-enrollment processes are dependent on receiving specific types of feedback to develop education-related goals, thus making them dependent on the right kind of support. Such positive relationships are also essential for young people when they need to reduce stress, experience flow, and mend wounded learning identities. Consequently, participants in the re-enrollment program strongly stressed the importance of spending time with positive, accomplished, and helpful staff members [ 29 ]. They described how the support from these relationships helped them in their goal development, their re-motivation for school or work, in their mending of wounded learner identities through experiences of progress and success, and by assisting them in their stress management.

Hence, relationships emerge as an essential factor in several studies on dropout processes [ 28 , 82 , 83 ]. Young NEETs, who had dropped out of high school, for example, focused in their interviews on abandonment and lack of stable relationships at home and at school, describing how the absence of parents, teachers, and peers characterized their dropout processes [ 16 ]. Accordingly, Frostad, Pijl, and Mjaavatn [ 22 ] found that teacher support and loneliness in the school context were strong predictors of 16-year-olds’ intention to leave school and that loneliness outperformed well-known predictors of school completion, such as gender, parental education level, and academic achievement level.

The “caring teacher” is also reappearing as a core factor in several studies focusing on dropout processes [ 84 , 85 ]. The caring teachers are willing to help, hold on to high standards and high expectations, and refuse to give up on their students; however, students who drop out typically never mention any teacher that was helpful or supportive [ 14 , 17 ], or they describe wounded learning identities resulting from experiences with what they perceive as uncaring teachers who did not like them [ 86 ]. Consequently, dropouts and at-risk dropouts describe failed struggles to develop a positive identity in school, partly due to the absence of important relationships with peers, parents, and teachers or due to negative relationship experiences such as conflict with teachers or being bullied or marginalized.

One of the important aspects of positive relationships is the social support that they provide [ 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 ]. According to Thompson et al. [ 87 ], social support may have various functions. Social support may provide emotional support in the form of affirmation, understanding, and empathy. It may also provide social resources such as advice and guidance. Moreover, it may make information, service resources, and assistance more available. Finally, they point to the function that social support has in monitoring and detecting signs of negative development such as depressive symptoms, stressing that preventing harm is essential to promoting well-being. During stressful periods, social support can have a stress-buffering function. Social support is associated with the reduction in psychological stress, thus contributing to recovery and better coping [ 87 ]; however, only perceived support has these positive effects and, for relationships to be perceived as supportive, they need to be responsive, warm, and accepting and to provide security [ 92 ]. There seems to be a core idea that children’s interaction with parents, teachers, and peers generates generalized expectations about the self in relationships with others. These expectations are also referred to as a sense of belonging [ 93 ] or relatedness [ 94 ]. In our studies of long-term high school dropout and re-enrollment, young people describe experiences with abandonment and lack of relatedness and social support as the one thing they all had in common. They all seem to search for a climate of belongingness, recognition, and coping not sufficiently provided by their schools, their communities, or their families.

4. Discussion

The life span model of motivation implies that the goals individuals set are a function of the opportunities and challenges that are present in their social environment [ 47 ]. We have seen across several studies how young people coping with school dropout processes describe the various challenges present in their social environment as they struggle to construct, uphold, and fulfill their education-related goals [ 16 , 17 , 29 ]. The first challenge they describe is experiences of a lack of relatedness through, for example, abandonment and being separated from one or both parents for longer periods during childhood. In line with attachment theory, such separations and abandonment experiences may have influenced their psychosocial development and attachment quality development in negative ways. This hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that many of them describe a lack of relatedness before and during school years and in late adolescence and early adulthood. Using the perspective of the life span model of motivation, such challenges to their relatedness may have restricted their opportunity spaces from an early age, thus negatively influencing their construction of education-related goals.

