DROP‐OUT AS A MANIFESTATION OF REPRODUCTION DYNAMICS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The link between drop‐out rates and the indicators of the socio‐cultural background of undergraduates is analyzed. The conceptualization of the drop‐out problem is based on the theory of cultural reproduction. The tension inherent in this Bourdieuan concept is linked to the opposition between different student cultures and the one‐dimensional, largely hidden, cultural expectations of higher education institutions. One can argue that students who have the most favourable sociocultural backgrounds obviously adapt themselves better to the quite elitist culture of the academic world. The likelihood of this kind of existence of cultural screening is, however, related to the hierarchical status structure of the given academic field. Presumably, the disciplinary culture of top‐units, that corresponds to the culture of the dominant classes, hinders the efforts of common undergraduates to complete their studies. The empirical findings of this study indicate that persons who withdraw from higher education without having been awarded a diploma come from a lower social class background slightly more frequently than do those who do not withdraw, and, surprisingly, are males living in urban and more educated communities. Such unequally biased post‐selection is also more common for the middle and upper than for the lowest‐ranked fields of the academic hierarchy. Generally speaking, differences between social classes, so far as this phenomenon is concerned, are quite small, but may become more pronounced.