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Factors that determine the persistence and dropout of university students

2018; Cologio Oficial de Psicólogos del Principado; Volume: 4; Issue: 30 Linguagem: Inglês

10.7334/psicothema2018.155

0214-9915

Joana R. Casanova, António Cervero, José Carlos Núñez, Leandro S. Almeida, Ana Bernardo,

Education, Achievement, and Giftedness

Background: The increase of students in higher education means a more heterogeneous student body, complicating the identifi cation of the variables that infl uence students´ decisions to stay in or drop out of university.The objective of this study is to analyze the infl uence of these variables on students' decisions by establishing specifi c groups of students based on performance.Method: A study was carried out with 2,970 fi rstyear university students from Portugal, using the decision tree technique.Results: Academic performance is confi rmed as a determining variable in the decision to remain or drop out, allowing us to establish three groups (high, medium and low achievement), in which different types of variables act as mediators: sex, type of course (licenciatura [BA] or mestrado integrado), the fact of studying at the students' fi rst-choice university or the mother's educational level.Conclusions: Without neglecting the weight of academic achievement as a priority variable, we must consider these secondary variables in the confi guration of student groups in order to plan support policies to avoid higher-risk students dropping out.