Understanding School Dropout and Its Impact on the Community in the Khulna Region of Bangladesh.

Abstract

Abstract

In the context of widespread school dropout rates and their far-reaching implications, there is a pressing need to comprehensively investigate the root causes and contributing factors. Extant literature suggests that school dropout is a complex issue influenced by a myriad of variables spanning individual, familial, and institutional domains. This study, conducted in the southern region of Bangladesh through random sampling and face-to-face interviews with 210 participants, delves into the intricate web of influences on school dropout. It scrutinizes the relationships between dropout and various factors, encompassing individual attributes such as willingness, perception, and academic performance, family-related elements including the presence of educational role models and parental support, and school-specific features like truancy, school quality, geographical location, and instances of school conflict. The results divulge that socio-economic instability is a chief determinant of school dropout, delineating a distinct profile compared to regular students, further exacerbated by reduced engagement in extracurricular activities. Significantly, the absence of parental monitoring emerges as a pivotal predictive factor for dropout, transcending family structures defined by parental occupations. In light of these multifaceted findings, it is imperative to formulate school and family policies that underscore the role of parental monitoring in abating dropout rates, with a call for targeted interventions addressing these factors to curtail the prevalence of school dropout.

Keywords

School Dropout, factors, Khulna, Bangladesh