Design and Validation of a Questionnaire to Analyze University Dropout—CADES

Abstract

Educational institutions and, in particular, universities must establish a clear vision and mission regarding the training that every social professional will demand. The university has always played the role of a selection filter for students, but the fact that a significant number of college students are abandoning their programs without having completed their course of studies, is a specific symptom of an educational crisis that is occurring within them. For this reason, the present study aimed to design and validate a key tool to establish the causes, whether endogenous or exogenous as to why students leave college without having completed their studies. The ad hoc questionnaire design took into consideration the proposals of a several research studies and the instrument developed was validated in a sample of 70 unit dropout cohorts for the years 2013-2014 and 2015 of a university school. The 40-items questionnaire was designed to identify, among the population of students quitting their programs, five categories or types of factors that potentially lead to students dropping out-Psychological, Sociological, Economic, Organizational and Integration-Adaptation—with their respective subcategories. Knowing the reasons why college students abandon an academic program in particular will allow university managers to analyze administrative and/or academic requirements and take mitigation measures to minimize college dropout.