Dropouts from higher education: An interdisciplinary review and synthesis

Spady, William G.

doi:10.1007/bf02214313

Cited by 838 publications

(893 citation statements)

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“…High Educ (2008) 55:553-573 DOI 10.1007 Most models for explaining academic performance in higher education are based on the interaction model developed by Spady (1970Spady ( , 1971, further elaborated on by Tinto (1975). Based on these and other models, a wide range of possible determinants of academic performance has been described and tested, which can roughly be divided into contextrelated factors like curricular characteristics and assessment procedures, and studentrelated factors like gender, motivation and learning styles.…”

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confidence: 99%

The influence of personal networks and social support on study attainment of students in university education

2007

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In this paper, the influence of personal networks and social support on study attainment of students in university education is examined. Furthermore, the paper aimed at clarifying the possible mediating role of achievement motivation, time spent on studying and working, procrastination and self-esteem. The study is a follow-up of the '89 cohort study, but is restricted to those students who have transferred to university education after finishing secondary education. The students have been approached with a questionnaire in 2004. Multinomial logistic regression shows that social support has no effect on study attainment, but that personal networks do have an effect on attainment. The relationship between social support and personal networks on the one hand and study progress on the other hand is not mediated by the before mentioned variables.Keywords Personal network Á Social support Á University Á Higher education Á Attainment Á Student Á Achievement motivation Á Self-esteem Á Procrastination Students who transfer to higher education face a number of changes in their personal and academic environment. The transition from secondary education to higher education not only calls for academic adjustment, but also includes different social demands. Students need to develop new or increased capacity for self-regulation and must learn to cope with the time pressure that is inherent in going to college. Moreover, students must integrate into a new social environment. They leave their parental house, most of their former classmates and teachers and they meet new friends, housemates and classmates. Existing supportive relationships may change or even disappear, and new supportive connections can be formed. The extent to which students succeed in integrating into this new environment and also the amount of social support received from network members possibly determines part of their academic success or failure.L. Eggens (&) Á M. P. C. van der Werf Á R. J. Bosker Groningen Institute for Educational Research, University of Groningen, Grote Rozenstraat 3, 9712 TG Groningen, The Netherlands e-mail: l.eggens@rug.nl 123High Educ (2008) 55:553-573 DOI 10.1007 Most models for explaining academic performance in higher education are based on the interaction model developed by Spady (1970Spady ( , 1971, further elaborated on by Tinto (1975). Based on these and other models, a wide range of possible determinants of academic performance has been described and tested, which can roughly be divided into contextrelated factors like curricular characteristics and assessment procedures, and studentrelated factors like gender, motivation and learning styles. These variables are mainly academic and/or personal determinants though, leaving the students' social environment out of consideration.This study examined the influence of personal networks and social support on academic attainment of students in university education. The impact of students' social support and personal network was studied together with the influence of achieve...

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The influence of personal networks and social support on study attainment of students in university education

2007

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“…Spady (1970) was the first to propose a widely recognized model for college student dropout. Drawing from Durkheim's (1950) suicide model, Spady proposed a sociological model of the dropout process.…”

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confidence: 99%

What works in student retention?: All survey colleges

Habley¹,

McClanahan²

2004

PsycEXTRA Dataset

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“…When the social force of regulation becomes imbalanced, two types of suicides become more prevalent: (1) fatalistic suicide (high regulation), (2) anomic suicide (low regulation). Spady (1970) considered that the then-current work on student drop-out lacked ''conceptual clarity, methodological rigor, complexity of design, breadth, and analytic sophistication'' (p. 64). He maintained that research on student drop-out Durkheim's theory of suicide provides a fruitful vehicle for summarizing a large proportion of current research, and focusing future attention on the interaction between student attributes (i.e., dispositions, interests, attitudes, and skills) and the influences, expectations, and demands imposed by various sources in the university environment (p. 64).…”

Section: Durkheim and Le Suicidementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For higher education, there is a long research tradition investigating this phenomenon. Such research foci has included: student involvement and academic success (Astin 1984), sociological underpinnings and student retention (Spady 1970), as well as the perceived utility of attending college for non-traditional students (Bean and Metzner 1985). However, the vast research in the past 40 years has been influenced by the work of Tinto.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Academic Fatalism: Applying Durkheim’s Fatalistic Suicide Typology to Student Drop-Out and the Climate of Higher Education

Godor

2016

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Student drop-out remains a critical issue facing educational professionals. For higher education, the vast research in the past 40 years has been influenced by the work of Tinto and his model of student persistence. In this model are several elements that have proven to sharpen the focus of student drop-out research such as the concept of integration. The philosophical foundation for these concepts stems from Durkheim's work on suicide. Specifically, Tinto's employs Durkheim's ''egotistical'' suicide type as an analogy for student departure while attributing students' departure as a decision to separate themselves from the academic community. However; assigning causation of student departure to students' decisions stands in stark contrast to the theoretical underpinnings of Durkheim's work. Durkheim believed that certain social tendencies cause suicides. If student drop-out is to be typified by a certain Durkheimian suicide ''type,'' then specific social facts must exist in those societies. In this article, student departure in higher education will be examined using Durkheim's theory of suicide complemented with Bourdieu's theory of symbolic violence. Egotistical suicide will then be re-examined as an analogy for student departure and the Durkheimian suicide ''fatalistic'' will be presented as suitable analogy for student departure.

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Dropouts from higher education: An interdisciplinary review and synthesis

Cited by 838 publications

References 49 publications

The influence of personal networks and social support on study attainment of students in university education

The influence of personal networks and social support on study attainment of students in university education

What works in student retention?: All survey colleges

Academic Fatalism: Applying Durkheim’s Fatalistic Suicide Typology to Student Drop-Out and the Climate of Higher Education

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