Reduce Dropout Rates Research Articles

Lean Six Sigma for reducing student dropouts in higher education – an exploratory study

This paper investigates the potential causes behind student dropouts in higher education institutions (HEIs), and explores the use of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) tools in reducing dropout rates. This qualitative study used 12 semi-structured interviews with university employees (n = 9) and LSS experts (n = 3), in order to understand the complexity of the student dropout phenomenon and the role of various LSS tools in reducing the dropout rates. Analysis revealed that in order to develop a typology of student dropouts, HEIs have to maintain detailed records and sensitise relevant authorities about the impact of a student’s dropout decision. Though the small number of semi-structured interviews is a limitation of the study, the revelations of HEIs authorities and LSS experts have given new impetus to look at and take action on the issue of student dropouts in HEIs.

Educator Incentives and Educational Triage in Rural Primary Schools

In low-income countries, primary school students often fall far below grade level and primary dropout rates remain high. Further, in some countries, educators encourage their weaker students to drop out before reaching the end of primary school. These educators hope to avoid the negative attention that authorities direct to a school when its students perform poorly on the primary leaving exams that governments use to certify primary completion and eligibility for secondary school. We report the results of an experiment in rural Uganda that sought to reduce dropout rates in grade six and seven by offering bonus payments to grade six teachers that rewarded each teacher for the performance of each of her students relative to comparable students in other schools.Teachers responded to this Pay for Percentile (PFP) incentive system in ways that raised attendance rates two school years later from .56 to .60. These attendance gains were driven primarily by outcomes in treatment schools that provide textbooks for grade six math students, where two-year attendance rates rose from .57 to .64. In these same schools, students whose initial skills levels prepared them to use grade six math texts enjoyed significant gains in math achievement. We find little evidence that PFP improved attendance or achievement in schools without books even though PFP had the same impact on reported teacher effort in schools with and without books. We conjecture that teacher effort and books are complements in education production and document several results that are consistent with this hypothesis.

Needle in a haystack: Identifying learner posts that require urgent response in MOOC discussion forums

Although massive open online courses or MOOCs have been successful in attracting a large number of learners, they have not been equally successful in retaining the learners to the point of course completion. One critical point of failure in many courses, especially those that use discussion forums as a means of collaborative learning, is the large number of messages exchanged on the forums. The extensive exchange of messages often creates chaos from the instructors' perspective and several questions remain unanswered. Lack of attention and response to urgent messages – those that are critical from the learners’ perspective to move forward – becomes a major challenge in this environment. This paper proposes a model to identify “urgent” posts that need immediate attention from instructors. In our analysis, we investigate different feature sets and different data mining techniques, and report the best set of features and classification techniques for addressing the problem of identifying messages that need urgent attention. The results demonstrate the ability to use a limited number of linguistic features with select metadata to build a moderate to substantially reliable classification model that can identify urgent posts in MOOC forums regardless of the course content. The work has potential application across a range of platforms that provide large scale courses and can help instructors efficiently navigate the discussion forums and prioritize the responses so that timely intervention can support learning and may reduce dropout rates.

How to Increase PhD Completion Rates? An Impact Evaluation of Two Reforms in a Selective Graduate School, 1976–2012

Graduate and doctoral schools around the world struggle to shorten the long time to degree and to prevent high dropout rates. While most of previous research studied individual determinants of PhD completion, we analyze the impact of two structural reforms of the doctoral program on thesis completion at a selective European graduate school. Exploiting a unique PhD dataset covering 30 entry cohorts, we identify reform effects on PhD outcomes using an interrupted time-series regression design. We find that the first reform improved timely completion rates by between 10 and 15 percentage points (according to the specific outcome), whereas the second reform increased completion rates by between 9 and 20 percentage points. Additionally, each reform reduced dropout rates by 7 percentage points. The results are robust to various sensitivity checks. At the end, we discuss lessons learned for those in charge of graduate schools and/or PhD programs.