According to the model, co-agency processes and feedback are of particular importance to the construction of education-related goals [ 47 ], indicating the importance of stable and competent adults and the presence of social support. The lack of success in constructing and upholding education-related goals, may act as a signal for the goal disengagement and self-protection processes seen in our interviews with long-term dropouts [ 16 , 29 ]. Managing such non-normative developmental demands as those associated with school dropout, seems to require more self-regulatory skills than managing normative school completion processes [ 61 ] and thus defining a second challenge to upholding education-related goals. According to Bowlby [ 37 ], the development of self-regulatory capacity is a consequence of early parent–child interaction and emerging attachment patterns; however, for the young people in our studies describing abandonment, lack of relatedness, and social support as characteristics of their school dropout processes, these excessive demands on their self-regulatory capacity may have overchallenged their ability to self-regulate. This may have reduced their ability to handle academic failures and the succeeding blows to their academic self-concepts and their self-esteem.

In line with this thinking, Salmela-Aro [ 47 ] suggests that such an inability to compensate for failures and thus adjust your goals is likely to lead to depression. According to Baumeister et al. [ 66 ], strong positive experiences are needed to compensate for a history of failure and low self-esteem. Fostering such intense positive experiences emerge as a third challenge when trying to remotivate and re-enroll disillusioned and disengaged young people in school. Keeping participants in touch with their intrinsic motivation was described as essential for long-term dropouts in completing a school re-enrollment program [ 29 , 95 ]. According to these participants, keeping them in touch with their inner motivation depended upon the establishment of trusting relationships to, and close follow-up by, competent adults. The participants also describe how they became re-socialized as they were offered new learner identities, thus enabling them to heal what Hegna [ 68 ] called their wounded learner identities, a fourth challenge to upholding or adjusting education-related goals.

Consequently, such a wounded relationship with learning seems to imply that challenging identity work is a precondition to succeed in the re-enrollment of dropouts in school. Several identity theories propose that peoples’ identities are formed according to how they perceive others perceiving them [ 96 , 97 ], implying the importance of relatedness in identity formation and change. Furthermore, the concept of wounded leaner identities suggests that dropout also implies a fifth challenge, the management of stress through withdrawal from stressful social situations associated with failure and humiliation. The participants in our interviews of long-term dropouts often described to us how one of the characteristics involved in their wounded learner identities, is their experience that teachers and peers and eventually the participants themselves perceive them as lacking the necessary resources to cope with the situation, and how this perception contributed to prolonged stress and failure to uphold their education-related goals [ 16 , 17 , 29 ].

This review has both strengths and limitations. We have pointed to the need to gain an overview of the literature on re-enrollment. The method of narrative review was chosen in order to evaluate a high number of studies with different topics and approaches relating to school dropout and re-enrollment and to synthesize the literature. The process of synthesis rests on the ability of the authors to search, analyze, and summarize the relevant literature. While our approach hopefully has succeeded in producing an overview and understanding of the literature on re-enrollment, there is also a risk that some relevant literature has not been included or that its importance has been underplayed as the literature within this field is considerable in its volume and diversity.

5. Conclusions

We set out to understand more about these high school re-enrollment processes. Focusing on relevant theories and prior research, including our own research, we have identified five main challenges to the motivational process of upholding education-related goals in long-term dropout processes. These challenges are: lack of relatedness, overchallenged self-regulation capacity, compensating for a history of failure, wounded learner identities, and coping with prolonged stress; however, all of these challenges seem to converge on the importance of belonging and social support. The prerequisite for addressing all these challenges seems to be the establishment of a trustful and warm relationship between the students who have dropped out and at least one teacher, and preferably also with other competent and supportive adults who are present in their everyday lives for a substantial period of time. These relationships may provide sufficient social support to aid the students’ inner motivation.

Author Contributions

Both G.H.R. and R.W. contributed to the article’s conceptualization and the drafting and revising of the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

The study was supported by the Publication Fund of UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Travel Tips to Kabardino-Balkaria: More than Mt. Elbrus!

