Studiemiljø og frafald i videregående uddannelser: Betydningen af undervisning, faglig identifikation og social integration

I årtier har frafald på videregående uddannelser været et centralt forskningsområde. Imidlertid er viden om studiemiljøets - dvs. institutionelle aspekters - betydning for frafald relativt begrænset. Informeret af Tintos institutional-departure-model skelner artiklen mellem faktorer relateret til tre kategorier: det sociale system, det faglige system og undervisning. Disse kategorier specificeres med reference til tidligere internationale og nationale studier. Artiklen foreslår en revideret teoretisk model for forståelse af frafaldsprocesser, der ikke udelukkende ser på studiemiljøet som den traditionelt dikotomiske tænkning mellem det sociale og det faglige system, men som også inkluderer undervisning som en overlappende kategori med både det sociale og det faglige system.

Revisiting Student Attrition Studies: A New Conceptual Perspective

This article focuses on the overview of the student attrition model as well as related theory that are pertinent to student attrition studies. It comprises an investigation into the prominent student attrition models, such as the Undergraduate Dropout Process Model presented by Spady, and Tinto’s Model of Institutional Departure. Then, the focus is on the work by Bean that resulted in the Student Attrition Model, and the Pascarella produced the Conceptual Model for Research on Student-Faculty Informal Contact, as well as an exploration of attrition studies in Malaysian Higher Education. In addition, an initial conceptual research model derived from existing prominent student attrition models was proposed by the researchers for investigation in Malaysian Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) student attrition studies, as well as for academic student attrition studies.

A Psychometric Study of the College Self-Efficacy Inventory

Researchers and educators continue to try to understand and predict premature post-secondary institutional departure. According to social cognitive theory, self-efficacy beliefs are the gateway to understanding why individuals initiate behavior, the effort they expend in engaging in behavior, and their persistence in the face of obstacles. College self-efficacy (belief in one's ability to successfully engage in college-related behaviors) is a construct that may serve to further our understanding of college persistence and performance. The present study was conducted to more fully describe the construct of college self-efficacy as measured by the College Self-Efficacy Inventory (CSEI). specifically, we explored the factor structure and concurrent and predictive validity of scores on the CSEI. Results suggest that college self-efficacy, as measured by the CSEI, is a useful construct that may be of interest to researchers studying academic and career-related outcomes.

Determinants of Systemic Retention: Implications for Improving Retention Practice in Higher Education

Drawing on Tinto's (1987, 1993) theory of student integration, this research examines students who withdrew from their original institution prior to graduation. Of this group, some of the students who withdraw do so to transfer to another institution, and it is reasonable to assume that these students are different in many ways from students who withdraw and do not continue their education. Thus, the purpose of this effort is to provide a better understanding of the characteristics of students who leave their original institution so that intervention strategies can be more carefully targeted to the individual needs of these two groups. Results of the logistic regression analysis concur with some aspects of the existing literature on institutional departure; however, this study of systemic departure differs on several key points. The implications for the findings are then discussed in terms of their impact on the design institutional retention programs.

College Choir Members' Motivation to Persist in Music: Application of the Tinto Model

The purpose of this study was to assess the influences of parental musicianship and support in music, students' previous musical experience, self concept of musical ability, value of music, academic integration, and social integration in college choir students intentions to continue music participation in the future, both in and after college. Tinto's model of institutional departure (1975, 1982, 1987, 1993) was used in the present study. The Choir Participation Survey II, developed by the present author, was administered to 154 choir students in a large public university in the southern United States. The path analytical model fit data well and explained 50% ( p < .05) of variance in musical intention. The best predictors of musical intentions were social integration in the choir (beta = .34; p < .05) and the value of music (beta = .57, p < .05). The author concludes with implications of the findings and suggestions for future research.