School Dropout Process from a Sociocultural Lens: A Life-Course Engagement-Resilience Model for Immigrant-Background Students

• In Event: Fostering Engagement for All: Advancing Socioculturally Inclusive Theory, Research, and Practice in Student Engagement

Abstract

Research suggests that school dropout results from a short- or long-term process of disengagement from school. However, the fact that research on student engagement is highly concentrated in Western countries and strongly focuses on youths from the general population limits our understanding of the engagement/disengagement process associated with school dropout for specific populations, such as immigrant-background students. Furthermore, although student engagement is recognized by research as part of the school resilience process, current theories fail to consider the joint contribution of these two processes. As such, our understanding of why some immigrant-origin youth who are engaged in early schooling present maladjustment difficulties after resettlement and eventually drop out or why other students presenting early signs of disengagement end up persevering in school remains very limited. To fill these gaps, this presentation aims to introduce the Life-course Model of Immigrant-Background Student Engagement and Resilience (MIS-ER). Drawing on key theories of resilience and school dropout, this new comprehensive and integrated theoretical model describes the engagement-resilience process that leads to the adaptation and perseverance of immigrant-background students in school or to their maladjustment and dropout. We will first present the key principles of dominant theories in the field of school dropout and resilience. Next, the heterogeneity in the engagement and resilience of immigrant-background students will be examined, followed by a presentation of the main sociocultural factors associated with these constructs, which serve as the foundation for the MIS-ER. Finally, the connections between student engagement and resilience and how these two constructs interact within the model will be discussed.

The presentation will highlight the following provocative/novel insights:
● The intertwined process of behavioral, affective, and cognitive engagement and resilience is associated with immigrant-background student adaptation and perseverance in school (Skinner et al., 2020).
● Research should better consider the turning points that are likely to intervene in the school adaptation and perseverance of immigrant-background students (Dupéré et al., 2015; Motti-Stefanidi et al., 2012).
● Student engagement in school is driven by and constantly interacting with the broader sociocultural context in which they live, as well as with students’ internal culture (Suárez-Orozco et al., 2018).

Authors

• Isabelle Archambault, University of Montréal

• Véronique Dupéré, University of Montréal

• Sophie Pascal, University of Montréal

• Kristel Tardif-Grenier

• Michel Janosz, University of Montreal