Basic actions to reduce dropout rates in distance learning

Today’s society, which is strongly based on knowledge and interaction with information, has a key component in technological innovation, a fundamental tool for the development of the current teaching methodologies. Nowadays, there are a lot of online resources, such as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and distance learning courses. One aspect that is common to all of these is a high dropout rate: about 90% in MOOCs and 50% in the courses of the Spanish National Distance Education University, among other examples. In this paper, we analyze a number of actions undertaken in the Master’s Degree in Computational Mathematics at Universitat Jaume I in Castellón, Spain. These actions seem to help decrease the dropout rate in distance learning; the available data confirm their effectiveness.

Bridging patients with hepatocellular cancer waiting for liver transplant: all the patients are the same?

Liver transplant (LT) is considered the best curative treatment for patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within Milan criteria. The possibility to perform LT in HCC patients is limited by the liver grafts supply; indeed, the shortage of donors often leads to a long time on waiting list and then to dropout because of tumor progression. Bridging therapies are neo-adjuvant treatments given to patients on LT waitlist, with the aim to prevent tumor progression and to reduce dropout rate. Many bridging modalities have been proposed. The choice of each treatment is based on the characteristics of the patient, liver function, comorbidities and on the number, dimensions and localization of HCC. This review article describes several types of bridging therapies, focusing on the indications for different kind of patients.

Enseñando la matemática desde la electrónica. Experiencia didáctica en la cátedra Análisis de señales y sistemas

Con el fin de aumentar la motivación de los estudiantes y reducir los índices de deserción, realizamos una experiencia didáctica que consistió en implementar trabajos prácticos de hardware (electrónica) dentro de la cátedra de Análisis de Señales y Sistemas (anteriormente Análisis Matemático III). Dichos trabajos consistieron en la aplicación directa de diversos temas matemáticos en circuitos electrónicos. Trabajamos con la Serie de Fourier, el álgebra de bloques (sistemas) y el análisis de filtros por Transformada de Laplace, en todos los casos solicitando a los estudiantes que implementen circuitos y los analicen matemáticamente. Los resultados obtenidos apuntan a una mejora en los niveles de motivación de los estudiantes, lo que resulta en una mejora notable en los índices de deserción.

Dropout From an eHealth Intervention for Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Qualitative Study.

BackgroundAdequate self-management is the cornerstone of type 2 diabetes treatment, as people make the majority of daily treatment measures and health decisions. The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the complexity of diabetes self-management demonstrate the need for innovative and effective ways to deliver self-management support. eHealth interventions are promoted worldwide and hold a great potential in future health care for people with chronic diseases such as T2DM. However, many eHealth interventions face high dropout rates. This led to our interest in the experiences of participants who dropped out of an eHealth intervention for adults with T2DM, based on the Guided Self-Determination (GSD) counseling method.ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to explore experiences with an eHealth intervention based on GSD in general practice from the perspective of those who dropped out and to understand their reasons for dropping out. To the best of our knowledge, no previous qualitative study has focused on participants who withdrew from an eHealth self-management support intervention for adults with T2DM.MethodsA qualitative design based on telephone interviews was used to collect data. The sample comprised 12 adults with type 2 diabetes who dropped out of an eHealth intervention. Data were collected in 2016 and subjected to qualitative content analysis.ResultsWe identified one overall theme: “Losing motivation for intervention participation.” This theme was illustrated by four categories related to the participants’ experiences of the eHealth intervention: (1) frustrating technology, (2) perceiving the content as irrelevant and incomprehensible, (3) choosing other activities and perspectives, and (4) lacking face-to-face encounters.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that the eHealth intervention based on GSD without face-to-face encounters with nurses reduced participants’ motivation for engagement in the intervention. To maintain motivation, our study points to the importance of combining eHealth with regular face-to-face consultations. Our study also shows that the perceived benefit of the GSD eHealth intervention intertwined with choosing to focus on other matters in complex daily lives are critical aspects in motivation for such interventions. This indicates the importance of giving potential participants tailored information about the aim, the content, and the effort needed to remain engaged in complex interventions so that eligible participants are recruited. Finally, motivation for engagement in the eHealth intervention was influenced by the technology used in this study. It seems important to facilitate more user-friendly but high-security eHealth technology. Our findings have implications for improving the eHealth intervention and to inform researchers and health care providers who are organizing eHealth interventions focusing on self-management support in order to reduce dropout rates.

