Relational analysis of the phenomenon of early school leaving: A habitus typology

Abstract

Although there is an extensive body of literature on the causes and consequences of early school leaving (ESL), little is known of how early school leavers cope with their situation after having left the education system. This paper’s main objective is to fill this research gap. At first we look at developments in the social positioning of early school leavers in Austria that show that their situation has deteriorated not only because of changes in the labour market (e.g. due to globalization) but also because of displacement processes that are influenced by habitus formation and capital endowment. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and capital, we explored the situation of young people who had left school early. We used a multi-perspective approach and conducted 123 narrative interviews which we analysed by grouping cases that demonstrated similar social practice and perception patterns generated by a set of socially learned dispositions. Thus we were able to reconstruct a habitus typology consisting of seven different types: the ‘ambitious’, the ‘status-oriented’, the ‘non-conformist’, the ‘disoriented’, the ‘resigned’, the ‘escapist’ and the ‘caring’. How young people experience stigmatization is the common thread that runs through all seven habitus types.

Typologies of Early School Leavers from Secondary Education: A Review Study

“…This typology was based on three school axes: behavioral maladjustment, commitment, and (academic) achievement. Later studies (Bowers et al, 2012;Fortin et al, 2006) broadened this view and sought an explanation for ESL in the combination of factors related to young people's learning experiences, emotional and mental well-being, behavior and, in some cases, family background (McDermott et al, 2017(McDermott et al, , 2018Nairz-Wirth & Gitschthaler, 2020;Ogresta et al, 2021). They showed that not all students who drop out of school had low academic performances.…”

“…To achieve this, researchers use one of the types of qualitative interviews. The first two of the three analyzed qualitative studies tried to address the research issues regardless of respondent ethnicity and background (Nairz-Wirth & Gitschthaler, 2020;Ogresta et al, 2021), in the most recent of the analyzed studies, the researchers focused on a specific group of Finnish residents, predominantly Romany prisoners (Pikkarainen et al, 2021). (3) To test the predictive validity of the typology.…”

“…The mechanism of completing or not completing school is thus explained by the "inheritance" of success or failure that an individual achieves in education. The intergenerational transfer of educational achievement remains an important factor in ESL, especially in students from low socio-economic backgrounds (Nairz-Wirth & Gitschthaler, 2020).…”

Dropout in post-socialist countries of Central Europe (the Visegrad Group)

“…Relevant literature uses the terms dropout and early school leaving (ESL) for this phenomenon (Lamb, Markussen, Teese et al, 2011;Nairz-Wirth, Gitschthaler, 2019;OECD, 2012). As both terms (dropout, early school leaving) can be considered equivalent, they will be used as synonyms in this paper.…”

Why Did They Leave School? A Self Determination Theory Perspective into Narratives of Finnish Early School Leavers

“…xperiences of successful learning and positive interpersonal relationships are important for school engagement (Quin, 2017;Upadyaya & Salmela-Aro, 2013). However, this is not everyone's experience of school and attempts to understand the reasons for early school leaving show that many experience the opposite (Cederberg & Hartsmar, 2013;Nairz-Wirth & Gitschthaler, 2019;Tuck, 2011). Learning about the subjective perspectives of people slipping out of schooling can widen our understanding of the processes behind early school leaving.…”