THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CERTAIN INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS AND STUDENTS WITHDRAWAL RATES IN SCHOOLS

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CERTAIN INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS AND STUDENTS WITHDRAWAL RATES IN SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Education is now undeniably a driver of national development. This explains why the vast majority of nations pursuing technological advancement devote so much attention and resources to it. Nigeria, as a developing country, is not excluded from this competition. She has experimented with various educational systems as a nation in order to find the one that best suits her. Universal Primary Education (UPE), Nomadic Education, and the current Universal Basic Education (UBE) are all attempts by various Nigerian governments to provide functional and high-quality education to the country’s teeming population, regardless of age, size, religion, location, or occupation, in order to accelerate the country’s development (Ekperigin, 2022).

The introduction of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) program in May of 2000 demonstrated that the

The Nigerian government has attempted to place a high value on the provision of education to its citizens, particularly at the primary and secondary levels. Furthermore, it has increased public investments in the field and encouraged private participation at all levels of education supply. Despite these efforts, Nigerian educational institutions continue to struggle with student retention, particularly at the primary and secondary school levels, as children drop out without reaping the benefits of these massive investments. This is supported by Nakpodia’s (2022) observation that secondary school students are dropping out at will to pursue various socioeconomic activities.

From the introduction of western education in Nigeria in the middle of the nineteenth century to the present day,

Scholars, parents, and educational planners have all expressed concern about student attrition in schools.

Although there is no single definition of attrition, most define it as a situation in which students withdraw or drop out of school during regular school terms for reasons other than death or transfer to other schools prior to graduation or completion of a program of study. Some of these perspectives appear to suggest that dropouts are viewed as underachievers who are not working to their full potential, are dissatisfied with school, are hostile, aggressive, and rebellious, and are socially rejected by the majority of other students because they are frequently viewed as a social problem. Similarly, prior research conducted in the 1970s and 1980s tended to show

to attribute attrition to students’ incapacity to adjust to the educational environment. However, commentators currently appear to agree that individual attrition, whether voluntary or involuntary, is rarely the result of a single event, but rather the result of a combination of several variables (Yorke, 2022; Braxton, 2022).

Pascrell, Smart, and Ethiton (2022) found that academic and social integration were major predictors of school persistence for both males and girls in a nine-year study of 825 students from 85 different institutions.

According to Phillip (2022), the most common cause of attrition or dropout was a student’s alienation in the classroom. To him, a student who refuses to take personal responsibility for his academic performance is the educational equivalent of a social outcast.

In such cases, he believes that the alienation can be traced back to the learner’s personal history, current reality, or home environment.

Several studies on the subject have also been conducted in Nigeria. Several factors that can either directly or indirectly cause attrition were identified in a few of these studies (Okeke, 2022, Nakpodia, 2022). Institutional factors such as leadership style, a lack of facilities within a school, and other variables such as illness, poor academic performance, and expulsion from school, as well as the parent’s inability to finance their children’s or s’ education, were among these factors.

However, the truth remains that student attrition in schools, for whatever reason, is a form of educational waste. This is the case.

because of the significant financial losses, increased facility use, and lower graduation rates that it typically causes. First, repeaters will spend more time in school than is required, and they will have to be “reprocessed” within the system, which will incur additional costs. Second, an excessive dropout rate at any level of education would likely cripple and even bring the system to a halt.

Waste in the educational system, according to Odekunle (2022), is the inefficient use of both human and material educational resources, which can manifest as dropouts, repeaters, early withdrawals, unemployed school leavers, or even brain drain. “Repetition and dropout are key sources of waste in any educational system,” he says, and “excessive repetition generates congestion.”

at all levels and grades of the educational system.”