If you’ve traveled to the North Caucasus before, there is a good chance you’ve already been to Kabardino-Balkaria, and you didn’t even know it!  Kabardino-Balkaria lies in the center of the North Caucasus region, is home to Mt. Elbrus, but more than that is a treasure chest of travel possibilities.  Here is our guide to traveling through the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, or 9 travel tips to this beautiful land:

1. How do I get there?

Kabardino-Balkaria hosts a large number of both foreign and Russian travelers every year, and has an improving infrastructure able to handle the incoming masses.  Let’s start with the obvious.  You might be a mountain climber or skier coming to enjoy the slopes of Mt. Elbrus.  That means you’re likely arriving on an airplane to Russia.  Here are your travel options:

A. Plane – We advise you fly into the Mineralni Vodi (MRV) airport in the Stavropol Region, which is about 45 minutes from the border of Kabardino-Balkaria.  MRV is the largest airport in the North Caucasus, and has daily direct flights to and from all 3 airpots in Moscow (SVO, DME, and VKO), direct flights from St. Petersburg, and several international flight routes as well, including from Istanbul, Dubai, Greece, Tel Aviv, and Bishkek.  The MRV airport has a growing infrastructure and is the most obvious choice to fly into if going to Elbrus.  From MRV, it’s a 2 hr. drive to Nalchik, and a 3.5 hr. drive to Mt. Elbrus.

That being said, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, Nalchik (NAL), also has a small regional airport with a daily flight to/from Moscow as well as weekly flights to Istanbul. As is to be expected in most smaller, regional airports around Russia, the service standard at a small airport like this will be minimal.  As a result, we recommend you flying in and out of MRV if able.  It’s a 2 hr. drive to Elbrus from Nalchik.  You can also fly into other regional airports which are 2 hrs. from Nalchik, such as OGZ in North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz) or IGT in Ingushetia (Magas).

B.  Car/Public Transport – If you have a car, are using a taxi, or are hitch-hiking your way to Kabardino-Balkaria, the region is accessible by a variety of roads and vehicles.  A major Russian federal highway E50 runs through Pyatigorsk into Kabardino-Balkaria, and can take you towards Mt. Elbrus, Nalchik, and deeper into the North Caucasus.  There are daily mini-buses, or “marshrutkas”, that travel to Nalchik from Pyatigorsk, Vladikavkaz, Grozny, and Magas, if you’re coming from a neighboring republic.  From the main Nalchik bus station, there is a marshrutka that goes to Terskol (i.e. Mt. Elbrus) daily around 12:30 pm; for that matter,  marshrutkas run daily into every valley of this beautiful republic.  For the seasoned international traveler, you can drive from the country of Georgia up the famed “Georgian Military Highway” through the heart of the Caucasus Mountains, cross the border into Russia at the “Verkhni Lars” border stop, and be in Nalchik in about 2.5 hours as well. 

Anyone traveling on their own should download the “Yandex” taxi app, which is Russia’s version of Uber, and has a very user-friendly app with affordable prices.  In smaller villages/towns where Yandex’s service doesn’t reach, just ask a local and they’ll direct you to a friend or relative who can taxi you where you need to go!

C.  Train – Kabardino-Balkaria is also very accessible by the famous cross-country Russian train system if that’s your preferred method of travel.  Almost all trains to the North Caucasus pass through Mineralni Vodi in the Stavropol region to the north, so make sure wherever you are coming from, Mineralni Vodi is one of the stops.  Despite Nalchik having a train station, the city is about 45 minutes from the main railway route that runs diagonal through the North Caucasus, and as a result it’s a bit convoluted to get a train directly to Nalchik.  That being said, the town Prokhladni is a regular stop on trains going to/coming from Baku, Makhachkala, Grozny, Nazran, and Vladikavkaz, so you can always hop off there and find your way by public transport or taxi.

2.  What are the best places to stay?

This list could get exhaustive, fast. 🙂  Let’s first look at an overview of the republic’s geography, followed by hotel recommendations:

A. Nalchik – This is the capital city of Kabardino-Balkaria, with a population of around 250,000.  Nalchik is growing and new, modern hotels are being built regularly.  Here are some of our recommendations:

-Modern and comfortable:  Azimut , Butik Otel

-Budget with less frills:  Hotel Rossia , Korona

You could comfortably spend a week in Nalchik, while doing day trips into Kabardino-Balkaria’s beautiful mountain valleys.

