DOCUMENT RESUME ED 050 355 CG 006 271 AUTHOR Davidson, W. Craig TITLE The Trauma of the Dropout. INSTITUTION Laredo Independent School District, Tex. PUB DATE 70 NOTE 615p. EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF-$0.65 HC- 529.61 DESCRIPTORS *Dropout Attitudes, *Dropout Characteristics, *Dropout Prevention, *Dropout Research, Dropouts, Questionnaires, *Research, Research Methodology IDENTIFIERS Laredo, Texas, Title III - Elementary and Secondary Education Act ABSTRACT This study concerns the identification, interpretation and interrelationship of factors which are germane to a student's perception of himself and his environment and upon which factors he bases his decision to drop out of school. The methodological format goes beyond mere quantification in an attempt to distil the quality of the dropout's human experience. A questionnaire was developed for eliciting candid responses from dropouts about themselves, their families and the public school. In addition, intertievers, equipped with cassette tape recorders, interviewed a random sample of 166 dropouts. Among the extensive results were: (1) pregnancy, overage and poverty accounted for the largest number of female dropouts; (2) overage and poverty Isere the reasons given by a majority of male dropouts; and(3) most boys had vocational goals. Additional (unseling, more individual help from teachers, and a meaningful job training program are the changes most needed to reduce the number of dropouts. A tremendous need exists for creating a school environment in which all students are treated with compassion. Extensive data tables, and lengthy interviewee responses and questionnaire responses are included. The research reported heroin was funded under Title III of the Element ry and Secondary Education Act. (TL) J as. a - 740.--4_41lk.5. ,.41 I t' ''s'",, 7 - ,4\s, Ff ", 1O'04,-.4' - 1\ r 2. r ".2.!,11.," ::., _...- '' * .2,,,-.......110*;$t. $1l- NAt.,.:,.......\'-`\\ ..Olyr'1,4;isT..11) _.,_,- 1. Err--------_.L.-*-4- ;- ---1 .-.:,,---_.-----.7------_--,..."_ . ,tor a tb (*ct;:fig, I I-1 .-- V W ,R))Sli-r(CX'°, . -A -,::` '))), ,- " - za, ...---..I, ---:_----; _1/4.--------- - ,s\tk.,,...__;r:-\,' $ 41.1/4j1Y---$9 ... It 2- --z_, -----,, - A__.i.:AL 0.4r::" 14$ ---- --- ._ ---.----- r 03, A ) -.... ---:----- :--- , 11111i "'-=_-_ --.- -' oe'''a.- 41 ------'''''it- - s I I -----19---------- 1N,\,, ,, ,jp,---ge --=--''' ---'''..".---------,..-i-----._ -. - ,r1,44C Fundamentally, in a democracy, droppingout of school is the political reaction ofa young person to a political decision made byan adult. WCD A I O O THE TRAUMA OF THEDROPOUT It DEPARTMENT OF HERON. EDUCATION WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS OHM REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STA,ED DO NOT REGIS SAPILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFfICE OF FDU. CATION POSITION ON POLICE This research study was funded through an ESEA Title III grant from the U.S. Depertment of Health, Education and Welfare to the Laredo Independent School District, and it was administered by the office of tie Coordinator of Federal Projects of that school district. Grant No. DEG 7-8-006709-0080-(056) 4 1970 41-7V,VrItt.- A Laredo Independent School Distract Study THE TRAUMA OF THE DROPM By W. Craig Davidson Federal Projects Laredo Independent School District 1618 Houston St, Laredo, Texas "8040 INTRODUCTION This study concerns itself with theidentification and interpretation of those factors that aregermaine to a student's perception of himself, his school andcommunity, his home, and the interrelationship of these areas andfrom which he extracts . those factors that, to him, are pertinentin his attempts to relate himself effectively to the restof his world and upon which he bases his decision to drop outof school. No attempt has been made in this study, per se, to eitherdetermine or- verify the dropout rate of 61e. local schooldistrict. The mcthodological format of the studyis predicated on an attempt to overcome the disenchantment of manyresearchers, in the social and behavioral science areas,with a purely quantitative analysis of accumulated data, with the underlyingassumption that from such quantification, quality or the essence, canto :nfnred substitute or distilled. The statistical evidence of quantity is no for the quality inherent in the human experience.Thus, there is little :oncern oith trying to elicit from thedata an interpretation of quality or the lack of it, by ademonstration of "rigorous quan- individual titative method" at Lhe expense of ascertaining from an person'irpoint of view, precisely why he believeshe dropped out of school. And one is virtually forced to assumethis position because for every student identified as a dropout by suchquantitative