Analyzing the Factors of College Life Adaptation and Dropout: A South Korean Context

Abstract

This study analyzed the difference in the probability of dropping out by gender and department to identify the variables influencing the likelihood of dropping out of college students. Moreover, the following factors were primarily investigated among various causes of college student dropout: academic integrity, social integrity, emotional stability, career identity, college education satisfaction, educational service satisfaction, relationship with professors, economic stability, family emotional support, academic continuity, and stability. The data analysis was carried out for one month, from October to November 2021, for students enrolled in a four-year E institution in Gyeonggi-do. Data collection was conducted through an online survey. The effective sample number of students used in this study was 771. As a measurement tool, the college life adaptability test tool was used, and the analysis methods were cross-analysis, correlation analysis, independent-sample t-test, and logistic regression analysis. As a result of the study, the probability of dropout was higher for male students than for female students by gender, and the physical therapy department had a relatively high dropout probability compared to other departments. In addition, a negative correlation was discovered in both the sub-factors of dropout possibility and college life adaptability, and the difference in college life adaptability according to dropout possibility showed that the group with the possibility of the dropout was the group without the possibility of dropout. In comparison, the level of adaptability to college life was found to be low. Moreover, college education satisfaction and education service satisfaction were found as sub-factors of college life adaptability that predicted the possibility of dropout. The results of this study imply that the causes of college dropouts should be investigated at the institutional and government levels, not only at the individual level.

A Study on Girl Dropout in Community College of Kirtipur Municipality

“…Although, student enrollment is good in every first year, their presence become feeble within the remaing three years. The rise in college dropouts not only decreases the standard of higher education but also creates discontent among education consumers, which feeds a cycle of rising dropout rates (Kim, 2022).…”