School Dropout and Early School Leaving in Romania: Tendencies and Risk Factors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/13.2/408Keywords:
School dropout, early school leaving, risk factors for school dropout, risk factors for early school leaving, premature school/educational disengagement, research strategy in approaching the determinants of school dropout and early school leavingAbstract
Improving participation rates in education and reducing the number of persons who leave the educational system prematurely has increasingly become a concern for national governments and international organizations all over the world. The current paper is the result of the documentation process for a doctoral research project on school dropout (SD) and early school leaving (ESL) in Romania and the appropriate measures that could effectively tackle these negative phenomena. Based on information compiled from periodic reports issued by the relevant authorities, we present the evolution of the two phenomena in Romania, within the last decade. The most extended section of the article is dedicated to a review of the risk factors that have been associated with SD and ESL, based on the theoretical works, research findings and relevant policies consulted during the documentation stage. In the final section of the article, we systematize the relevant aspects resulted from the documentation process and outline the improvements that would benefit future studies aimed at identifying effective solutions to reduce SD and ESL. The current paper may be of use to other researchers, when setting up the design of a study concerned with SD and ESL.
References
Alexander, K.L., Entwisle, D.R., Horsey, C. (1997). From first grade forward: Early foundations of high school dropout. Sociology of Education, 70(2), 87-107.
Balfanz, R., Wang, A., Byrnes, V. (2010). Early warning indicator analysis: Tennessee. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University, Center for Social Organization of Schools, Everyone Graduates Center.
Battin-Pearson, S., Newcomb, M.D., Abbott, R.D., Hill, K.G., Catalano, R.F., Hawkins, J.D. (2000). Predictors of early high school dropout: A test of five theories. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 568-582.
Dockery, D.J. (2012) School Dropout Indicators, Trends, and Interventions for School Counselors, Journal of school counseling, 10(12), n12.
Dunn, C., Chambers, D., Rabren, K. (2004). Variables affecting students' decisions to dropout of school. Remedial and Special Education, 25, 314-323.
Epp, J. R., & Epp, W. (2001). Easy exit: School policies and student attrition. Journal of education for students placed at risk, 6(3), 231-247.
European Commission (2011) EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 COM(2011)173. Retrieved from https://www.eumonitorHYPERLINK "https://www.eumonitor.eu/9353000/1/j9vvik7m1c3gyxp/vioa8md3cqzg".
European Commission (2013) Reducing early school leaving: Key messages and policy support. Final Report of the Thematic Working Group on Early School Leaving. November 2013. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/education/sites/education/files/early-school-leaving-group2013-report_en.pdf
European Commission (2017) Structural Indicators on Early Leaving from Education and Training in Europe – 2016, Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, Education and Youth Policy Analysis, Brussels. Retrieved from https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/ffea0a0e-f995-11e6-8a35-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
Garnier, H.E., Stein, J.A., Jacobs, J.K. (1997). The process of dropping out of high school: A 19-year perspective. American Educational Research Journal, 34, 395-419.
Gillock, K., Reyes, O. (1999) Stress, Support, and Academic Performance of Urban, Low-Income, Mexican-American Adolescents, Journal of Youth and Adolescence volume 28, 259–282.
Hammond, C., Linton, D., Smink, J., & Dew, S. (2007). Dropout risk factors and exemplary programs: A technical report. National Dropout Prevention Center/Network, Clemson University and Communities in Schools: Clemson.
Heppen, J. B., Therriault, S. B. (2008). Developing early warning systems to identify potential high school dropouts. American Institutes for Research, National High School Center: Washington, DC., available online at http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED521558.pdf
Hoff, N., Olson, A., Peterson, R. L. (2015) Dropout Screening & Early Warning, Tier 1, Topic Brief, March, 2015. Retrieved from https://k12engagement.unl.edu/DropoutScreening&EarlyWarning3-27-15.pdf
Istrate, I. (2013) Managementul Reusitei Scolare. Columna, 2, consulted onlie at http://www.crifst.ro/sites/columna.crifst.ro/files/articole/columna_2013_38.pdf.
Ivan, C., Rostaș, I. (2013) Părăsirea timpurie a școlii: cauze și efecte. Raport de cercetare, Roma Education Fund România. Retrieved from https://romaeducationfund.ro/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Rezultate-concluzii-recomandari-ale-cercetarii_FIN1.pdf
Janosz, M., Le Blanc, M., Boulence, B., Tremblay, R. (2000) Predicting Different Types of School Dropouts: A Typological Approach With Two Longitudinal Samples, Journal of educational psychology, 92(1), 171-190.
Jimeson, S., Andeson, G., Whipple, A. (2002) Winning the battle and losing the war: Examining the relation between grade retention and dropping out of high school. Psychology in the Schools, 39 (4), 441-457.