B.  Baksan Valley – This is the most traveled road in Kabardino-Balkaria, the road to Mt. Elbrus.  If you have questions about its safety because of travel warnings, please see our detailed blog here of the drive to erase any doubts or fears.  Needless to say, because of the draw of Mt. Elbrus, there are a huge variety of lodging options at the end of this valley, from 4-star to mid-range to budget to hostel.  Here are just a few we’ll recommend from our experience:

-Modern and comfortable 4-star-ish:  Azau Star , Kristall 139

-Budget with less frills 3-star-ish:   Laguna , Povorot

If you’re a mountain climber with your sites set on the summit of Elbrus, you’ll have to spend at least 3-4 nights at Elbrus’s famous base camp at 13,000 feet.  The “barrel huts” are not easy to book directly with, and we highly recommend you do your climb (and hence, have your bookings handled) through a trusted climbing company.  Here are two shelters at base camp we recommend:

-Modern and comfortable:  Leaprus

-Budget with less frills:  Heart of Elbrus Lodge

If you’re interested in climbing Mt. Elbrus and staying in these barrel huts, click  here  to see our climbing itineraries, pricing, and group dates.

C.  Chegem Valley – Chegem Valley is the adjacent valley to Elbrus’s Baksan Valley, and is famous for its beautiful waterfalls as well as being Russia’s top paragliding location.  The “ Paradrome ” has modest accommodations for those wanting to get to know this beautiful valley for a longer period of time.

D.  Upper Balkaria, or Cherek Valley – This is another beautiful mountain gorge not too far from Nalchik.  There is an authentic lodging complex in Upper Balkaria called Tau-El, with amazing local food for meals as well.

E.  Border Zone lodging – Several of Kabardino-Balkaria’s mountain gorges run into the border zone with neighboring country Georgia, i.e. an area that foreigners cannot enter without a special permit from the local government (often taking 2 months to receive).  There is a famous mountaineering lodge in Bezengi Valley, where several generations of Russian mountain climbers have honed their craft in the Caucasus Mountains.  Perpendicular to Baksan Valley (about 25 minutes from the base of Mt. Elbrus) is Adyr-Suu Valley, where there is a lodge for back-country skiers to stay, while trying their hands (and feet!) on the untouched snow of that valley.  Both these valleys require border permits for foreigners, but are possible to access for the more adventurous!

3.  Top cities to visit?

Most locals would agree that Nalchik is the main city of significance to visit in Kabardino-Balkaria, but let’s be honest, even more would say, “Just go to the mountains!”  Tirnauz is the capital of the Elbrus district, and is an interesting town to spend some time in, with its unique location in the mountains and place in Soviet history as a once-booming mining town.  The main thing to consider in visiting Nalchik and other cities in the lowlands, is the chance to experience Kabardian culture and food.  Whereas the deeper you go into the valleys, the more you’ll encounter Balkar culture and food.

4.  Best local foods to try?

There are 3 types of food that come to mind, when spending time in Kabardino-Balkaria:

A. Khychiny – This is one of the staple national dishes of the Balkar people, and what you’ll inevitably be served if guests of local Balkars.  It’s a thin buttery flat bread, sometimes cooked with fillings of cottage cheese, fresh greens, or potatoes.  It is often slathered in butter, but wow is that some tasty greasy goodness! 🙂

B.  Shashlik – Shashlik is a MUST for any visit anywhere in the North Caucasus!  Most people would agree that it’s the national food of the entire region.  Shashlik is meat shish kabobs; while pork and turkey can be found in some parts of the Caucasus, lamb or chicken are the preferred shashlik meats of choice in Kabardino-Balkaria. 

C.  Soup – No matter where you are in Russia, you’re sure to find a local soup that people love.  Kabardino-Balkaria is no different.  Especially in the winter months in the mountain valleys, there’s nothing better than to come inside from the cold weather and warm your body up to a bowl of hearty Caucasus soup.  Whether Georgian kharcho or local Balkar lakhman, make sure to try your hand at one of these soups with a side of fresh baked bread/lavash!

