Higher educational dropout is a significant area of education policy in Hungary. First, the proportion of graduated higher educational students is low when compared to the OECD average, which may be caused by dropout from higher educational courses. On the other hand, although the phenomenon of dropout has been closely investigated in several international research papers, the methodology used to determine the dropout ratio is unsatisfactory, mainly due to the lack of expert consensus. As a consequence, we do not have precise data regarding the dropout ratios, which make investigations related to this area even more necessary. The aim of this study was to measure the possible reasons for delayed graduation and dropout, and it was carried out as a qualitative study based on existing theories. In our investigation, the role of the sociocultural background; the years prior to the time spent in higher education; and the motivation of the choice of institution, employment, sports, and social activities were measured through an analysis of seven individual interviews and one focus group conversation involving 10 participants based on a semi-structured interview methodology. The causes of delayed graduation and dropout, which are more difficult to observe, are an inappropriately chosen institution and/or course, employment while studying intensively in a higher education institution, competitive sport and friends with a negative attitude toward learning. Our analysis provides a stable basis for a wider questionnaire-based investigation on a representative sample and its main units have been developed according to the research blocks of the interview analysis.
The interpretation of the phenomenon of student dropout, which represents a waste of a relatively large proportion of human and material capital in the social, individual and institutional domain, is impossible without examining dropout students. In this study, we analysed the DEPART 2018 database, which contains data from 605 Hungarian dropout students. We tried to identify higher education dropout scenarios and pointed out that higher educational dropout is a complex phenomenon. Based on the students' reports on their interpretation and evaluation of their dropouts, four student clusters were created. We compared the groups with their socio-cultural background and their decision to drop out from higher education, and their assessment of that decision. The most important result of the study is that it identifies a new group in addition to the international dropout types, and provides a detailed picture that calls our attention to the diversity of dropout groups, thereby moving beyond the over-generalised image of the dropout student.
Absztrakt: A magyar felsőoktatásból történő lemorzsolódási arány közel 40 százalék, ami képzési szintek szerint a tudományos képzésben a legmagasabb. Kutatásunkban megvizsgáltuk a 2010/2011-es és a 2014/2015-ös tanév őszi szemeszterében beiratkozott PhD-hallgatók lemorzsolódásának mintázatait, és elemeztük azt is, hogy a felvett kreditek száma, a passzív státusz, a képzési terület, a képző intézmény és a képzés finanszírozási formája befolyásolja-e a lemorzsolódást. Elemzésünk alapját a Felsőoktatási Információs Rendszer (FIR) adatai adják. Eredményeink azt mutatják, hogy akárcsak a többi képzési területnél a PhD-képzés esetében is az 1. és a 2. szemeszter a legkritikusabb lemorzsolódási periódus.
According to the results of higher education research, students’ higher educational pathways can be diverse. In addition to standard students, some students belong to one of the risky and corrective academic pathway types and thus face a higher probability of dropping out. Our study examined objective and subjective elements of health-awareness and behaviour along pathways and countries. In our analyses, we used the PERSIST 2019 database, which included students having an active student status in the academic year of 2018/19, from one of the easternmost higher educational regions of the European Higher Education Area (N=2199). Our results show that it is worth paying attention to students belonging to non-standard types of academic pathways as they are the ones who are the most distrustful of higher educational actors and most dissatisfied with higher educational factors.
Compared to the trends of the OECD countries, the proportion of graduated higher educational students is low in Hungary, especially in the doctoral education; however, the need for doctoral education has been increased due to the expansion in the past two and half decades. According to the report of the European Committee, the ratio of those having a PhD degree is 0.8 per mille among the 25- to 34-year-old Hungarian population that is not advantageous. As a causal factor, the dropout can be detected. The aim of my investigation is to detect the pattern of the dropout of the doctoral students. Who are those who quit their studies before finishing it? In which field is the ratio of graduation the lowest? I hypothesize that approximately one fifth of the students enrolled for a doctoral course quit their studies during the education. According to the educational fields, the dropout ratio is the lowest in the natural, medical, and agricultural sciences, whereas it is the highest in the arts, human, and social sciences. The basis of the current research is provided by a huge national database entitled Higher Educational Informational System, containing the data of doctoral students enrolled in the autumn semester of the school years 2010/2011 and 2014/2015.
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