On Becoming a Dropout

Abstract

... Educators are particularly concerned because there has developed a general view that the public school's role is to educate all-at least through high school. Hence, dropout implies failure on the school's part, particularly when a large percentage of dropouts have the mental ability to succeed.1 That dropouts are defined as a problem by educators who may feel that they are not doing their jobs adequately is symptomatic of the beliefs and expressions of many groups of professionals in American society. This widespread concern is evidenced by the fact that the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare has prepared a seletted bibliography of some three hundred references on the subject of dropouts.2 The quantitative studies are likely to be directed to the extent of withdrawal or the occupational placement of dropouts; the qualitative studies tend to focus on the psychological makeup of the dropouts and their families. Some of the literature is composed of essays decrying the problem; other writings make recommendations as to how to deal with selected aspects of the problem. The review of such bibliographies leaves little doubt that those who withdraw from high school constitute a problem. The major social institutions that constitute the setting in which dropouts are viewed as a problem are the school, the family and the economy. The purpose of this study is to direct attention to a specific aspect of the relationship between school, economy, family and dropouts. Attention is directed toward how two small groups of Negro youths from a low-income metropolitan area evidenced their perceptions of the three institutions in response to the question, Why do boys drop out of school?@ Their answers to this question provide a picture of their reactions to school and work, a picture of their perceptions as their status changed from the role of students to that of dropouts. Finally, what they considered their parents' reactions to their dropping out of school is reported. A basic assumption underlying the perspective of this study is one