Causes of Students’ Dropout at Elementary Level in Southern Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Abstract

The purpose of the paper was to explore the causes of students’ dropout at elementary level in the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. All the teachers working at elementary level in the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa constituted the population of the study. A sample of 171 teachers from 57 elementary schools was selected through two-stage sampling technique. The study was descriptive in nature and a self-developed questionnaire was used for data collection. For statistical analysis, descriptive statistics i.e., mean and standard deviation were used. The findings revealed that there are so many factors that contribute to dropout at elementary level. These factors are; ineffective curriculum; strict school’s discipline and regulations; lack of proper physical and educational facilities; lack of parental educational support; poor parental socioeconomic status; domestic issues; parental illiteracy; unfavorable school environment; poor attendance; and Students’ disruptive behaviour; lack of motivation and encouragement; teachers’ discriminative and autocratic attitudes; frequent teachers’ absenteeism; and students’ company with unwanted children; poor health condition etc. based on findings, it was recommended that curriculum should be reviewed and redesigned in the light of emerging needs of students and society. Awareness regarding importance of education in society should be ensured through electronic as well as print media to reduce the dropout rate. An encouraging, friendly and facilitated environment may be provided inside the school for students.

Keywords: Causes; Dropout; Student Related Factors; School Related Factors; Teacher Related Factors; Family/Society Related Factors; Elementary Level