Summary
The cases of
school dropouts are growing at an alarming rate. Many children are leaving high
school long before they graduate. The trend is disturbing, and all the
necessary measures need to be implemented to curb the problem. The management
of the education sector requires a concerted effort that will ensure that the
students will appreciate their being at school and the impact of education in
their lives. The different factors have been identified to cause the problem of
students dropping out of school. High level of poverty among the minority
communities has been defined as a significant reason for the children exiting
school before they can graduate. The concern has been raised in many quarters.
The government has the role of making the situation better for the children to
enjoy staying in school. The teachers and the students can also play an
essential role towards eliminating the issues that may emerge out of the cases
of children dropping out of schools before they can graduate.
Policies have
been developed with the aim of reducing the cases of students dropping out. The
policymakers need to ensure that all the children have equal rights to an
education without paying attention to their backgrounds. The concerned parties
should ensure that the children are not discriminated against by their peers or
teachers based on any given basis. The female children should be handled with
care for meeting their unique needs. The teen mothers need support to be able
to go back to class after they give birth. Such girls need assistance to be
able to overcome the stigma associated with that condition. The parents have
the role of offering best parental care with the aim of supporting their
children through education. The cooperation between all the stakeholders is therefore
essential towards reducing the rate of school dropouts among the high school
students.
Dropout Rates in High Schools
High school
dropout rates have been recorded highly in the recent times. The records
indicate that the dropout rates are higher in some states as compared to
others. The acceptable period of four years is perceived as the required amount
of time that a person should spend in high school (Stetser and Robert 2). However,
the rates have been dropping in some states faster than in some other states.
The problem has been a significant concern to the policymakers of the education
sectors. The actions groups have noted that the dropout rates are not simple
accidents that can be wished away. The paper discusses the cause of high school
dropout rates and the possible solutions.
Education
advocacy groups have played an essential role in identifying the areas where
the problem has been recorded to be rampant. The number of high schools that
have failed to graduate is falling in some areas. However, the problem is
endemic and needs to be handled carefully to eliminate all the issues that the
students may be facing in their attempts to graduate successfully from the high
schools. The paper will, therefore, look at the reasons behind the high number
of high school dropout recorded in the recent past.
Underserved
communities have been identified as the most affected by the crisis. Efforts
should be raised towards putting down measures that can be used towards meeting
the challenges that are faced by the identified community. Education is an
essential fundamental right that needs to be available to all students in an
equal proportion. Several regulations have been defined as a way of curbing the
spiraling rate of high school dropouts.
The underlying
factors that cause the high rate of school dropout have been identified as the
most prominent concerns for the government. Several presidents have made it
their priority to arrest the problem and provide lasting solutions that can
prove to be beneficial to the efforts. Several regulations have been
implemented with the goal of reducing the aspect of school dropouts. The
schools attended by the children from poor neighborhoods are the greatest
affected by the high dropout rates. Effective policies need to be implemented
to check the situation (Freeman and Brandi 208).Policies have been developed to
try to arrest the situation and ensure that such students remain in school
until they graduate.
Schools that had
a majority of students from the minority communities have been identified to be
the most affected by the high dropout rates. The most significant populations
of students who fail to graduate are from the Hispanic communities. More
efforts have been focused on the aspect of safeguarding the historically
disadvantaged students. The efforts have seen the development of laws that are
focused towards ensuring that the people had a much stronger accountability
measures with the aim of safeguarding the students that have been disadvantaged
from a historical perspective.
The problem
needs to be handled by the expected level of assistance and importance with the
aim of eliminating the aspect of recurrence of the issues in the end. Students
of color have the lowest possibility of completing school in the required time.
The aspects of poverty cause the tendency. The reports suggest that the schools
identified as dropout factories have a high number of students from the
minority communities of African Americans and Hispanics. Transparent reporting
is essential towards understanding the effects of the problem and the extent to
which help can be sought for the affected schools and students.
Accountability
among the schools should be centralized so that the depth of the problem can be
understood better. The need for an equal education system is a goal that should
be the center of focus. The ultimate goal is to drop the dropout rates to zero.
The most important effort is to turn around the schools that have been
struggling with the problem of high numbers of students dropping out.
Efforts towards
equality should be focused towards ensuring that the students from the needy
families have equal access to education as their affluent peers. Several
concerns have been raised towards the aspects of the problems that need to be
addressed with the necessary urgency. The factors and the tendencies can be
noted earlier in the life of the student before an escalation occurs. The early
identification can be instrumental towards the formulation of the efforts that
are meant to normalize the situation.
The choice of
dropping out is not just a onetime event. The element is a systematic process
that has events following each other from one-step to the other. The warning
sign is always available for people to see. Several pointers can be seen
towards establishing a tendency towards students dropping out of high school.