5.  Top Hole-In-The-Wall restaurants:

Of course, for a republic of this size, we’re bound to leave at least a few great local joints off our list, but here are a few to get you started. ***Note:  Restaurants in the North Caucasus are much better known for their food than their service, so prepare for tasty food, but manage your expectations about service:

-Elbrus – Kogutai Restaurant at Mt. Cheget – While this isn’t a hole-in-the-wall restaurant per se, it’s one of many to choose from in the Cheget tourist village, and we have found them to provide consistently good food and service.  Kogutai has a nice interior, and maybe most important, an English-language menu with good pictures. 🙂  There also is a nice outdoor patio with fantastic views of the surrounding mountains.

-Nalchik #1 – Tameris Restaurant – This is a cafe with a relaxed atmosphere in the capital Nalchik.  Local tour company Elbrus Elevation has taken foreign groups there on multiple occasions and always had good experiences.  Address is ul. Kuliyeva 3. 

-Nalchik #2 – Cafe-Bar Oasis – You have to know where this restaurant is to find it, but once inside, you won’t regret it!  There is a unique cafeteria-style ordering process, that includes several dishes being cooked on the spot once ordered.  You can sample local Kabardian dishes here.  The seating area is very modern and a pleasant atmosphere to have a meal in.  Address is ul. Kuliyeva 2. 

-Upper Balkaria – Tau-El Restaurant – This is the restaurant part of the Tau-El Tourist Complex in Upper Balkaria.  Whether spending the night or just passing through, make sure to stop here for a meal!

6.  Must-See Sites

This republic is so chock full of “must-see” destinations, it’s impossible to narrow the list down.  Here are just a few suggestions to get you started: (***Mt. Elbrus is a no-brainer and we’re assuming that’s on your list)

A. El-Tyubu and Paradrome – This is an amazing area towards the end of Chegem Valley.  Many tourists visit the famous Chegem Waterfalls and don’t drive any further down this gorge, which really is a shame.  El-Tyubu is a picturesque Balkar village with several historical sites to see, including some ancient mausoleums.  The real gem of the area, though, is the Paradrome , which is Russia’s premier paragliding destination.  The combination of the scenic surrounding mountains and constant winds produces almost daily conditions to sail through the beautiful Caucasus sky.  Highly recommend!

B.  Upper Balkaria – Also known as Cherek Valley, the entire drive to the actual village of Upper Balkaria is one big destination.  First, you can spend time at the 3 consecutive “ Blue Lakes ”, one of which is one of Russia’s deepest lakes with an underground spring.  Then, the drive itself becomes an adventure, as you pass by steep rock walls with a huge drop-off on the other side.  If you’re able to walk this part of the road, that is a bonus!  Once you’ve made your way through the valley walls, the region opens up into a beautiful panoramic view.  Many years ago, there were multiple villages in this region, but they’ve since been condensed into one main village.  You can see some of the ancient Balkar towers that their ancestors used to live in as well.

C.  Djili-Suu – Although hard to pronounce and not easy to get to, Djili-Suu is one of those places in the North Caucasus that people rave about that you “have to” visit.  It’s actually on the North side of Mt. Elbrus, and more accessible from the Mineral Waters region (2 hrs. from Kislovodsk).  The base camp for Elbrus climbers summiting the mountain from the North side is at Djili-Suu.  This area is famous in Russia for its numerous natural healing springs, as well as unique climate conditions that make for beneficial, long holidays for seeking a respite from their daily grind.  There are wide swaths of land available for camping, with probably the most unrivaled views of Mt. Elbrus in the North Caucasus.  Make sure to check this out!

7.  Off-the-beaten path destinations

A. King’s Waterfalls (Tsarskie), or Gedmisht – Probably the valley in Kabardino-Balkaria with the least amount of hype is the Malka Valley, which is the northernmost valley and mainly runs through the Kabardian lowlands.  At the point where the villages end, though (Khabas), the asphalt turns into dirt and the hills start to rise, culminating with the incredible King’s Waterfalls, or as one friend put it, Avatar Waterfalls.  These stunning waterfalls are best visited in the early summer, when everything is lush green and the water flow is strong, with many streams of water flowing down the earth’s surface.  The different colors are incredible and it’s hard to look away.  Once you’ve enjoyed the waterfalls, enjoy a meal of shashlik at one of the nearby lunch huts.  Having an off-road vehicle is ideal to visit these falls, but worth the time and effort!