methods there is another student with identical quantitativecharacteristics who successfully completes school; there mustbe something quantifi- cation does not and indeed, cannot, take into account. Quantitative methods and quantified results simply fail to furnish data that provide a useful interpretationfrom the standpoint of the underlying and interdependent factors that serve asthe -..:ciAolo3ical communication and interaction patternof the cultural matrix and upon which individual psychologicalinterpretation or sensory perception andindividual sociological involvement are almost wholly dependent. By way of example of this rather oversimplified concept; when one observes that the quality oflife style and accomplish- ment ha-.e become for almost everyone,psychologically externalized, it follows that the judgement of others and the assigned statusof an individual depends upon what goods does he have for visualdisplay and what services can he command at what price. Next, it appears that the locum of self-respect is for all these people nolonger found through introspection. Further, while this situation has existed for the uneducated for sometime, it seems to encompass today a larger percentage of the U.S. population than it did prior to theIndustrial Revolution. Also to be considered is that this is the basis fornon-intellectualism and anti-intellectualism, with the mitigating elementin the latter being that usually it requires the use of some small segmentof the mental faculties in social involvement. Thus, from the above, it is not difficult to deduce either excellent teAchingstrategies or why, 7 VIII for example, popular T.V. program are so popular and why the efforts from outside the industry, to raise the quality of them will not succeed. Also, stemming from a lack of understanding of the importance of the above conc'pt, are the attempts tc identify and utilize only the certain and rational in the face of the reality of much obvious sncertainty and irrationality. Such efforts have lead us into research results useful only for making the widest, shallowest and least helpful generalizations. To apply such broad abstractions to the field of public schooling is to negate not only all we, at this point, know about the individuality of the learning process but to render sterile the basic rationale If not of the schools themselves then that of their compulsory attendance regulations, i.e., that engagement in the social process of legally approved schooling is so vital to the well being of the individual and to the society at large, that attendance is mandatory for a period of time. In short, if we cannot verify by individual behavioral results that schooling is indeed worthwhile for all whom we require to attend, then to demand such attendance becomes, at the least,immoral, in a democratic society, and, at the best, in any society, unethical. This study may be read, appraised and evaluated several different ways. First, of course, one can read it in its entirety and thereby encompass, 1) the quantitative synthesis and analysis of the data, as indicated in the Tables, 2) the verbatim written replies of the respondents to the questionnaire items requesting such, as quoted in the addendums and 3) the verbatim in by far as possible, translations from Spanish to English of the tape recorded semi-structured verbal IX interviews, as quoted in Section I (Males) and Section II(Famales). SEcond, if one is interested only in an analysis of the quantitative flats, tqe labl,s indiated by asterisk 'n the Table o Conl_ents will provide ,ych data. Third, should one care to know something of the qualitative essence, the intrinsic properties, of the socio- psychological situation of the Laredo Public schools as related to the dropout problem from the viewpoint of a random sampling from the range of school authority (N-40), grade twelve students(N- 200), GED students (N-40), and dropouts (N-160), the Addendums and Section I and Section II contain such quoted information. Additionally, the specific and individual interviewee's response to each item of the several items containedin the various questionnaires has been included. It is felt that such inclusion presents to the reader an opportunity to verify for himself the extreme diversityof individual responses eventhcugh there is significant agreement on a number of items by the respondents within a particular grouping. And considerable agreement on a number of items by the respondents repre- senting different groups. Further, such inclusion of specific data is felt to be necessary if the reader is serious in whateverinterest he purports to have in providing help to the schools. The point is that one cannot aid a school. One can improve a social situation or institution only by concern and action