Examining the role of civic attitudes in the link between family wealth and school dropout among tertiary vocational students

This study examined the relationship between family wealth and school dropout among vocational education students (n = 1,231; mean age=17.81). It investigated whether (1) family affluence and adolescents’ own perceptions and experiences of their family wealth (i.e., perceived family wealth, financial scarcity) predict dropout, (2) adolescents’ civic attitudes (i.e., system justification, institutional trust) explain the association between family wealth and school dropout, and (3) trust in teachers buffers against the risk of dropout among students with lower civic attitudes. Multivariate models revealed that financial scarcity predicted dropout. Financial scarcity showed an indirect only effect on dropout through lower institutional trust, but not through system justification. Trust in teachers was neither associated with dropout, nor a moderator. Controlling for mental health problems did not affect these results. This study helps explain how students’ experienced and perceived family wealth can affect their educational attainment, by reducing their trust in social institutions.


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This study examined the relationship between family wealth and school dropout among vocational education students (n=1,231; mean age=17.81). We used data from the first wave of the ongoing longitudinal YOUth Got Talent project on the wellbeing of adolescents enrolled in the first year of tertiary vocational education in the Netherlands and combined these data with official dropout numbers after the first year.
Data were collected between September 2019 and February 2020. At T1, 1,519 students could have been included in the study, while 81% of them participated, yielding a sample of 1,231 adolescents (Mage = 17.81, SDage = 1.82, 44.31% male, 74.53% without a migration background). Most of the non-participation was related to sickness/classroom absence (15%), and 4% of the non-participation was due to refusal or invalid responses.
Tertiary vocational schools in the Netherlands are divided into four levels (1 -entry-level; 2 -basic, 3 -professional; 4 -middle-management). Pilot research revealed that adolescents in Level 1 classes were unable to complete the questionnaire satisfactorily, so they were not included in this study. Adolescents attended classes in three vocational schools and participated in training in fields such as creative, technical, and health education.
Data were collected between September 2019 and February 2020. Self-report questionnaires (96.5% digital; 3.5% paper-and-pencil) were administered in the classroom n = 71 classes), taking roughly 20-30 minutes. Before data collection, participants gave active consent. ( Self-report data were collected between September 2019 and February 2020. In October/November 2020, the three schools provided information to researchers on whether students had dropped out of school. This information was only available for students who had consented to this information being shared. Most of the non-participation was related to sickness/classroom absence (15%), and 4% of the non-participation was due to refusal or invalid responses.
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