The role of socio–demographics, personality characteristics, social support, and well–being in student's intention to drop out

Abstract

Student intention to drop out is a concern for higher education institutions as well for their students. Students with the intention to drop out may eventually drop out and contribute towards the already high dropout rates, which are causing economic damage. Students leaving their institution have vast financial consequences for their institution, as institutions obtain grants from the government according to their success rates. Although previous research has been conducted on students’ intention to drop out, it is limited, especially when looking at possible predictors that are specific to the South African context. This study contributes towards the gap in research regarding the possible predictors of student intention to drop out. The objectives of this study were to 1) conceptualise the possible predictors of student intention to drop out according to the literature; 2) determine if self-evaluation traits (self-esteem and self-efficacy) are significant predictors of student intention to drop out; 3) determine if student burnout and student engagement are significant predictors of student intention to drop out; 4) determine if social support (social support from parents and general social support) are significant predictors of student intention to drop out; and 5) determine if career decision-making difficulties are significant predictors of student intention to drop out. A non-probability quota sample (N = 782) was used to investigate possible predictors of career student intention to drop out in a sample of university students. Student intention to drop out was measured by one item consisting of two categories: I have no intention to drop out (n = 501), and I have an intention to drop out (n = 280). These two groups were enclosed as a dependent variable in the logistic regression. The variables included in the final model predicted between 13% (Cox and Snell) and 18% (Nagelkerke) of the variance in intention to drop out. The results of this study suggest that self-esteem had an influence on student intention to drop out. Furthermore, it was found that cynicism and dedication have a significant relationship with student intention to drop out. Lastly, lack of information about ways to obtain information also indicated a significant relationship with student intention to drop out. Thus, it may be concluded that self-esteem, burnout and engagement and lack of information about ways of obtaining information have an influence on students’ intention to drop out. Recommendations were made for practice as well as for future research.