B.  One-seater chair lift at Elbrus – As the infrastructure at Mt. Elbrus has modernized, some of the more “authentic” experiences have gone to the way-side.  This is one experience still available, though!  From the 2nd (11,000 ft.) to 3rd level (12,500 ft.) of Mt. Elbrus (whether skiing, going to base camp, or just touring), there is a single-seater chair lift for 100 rubles each way (less than $2).  This is an amazing experience if you have the time.  It’s 8-10 minutes each way, and a surreal experience of the majestic Caucasus mountain range surrounding you, skiers silently passing you by underneath, and in general enjoying the silent expanse of nature all around.  The chair lifts are from the Soviet times and so it feels like something from a different era.  For mountain climbers, the newer group cable car gives better access to most of base camp, but several huts are pretty close to this chair lift, so it still may be a good option for you.

C.  Abandoned Mines above Tirnauz – Tirnauz is about 1 hr. from Mt. Elbrus, and a town everyone drives through to and from the mountain.  Although today it looks old and half-abandoned, it was a booming mining town in the 20th century.  About a 45-minute drive above the city with an off-road vehicle, you can see the remains of the mining operations.  Learning about this history combined with the breath-taking views of the Baksan Valley and even into Georgia, you’ll wonder why more people aren’t visiting this place.  This is a great spot to see eagles soaring in the sky, as well as admire the Soviet city plan of Tirnauz from above.

8.  What do I need border zone passes to visit?

In Russia, any area within 5-10 km of a neighboring country, without a clearly delineated border (i.e. in the mountains) is considered a special border zone, and patrolled by Russian border guards.  This area IS accessible to all Russian citizens with their passports, but is NOT legally accessible to foreign citizens UNLESS you have a special permit from the FSB (Federal Security Bureau).  These permits are accessible, either through a tour operator or local friend, but require you to submit your application 45-60 days in advance.

Areas in Kabardino-Balkaria that are worth a visit if you have a border zone pass:

A.  Bezengi Wall – This is at the end of the Bezengi Valley, and holds a place of lore among Russian mountain climbers.  Many mountain guides go through training in this valley.  Five of the Caucasus Mountain’ range’s highest seven peaks are a part of the Bezengi Wall, so you can imagine the draw it has for climbers. There are great areas for trekking and camping in this area. 

B.  Adyr-Suu Gorge – This remote valley runs perpendicular to Baksan Valley and is about 25 minutes from the base of Mt. Elbrus.  It’s marked at the entrance by a relic of the past, a car lift from Soviet days that auto-cranks your car (and you) about 50 meters up the mountain.  After 45-60 minutes of driving on gravel road, the gorge opens up into a flat valley with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.  The Adyr-Suu Alpine Lodge is at the end of this valley and where back-country skiers base out of during the acclimatization phase of their Mt. Elbrus ski tours.  This is truly a place where you can experience untouched powder!

C.  Mt. Cheget (Elbrus) – Cheget is a neighboring mountain to Mt. Elbrus and where many climbers will acclimatize, both at its base and while doing some hikes.  It also is famous in Russia for its free-ride terrain for more experienced skiers.  Standard access to the chair lifts and mountain are available to all (i.e. mountain climbers don’t need to worry about accidentally crossing into the zone), but anyone wanting to summit the peak of Cheget OR visit the beautiful Cheget Lake needs a border permit. 

Foreigners violating the border zone areas is considered a serious offense in Russia; make sure to do your due diligence if wanting to visit one of these areas!  We highly recommend using a local tour operator and always traveling with a local person if visiting one of these areas.

9.  Any cultural “do’s” or “don’t’s” to be aware of

Kabardino-Balkaria is a fascinating republic with a combination of traditional and modern society.  The more you interact with local people, the more you’ll see a mixture of Muslim faith, post-Soviet mentality, and ancient local traditions all wrapped together.   

