Patterns of Dropping Out. Toronto Board of Education Research Service Number 129

A study was conducted among high school students to discern their reasons for dropping out of school. Indepth interviews were conducted with a random sample of 544 dropouts from a large urban board in Canada. The profile of a typical dropout in the literature is one of a chronic low achiever who is aimless, alientated, angry, and has a variety of personal and social problems. This classic pattern accounted for only 23 percent of the current sample. The strategy of this study was to attempt to develop a series of composite pictures or types which defined various categories of dropouts. The largest group of students, 53 percent of the sample, was described as work-oriented and included students who were usually borderline passes, preferring work to school. A similar group, comprising 6 percent, were the homemakers who left to get married or to get a job. The fourth group was the intellectual elite, students who seemed to have the capacity to do well in school but who had renounced the system. The various patterns of dropping out were discussed with a view toward developing strategies which might help keep these students in school. (Author/PC)