The Social Treatment of Ex-Dropouts Reenrolled in Secondary School in South Africa

Byron A Brown

doi:10.5539/jel.v2n4p60

Abstract

Dropout recovery and return to school is an education access priority for government in countries in both thewestern and non-western worlds. In a qualitative investigation involving a sample of dropouts who hadre-enrolled in secondary school in South Africa, this study explored antisocial aspects in their social experiencesat school. The aim was to explore the social treatment of ex-dropout who rerolled in secondary school anddiscuss ways to help them reintegrate in the school community. The study revealed that the major antisocialaspects in dropout experience were prejudice and social hostility, expressed through experiences of socialostracism, isolation, categorisation and rejection. This was motivated by a matrix of intersecting modern andtraditional forces. Relational and physical aggressions, which occurred in response to dropout out-grouplabelling and categorisation, were major factors in the social interactions. The evidence of hostility and reactionssubstantiated previous studies. The various implications of the findings for the school climate were highlighted.The study stressed that for dropouts to reintegrate, the entire school culture that condones social categorisation,relational or physical aggression against them, needs to be altered.

Highlights

Dropout recovery and return to school is an education access priority for government in countries in both the western and non-western worlds
In a qualitative investigation involving a sample of dropouts who had re-enrolled in secondary school in South Africa, this study explored antisocial aspects in their social experiences at school
The study explored antisocial aspects in the social experience of dropouts re-enrolled in secondary school in South Africa

Summary

Introduction

Dropout recovery and return to school is an education access priority for government in countries in both the western and non-western worlds. Whereas in the OECD countries, almost 100 percent of the students enrol in secondary education, and whereas almost 80 percent of them go on to complete their schooling, the situation in Africa and Latin America is different. In these regions, about 50 percent of the students enrol in secondary school; of this number, less than a third complete secondary education (Carlson, 2012)

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