Defining Dropout: A Study of Identity Formation and Persistence Among College Students

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 43
  In Roundtable Session: Students' Identities on Campus

Abstract

This study draws on unique, longitudinal interview data and the insights of cultural sociology to take a novel approach to understanding college dropout. Rather than viewing dropout as a discrete event, I use students’ multifaceted narratives surrounding dropout to unpack their identity construction as “college students.” At the micro or individual level, I find that students’ different sense-making strategies correspond with divergent approaches to identity formation and persistence. Experiences at the meso or college level and narratives of bachelor’s degree completion emerging at the macro or national level further impact these approaches. By unpacking each of these levels, I demonstrate that dropout stratifies college-goers not solely through action, but through identity construction, as well.

Author

• Christina Ciocca Eller, Columbia University