Those who teach learn: Near-peer teaching as outdoor environmental education curriculum and pedagogy

IntroductionNear-peer teaching (NPT) is used within higher education for its efficacy relating to both student teachers and learners (Falchikov, 2003; Topping, 1996). In particular, NPT is used within health and medical courses (see Burgess, Dornan, Clarke, Menezes, & Mellis, 2016; Secomb, 2008; Ten Cate & Durning, 2007a) as well as education-focused courses (see Topping, 1996). Our review of higher education NPT research reveals a strong focus on health and medical courses in particular, with minimal examination of the practice in the field of outdoor environmental education (OEE). Whilst there is considerable variation in the settings for the studies reviewed, the findings, in conjunction with the results of the OEE case study examined herein, assist in understanding the potential usefulness of NPT in the context of higher education. We begin by considering some distinct ways that NPT is employed in higher education before offering an example specific to OEE. For the purposes of this paper, nearpeer teachers (NP teachers) refer to more experienced students involved in teaching less experienced students, and near-peer learners (NP learners) refers to the less experienced students who are being taught/ tutored by NP teachers.Peer-assisted learning and cross-level NPT come in many forms and typologies. Falchikov (2003) differentiates examples of these forms by desired outcomes and aims (see Figure 1). Below we highlight the characteristics of these forms in terms of the aims of primarily curriculum (for example, proctoring and supplemental instruction) and/or enculturation (mentoring and parrainage) to provide an understanding of the range of NPT options.In proctoring, students who are more senior work individually with less advanced students to assist them gain proficiency of the syllabus; it is primarily curriculum focused. Topping (1996) describes the proctor's role as a "checker, tester, and recorder, to ensure tutee mastery" (p. 329). Proctors "practice and rehearse the skills they have acquired during the preceding years of study" (Goldschmid & Goldschmid, 1976, p. 18) to support other students. They are often specifically chosen for the role. The one-to-one nature of proctoring differs from supplemental instruction (SI), which seeks to add additional opportunities for student instruction via a one-to-many model. SI has been characterised as the "best known (and used) of such cross-level schemes" (Falchikov, 2003, p. 36). It often utilises "successful later-year tertiary students to facilitate peer-learning sessions" which may involve "discussion around course content and related study skills," as well as preparation of "learning activities" (Dawson, van der Meer, Skalicky, & Cowley, 2014, pp. 611-612). Congos and Schoeps (1993) highlight that SI is frequently applied in courses that involve new and challenging content, intermittent feedback and assessment, and a prevalence of lectures over more student-centred learning activities - with the aim of reducing dropout rates and failures within these higher education contexts. With SI, instructors are often deliberately chosen and the focus is targeted, concentrating on remediating academic skills and curriculum knowledge, with the setting usually classroom in style and voluntary for the learners.Two further forms of NPT are mentoring and parrainage. These are more concerned with enculturation rather than instruction. Mentoring emphasises a "one-to-one supportive relationship between the student and another person of greater ability, achievement or experience" (Topping in Falchikov, 2003, p. 40). In addition to academic intervention, a mentor assists a student with socialisation into the higher education context by helping them understand the departmental and disciplinary culture. This form of NPT is concerned not only with academic performance but also the personal academic growth of the mentee (Falchikov, 2003). Parrainage (French for godfather/sponsorship) is similar to mentoring but is particularly focused on socialising less senior students into all aspects of a new learning environment (Goldschmid & Goldschmid, 1976). …

Data mining for modeling students’ performance: A tutoring action plan to prevent academic dropout

