Academic Essay Final.docx

DROPOUT RATES

Dropout rates Laura Jimena Polania Cabrera Surcolombiana University

1

DROPOUT RATES

What are the causes of an increase in student dropout rates in various colleges and universities? Nowadays, the education has a huge change because there are more opportunities to access it, in comparison with the old days. However, the dropout rates are occurring for different reasons like economic issues, family problems, and bullying. The main cause of dropout is economic issues. Although the government gives students guarantee such as transport allowance and food, it is not enough. Students also need to use materials for the class, even they have to carry a uniform because it is one of the school rules, but when families are large, there is more spending, parents cannot afford, due to this, children have to stop studying and dedicate themselves to work. The students come from families from low socio-economic backgrounds, where there are many other children. Older children often have to go to work in order to supply the family with much-needed funds for basic family needs or need to stay home to take care of younger siblings so that their parents can work. (Schargel, 2014) Second, family problems are other cause. When the students have family difficulties they are not doing well in their studies; they begin to have bad grades and losing the ability to focus on the task; by the way of example, family issues can be domestic violence, divorced parents, lack of affection and communication. In the case of physical abuse and emotional, they students decide to distance from colleges to avoid questions' people also because they start to have an unusual performance.

2

DROPOUT RATES

In this context, unwanted pregnancy is an originator of the increase in students' dropout rates. “One in every five women in Colombia between 15 to 19 years of age are or have been pregnant, and what's most worrying is that 64% of those pregnancies were not planned”. (Plazas, 2014, said in The Lancet). Students do not have enough time to fulfill their academic obligations and the care of a baby which causes them to have to choose their role of parents about education, or even worse than quit colleges and neglect their son to work; also taking into account that they will not receive a good salary, because they do not have an academic degree, the students should work twice as hard to get the money that money they need. The students make wrong decisions. They get involved with gangs, drugs/alcohol, get pregnant and commit crimes. Many have a poor school attitude and are frequently bored by school. They are disconnected to their families, school, and life. They do not see the reasons they need to go to school. They are not involved in school activities. (Schargel, 2014).Additionally, (ECLAC, 2012) Dropping out is more common in low-income households, according to a study11 of 17 countries, children who do not complete the school belong to these homes, and other factors included in the school dropout are work, teenage pregnancy and lack of interest. In conclusion, many factors influence of an increase in student dropout rates, but the most noticeable are economic issues, family problems, and unwanted pregnancy because these factors affect indirectly the progress of the students to learn and the right to education.

3

DROPOUT RATES References Schargel, F. (2014, October 14). The Real Reasons Children Drop Out of School [Web log comment]. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/franklin-schargel/the-real-reasons-children-drop-out-ofschool_b_4093876.html The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. (2002).High Student DropOut Rates in Latin America. Retrieved from https://www.cepal.org/cgibin/getProd.asp?xml=/prensa/noticias/comunicados/2/11262/P11262.xml&xsl=/prensa/tpli/p6f.xsl Daniels, J.(2015, April 18). Tackling teenage pregnancy in Colombia. The Lancet.385,1495– 1496. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60738-3/fulltext

4