Prediction of Potential Higher Education Dropout in Employed and Unemployed Undergraduate Students

Abstract Higher education dropout is a relevant problem. Many students do not complete college because of financial and psychosocial issues. We aimed to identify predictors of the reasons for potential dropout of higher education among 385 university students employed and 397 unemployed. We showed that the reasons for the potential dropout of higher education in the sample are related to factors as vocational, career, academic performance, interpersonal and lack of support. This evidence demonstrates that predictors related to the type of institution, study financing, self-evaluation and levels of satisfaction with course, financial condition and professional choice predict the college dropout potential among students who work and do not work. Thus, it is necessary to plan public policies that cover these variables and consider the specificities of these groups while formulating policies and practices with the purpose of maximizing student’s permanence in higher education and optimizing their professional trajectory planning.

摘要：高等教育辍学是一个广受关注的现实议题。诸多学生因经济困境与社会心理问题无法完成大学学业。本研究针对385名在职大学生与397名非在职大学生，旨在识别高等教育潜在辍学的相关预测因子。研究发现，本样本中高等教育潜在辍学的诱因与职业适配、职业发展、学业表现、人际互动及支持资源匮乏等因素存在关联。上述研究结果表明，院校类型、学业资助方式、自我评估水平、课程满意度、经济状况以及职业选择等相关变量，均可对在职与非在职大学生的高等教育辍学潜在风险产生预测作用。因此，在制定旨在提升学生高等教育就读留存率、优化其职业发展规划的政策与实践方案时，有必要出台覆盖上述影响变量的公共政策，并兼顾两类学生群体的特殊性。