Perspectives of the Dropped Out Children on their Dropping

Dropping out of school not only casts socioeconomic impacts on dropouts but it also creates emotional distress and a loss of self-esteem (Kaplan, 1983). Tukundane, Zeelen, Minnaert and Kanyandago (2014) conducted 16 in-depth interviews with early school leavers aged 16 and 24 years in Uganda. They found that most of the participants viewed early schooling leaving as a “bad and traumatising experience which undermines their sense of self- worth” (Tukundane et al., 2014, p. 488).

The perspectives of the dropped out children are not the central issues in the existing literature on school dropout; this is more evident in the poor and developing countries. The voices of dropped out children from the public secondary schools are still unheard in rural Pakistan. The literature review on the perspectives of dropped out children is also based on a limited number of empirical studies conducted in other countries.

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A number of studies attempted to seek the perspectives of school dropouts by asking them direct questions or holding focus group discussions (Bridgeland, DiIulio Jr, & Morison, 2006; T. Lee & Breen, 2007; Lessard et al., 2008; Mitchell, Del Monte, & Deneulin, 2018; Mokibelo, 2014; Ritchotte & Graefe, 2017; Saraiva, Pereira, & Zamith-Cruz, 2011; Tukundane et al., 2014; West, 2013; Zuilkowski, Samanhudi, & Indriana, 2017). The studies report various push out and pull out factors of dropping out. However, these empirical studies show that the impacts of pull out factors are stronger than the push out factors. Doll, Eslami and Walters (2013) also confirmed this observation when they compared and analysed the seven nationally representative studies in order to understand the reasons for dropping out through the dropouts’ own perspectives in the US. They found that the influence of pull out factors and poor academic performance was more dominant in those studies.

The dropped out students largely related the reasons for their dropping out to the pull out factors, including family problems, having responsibilities at home, financial constraints, peer pressure, pregnancy or marriage, care of family members, personal health and behavioural issues, lack of parental support and involvement (Doll et al., 2013; Lessard et al., 2008; Mitchell et al., 2018; Mokibelo, 2014; Saraiva et al., 2011; Zuilkowski et al., 2017). In these studies, students frequently reported the pull out factor of financial problems. For example, Zuilkowski et al. (2017) interviewed 28 dropouts to investigate the reasons for secondary school dropout in Banten and Aceh, two provinces in Indonesia. They found that the high cost of schooling and the wish to relieve financial pressure on their families pulled many students out of school. Mitchell et al. (2018) had similar findings when they interviewed 20 dropouts aged 14 to 24 years in an informal settlement of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. They cited students’ desire to care for their siblings and provide for the families as major pull out factors.

Moreover, Saraiva et al. (2011) conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 Portuguese male offenders aged between 19 to 49 years to examine their reasons for dropping out of school. They found that emotional and behavioural difficulties played a main role in their early withdrawal from school. They further discovered that grade repetition, absenteeism and poor academic achievements caused behavioural problems among students. Similarly, life turning points are dramatic events that caused anger, depression and emotional distress; sometimes family social and parental problems directly affect children and they drop out of school. This was corroborated by Lessard et al. (2008), who interviewed 80 French-Canadian Caucasians dropouts living in the province of Quebec and found that family turmoil in the form

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of divorce, parental abuse, parental neglect and parental criminal activities pulled many children out of school. In their quantitative study, Parr and Bonitz (2015) used a nationally representative sample of 15,753 high school students to assess their family background, student behaviour and school-related beliefs in predicting high school dropout in the USA. They found that socioeconomic status, academic performance, parental involvement, and absenteeism were the most predictive indicators of high school dropout.

The qualitative empirical studies under review here also largely report that poor academic performance is a prominent reason for early withdrawal from school (Bridgeland et al., 2006; Lessard et al., 2008; Mitchell et al., 2018; Saraiva et al., 2011; Tukundane et al., 2014; West, 2013). There are many factors associated with poor academic performance, such as uninteresting classes, frequent absenteeism, peer pressure, failing in exams, lack of educational and family support, learning disabilities, disconnection with teachers, and a lack of academic stability (Banerjee, 2016; Bridgeland et al., 2006; Lessard et al., 2008; Ritchotte & Graefe, 2017; West, 2013; Zuilkowski et al., 2017).

In her systematic review of 771 studies published in the UK and the US from 2005 to 2014, Banerjee (2016) examined the factors relating to the poor academic performance of disadvantaged pupils studying science and maths in schools. She established some personal, family and school factors that were linked to poor academic performance. These include: the lack of pupils’ positive attitudes towards school and learning; lack of role models in the low academic progression areas; lack of parental academic involvement; lack of support from school and teachers; lower maternal education, and family background.

The studies also reported through students’ perspectives that some factors relating to school pushed them out. These factors include: boredom; a depressing and apathetic classroom environment; absenteeism; bullying and gossip; poor student–teacher relation-ships; and school contextual factors, such as organisational structure and the policies and practices in place (Banerjee, 2016; Bridgeland et al., 2006; Doll et al., 2013; T. Lee & Breen, 2007; Lessard et al., 2008; Ritchotte & Graefe, 2017; West, 2013). Mokibelo (2014) found that corporal punishment and the inability to speak the English language were the main reasons for dropping out from primary and junior secondary schools in the central district in Botswana when she conducted in-depth interviews with 20 dropped out students. Mughal, Aldridge and Monaghan (2018) also reported through the perspectives of 18 secondary school dropped out boys that the

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English medium syllabus, poor teaching practices and unfavourable school practices push many pupils out of school in rural Punjab, Pakistan4F

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In contrast to these studies, Okey and Cusick (1995) stated another side of the story on dropping out. They interviewed a minimum of three, and in some case more than three, members of 12 Caucasian families whose children dropped out from smaller schools of Midwest districts in the USA. The purpose of this study was to examine the school perspective of dropping out. Parents, grandparents, relatives, dropouts and their friends participated in the interview process. The study showed that family dynamics were more important than socioeconomic status when it came to the educational background. It argued that a family history of poor educational performance and inherited behaviour had a greater influence in the subsequent schooling. It further argued that the problems of academic failures, conflicts with school staff and peers, suspension and expulsions were common among those students who had behavioural issues and a family history of poor school performance. Therefore, Okey and Cusick (1995) said that dropping out was not a problem but a blessing for such families.