Social and Economic Factors of Academic Dropout: A Comprehensive Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57125/FS.2025.12.20.14Keywords:
academic dropout, social factors, economic factors, socioeconomic inequality, educational persistence, cumulative disadvantage.Abstract
Academic dropout represents a significant challenge for educational systems worldwide, with far-reaching consequences for individuals and society. This article examines the complex interplay of social and economic factors shaping students' decisions to leave educational institutions prematurely. Using a narrative literature review methodology, this analysis synthesises contemporary research from 2000-2025 to explore how socioeconomic status, family circumstances, financial constraints, social capital, and institutional factors intersect to influence dropout rates across secondary and tertiary education levels. The review identifies cumulative disadvantage as a central mechanism through which multiple risk factors compound to create exponentially higher dropout vulnerability among marginalised populations. Key findings demonstrate that while socioeconomic status emerges as the strongest predictor, its effects operate through interconnected pathways, including material deprivation, family stress, peer influences, and institutional barriers. The article contributes to existing studies by providing an integrative framework that examines dropout as a process shaped by intersecting disadvantages across educational stages, rather than as discrete events at a single level. This synthesis has important implications for policy development, suggesting that effective interventions must address both structural economic inequalities and institutional practices simultaneously. The analysis concludes that reducing dropout requires early, sustained, and multidimensional prevention strategies that recognise the cumulative nature of educational disadvantage.
References
Barr, A., & Turner, S. E. (2013). Expanding enrolments and contracting state budgets: The effect of the Great Recession on higher education. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 650(1), 168–193. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716213500035
Battin-Pearson, S., Newcomb, M. D., Abbott, R. D., Hill, K. G., Catalano, R. F., & Hawkins, J. D. (2000). Predictors of early high school dropout: A test of five theories. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(3), 568–582. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.92.3.568
Belfield, C. R., & Levin, H. M. (2007). The price we pay: Economic and social consequences of inadequate education. Brookings Institution Press. https://www.brookings.edu/books/the-price-we-pay/
Bozick, R. (2007). Making it through the first year of college: The role of students' economic resources, employment, and living arrangements. Sociology of Education, 80(3), 261–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/003804070708000304
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94(Supplement), S95-S120. https://doi.org/10.1086/228943
Conger, R. D., & Donnellan, M. B. (2007). An interactionist perspective on the socioeconomic context of human development. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 175–199. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085551
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139–167. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8
Dahl, G. B., & Lochner, L. (2012). The impact of family income on child achievement: Evidence from the earned income tax credit. American Economic Review, 102(5), 1927-1956. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.102.5.1927
Davis-Kean, P. E. (2005). The influence of parent education and family income on child achievement: The indirect role of parental expectations and the home environment. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(2), 294–304. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.19.2.294
Duncan, G. J., & Murnane, R. J. (Eds.). (2011). Whither opportunity? Rising inequality, schools, and children's life chances. Russell Sage Foundation. https://doi.org/10.7758/9781610447515
Flashman, J. (2012). Academic achievement and its impact on friend dynamics. Sociology of Education, 85(1), 61–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040711417014
Goldrick-Rab, S. (2016). Paying the price: College costs, financial aid, and the betrayal of the American dream. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226404486.001.0001
Goldrick-Rab, S., Kelchen, R., Harris, D. N., & Benson, J. (2016). Reducing income inequality in educational attainment: Experimental evidence on the impact of financial aid on college completion. American Journal of Sociology, 121(6), 1762-1817. https://doi.org/10.1086/685442
Goldrick-Rab, S., Coca, V., Baker-Smith, C., & Looker, E. (2020). City University of New York #RealCollege survey: Basic needs insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hope Centre for College, Community, and Justice. https://hope4college.com/realcollege-during-the-pandemic/
Kozol, J. (2005). The shame of the nation: The restoration of apartheid schooling in America. Crown Publishers.
Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Buckley, J. A., Bridges, B. K., & Hayek, J. C. (2008). Piecing together the student success puzzle: Research, propositions, and recommendations. ASHE Higher Education Report, 32(5), 1–182. https://doi.org/10.1002/aehe.3205
Lareau, A. (2003). Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520949904
Lee, V. E., & Burkam, D. T. (2003). Dropping out of high school: The role of school organisation and structure. American Educational Research Journal, 40(2), 353–393. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312040002353
Mac Iver, M. A., & Mac Iver, D. J. (2010). How do we ensure that everyone graduates? An integrated prevention and tiered intervention model for schools and districts. New Directions for Youth Development, 2010(127), 25–35. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.361
McLanahan, S., & Sandefur, G. (1994). Growing up with a single parent: What hurts, what helps. Harvard University Press.
National Centre for Education Statistics. (2021). The condition of education 2021 (NCES 2021-144). U.S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2021144
Oakes, J. (2005). Keeping track: How schools structure inequality (2nd ed.). Yale University Press.
Perna, L. W., & Titus, M. A. (2005). The relationship between parental involvement as social capital and college enrollment: An examination of racial/ethnic group differences. Journal of Higher Education, 76(5), 485–518. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2005.11772296
Reardon, S. F. (2011). The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor: New evidence and possible explanations. In G. J. Duncan & R. J. Murnane (Eds.), Whither opportunity? Rising inequality, schools, and children's life chances (pp. 91–116). Russell Sage Foundation. https://doi.org/10.7758/9781610447515.10
Rosenbaum, J. E. (2001). Beyond college for all: Career paths for the forgotten half. Russell Sage Foundation.
Rumberger, R. W. (2011). Dropping out: Why students drop out of high school and what can be done about it. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674063167
Rumberger, R. W., & Lim, S. A. (2008). Why students drop out of school: A review of 25 years of research (California Dropout Research Project Report #15). University of California, Santa Barbara. https://www.cdrp.ucsb.edu/pubs_reports.htm
Rumberger, R. W., & Palardy, G. J. (2005). Does segregation still matter? The impact of student composition on academic achievement in high school. Teachers College Record, 107(9), 1999-2045. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9620.2005.00583.x
Schoon, I. (2006). Risk and resilience: Adaptations in changing times. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511490132
Skiba, R. J., Chung, C. G., Trachok, M., Baker, T. L., Sheya, A., & Hughes, R. L. (2014). Parsing disciplinary disproportionality: Contributions of infraction, student, and school characteristics to out-of-school suspension and expulsion. American Educational Research Journal, 51(4), 640–670. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831214541670
Stanton-Salazar, R. D. (1997). A social capital framework for understanding the socialisation of racial minority children and youths. Harvard Educational Review, 67(1), 1–41. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.67.1.140676g74018u73k
Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 797–811. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797
Suárez-Orozco, C., Suárez-Orozco, M. M., & Todorova, I. (2008). Learning a new land: Immigrant students in American society. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674044111
Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
Wilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. University of Chicago Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 author
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.