@phdthesis{8722997,
  abstract     = {{To access tertiary studies, to “land” a better job, to not have to go through what their parents went through, or just “to be someone in life” —students from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods are quick to provide a myriad of reasons why they ought to complete secondary education. In most societies nowadays all children, disadvantaged or not, are expected to start attending school at a specific age and to complete a certain amount of years of schooling. Yet there are many whom, for one reason or another, quit school at some point, before completing the necessary requisites to obtain a diploma. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as school dropout.

Leaving school before completing secondary education puts these individuals at a disadvantage when they try to get a job or to continue their studies. Compared to secondary school graduates, those who drop out tend to perceive a lower income, have poorer health and well-being. High dropout rates have also been associated with multiple negative consequences and high costs for the society as a whole, such as increased delinquency, loss of tax revenues and more
dependence on social welfare. 

Causes and consequences of school dropout have been extensively studied. Several theories and conceptual models exist that help to understand the process by which this outcome materializes. Yet dropout rates continue to be of
concern. In 2015, the United Nations member countries agreed to achieve universal secondary school completion by 2030. This has increased the international pressure to reduce dropout rates, especially in parts of the world where massification of secondary education access and completion is rather recent and educational systems’ efficiency is not at its best, as is the case in Latin America.

Uruguay is one of many Latin American countries which could benefit from narrowing the gap in secondary school completion between individuals from higher and lower socio-economic backgrounds. Having accomplished universal
primary school graduation since a long time, the current challenges for Uruguay lie in smoothing the transition from primary to lower secondary school, as well as in fostering students’ successful academic and social integration in the first year of secondary education.

To achieve this, the current knowledge base on secondary school dropout ought to be enriched by empirical research on the ways lower secondary schools can positively impact the trajectory through the first year of secondary school of
students whose prior schooling, individual and family characteristics put them at higher risk of dropout. Understanding the specific circumstances under which disadvantaged, “high-risk” population live and attend school is key for designing,
targeting, implementing and evaluating successful dropout prevention strategies. 

The overall objective of this research is, therefore, to contribute to the scientific knowledge on the secondary school dropout phenomenon. We aim to add to the empirical base of this field of research by combining statistical analyses and case studies in a mixed methods approach. We intend to contribute to the theoretical base of dropout research by applying and adapting Vincent Tinto’s “longitudinal model of student departure” to the Uruguayan lower secondary school setting, by assessing how well students pre-entry characteristics predict dropout, by analyzing the influence of preventive interventions in the summer transition period, as well as by exploring the particular role context variables—such as the socioeconomic composition of the school and community violence exposure—play in students’ academic success and dropout decisions.

By providing insights on these aspects of the dropout phenomenon and intervention possibilities, we intend to support school staff, teachers and principals working in low-SES, high-violence settings in their dropout prevention efforts. We also wish to provide some recommendations and implications, based on our findings, for policymakers working in the fields of education and social development.}},
  author       = {{Vinas-Forcade, Jennifer}},
  keywords     = {{dropout,Uruguay,secondary school,middle school,early school leaving,grade retention,grade repetition,socioeconomic composition,inequalities,community violence,summer school,educational transition}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{350}},
  publisher    = {{Ghent University. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences}},
  school       = {{Ghent University}},
  title        = {{Preventing dropouts in the first year of secondary school : is it too late? A mixed-methods study in Uruguay}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}