Why do they leave? What dropouts say about dropping out

Résumé En

The goal of this research is to better grasp the subjective aspect of the school careers that lead to dropping out. Another of its ambitions is to demonstrate the links between the subjective dimension of dropping out, perceived through the reasons given by the young people, and their objective characteristics, on a socio-demographic level (gender, age, social and family environment) as well as an academic one (grade repetition, educational guidance, etc.). The study of dropping out’s subjective dimension has mainly been addressed through qualitative research. Nevertheless, we believe that it is possible to integrate experiential aspects as part of quantitative research methodologies, in particular by questioning young people on the reasons they quit school, which allows access to the logic behind their actions and the pressures that limit them.To this end, a survey named Motives of Dropout 2015 (MODS 2015) was conducted from April to October 2015, based on an administrative file which lists dropouts in France. 2935 people were contacted thanks to the file. The data was analysed in two stages. First of all, a clustering of motives allowed the highlighting of a typology of dropping out experiences. Secondly, several multivariate statistical models were used to determine the relations between socio-demographic and school characteristics on the one hand, and dropping out motives, on the other.The typology leads us to consider five dropout profiles. The models indicate that the way dropping out is experienced depends on the gender and the social background. But the clusters are mostly differentiated depending on the school experience, particularly on the amount of difficulties that the dropouts encountered in their school careers before dropping out. This strong link between former experience and dropping out motive reveals an educational system that is largely unfit for the diversity of students.