Several results emerge from the study: The reasons students cite for leaving school vary widely, with women more likely to leave

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the abstract and stated research gap and stated challenges of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 1968 and 2025, spanning 4 journals. Those papers have been cited 283 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 4 representative gaps

• Dropping Out of High School: The Influence of Race, Sex, and Family Background (1983) · American Educational Research Journal · cited 267× · doi

  Several results emerge from the study: The reasons students cite for leaving school vary widely, with women more likely to leave because of pregnancy or marriage and men more likely to leave to go to work; family background strongly influences the propensity to drop out of school and accounts for virtually all the racial differences in dropout rates; various other factors, including ability and aspirations, also influence this decision.

  generalabstractevidence 5/5
  Keywords: school likely leave several emerge reasons students cite leaving vary widely women pregnancy marriage family
• Reducing Attrition Rates for Maori Students (2005) · Journal of developmental education

  Although research regarding ethnicity and retention in higher education have rendered mixed results, characteristics that may be related to students from minority groups-such as being a first-generation college student (Richardson & Skinner, 1992), having poor academic preparation (Hoyt, 1998; Richardson & Skinner), or failing to be involved in campus social and intellectual life (Tinto, 1993)-have been shown to influence dropout behaviour.

  generalabstractevidence 5/5
  Keywords: richardson skinner regarding ethnicity retention higher education rendered mixed characteristics related students minority groups first
• College Dropouts: Dismissed vs. Withdrew (1968) · The Personnel and Guidance Journal · cited 14× · doi

  The tendency to lump together all students who leave college before obtaining a baccalaureate can cancel out factors that differentiate between students who become dropouts due to academic failure and those who decide to forego their education temporarily or transfer to another institution. There is a need to differentiate between students who become dropouts due to academic failure and those who decide to forego their education temporarily or transfer to another institution.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: tendency lump together all students leave college before
• What Makes Adult Learners Persist in College? An Analysis Using the Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition Model (2025) · Education Sciences · cited 2× · doi

  Adult learners often encounter difficulties in sustaining their academic engagement due to low motivation, limited basic learning skills, or external constraints. The study faces the challenge of identifying the factors influencing drop out among adult college students using a comprehensive framework. The results of the study must be interpreted in the context of the Korean higher education system and may not be generalizable to other contexts.

  generalstated challengesevidence 5/5
  Keywords: adult learners often encounter difficulties sustaining academic engagement

Questions about this gap