Minimizing High School Dropouts: Social Perspective Essay

The purpose of this research paper was to record and analyze students’ experiences with dropping out of high school within a social perspective. Discussing the stories of high school dropouts provided valuable information related to the root causes of dropout behaviors in a social influence context. This information could be used to develop programs designed to increase social influence in schools, families, and communities, which can contribute to a decrease in dropout behaviors. High school dropouts are at a new record high in society today, it has been recorded that every second there is a high school student dropping out equaling close to 1000 students a month throughout the USA. What grade should be observed the most to avoid high dropout rates? Who does the high school dropout crisis affect the most? These are just some of the questions we as parents, teachers, administrators, government officials, etc need to really ask ourselves. Because this social problem is only going to keep growing if we as a nation do not start taking the proper steps to improve our school systems and communities. Graduation rates are one of the most troubling concerns, especially in the ninth grade. Meanwhile, the federal government has invested millions of dollars in researching at risk drop out students, which estimated in 2001 to over half a million students leaving before graduation. Unfortunately, this increase in the dropout rate has occurred at a time when there seems such a large emphasis on getting a college degree, much less a high school diploma and being able to compete in a global world (Neild, Balfanz, & Herzog, 2007). The ninth grade students accumulate the highest behavioral issues as well as poor grades, because it is the first time for many students having to earn passing grades in their core courses or even be responsible for their own actions. Researchers have started their target area with the ninth graders because this is a make or break stage in the students’ school years (Smith, Akos, Lim, & Wiley, 2008). With high school graduation requirements increasing throughout the states both involving the ninth grade and the transition from middle school to high school , a lot of data went into viewing the importance of the ninth grade year (Cooney, & Bottoms, 2002). Possible help tactics to ease the transition to high school included developing freshman academics and emphasis on students both before and after ninth grade, which could boost freshman success and possibly reduce high school dropout rates (Fulk, 2003). Challenging high school graduation requirements during the ninth grade year are only one of the many issues that many students face. With this being my 2nd year as an Administrator in high school, I am the individual that works closely to the ninth grade class developing transition skills from middle school to high school. And honestly at this level of high school they are the most challenging because they are still playful, immature, and lack the importance of high school. So implementing programs throughout their whole 9th grade year could help develop them into stronger students as well as individuals. Fulk (2003) mentioned high schools developing freshman academics so this way they are challenging them not making the transition complicating but strengthening them academically. High schools implementing this program could be a great idea however these students need to be motivated and strengthened mentally before expecting them to achieve the highest level of excellence academically. Because this situation is so publicized the school systems need to gather (etc; charter schools, public schools, private schools) to implement social psychological theories to these schools so this issue can start changing. But realistically, the schools can get onboard however if the parents do not drive this into their children it can be quite difficult to change their attitudes on their academic achievement. I would like to see more after school programs focusing on attitude adjustment and academic achievement. Socially, we as a nation need to address this social issue and create interventions for all schools to implement because there should not be that many high school dropouts daily throughout this nation. In addition, students need to have mentors not just their teachers, administrators, etc because this could be a drive that could change this social problem within the school systems. Cultural influences provided an exploration of the effect of neighborhood distress, which includes high poverty levels and crime rates, on the risk of dropping out of school. When all other variables were controlled for, white students were more at risk of dropping out of school than African American students were. In addition, students from families with higher incomes and levels of education were less likely to drop out of school and that household stability reduced the likelihood of dropping out of school. When neighborhood distress was added into the equation, Crowder and South found that African American students from disadvantaged neighborhoods were over twice as likely to drop out of school as white students from similarly disadvantaged neighborhoods, a finding which was independent of individual- and family-level characteristics. This effect was more pronounced for male African American students as the level of neighborhood distress increased, and was exacerbated by living in a single-parent household (Crowder & South). Among white students, females were more likely to drop out of school than males as the level of neighborhood distress increased (Crowder & South). The impact of socioeconomic factors in neighborhoods on the tendency for students to drop out of school was substantial, particularly for African American males in single-parent households and white females. The social influence and dropout behavior for different minority groups focuses on all aspects of social influence, which Latinos have been reported having an unsuccessful academic outcome. This family social influence translates into poor academic achievement because of the lack of community social influence and value placed on the potential of women in Latino society to produce economic wealth (Qian, & Blair, 1999). The purpose of this study was to record and analyze students’ experiences with dropping out of high school within a social perspective. Some of this data was collected over the past 4 yrs at my current high school where I am employed as Assistant Dean of Students; meanwhile, some is more current. As a researcher, I assumed students who have dropped out of school had something important to say about the social components they perceived as being lacking from their educational process and that student views had the potential to enrich discourse about social influence. My experience as an administrator responsible for dealing with students who have attendance problems contributed to my desire to tell the stories of such students. From this study, I examined how the level of social influence in each participant’s life affected