Generally, it is necessary to state that the problem of school dropouts can be regarded as one of the burning issues American society faced. Taking into account the fact that dropouts are considered to be costly and experience numerous societal difficulties, one can conclude that the problem requires governmental concern. The causes of the dropout problem are rather ambiguous. For instance, special investigations show that the representatives of ethnic minorities as well as those, who seem to be economically disadvantages, drop out more often.
Thus, as far as the problem seems to be mostly associated with demographic factors, one can suppose that policymakers and educators are to be greatly interested in solving the problem. In other words, it becomes evident that immediate measures are to be taken, in order to avoid numerous unpleasant consequences.
To analyze the causes of the problem, one is to rely on numerous social disciplines. Thus, various psychological, anthropological and economical data must be taken into account. According to sociological studies, dropping out of school is mostly caused by school factors, which most common is recognized to be poor progress.
Individual causes involve certain family problems, difficulties with communication, some racial stereotypes and prejudices. Taking into consideration the above-mentioned data, one can suppose that the major causes of dropping out of school are based on four key factors. Thus, community, family, demographic background and personal experience are considered to be the most important categories.
Demographic background cannot be ignored, as certain statistical data show that dropout rates are higher within the representatives of various racial groups. For instance, the rates for Blacks and Hispanics are higher than the rates for native-born representatives. Generally, the fact can be explained on the basis of some historical data.
Thus, the representatives of ethnic minorities seem to be more economically disadvantaged than native-born students. Lower levels of academic achievement can be explained on the basis of the same historical interpretations. So, one can make a conclusion that the socioeconomic status of ethnic minorities’ representatives is considered to be an important factor.
The aspects of family background should be also analyzed in detail. Thus, one is to keep in mind that the structural characteristics of family play an important role in dropping out of school. These characteristics involve family’s income, parental education, the status of parents (i. e. the situation when a man or a woman brings up a child without a partner can be regarded as an important aspect dropout rates depend upon).
On the other hand, one more important aspect, which is to be highlighted, is the so-called parental involvement in schooling. Generally, it should be noted that those parents, who are interested in their children’s academic success and participate in various school programs, help school governance. Moreover, parental involvement allows to lower dropout rates. Parenting style is also one of the key variables dropout rates are related to.
The interdependence between community and dropping out cannot be neglected. It is necessary to state that communities influence students’ school results. Personal experience involves school experiences. For instance, disruptive behaviors are recognized to be the most widespread causes, which determine dropout rates.
So, to understand the causes of dropping out, there is a need to consider numerous data on various disciplines, including sociological and psychological studies. Demographic background, personal experience, family issues and the relationship between communities and dropping out are the major categories the problem of discussion is to be based on.