Successful Students, Readmitted Students, and Dropouts: A Comparative Study of Student Attrition
In: Social science quarterly, Band 53, Heft 1, S. 136-144
ISSN: 0038-4941
The r between varying degrees of student success & 2 diff types of student characteristics was investigated: (1) background (age at matriculation, sex, father's occup, father's educ'al attainment, mother's educ'al attainment, hometown size, & HSch grade point average); & (2) academic orientation. The relationship between student success & certain types of reference group support was also studied but results are reported elsewhere (W. T. Gustavus, "Successful Students and Dropouts: An Investigation into Reference Group Support and Student Attrition," unpublished paper read at the annual meetings of the Southwestern Sociol'al Society [see SA E8035/SWSA/1971/0104]). 3 diff groups of students were studied: dropouts (N=122), readmitted students (N=186), & successful students (N=234). Very few diff's emerged among the 3 groups re background characteristics. Only father's educ'al attainment was found to be signif'ly related to degree of success: the fathers of readmitted students & dropouts had higher educ'al attainments than the fathers of successful students. When the 3 groups were compared as freshmen & sophomores, the readmitted & successful students were generally more academically motivated & vocationally committed than the dropouts. When the same groups were compared as juniors & seniors, the same trend was found, with the readmitted students being even more motivated & committed than their younger counterparts. By controlling for yr in Coll, it was possible to elaborate what otherwise would have amounted to another traditional comparison between total success or total failure & obtain a more realistic picture. Further res on attrition with the sample of readmitted students is suggested. 3 Tables. M. Maxfield.