Comparison of urban and rural dropout rates of distance students
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Date
2013-03
Authors
De Hart, K. L.
Venter, J. M. P.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Education, University of the Free State
Abstract
South Africa has one of the highest university dropout rates in the world. As a country, it also has a history
of forced location and the withholding of resources, including quality education, from certain rural areas.
This study investigates, the effect of urbanisation (of the area in which a student resides) on the dropout
rate of distance students in an introductory taxation course. Using Kember’s longitudinal-process model
of dropout from distance education as a point of departure and interrogating the “characteristics” of
students, it was found that the effect of urbanisation on its own only accounted for a 1% higher dropout
rate for rural students over their urban peers. When urbanisation, as a variable, was combined with
other demographic variables, the outcomes were sometimes unexpected. Ten multi-variable comparisons
indicated that rural students always represented the students who dropped out the most. However, in
four of these multi-variable comparisons, rural students were also those who dropped out the least. A
further study could examine the characteristics of population groups and language groups within rural
communities to ascertain why certain students drop out more than others. Recommendations are made for
specific interventions that could assist in supporting students that are prone to dropout.
Description
Keywords
Student profile, Dropout, Retention, Demographics, Urban, Rural, Open and distance learning, Distance education
Citation
De Hart, K. L., & Venter, J. M. P. (2013). Comparison of urban and rural dropout rates of distance students. Perspectives in Education, 31(1), 66-76.