Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.5673/sip.61.3.4
“You Pick up Your Documents and Just Leave“: Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences of Individuals Who Have Dropped Out of Higher Education
Iva Odak
orcid.org/0000-0002-4249-4964
; Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia
Branislava Baranović
; Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia
Nikola Baketa
orcid.org/0000-0001-9813-4717
; Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
This paper examines the factors that influence university dropout, i.e., leaving higher education,
at the individual and institutional level. Qualitative research methodology was used and
24 semi-structured interviews were conducted with people who dropped out of studies at
different universities and faculties in Croatia. The main research topics included the causes of
dropping out of studies, the role of higher education institutions in that process, and possibilities
and policy recommendations for improvement of the higher education system in the context
of dropout. Three main reasons for dropping out of studies were observed as prevailing:
motivational reasons, health reasons and employment, and among others, lack of discipline,
financial reasons, social relations and organizational challenges. The results also indicate weak
institutional support related to the process of dropping out of studies, that is, the absence of
institutional attempts to retain the students. The results and recommendations also show that
dropping out of studies is a complex problem, and that the solution involves the engagement
and synergistic action of institutions at multiple levels: higher education institutions, universities,
local government, the economic sector and the state.
Keywords
higher education; dropping out of studies; causes of dropping out; institutional habitus
Hrčak ID:
314505
URI
Publication date:
21.2.2024.
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