Kabardians mainly live in the lowlands (Nalchik, Baksan, and lowland villages), while Balkars primarily live in the mountain valleys (Elbrus, Chegem, Upper Balkaria, etc.).  There is a large population of Russians in the region as well.  Foreigners visit every area of the region regularly, and so local people are used to and will welcome your presence.

Come with an open mind to learn about these peoples, their traditions, and their land.  You won’t regret your trip to Kabardino-Balkaria!

***Want to learn more?  Here are several self-published resources from the podcast “ CaucasTalk ” related to Kabardino-Balkaria:

– Travel Tips to Kabardino-Balkaria (audio version of this blog)

– History of Mt. Elbrus (Part 1)

– History of Mt. Elbrus (Part 2)

– Interview with Local Elbrus guide

– Climbing Elbrus: Interview with American guide

– Who are the Kabardians? (Part 1)

– Who are the Kabardians? (Part 2)

– Skiing in the North Caucasus (Elbrus and more)

READY TO EXPERIENCE KABARDINO-BALKARIA FOR YOURSELF?

Where to find us.

• +1 704-810-4296
• [email protected]
• 1578 Pine Creek Rd., Gastonia, NC 28056

Travel Information

• We no longer offer travel services to Russia. See Caucasus Quest Tours for new destinations
• Is it Safe to Travel to the Caucasus in 2024?
• Climbing Kazbek & Kilimanjaro: Comparing two 5,000+ meter peaks
• How to Train to climb Mt. Kazbek in Georgia

Our Elbrus Climbing Tours

• Climb Elbrus South Route
• Climb Elbrus North Route
• Climb Elbrus & The Capitals
• Climb Elbrus & The Caucasus

Russia Cultural Tours

• Capitals of Russia
• Lake Baikal on Ice
• Delightful Dagestan
• Heart of the Caucasus

ALL Travel Services to Russia and Mt. Elbrus have been indefinitely suspended as of Feb. 2022.

Explore our new tour branch Caucasus Quest to climb Mt. Kazbek (5,054 meters) in Georgia or for immersive cultural touring experiences in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

Poor Economic Outlook and Lack of Security Undermine Kabardino-Balkaria’s Governor

Famous Amos founder Wally Amos, a high-school dropout turned cookie mogul, dies at 88

Wallace “Wally” Amos, the creator of the cookie empire that took his name and made it famous and who went on to become a children’s literacy advocate, has died. He was 88.

Amos created the  Famous Amos  cookie empire and eventually lost ownership of the company — as well as the rights to use the catchy Amos name. In his later years, he became a proprietor of a cookie shop called Chip & Cookie in Hawaii, where he moved in 1977.

He died Tuesday at his home in Honolulu, with his wife, Carol, at his side, his children said. He died from complications with dementia, they said.

“With his Panama hat, kazoo, and boundless optimism, Famous Amos was a great American success story, and a source of Black pride,” said a statement from his children, Sarah, Michael, Gregory and Shawn Amos.

He was married six times to five women, son Shawn said, explaining that he and Carol had split up, reacquainted and then remarried.

“He loved love,” Sarah Amos said.

They said their dad “inspired a generation of entrepreneurs when he founded the world’s first cookie store” on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1975.

He had been stationed in Hawaii with the Air Force, and Famous Amos gave him the means to later make it his home.

Sarah Amos, who was born in Hawaii, remembers her dad flying back and forth to the U.S. mainland and taking business calls at 4 a.m.

“It’s hard to run a business and to work with people on the mainland when you’re in Hawaii,” she said. “But he made the sacrifice.”

While Wally Amos was a great promotor, he struggled as a businessperson and eventually lost control of the company. He walked away from it because he didn’t want to just be its face, Sarah Amos said.

Later losing the business and the right to use his name was deeply painful and personal, Shawn Amos said: “The remainder of his life and the remainder of his professional pursuits were attempts to get him to, you know, reclaim that space.”

Wally Amos was also co-founder of Uncle Wally’s Muffin Co., whose products are found in stores nationwide. But Amos said the fame never really mattered much to him.

