School Dropout and Early School Leaving in Romania: Tendencies and Risk Factors

Abstract

Improving participation rates in education and reducing the number of persons who leave the educational system prematurely has increasingly become a concern for national governments and international organizations all over the world. The current paper is the result of the documentation process for a doctoral research project on school dropout (SD) and early school leaving (ESL) in Romania and the appropriate measures that could effectively tackle these negative phenomena. Based on information compiled from periodic reports issued by the relevant authorities, we present the evolution of the two phenomena in Romania, within the last decade. The most extended section of the article is dedicated to a review of the risk factors that have been associated with SD and ESL, based on the theoretical works, research findings and relevant policies consulted during the documentation stage. In the final section of the article, we systematize the relevant aspects resulted from the documentation process and outline the improvements that would benefit future studies aimed at identifying effective solutions to reduce SD and ESL. The current paper may be of use to other researchers, when setting up the design of a study concerned with SD and ESL.