Most cases occur early in the years of the high school. Most cases have of
students dropping out of school have been recorded when the students get to the
tenth grade of their studies. Most of such children are classified as
under-credited because they have managed to get lower than required courses as
expected at that stage.
Early warnings
can be noted in the process of the students dropping out of school. Mitigation
of the signals is vital towards the elimination of the problem. The demographic
and performance indicators play a significant role in offering the earliest
warning signs that can be used to mitigate the problem. Other factors such as
the personality of an individual and the motivation also play a significant
role in the high rates of dropping out from school.
The demographic
aspects of the problem can be outlined as the children coming from a low-income
family. Such a student will experience the challenge of earning less than
expected credits that will be the reason behind them dropping out of school.
Male students in
most cases have been shown to record poor attendance in the schools that they
attend. Female students record good attendance when going to school (Shahidul
and Karim 30). The fact is also the same for the students that are
comparatively older than their peers in the classes that they attend (Stark and
Amber 6). Such students feel out of place, and the lack of the necessary
motivation mechanisms may see them exit the school before graduating.
Children from
the ethnic and racial minorities tend to obtain poor grades in core subjects.
The factor causes them to develop a negative attitude towards education in
totality, and the result is the dropping out from such schools (Goux, Marc, and
Eric 3). Attitudes of the students also play an essential part towards
completing school. The aspects such as the class work not exciting and lack of
engagement in school have been identified as some of the factors behind the
high number of students that are dropping out of high schools.
Social Concerns
The social
background has been described as some of the most prominent factors behind the
high rates of high school dropouts. The socioeconomic status plays a
significant role towards the graduation of the targeted students. The students
from low-income families have the most senior tendency towards dropping out of
schools as compared to their affluent peers. Reports also show that students
with physical disabilities are also most likely to drop out of school (DePaoli
et al. 6). The case also applies to the children with low learning
capabilities. Other factors such as alienation by the peers or adult members in
the schools also play an essential role in the contribution to the high rates
of students dropping out.
The loss of motivation
when the child notes that he cannot march his peers towards having equal
opportunities is the primary reason behind dropping out in such cases. The
students that do not fit in the traditional class makeup also have a high
tendency of dropping out of school before graduation. The concern has been seen
as a significant driver of the policies that are aimed at reducing ensuring
that the social concerns are eliminated from the problems that may emerge from
the rampant cases of students dropping out. The ability of a child to have long
term goals can be used to determine the possibility of dropping out of school (Fitzpatrick
et al. 160).
Higher rates of
poverty have been recorded among people that do not have a high school degree.
The poverty rates of such dropouts are higher as compared to the college
graduates. The unemployment rates among such people are significantly higher.
The lifetime earnings of people without high school diplomas are much lower in
comparison to that of their peers that graduated from the high school. The
connection between dropout rates and high levels of crime has also been
established. People that have dropped out of school have the most prominent
tendency towards getting into the criminal gangs.
The effect of
such tendency has been seen in the high number of criminal cases reported in
the low-income areas. Most of the people arrested because of the crimes
committed in such areas did not graduate from high schools. Data from the
prisons departments indicate that the most prominent segment of the young
people that have been incarcerated are not high school graduates. The rate of
school dropouts is significantly elevated among the immigrants. Most of the
immigrants are not registered, and the fact implies that the number might be
more substantial than anticipated.
Personal Concerns
Personal reasons
are some of the most significant drivers behind the cases of high school dropouts. However, most students prefer it a
way of overcoming their personal and academic problems. They view the aspect of
dropping out of school as a way of getting away from the heavy responsibility
of attending school. Some factors have been identified to champion the personal
decisions behind dropping out of school. Keeping the students engaged in school
for long might seem to be a good measure but the effect is not as direct as
expected (Cabus 3).
Pregnancy and
early parenthood have been identified as one of the primary reasons behind the
children dropping out of high school. Teen pregnancy has been determined to
cause many concerns to the high school students. The most prominent segment of
the female students that exit school has cited early pregnancy as a significant
reason (Marchbanks III et al. 6). Pregnant teens feel embarrassed to go to
school. Most of them struggle with the symptoms of the early stages of
pregnancy such as morning sickness and fatigue. The effects make it difficult
for them to keep up with the demand of the classwork. The process of taking
care of the babies after birth is a time-consuming process that may prove to be
difficult to couple it with classwork. The best choice according to them is,
therefore, dropping out of school.
Boredom among
the students has been identified as a reason behind the children dropping from
school (Freeman et al. 293). Most of the students that have dropped out of high
school suggest that the academic works are not impressive. Some of them have
even reported that their teachers are not interesting enough to be accorded
attention. Most of the students that have dropped out of school cite
frustration from the repeated monotony presented by the academic works.