the decision each made to drop out of school. Furthermore, I was able to develop a more complete definition of social influence as it relates to dropouts. Through this study, I gave a voice to the high school dropout and provided a context for the improvement of the level of social influence found in families, schools, and communities. The shared experiences of high school dropouts provided insight into the aspects of social capital that may contribute to the decision for the student to leave school. An examination of the stories of dropouts obtained in interviews gave a voice to those who were unable or unwilling to complete high school. In addition, it provided a forum for utilizing social theory to develop a future dialog for reduction of the dropout problem. As part of my experience as Assistant to the Dean of Students, one of my charges has been to implement consistency with our school’s attendance policy and to decrease the school’s dropout rate. During one of our weekly meetings, the school’s Department chairs and I decided to meet with six to eight at-risk students, and, when available, their parents. These meetings focus on determining why each of the students was not coming to school and developing a plan to get each student back on track for graduation. I have heard stories of family problems, academic difficulties, substance abuse, mental illness, and bad habits that shaped students’ perceptions of their realities in school. Participants The potential participants for this study included approximately 30 students, age18 and over, who dropped out of the school during the 2005-2009 school year. Meanwhile, five students were selected from this research study for face-to-face interview time. First, each student must have been a part of the general education population and not have had an Individualized Education Program (IEP) developed for them. Students with disabilities were not included in this study. There are a disproportionate number of dropouts with disabilities (Goldschmidt, 1999). According to a report of findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, approximately 30% of all students with disabilities dropped out of high school in 2003 (Wagner, Newman, Cameto, & Levine, 2004). The nature of the disability might be a reason for the dropout behaviors and may confound the data. However, further study needs to be conducted for IEP students because from what I have witnessed, their level of motivation is low and they tend to give up. In addition, once all candidates were interviewed, the Department chairs, Dean of Students and I chose our students for further research. Meanwhile, since some data from previous dropouts had already been documented the ethical consent forms were not necessary; however, ones being considered at risk dropouts were given an ethical consent form. Each candidate was informed of the nature of the study and asked of his or her level of willingness to participate. During the study, some questions were asked to guide participant into discussion: 1. Tell me about yourself. 2. Tell me about your high school experience. 3. Describe the ways you were encouraged to stay in high school The questions were intended to elicit stories that would provide information to answer the research questions, meanwhile, these responses were based on the main components of social influence that lead them to dropping out of high school.  Here are some gathered responses from the participants to answer the research question â€Å"Social Perspective on Minimizing Dropout Rates†. 1. Single parent home, does not get along with parents, no family support, illegal drug use, criminal activities, repeated two grade levels. 2. Skipping school and classes, not much desire to be in school besides socially, not involved in school activities, parents not knowledgeable of academics, behavior, etc, no high levels of expectations given by parents. 3.  Had several teachers, administrators riding him giving motivational speeches, encouraging him. Still no family support besides his friends doing nothing with their lives. Future Study The school systems are being held accountable for increasing graduation rates. While they are unable to control access to family and community social influences available to students, they can assist students by teaching them how to identify dysfunctional relationships and how to utilize social influences that is available to them through building positive relationships and seeking mentors. Further research into the development of successful intervention programs to provide support for social attainment throughout a child’s school career may be a proactive way to work with students who exhibit tendencies to drop out of school (Astone, 1991). One major setback encountered by the students was that they had not established long-term goals or had goals that were unrealistic. In this study, the students had difficulty answering questions about their goals and seemed to be unable to imagine prospects beyond the immediate future. Unfortunately, there was a lack of family social influence available to the students in this study. Quantitative studies have clearly identified components of social influence related to the family that are indicators of future dropout behavior (Fontana, 2002). Not many studies were found that analyzed the parental viewpoint on the development of family social influence. A research design study of the parents of dropouts and the stories they tell about their children may add to the future studies. Understanding how aspects of social influence appear in the stories that parents tell could provide information about how family social development breaks down in the lives of dropouts (Epstein, 2002). The theme found throughout this research project was that a lack of family and community social influence in the form of a deficiency in relationships with members of families or communities with the capacity to assist students in their endeavors to complete school might have contributed to dropout behaviors exhibited by students in this study. In addition, access to school social influence did not necessarily enhance the students’ potential to complete school. Developing social influence is a way to remove barriers for students and to build bridges that bring school personnel, community members, and families together to keep youth in school. Social networks among parents, educators, and community members are crucial to the success of each child, in addition to school social influence, family social influence, and community social influence. Nevertheless, it seems that in the cases of these students, school social influence was readily available, but they did not utilize it. To maximize the benefits received, students must understand how to use social influence available to them. School personnel have limited control over the amount of school social influence students may utilize. By increasing available school social influence, students should exhibit decreased dropout tendencies along with increasing community and family social influence, which has been shown to increase student achievement.