NCJ Number
242839
Journal
Youth & Society Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Dated: September 1996 Pages: 62-94
Date Published
September 1996
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This article examines trends and rates of early school dropout across various race-ethnic and gender groups.
Abstract
This study uses nationally representative high school student data to show race ethnicity and gender differences in reasons for early school dropout and plans for dropouts to resume their education. Factor analyses show that separate reasons for dropping out include school-related, family-related, and job-related causes, as well as influences from peers and residential mobility. White dropouts cited alienation from school more often than either African-Americans or Hispanics of both sexes. African-American males reported being suspended or expelled from school more than the other groups. Hispanic and African American females cited family-related reasons more often than did White females. The overwhelming majority of dropouts did have plans for resuming their education, which differed across race-ethnicity and gender. Male and female White dropouts planned to take equivalency tests; Hispanic adolescents favored attending alternative high schools; and African-American adolescents planned to return to a regular high school to earn their diplomas. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage Journals.