Dropout Factors in Higher Education: A Literature Review

Abstract

Dropping out of Higher Education is an international concern with an impact on Higher Education Institutions, in general, and on individual career paths, in particular. In order to prevent this phenomenon and support both institutions and students in their decision-making, it is urgent to identify evasion factors in higher education. A review made in published articles in international scientific journals between January 2014 and December 2018 is presented, based on the Longitudinal Institutional Evasion Model. The search was carried out in four databases, with combinations of the keywords dropout, departure, academic adjustment, college adjustment, academic integration, social integration, and higher education. Twenty-four articles that met the inclusion criteria were fully read. The articles were described and the content was systematized in meta-synthesis. Factors related to attributes prior to entering higher education were identified; objectives and commitments prior and subsequent to this entry; institutional experiences; academic and social integration. Evasion signaling measures were also identified. Implications for research, services and policies of Higher Education Institutions are discussed.

Dropout stories of Andalusian university students

“…Returning to the factors presented at the beginning of this document as a result of recent literature reviews (Berlanga, 2014;Lizarte, 2020;Barroso et al, 2022;Lizarte Simón and Gijón Puerta, 2022), we will mark those that appear in our research after analyzing the content of the 23 semi-structured interviews that form it (see Figure 10, in grey the dropout factors that appear in our study).…”

“…Source. From Berlanga (2014), Lizarte (2020), Barroso et al (2022), andLizarte Simón andGijón Puerta (2022).…”

“…Irrespective of the models we select, several factors related to dropout in higher education are recurrent. Thus, based on the work of Lizarte and other authors in the international sphere (Lizarte, 2017b(Lizarte, , 2020Barroso et al, 2022;Lizarte Simón and Gijón Puerta, FIGURE 1 2022) we can establish a set of factors related to early dropout in higher education, which will allow us to organize the narrative data that we will obtain from the application of in-depth interviews, as detailed in the methodological section. In Figure 2 we present the most relevant factors from the literature (Berlanga et al, 2018;Barroso et al, 2022), grouped into dimensions: (a) Biographical and sociodemographic attributes; (b) Self-perceptions prior to entry; (c) Goals and commitment; (d) Experiences in the institution; (e) and academic and social integration.…”

The influence of grit on life satisfaction of Brazilian undergraduate students: academic adaptation as a mediator

“…Furthermore, in Chinese university students, academic adaptability had a negative impact on burnout, that is, the greater adaptability, the lower the level of burnout ( Chen et al, 2023 ). Students with a lower capacity for academic adaptability are more susceptible to psychological stress, academic dropout and less success in their academic journey ( Xie et al, 2019 ; Barroso et al, 2022 ). Therefore, it is relevant that this variable is studied together with grit, which is a strong predictor of positive academic results ( Duckworth et al, 2007 ; Credé et al, 2017 ; Allen et al, 2021 ).…”

Advances and New Perspectives in Higher Education Quality

“…Furthermore, in Chinese university students, academic adaptability had a negative impact on burnout, that is, the greater adaptability, the lower the level of burnout . Students with a lower capacity for academic adaptability are more susceptible to psychological stress, academic dropout and less success in their academic journey (Xie et al, 2019;Barroso et al, 2022). Therefore, it is relevant that this variable is studied together with grit, which is a strong predictor of positive academic results (Duckworth et al, 2007;Credé et al, 2017;Allen et al, 2021).…”