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Identifying students at risk of early withdrawal from secondary school

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Graham Bradley
Graham Bradley*
Affiliation:
Griffith University
*
Faculty Of Education And The Arts, Griffith University-Gold Coast, Private Mail Bag 50, Gold Coast Mail Centre Qld 4217, Email: G.Bradley@eda.gu.edu.au
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Abstract

Past research has identified many correlates of failure to complete 12 years of high school, but further work is required to synthesise this knowledge prior to the implementation of appropriately targeted intetventions. In the current study, a detailed questionnaire containing items relevant to school leaving was constructed using the findings from past research. The questionnaire was administered to 299 students in Years 9 to 11 at a Queensland coeducational state high school. Factor analysis of the students' responses yielded nine factors which were related to an intention to withdraw from school prior to Year 12. Discriminant analysis indicated that early school leaving was most parsimoniously predicted by a combination of scales measuring academic and occupational values, past school performance, family support, and a “masculine-jock” orientation.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 11 , Issue 1: Special Issue: Adolescence , May 1994 , pp. 1 - 7
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1994

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