The Cross-National Relevance of U.S. Formulated Theories of College Student Departure

Abstract

This article focuses on the cross-national relevance of theories of college student departure formulated by U.S. scholars. Some aspects of U.S. developed theories of college student departure hold some semblance of cross-national relevance. Economic and sociological perspectives provide such aspects. The weighing of costs and benefits inherent in the economic perspective appears relevant in the countries of Ghana, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovenia where the dual-payment system prevails. Concepts of both the social inequality and interactionalist aspects of the sociological perspective appear relevant cross-nationally. Social inequality in student graduation rates transpires along socioeconomic lines in Ghana and the United Kingdom. Moreover, key aspects of the interactionalist perspective concerning departure from commuting institutions such as support from significant others, the problems associated with commuting, and academic integration appear to differentiate between students who continue their enrollment and those who depart in the countries of Jordan and Turkey.