Jimerson, S., Egeland, B., Sroufe, L.A., Carlson, B. (2000). A prospective longitudinal study of high school dropouts: Examining multiple predictors across development. Journal of School Psychology, 38, 525-549
Kaye, N., D’Angelo, A., Ryan, L., Lorinc, M. (2015) Students’ Survey: Preliminary analysis, Project paper 5, Reducing Early School Leaving in Europe project.
Lagana, M., (2004), Protective Factors for Inner-City Adolescents at Risk of School Dropout: Family Factors and Social Support, Children & Schools, 26(4), 211-220.
Lee, V.E., Burkam, D.T. (2003). Dropping out of high school: The role of school organization and structure. American Educational Research Journal, 40, 353-393.
McKinney, S. (2014) The relationship of child poverty to school education in Improving Schools, 17(3), 203-216
Ministry of Labor, Family, Social Protection and the Elderly (2015) Strategia nationala privind incluziunea sociala si reducerea saraciei. Romania. Retrieved from http://www.mmuncii.ro/j33/images/Documente/Familie/2016/StrategyVol1RO_web.pdf
Ministry of National Education (2019) Raport privind starea învățământului preuniversitar din România 2017-2018. Retrieved from https://www.edu.ro/sites/default/files/Raport%20privind%20starea%20%C3%AEnv%C4%83%C8%9B%C4%83m%C3%A2ntului%20preuniversitar%20din%20Rom%C3%A2nia_2017-2018_0.pdf
Murnane, R.J. (2007) Improving the education of children living in poverty in Future of Children, 7(2): 161-182
Neamțu, C. (2003) Devianța școlară, Polirom: București.
Neild, R. C., Balfanz, R., Herzog, L. (2007). An early warning system: By promptly reacting to student distress signals, schools can redirect potential dropouts onto the path to graduation. Educational Leadership, 65(2), 28-33.
Newcomb, M.D., Abbott, R.D., Catalano, R.F., Hawkins, J.D., Battin-Pearson, S., & Hill, K.(2002). Mediational and deviance theories of late high school failure: Process roles of structural strains, academic competence, and general versus specific problem behaviors. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49, 172-186.
Newman, F.M., Wehlage, G.G., & Lamborn, S.D. (1992) The Significance and Sources of Student Engagement, in F.M. Newman – Ed. Student Engagement and Achivement in American Secondary Schools, Teachers College Press: New York.
Richman, J. M., Bowen, G. L., Woolley, M. E. (2004) School failure: An eco-interactional-developmental perspective. Risk and resilience in childhood: An ecological perspective, 2, 133-160, NASW Press: Washington, DC
Romanian Government (2015) Strategie privind reducerea parasirii timpurii a scolii in Romania. Retrieved from https://www.edu.ro/sites/default/files/_fi%C8%99iere/Invatamant-Preuniversitar/2015/Strategie-PTS/Strategia-PTS-2015.pdf
Romanian National Statistics Institute (2019) Sistemul Educațional din România: Date sistemice Retrieved from http://www.insse.ro/cms/sites/default/files/field/publicatii/sistemul_educational_in_romania_2017_2018.pdf
Rumberger, R. W. (2004). Why students drop out of school. In Gary Orfield (Ed.), Dropouts in America: Confronting the graduation rate crisis, 131-155. Harvard Education Press: Cambridge, MA.
Rumberger, R., Lim, S.A. (2008) Why Students Drop Out of School: A Review of 25 Years of Research, California Dropout Research Project Report #15. Retrieved from https://www.issuelab.org/resources/11658/11658.pdf
UNICEF (2012) Copiii care nu merg la școală: o analiză a participării la educaţie în învăţământul primar şi gimnazial, Alpha: Buzău.
Vallerand, R. J., Fortier, M. S., Guay, F. (1997). Self-Determination and Persistence in a Real-Life Setting: Toward a Motivational Model of High School Dropout. Journal of Personality and Social psychology, 72, 1161-1176.
Viscol, M. (2016) Identificarea determinantilori psihosociali ai esecului scolar si asigurarea adaptarii elevilor la cerintele scolii. Studia Universitatis Moldaviae, Seria Stiintele Educatiei, 5(95), 135-138.
Vlad, R., Vlad, M. (2018) School Success and Failure: Determinants Factors and Ways to Prevent School Failure. Journal of Romanian Literary Studies, 14, consulted online at http://www.diacronia.ro/ro/indexing/details/A28285/pdf
Wehlage, G. G., Rutter, R. A., Smith, G. A., Lesko, N., & Fernandez, R. R. (1989). Reducing the risk: Schools as communities of support. Falmer Press: New York
Zamfir, E., Zamfir, C. (1995) Politici sociale. România în context european, Aternative: București.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 The Authors & LUMEN Publishing House

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant this journalright of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work, with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as an earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala Journal has an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND