School Identification and Dropping Out of School

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between school identification and school dropout using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). School identification was conceptualized as having components of belonging (social support and participation) and value (the extent to which students value school). In addition to school identification factors, eighth grade measures of achievement, retention history, parental expectations, and demographic characteristics, which have all been shown in previous research to relate to dropout, were included in the analysis. Logistic regression analyses indicated that the set of three school identification factors made a significant contribution in predicting dropout, above and beyond the contribution
made by the academic, demographic, and parental expectation variables.