Publicação
Factors that determine the persistence and dropout of university students
| Resumo: | Background: The increase of students in higher education means a more heterogeneous student body, complicating the identifi cation of the variables that infl uence students´ decisions to stay in or drop out of university. The objective of this study is to analyze the infl uence of these variables on students’ decisions by establishing specifi c groups of students based on performance. Method: A study was carried out with 2,970 fi rstyear university students from Portugal, using the decision tree technique. Results: Academic performance is confi rmed as a determining variable in the decision to remain or drop out, allowing us to establish three groups (high, medium and low achievement), in which different types of variables act as mediators: sex, type of course (licenciatura [BA] or mestrado integrado), the fact of studying at the students’ fi rst-choice university or the mother’s educational level. Conclusions: Without neglecting the weight of academic achievement as a priority variable, we must consider these secondary variables in the confi guration of student groups in order to plan support policies to avoid higher-risk students dropping out. |
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| Autores principais: | Casanova, Joana R. |
| Outros Autores: | Cervero, Antonio; Núñez, José Carlos; Almeida, Leandro S.; Bernardo, Ana |
| Assunto: | Permanence Dropout Higher Education First-year Decision trees Ciências Sociais::Ciências da Educação |
| Ano: | 2018 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade do Minho |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho |
| Resumo: | Background: The increase of students in higher education means a more heterogeneous student body, complicating the identifi cation of the variables that infl uence students´ decisions to stay in or drop out of university. The objective of this study is to analyze the infl uence of these variables on students’ decisions by establishing specifi c groups of students based on performance. Method: A study was carried out with 2,970 fi rstyear university students from Portugal, using the decision tree technique. Results: Academic performance is confi rmed as a determining variable in the decision to remain or drop out, allowing us to establish three groups (high, medium and low achievement), in which different types of variables act as mediators: sex, type of course (licenciatura [BA] or mestrado integrado), the fact of studying at the students’ fi rst-choice university or the mother’s educational level. Conclusions: Without neglecting the weight of academic achievement as a priority variable, we must consider these secondary variables in the confi guration of student groups in order to plan support policies to avoid higher-risk students dropping out. |
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