Dropouts and Budgets: A Test of a Dropout Reduction Model among Students in Israeli Higher Education

Year 2017, , 123 - 134, 15.04.2017

Ran Bar-am Osama Arar

https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.6.2.134

Abstract

This article deals with the problem of student dropout during the first year in a higher education institution. To date, no model on a budget has been developed and tested to prevent dropout among Engineering Students. This case study was conducted among first-year students taking evening classes in two practical engineering colleges in Israel. There are three dimensions of the dropout reduction model: social support, institutional support and personal commitment. The results of the intervention had a positive effect on all three dimensions.

Keywords

dropout reduction, educational intervention, efficiency, human capital, productivity, student retention

References

• Aguiar, E., Chawla, N. V., Brockman, J., Ambrose, G. A., & Goodrich, V. (2014, March) Engagement vs performance: using electronic portfolios to predict first semester engineering student retention. In Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Learning Analytics And Knowledge (pp. 103-112). ACM. doi:10.1145/2567574.2567583
• Arzu , K. L. (2012). High school dropouts in Belize: A grid and group explanation. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11244/7200
• Ayalon, H., & Mcdossi, O. (2016). First-generation college students in an expanded and diversified higher education system: The case of Israel. In Socioeconomic Inequality in Israel (pp. 75-96). Palgrave Macmillan US. doi:10.1057/9781137544810_5
• Bask, M., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2013). Burned out to drop out: Exploring the relationship between school burnout and school dropout. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 28(2), 511-528. doi:10.1007/s10212-012-0126-5
• Bergman, M. (2016). From stopout to scholar: Pathways to Graduation through Adult Degree completion programs. International Journal of Information Communication Technologies and Human Development, 8(4), 1-12. doi:10.4018/IJICTHD.2016100101
• Bonett, D. G., & Wright, T. A. (2015). Cronbach's alpha reliability: Interval estimation, hypothesis testing, and sample size planning. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(1), 3-15. doi:10.1002/job.1960
• Braxton, J. M., Doyle, W. R., Hartley III, H. V., Hirschy, A. S., Jones, W. A., & McLendon, M. K. (2013). Rethinking college student retention. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
• Brown, G. A., Bull, J., & Pendlebury, M. (2013). Assessing student learning in higher education. New York, NY: Routledge.
• Diamond, I. R., Grant, R. C., Feldman, B. M., Pencharz, P. B., Ling, S. C., Moore, A. M., & Wales, P. W. (2014). Defining consensus: a systematic review recommends methodologic criteria for reporting of Delphi studies. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 67(4), 401-409. doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2013.12.002
• Feniger, Y., & Ayalon, H. (2016). English as a gatekeeper: Inequality between Jews and Arabs in access to higher education in Israel. International Journal of Educational Research, 76, 104-111. doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2015.04.003
• Fichten, C. S., Heiman, T., Jorgensen, M., Nguyen, M. N., Havel, A., King, L., ... & Amsel, R. (2016). Theory of planned behavior predicts graduation intentions of Canadian and Israeli postsecondary students with and without learning disabilities/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. International Journal of Higher Education, 5(1), p. 208. doi:10.5430/ijhe.v5n1p208
• Freeman, J., & Simonsen, B. (2015). Examining the impact of policy and practice interventions on high school dropout and school completion rates: A systematic review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 85(2), 205-248.
• Gabbard, A., & Mupinga, D. M. (2013). Balancing open access with academic standards: implications for community college faculty. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 37(5), 374-381. doi:10.1080/10668921003609160
• Gray, R., Vitak, J., Easton, E. W., & Ellison, N. B. (2013). Examining social adjustment to college in the age of social media: Factors influencing successful transitions and persistence. Computers & Education, 67, 193-207. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.02.021
• Jenkins-Guarnieri, M. A., Horne, M. M., Wallis, A. L., Rings, J. A., & Vaughan, A. L. (2015). Quantitative evaluation of a first year seminar program relationships to persistence and academic success. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 16(4), 593-606.
• Kalsbeek, D. H., & Zucker, B. (2013). Reframing retention strategy: A focus on profile. New Directions for Higher Education, 2013(161), 15-25. doi:10.1002/he.20042
• Lindsay, R., & Williams, D. (2015). Student Integration and Motivation: Academic Integration, Social Integration, Student Motivation and Retention. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
• Murnane, R. J., & Ganimian, A. (2014). Improving educational outcomes in developing countries: Lessons from rigorous evaluations. NBER Working Paper, (w20284).
• Njoroge, M. M., Wang'eri, T., & Gichure, C. (2016). Role of student faculty interaction in attrition among students in private universities in Nairobi county, Kenya. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 7(1), 49-59.
• Pearl, J., Glymour, M., & Jewell, N. P. (2016). Causal inference in statistics: A primer. John Wiley & Sons.
• Quinn, J., (2013). Drop-out and Completion in Higher Education in Europe among students from under-represented groups. Report for the EU Commission.
• Rissanen, I., Tirri, K., & Kuusisto, E. (2015). Finnish teachers’ attitudes about Muslim students and Muslim student integration. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 54(2), 277-290. doi:10.1111/jssr.12190
• Schwartz, H., & Hain, R. (2014). Psychological treatment as part of dropout prevention: An Israeli program. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 28(3), 218-228. doi:10.1080/87568225.2014.915171
• Shah, M., & Whannell, R. (2016). Open access enabling courses: risking academic standards or meeting equity aspirations. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 1-12. doi:10.1080/13603108.2016.1203370
• Shah, M., & Whannell, R. (2016). Open access enabling courses: risking academic standards or meeting equity aspirations. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 1-12. doi:10.1080/13603108.2016.1203370
• Shields, R. (2016). Reconsidering regionalisation in global higher education: student mobility spaces of the European Higher Education Area. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 46(1), 5-23. doi:10.1080/03057925.2014.884348
• Wagner, J. M. (2015). Hispanic minority college students at selective colleges: What matters with degree completion?. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 1538192714568807. doi:10.1177/1538192714568807