The Prediction of the Responsible Determinants to Institutional Attributes for EFL Student Dropout at the Tertiary Level

Abstract

Many of the first-year undergraduate students who enroll in universities, particularly in top-ranked private universities in Bangladesh, struggle with getting good grades. As a result, many students look forward to a bleak future, dropping out midway through their studies. Thus, improving the rates of graduation and reducing the rates of attrition is extremely important at the tertiary level in Bangladesh. The predominant determinants (whether personal or family related) that predict the institutional causes of student attrition before graduation need consideration and investigation. In order to investigate the strongest predictor from the above mentioned determinants, a survey questionnaire (with a five-Likert scale) was designed and applied to 390 EFL students who were pursuing their degrees in four disciplines at a university in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The current study employed multiple regression analyses and found that family related determinant causes not only closely correlated with institutional determinant attributes, but contributed the most in predicting student dropout rates. The results of the current study will have further implications for researchers, educational administrators, and policy makers at the tertiary level.