Dropout Intention And Effective Dropout During The First Academic Year In Intermediate Vocational Education And Training: An Analysis Taking The Student Engagement Concept As A Reference

This article analyzes dropout intention and the effective dropout rate amongst first year students enrolled in Intermediate Vocational Education & Training (IVET) using seven factors related to student engagement (SE). The data analyzed come from a questionnaire based in SE concept applied to a sample of 1,030 students enrolled in the first year of IVET. Regarding dropout intention, professional perspectives were the factor with the greatest predictive weight. Regarding the dropout during the first course, the factors with the greatest weight were involvement in the school/educational tasks and relationship with teachers. Results suggest that professional perspectives are very important to engage IVET students with the program in which they are enrolled, but these must later be complemented with student involvement in the school/educational tasks and good relationships with the teaching staff. The importance of this article lies in the scarcity of empirical works focusing on dropout from IVET programs and its applicability in interventions aimed at reducing the dropout rate.