LITERATURE REVIEW: Theories on Student Attrition :: Essays Papers

literature REVIEW Theories on Student Attrition Since the early 70s theorists have pondered the causes of college dropout. slackly referred to as educatee scrape, this problem has spurred numerous causal theories and theoretical models. Vincent Tinto guide the research with his revolutionary 1973 study, which he later revised (1987) amid criticism from new(prenominal) luminaries in the field, most notably Bean, Astin, Terenzini, and Pascarella. It is on the work of these scholars (including also Tinto) that entirely modern research in the student attrition field is based. I found and will review in brief some of the enormous research from Tinto to the present, including the basic criticisms therein. I will further explain the move some colleges are currently taking to counteract this increasingly meaning(a) issue. Little or no research was conducted on student attrition prior to Tinto, and every piece of research I found contained some(prenomina l) references to him and his work. Ishitani and DesJardins claim that the majority of research on the subject has been based on Tintos model (7), as does Metz in his research review (4). Metz, however, goes on to assert that Tintos main source was a certain Rites of Passage, by Arnold trainguardguard Gennep. Focusing on the anthropological perspective of human rites of passage, van Genneps study elucidates the basic human nature behind such(prenominal) of the college experience. Tinto primarily utilizes the chapter entitled Initiation Rites in his model, a chapter in which van Gennep claims that physiological puberty and hearty puberty are essentially plain (Gennep 65). Tinto sees the transition from high school to college as a form of this social puberty. Tinto further argues that the maturation process is marked by three distinct phases or stages, each with its own specialized ceremonies and ritualseach serving to move individuals from youthful employment to full adul t membership in society (Tinto 92). College, according to van Gennep and Tinto therefore, is simply part of this sociological maturation process. Tintos original opening involved five specific factors that contributed to student retention (1) a students pre-entry attributes (prior schooling and family background) (2) goals and commitment (the students individual aspirations in the institution) (3) experience at the institution (academics and faculty and peer interactions) (4) external commitments piece of music at the institution (5) integration both academically and socially (Metz 4).