Dropout Status and Interactions With School Staff: Perspectives of Permanent, Temporary, and Non–School Leavers

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: The Undocumented and the "At-Risk": Understanding the Interactions and Engagements of Vulnerable Student Groups

Abstract

Drawing from a community-based survey sample of 218, predominantly Latina/o young adults, collected through a participatory action research (PAR) project, this paper explores relationships between student/staff interactions and dropout status. It analyzes survey data using descriptive statistics to examine participants' interactions with high school teachers and administrators across three sub-groups—those who: (1) never, (2) temporarily, and (3) permanently left high school. Findings indicate more negative student/staff interactions among school-leavers, as compared non-leavers, and that in the case of some interactions, students who leave and subsequently return to school have more negative experiences with staff than those who do not return. The nuances of these and other findings and their implications for understanding high school non-completion will be discussed.

Authors

• Tara Marie Brown, University of Maryland - College Park

• Justine Hwei Chi Lee, University of Maryland - College Park

• Edwin Alamo