“Being famous is highly overrated anyway,” Amos told The Associated Press in 2007.

His muffin company, based in Shirley, N.Y., was originally founded as Uncle Noname Cookie Co. in 1992, a few years after Amos lost Famous Amos, which still widely uses his name on its products.

Amos had said the Famous Amos cookies sold today are unlike his cookies, which had lots of chocolate, real butter and pure vanilla extract.

“You can’t compare a machine-made cookie with handmade cookie,” he told the AP. “It’s like comparing a Rolls Royce with a Volkswagen .”

Uncle Noname, however, foundered because of debt and problems with its contracted manufacturers.

The company filed for bankruptcy in 1996, abandoned cookies and went into muffins at the suggestion of Amos’ business partner, Lou Avignone.

Inside his now-shuttered Hawaii cookie shop, he sold bite-sized cookies similar to the ones he first sold at the Famous Amos Hollywood store.

Amos also was active in promoting reading. His shop, for example, had a reading room with dozens of donated books, and Amos usually spent Saturdays sitting on a rocking chair, wearing a watermelon hat, reading to children.

Sarah Amos recalled him reading to children at Hanahauʻoli School and continuing to do so even after she graduated from the small elementary school.

The former high school dropout penned eight books, served as spokesperson for Literacy Volunteers of America for 24 years and gave motivational talks to corporations, universities and other groups.

Amos earned numerous honors for his volunteerism, including the Literacy Award presented by President George H.W. Bush in 1991.

“Your greatest contribution to your country is not your signature straw hat in the Smithsonian, but the people you have inspired to learn to read,” Bush said.

In one of his books, “Man With No Name: Turn Lemons Into Lemonade,” Amos explained how he lost Famous Amos even before it was sold for $63 million to a Taiwanese company in 1991. Despite robust sales, by 1985, the business was losing money, so Amos brought in outside investors.

“The new owners gobbled up more of my share until all of a sudden, I found I had lost all ownership in the company I founded,” Amos wrote. Before long, the company had changed ownership four times.

Sarah Amos said that after parting ways with Famous Amos, he stopped baking for about two years. After rediscovering a love of baking, he launched the Hawaii business, Chip & Cookie, in 1991.

Born in Tallahassee, Florida, Amos moved to New York City at age 12 because of his parents’ divorce. He lived with an aunt, Della Bryant, who taught him how to make chocolate chip cookies.

He later dropped out of high school to join the Air Force before working as a mailroom clerk at the William Morris Agency, where he became a talent agent, working with The Supremes, Simon & Garfunkel and Marvin Gaye before borrowing $25,000 to launch his cookie business.

He was the first Black agent in the business, Shawn Amos, said.

Shawn and Sarah said that after becoming parents themselves, they realized how meaningful the chocolate chip cookie is to their family.

“The first time we made cookies with our kids, it sort of sunk in, this is actually a family thing,” Shawn said. “It’s a gift he gave us. It’s part of our heritage.”

Latest in Lifestyle

Disney films account for 42% of the industry’s summer box office

More CEOs are enjoying the remote-work life—but employees resent it

‘Indiana Jones’ fedora fetches $630,000 at auction while ‘Star Wars’ helmet gets $315,000

A German diaspora in North Carolina is booming thanks to a multibillion-dollar investment from Germany, but a potential Trump Presidency is causing anxiety

European governments are targeting international students to curb surging immigration—but it’s costing universities billions

Women are using ChatGPT to catch men in lies about their height on dating apps

Most popular.

Gen Z are ‘raw dogging’ flights for TikTok—but experts say it can cause thrombosis

Bill Gates ‘terrified’ employees at his foundation, book claims, where meetings felt like a king holding court

‘Black Swan’ hedge funder warns a recession is coming this year—and the biggest market bubble in history will soon pop

More young men are becoming NEETs than women—not in employment, education, or training

Elon Musk’s financial woes at X have Tesla bulls fearing he will liquidate more stock

The U.S. will very likely fight a 3-front war against Russia, China and Iran, Palantir’s Alex Karp says