E-learning systems generate huge amounts of data, whose analysis may become a daunting task which makes it necessary to use computational analytical techniques and tools.We propose the use of knowledge discovery techniques to analyse historical student course grade data in order to predict whether or not a student will drop out of a course. Logistic regression models are used for the purpose of classification. Experiments conducted with data on over 100 students for several distance learning courses confirm the predictive power of our proposal. Using the resulting predictive models we have designed a tutoring action plan. Applying this plan, we managed to reduce the dropout rate by 14% with respect to previous academic years in which no dropout prevention mechanism was applied.Our main contribution is a tool and a tutoring plan that can be used by our educational institution (and others) to reduce dropout rate in e-learning courses.

Why do students consider dropping out of doctoral degrees? Institutional and personal factors

Despite the increasing popularity of doctoral education, many students do not complete their studies, and very little information is available about them. Understanding why some students consider that they do not want to, or cannot, continue with their studies is essential to reduce dropout rates and to improve the overall quality of doctoral programmes. This study focuses on the motives students give for considering dropping out of their doctoral degree. Participants were 724 social sciences doctoral students from 56 Spanish universities, who responded to a questionnaire containing doctoral degree conditions questions and an open-ended question on motives for dropping out. Results showed that a third of the sample, mainly the youngest, female and part time students, stated that they had intended to drop out. The most frequent motives for considering dropping out were difficulties in achieving a balance between work, personal life and doctoral studies and problems with socialization. Overall, results offer a complex picture that has implications for the design of doctoral programmes, such as the conditions and demands of part-time doctoral studies or the implementation of educational proposals that facilitate students’ academic and personal integration into the scientific community in order to prevent the development of a culture of institutional neglect.

PERCEPTIONS OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ON THE NEED FOR SEX EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS, ELDORET MUNICIPALITY, KENYA

It is estimated that 23% of the girls in secondary schools in Kenya drop out of school each year as a result of teenage pregnancy. Findings of the Kenya Aids Indicator Survey of 2007 indicate that the HIV and STI prevalence rate is 7 for Rift Valley province, that is, 7 out of every 1000 people have HIV and STI. The drop-out rate for girls in Uasin Gishu district is 2.1% while that of boys’ stands at 2.4%, according to Uasin Gishu development plan 2002 -2007. This is attributed to factors such as HIV, STIs and teenage pregnancies among others. In response to the rising number of HIV, STIs and teenage pregnancies and the resultant dropout rates in schools, the Ministry of Education intended to introduce sex education in secondary schools in Kenya to create awareness on the consequences of sex abuse in order to reduce school dropout rate on teenage pregnancies and STIs related infections. Debates on introduction of Sex Education in schools rages on and a lot of studies have been done on the pros and cons of this. But the opinion of children has not been sought. However, the intentions of the ministry were not realized because religious groups opposed it. In African indigenous culture, children are not consulted in decision making, but according to the United Nations Convention of 1989, children have a right to access information, participate and take responsibility in the society. Hence, need to seek their views. Therefore, this study sought to find out the perception of secondary school students on the need for sex education in secondary schools in Eldoret municipality, Kenya. Perceptions are vital since they shape students behaviour and attitudes towards their sexuality as well as morality. The research design for this study was a cross sectional descriptive survey aimed at collecting qualitative and quantitative primary data from students on their perceptions on the need for sex education. This was done through structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. A sample of 325 students was obtained through stratified and simple random sampling. The findings of the study showed that 53% of the students perceived the need to introduce of Sex Education in schools and so the idea is perhaps worth revisiting. The researcher therefore concludes that many students’ perceptions’ towards introduction of sex education in secondary schools is positive. Article visualizations:

School factors related to dropout from primary and secondary education in Serbia: A qualitative research