Academic
struggles also lead to the cases of students dropping out of school. The
educational efforts point to the cases where the students do not meet the minimum
standards to proceed with the next steps. The students are subjected to
repeating classes to attain the required credits (Orpinas et al. 3). The students,
therefore, prefer the choice of dropping out for continuous failure in class
work.
The lack of
parental support has been blamed as one of the reasons behind the students
dropping out of high school. Low parental involvement or the lack of it has
been seen as a significant reason for low attendance. Parents occupy a central
role in ensuring that the school attendance of their children is high enough
(De Witte and Marton 2). Such parents have the characteristic of not following
up on the academic progress of their children. Communication breakdown between
the parents and the teachers leave the students with no option rather than
dropping out of school.
Political Concerns
Dropping out of
school raises significant levels of political concerns. Education plays a
significant role in the political aspect of the economy. An adequately educated
population has the capability of changing the fortunes of any country.
Education plays a vital role in the aspect of human and economic development.
The purpose of quality education in the success of a nation cannot be
underestimated. The people require the best knowledge to be able to tackle the
challenges that a nation might face. The rate of children dropping out of
school is therefore alarming. The threat posed by the trend cannot be
underestimated. The future of such countries is seen as a threat to the
wellbeing of the concerns of the general population. It is therefore vital to
ensure that all the measures are put in place before the problem becomes
endemic.
Solutions to the Dropping out Problem
Identification
of the students faced with the most significant risk is vital towards the
elimination of the problem. Analyzing the risk factors is substantial towards
the identification of the children that are vulnerable to the situation of
dropping out of school. The identification of the schools with the most cases
of dropouts is also vital in the process of meeting the expected goals. The
problem can then be sorted by addressing the concerns of the individual
students. The help can also be implemented at the school level or in a regional
level with many schools involved.
Effective
intervention programs are vital towards the reduction of the impact of the
problem on the children (Doren, Christopher, and Jeff 151). The interventions
should bring on board all the concerned parties in the education sectors.
Community leaders, teachers, parents and the students may play a very
significant role in the full implementation of the programs. Effective programs
have been developed and have played a significant role in the reduction of the
cases of children dropping out of high school in the recent past. The
coordination of the concerned bodies is also vital towards eliminating the
problems faced by the schools that are referred to as dropout factories.
Importance of Free College Education
The college
education is essential for the development of any country. The population
depends on the advancements that emerge from education as the basis for
success. The role of education can therefore not be undermined. The
capabilities of education in eliminating poverty are an essential aspect that
can lead to the development of a country into the league of the successful.
Education, therefore, plays that specific role in improving the lives of the
masses.
The process of
making college education free will play a crucial role towards the goals of education
in the community. The improvement in access to education is particularly vital
towards ensuring that the aspect of equality is fostered among the people. The
transition rates of students between the high schools and colleges will
improve, and that will lead to the creation of more informed populations.
The availability
of free secondary education is however dependent on numerous other factors.
Availability of employment opportunities is an essential factor that should
advise such a move. Students that graduate from colleges has the vital role of
meeting the concerns of the society. They need to be in the position of getting
the opportunity of expressing the skills that they acquire from the colleges.
Such jobs should also be viable enough to accommodate the wage demands of the
educated population.
Effects of Free College Education on the School
Dropout Rates
The aspect of
students dropping out of schools is a series of events that begin from a very
early stage of high school. Making college education free might not have a
direct impact on the rate of school dropouts. The problem of dropping out of
school needs to be curbed from the early points. Eliminating the risks factors
is vital towards reducing the effects school dropouts on the children. Some students
are determined by not going to the college, and therefore such an action might
not have the direct impact towards eliminating the aspect of school dropouts.
Conclusion
The high rate of
children dropping out of high school is alarming. All the stakeholders need to
play their role s towards eliminating a possibility for a backlash that may
prove fatal to the future generations. Several factors have been identified to
cause the rise in the cases of school dropouts. The rates are alarming, and a
severe solution is required to contain the situation before it gets out of
hand. The aspect of children dropping out has many consequences on all the
elements of life. The stakeholders need to play their roles in correcting the
situation. The people need to understand the different roles that they can play
in meeting the concerns of the children affected by the situation. Eliminating
the risk factors is key to ensuring that the future generations are saved from
themselves. The students should be taught about the vital role that education
plays in their future lives. Dialogue needs to be encouraged between the
teachers and the students. The development of a personal relationship between
them is key to the correction of the situation as it stands now. The students need
to be motivated to attend school and perform to the best of their abilities.
Equality should be enforced in the education sector. The parents also need to
be more involved in the education process of their children. The involvement
will make it easy for them to note problems when they emerge. The parents can
then take appropriate actions with the aim of ensuring that their children
remain in school. Identification of the other areas where the students are
interested is also key to the elimination of the problem. Students can be
subjected to nurturing that is aimed at ensuring that they feel appreciated and
part of the school.
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