OPEN JOURNAL FOR SOCIOLOGICAL STUDIES (OJSS)
ISSN (Online) 2560-5283 * ojss@centerprode.com
|
Center for Open Access in Science (COAS) OPEN JOURNAL FOR SOCIOLOGICAL STUDIES (OJSS) ISSN (Online) 2560-5283 * ojss@centerprode.com |
Understanding Student Retention in Greece: The Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Academic Success
Olga Tzafea * olgatzaf@gmail.com * ORCID: 0000-0002-6756-7082
University of Ioannina, School of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Education and Psychology
Eleni Sianou * eleni.sianou@gmail.com
University of Ioannina, School of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Education and Psychology
Open Journal for Sociological Studies, 2018, 2(2), 59-70 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojss.0202.02059t
Online Published Date: 28 October 2018
LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)
KEY WORDS: retention, higher education, social class, drop out, academic success.
ABSTRACT:
This article focuses on the issue of retention in Greek higher education institutions. It is an issue of growing significance in the last decades, after the expansion of higher education and the increase in the number of university students. It is based on a literature review and the results of a research the aim of which was to investigate the factors to which students’ attribute the fact that they have either not completed their studies in the period nominally expected for their study programme, or have withdrawn. Research data show that retention constitutes a complex social problem and that there is a relationship between retention and socioeconomic factors. We conclude that a full understanding of the issue, as well as efforts to increase student success presuppose the study of social parameters, which will examine the relationship between students’ socioeconomic background and their studies, within each country’s specific financial, social and cultural framework.
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Olga Tzafea, Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Philosophy, Education and Psychology, University of Ioannina, P.O box 1186, Postcode 45110 Ioannina, GREECE. E-mail: olgatzaf@gmail.com.
REFERENCES:
Astin, A. (1993). What matters in college: Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Astin, A. W., Korn, W., & Green, K. (1987). Retaining and satisfying students. Educational Record, 68(1), 36-42.
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. C. (1977). Reproduction in education, society and culture. London: Sage.
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. C. (1979). The inheritors: French students and their relation to culture. London: Chicago University Press.
Bourdieu, P. 1986. Distinction. London: Routledge.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2002). Research methods in education. Routledge.
ELIAMEP, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (2006). Higher education in Greece in the new European and international context. Athens. (in Greek)
European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice (2014). Modernisation of higher education in Europe: Access, Retention and Employability 2014. Eurydice Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
HEFCE (2006). Widening participation: a review. Report to the Minister of State for Higher Education and Lifelong Learning by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Bristol: HEFCE.
Hossler, D., Schmit, J., & Vesper, N. (1998). Going to college: How social, economic, and educational factors influence the decisions students make. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Kiprianos, P., & Koniordos, M. (2003). The demystification of University: eternal students and study drop out. Contemporary Education, (132), 23-34. (in Greek)
Kyriazis, A., & F. Asderaki (2008). Higher education in Greece. Bucharest: UNESCOCEPES, Monographs on Higher Education: European Centre for Higher Education.
Μartin, Y. M., Maclachlan, M., & Karmel, T. (2001). Undergraduate completion rates: An update, Occasional Paper Series 01-F: Higher Education Division.
Moller-Wong, C. & Eide, A. (1997). An engineering student retention study. Journal of Engineering Education, 86(1), 7-15.
Morley, L., & Aynsley, S. (2007). Employers, quality and standards in higher education: Shared values and vocabularies or elitism and inequalities? Higher Education Quarterly, 61(3), 229-249.
Naidoo, R. (2003). Repositioning higher education as a global commodity: Opportunities and challenges for future sociology of education work. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 24(2), 249-259.
Ozga, J., & Sukhnandan, L. (1997). Undergraduate non-completion in higher education in England. Report 2. Bristol: HEFCE
Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students (vol. 2). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Pugsley, L. (2004). The university challenge. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Quinn, J. (2013). Drop-out and completion in higher education in Europe among students from under- represented group.An independent report authored for the European Commission. NESET: European Commission.
Raftery, A.E., and M. Hout (1993). Maximally maintained inequality: Expansion, reform, and opportunity in Irish education, 1921-75. Sociology of Education, 66(1), 41-62.
Shavit, Y., R. Arum, A. Gamoran, & G. Menachem. (2007). Stratification in higher education: A comparative study. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
Sianou-Kyrgiou, E., & Tsiplakides, I. (2011). Similar performance, but different choices: Social class and access to higher education in Greece. Studies in Higher Education, 36(1), 89-102.
Sianou-Kyrgiou, E. (2010). Fromuniversitytothelabourmarket: Aspectsofsocialinequalities. Athens: Metaixmio. (in Greek)
Sianou-Kyrgiou, E. (2006). Education and social inequalities: The transition from secondary to higher education (1997-2004).Athens: Metaixmio. (in Greek)
Stamelos, G. (2002). The Greek educational system. First and second level. Structures and quantitative data. Athens. KEE. (in Greek)
Stamelos, G., & Kavasakalis, A. (2011). The public debate on a quality assurance system for Greek universities. Quality in Higher Education, 17(3), 353-368.
Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45(1), 89-125.
Tinto, V. (1987). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Tinto, V. (1988). Stages of student departure. Journal of Higher Education, 59(4), 438-455.
Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. Δεύτερη Έκδοση. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as communities: Exploring the educational character of student persistence. Journal of Higher Education, 68(6), 599-623.
Tinto, V. (2012). Completing college: Rethinking institutional action, Chicago. The University of Chicago Press.
Thomas, M., A., S. & Birchenough, A. (1996). Student withdrawal from higher education. Educational Management and Administration, 24(2), 207-221.
Tross, S. A., Harper, J. P., Osher, L. W., & Kneidinger, L. M. (2000). Not just the usual cast of characteristics: Using personality to predict college performance and retention. Journal of College Student Development, 41(3), 323-334.
Yorke, M. (1999). Leaving early: Undergraduate non-completion in higher education. London & Philadelphia: Palmer Press.
Yorke, M., & Thomas, L. (2003). Improving the retention of students from lower socio-economic groups. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 25(1), 63-74.
Yorke, M., & Longden, Β. (2004). Retention and student success in higher education. Society for Research into Higher Education: Open University Press.
© Center for Open Access in Science