Dropping out of educational system is a serious individual, familial, educational and social problem. It is a complex process influenced by a large number of factors. Nevertheless, it is a phenomenon that takes place in school, and different school factors can serve as risk or protective factors. Dropout rates in Serbia are still high. One way to improve the educational system and ensure equal education for every child is to reduce dropout rates from primary and secondary education. As part of a larger study, the goal of this research was to investigate and identify key school factors related to dropout from primary and secondary schools in Serbia. The research was conducted in 8 primary and 13 secondary schools from 17 municipalities with high dropout rates. In order to hear voices from different actors in the educational system, qualitative research was conducted, involving interviews and focus groups with teachers, school principals, school psychologists, counsellors, pedagogical assistants, parents and students. Following the analysis, several school factors highly related to dropout were singled out. Low quality (individualisation) of teaching, lack of learning and emotional support and lack of positive teacher-student relationships proved to have the greatest influence on student dropout. On the other hand, our results indicate that student and parent participation in school life is underused as a resource for dropout prevention. These factors are described and their impact in Serbian context explained. The results are discussed in the light of similar findings from previous research.

Escape from infinite freedom: Effects of constraining user freedom on the prevention of dropout in an online learning context

Online learning involving Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC) is often used to avoid the physical limitations of offline learning. In addition, educational equality can be achieved by redistributing sunk costs in the online context. However, the dropout rate represents a serious and avoidable waste of economic resources. Numerous researchers have conducted studies on the subject, the large majority of whom outlined possible causes of the dropout phenomenon rather than offering solutions to reduce the dropout problem in e-learning. To remedy this, we propose practical system features to counteract the dropout rate in online learning. Through original use of psychological reactance theory (Brehm, 1966) as our main theoretical framework, we make two suggestions: restricting accessibility and limiting repeatability of online courses. These two measures create a sense of scarcity and lack of control, which may help to reduce dropout rates. In an experiment using our e-learning prototype, we analyzed data collected through a survey/questionnaire and interviews with subjects after the experiment. The results indicate that the perception of scarcity and lack of control in the online learning context may enhance e-learners’ concentration and increase their intention to continue and engage more deeply in online learning.

Local Access to a Planned Parenthood Clinic Linked To Reduced Dropout Rates.

Local Access to a Planned Parenthood Clinic Linked To Reduced Dropout Rates.

Psychophysiological Responses to Group Exercise Training Sessions: Does Exercise Intensity Matter?

Group exercise training programs were introduced as a strategy for improving health and fitness and potentially reducing dropout rates. This study examined the psychophysiological responses to group exercise training sessions. Twenty-seven adults completed two group exercise training sessions of moderate and vigorous exercise intensities in a random and counterbalanced order. The %HRR and the exertional and arousal responses to vigorous session were higher than those during the moderate session (p<0.05). Consequently, the affective responses to vigorous session were less pleasant than those during moderate session (p<0.05). These results suggest that the psychophysiological responses to group exercise training sessions are intensity-dependent. From an adherence perspective, interventionists are encouraged to emphasize group exercise training sessions at a moderate intensity to maximize affective responses and to minimize exertional responses, which in turn may positively affect future exercise behavior.

Integrated low-intensity biofeedback therapy in fecal incontinence: evidence that "good" in-home anal sphincter exercise practice makes perfect.

Biofeedback therapy (BFT) is an established treatment for fecal incontinence (FI), with access often being restricted to tertiary centers due to resources and the perceived requirement for high-intensity regimes. However, the optimal regime remains unknown. We evaluated outcomes from our low-intensity integrated BFT program in a secondary care center. Outcomes of our BFT service for FI were evaluated retrospectively. Response was defined by ≥50% improvement in FI frequency from baseline or complete continence. Responders were compared to non-responders for factors including symptoms, manometry data, sphincter exercise technique and duration of practice, and the number and frequency of sessions. Where patients dropped out, outcomes and the reason for dropout were obtained retrospectively. Fecal incontinence patients (n=205, median 62years, 72% female) attended a median (IQR) 3 (2) BFT sessions with 55 (36) days between visits. Overall, 146/205 (71%) responded with 97/205 (47%) achieving continence. Fecal incontinence frequency improved dramatically in completed cases (P=0.000). While non-response was associated with males (P=0.03) and dropout (P=0.000), "good" anal sphincter exercise technique (P=0.008) and longer in-home practice (P=0.007) and more sessions (P=0.04) were associated with response. Dropout rate was 80/205 (39%), with the reason for dropout being obtained in 80%. Despite low-intensity BFT, comparable outcomes to data from tertiary centers were achieved. Our data emphasize the importance of technique and in-home practice of anal sphincter exercises. Customizing BFT intensity based on predictive factors and encouraging in-home practice may optimize outcomes, reduce dropout rates, and rationalize resources.

Adolescente masculino beneficiário do programa bolsa família: conhecimento sobre o programa na família assistida

Objective: To identify the knowledge that teenage boys have about the Family Allowance Program (Programa Bolsa Familia) and its impact on the family assisted. Methods: This is a qualitative descriptive and exploratory study conducted between July and September 2014 in a public school in the city of Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, with 12 teenage boys enrolled in the Family Allowance Program. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and the focus group technique. Data underwent content analysis, which yielded four thematic categories: Support for low-income people; school attendance as the main strategy; lack of priority in health promotion and disease prevention; impact on the families assisted. Results: The results showed that the teenage boys recognize the positive effects of the program on low-income families as it improves their purchasing power and leads to increased school attendance, reducing dropout rates; however, they did not mention that the program aims at health promotion and the support of complementary policies. Conclusion: There is a need to improve the health of the teenage boy enrolled in the Family Allowance Program with a focus on health promotion on a consolidated basis within a predictability perspective in the multiprofessional agenda of Primary Health Care.

Impact of Dupoto-e-Maa education project on dropout rate and academic performance

Background: A study conducted in the Kajiado Central District of Kenya in 2006 showed that there was a high dropout rate among primary schoolgoing children and that their academic performance was poor. The Dupoto-e-Maa education project was implemented in 2007 to address issues related to drop out rate and academic performance.Objectives: The evaluation therefore investigated the extent to which the project had influenced dropout rate and academic performance in the public primary schools in Kajiado Central District.Method: The evaluation adopted a mixed methods approach: cross-sectional survey and case study designs. The benefit of the approach is the richness of information obtained through triangulation. The respondents included head teachers, school management committees, teachers, pupils, quality assurance and standards officer and project staff. A sample size of 183 respondents was selected using purposive sampling and stratified random sampling procedures. Head teachers of the sampled schools participated as key informants. The instruments of data collection included questionnaires, an interview guide, a document analysis guide, a focus group discussion guide and an observation guide. Results: The findings indicate that the Dupoto-e-Maa education project had influenced dropout rates. The direction of the findings seems to suggest that academic performance trends are unpredictable since fluctuations are evident, though the programme could have encountered some challenges that may have limited its achievement on this variable.Conclusion: The study recommended that there is need to increase the number of non-governmental organisations modelled around the Dupoto-e-Maa education project so as to reduce dropout rate and improve pupil academic performance. The findings could also inform government policy in terms of recruitment and placement of teachers in schools in arid and semi-arid lands. Project funding could be increased to improve visibility and sustainability of project activities.

From Burdens To Benefits: The Societal Impact Of PDL-Enriched, Efficacy-Enhanced Educators

Societies continue to absorb increased burdens in cost for helping citizens unable to achieve at optimal levels. Building on past research, we project educational benefits to offset current societal burdens through enhanced educator capabilities. Studies reviewed show participation in a high-impact professional development and learning solution resulted in improved student performance and reduced dropout rates, reduced disciplinary rates and increased rates for college-bound, along with lower teacher turnover. Computations show that generalization of such impacts should trade societal burdens for benefits at between $3.7 billion and $6.9 billion within the first year. Cumulatively within 20 years the burdens converted to benefits are projected to exceed $85 billion. Enhanced educator capabilities will substantively reduce needs and costs for societal programs, replaced with tangible benefits to all.