1.2 THE PROBLEM’S STATEMENT

Every day, it is reported that the government spends mind-boggling sums of money on its children’s education, particularly on the Universal Basic Education program, which is intended to serve as the foundation of any lifetime learning experience. However, in recent years, the public and even educational planners appear to have expressed significant concern about the increasing rate at which children drop out of school, particularly at the secondary school level, without benefiting from these massive investments. This implies that if children do not stay in school to reap the benefits of these massive government investments, both capital investments and human resources (students who should benefit) are wasted.

squandered (Ekperigin, 2022). (Ekperigin, 2022).

It is difficult to determine the number of students who drop out of our schools with absolute certainty due to the lack of a standardized method for counting dropouts in the system. However, it is estimated that a significant number of students drop out of school every day in Nigeria, with the majority of dropouts aged 15 to 21 and primarily from secondary schools. These hypotheses have far-reaching implications, particularly when it is assumed that dropouts have a tenfold higher delinquency rate and are more likely to become social liabilities. Today, the majority of dropouts are unemployed, and their chances of finding work are lower than those of graduates; as a result, they are more likely to drop out.

to engage in illegal and questionable activities, endangering not only themselves but also their parents and society.

According to Odekunle (2022), the National Policy for Education has advocated for vocational, adult, and remote education to address this issue, but it appears to persist. This circumstance has prompted an investigation into the causes of the high percentage of school dropouts in Akwa Ibom State’s Uyo Local Government Area. The goal of this research is to look into the relationship between three institutional characteristics – instructor quality, class size, and the availability of instructional facilities – and the rate of student attrition in Local Government schools.

1.3 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVES

The study’s overarching goal is to investigate

the relationship between certain institutional factors and school dropout rates. Specifically, this research aims to:

i. Determine the extent to which institutional factors influence student withdrawal rates in schools.

ii. To determine whether the quality of teachers influences student dropout rates in schools.

iii. To ascertain whether a lack of instructional materials affects student withdrawal rates in schools.

iv. Determine whether instructional facilities influence student dropout rates in schools.

1.4 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH

This study will address the following research questions:

i. To what extent do institutional factors influence student dropout rates in schools?

ii. Does the quality of teachers influence student dropout rates in schools?

iii. Does the unavailability of instructional materials affects students withdrawal rates in schools?

iv. Does

How do educational facilities influence student dropout rates?

1.5 THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE

This study is noteworthy for the following reasons:

The findings of this study would be extremely useful to educational planners and administrators in developing policies for student retention in schools, developing academic and social programs, and reviewing curricula to meet the various needs of children.

The research will also benefit educators by increasing their understanding of the various needs of the students in their care.

This study will make parents aware of the various approaches and techniques for dealing with their children and wards, as well as the importance of providing adequate and fundamental requirements capable of lowering school dropout rates.

The results of

This research will also add to the body of knowledge and previous research on similar topics. As a result, it will be a valuable resource for researchers.

The findings of this study will also provide more empirical data for administrators to develop actionable judgments about specific traits that are frequently associated with teacher performance. This data should assist them in determining the best way to distribute instructors among schools and classes. This should have long-term implications for efficiency and drive future policy initiatives for teachers.

1.6 STUDY OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between certain institutional factors and student withdrawal rates in schools. Specifically, the study seeks to determine the extent to which institutional factors influence student withdrawal rates in schools, as well as whether the quality of education is affected.

determining whether the availability of instructional materials affects student withdrawal rates in schools, and determining whether instructional facilities affect student withdrawal rates in schools.

1.7 THE STUDY’S LIMITATIONS

This researcher is willing to accept the possibility that other unexpected variables will be discovered during the course of this research that will have an impact on the study’s conclusions. Nonetheless, it is critical to note that this study is already ex post facto, with all independent variables already established. However, it may not be able to exert complete control over the participants in this study.

Furthermore, there is a lack of statistical data. This suggests that there may not be enough data to perform a

Attrition rates in different Local Government regions were compared.

1.8 TERM DEFINITION

Institutional Factors: Internal dynamics that reflect the effectiveness of governmental or non-governmental organizations.