Abstract

FONSECA-GRANDON, Gonzalo Raúl. Experiences with Permanence and Abandonment of University Studies: An Approach Based on the Curriculum and other Predictor Variables. educ.educ. [online]. 2018, vol.21, n.2, pp.239-256. ISSN 0123-1294.  https://doi.org/10.5294/edu.2018.21.2.4.

The results of a study to determine the elements of a university curriculum that favor or hinder the experiences of university students in terms of whether they persist in school during the first year or abandon their studies are presented in this article. The study, which also identifies the primary differences and similarities between both groups, was conducted in two quantitative phases and focused on education and engineering majors at a Chilean university who had completed at least one academic semester and then decided to remain in school or to leave. The first phase included 1454 students via a "population census"; the second considered a sample of 174young people who were part of the first group. The findings identify certain elements of a university curriculum as being factors associated with the decision to remain in school, even though some of them could be linked to a student deciding to drop out of school. The foregoing highlights the importance of university decisions in the area of curriculum, especially with respect to the first year of studies. Finally, a logistic regression model determined that permanence is predicted largely by students' academic performance and their assessment or valuation of the university.

Keywords : Student dropout; university student; university study program; retention.

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