Chile's growing school dropout rates: an urgent call to fight against the education gap

Chile's education system and its neoliberal model have become a key issue to be dealt with not just in that country but also globally, as the scientific literature pinpoints Chile as the centre of the neoliberal experiment.

In this context, school dropout is becoming an increasingly significant problem and must therefore be given priority in the country's public policies. According to the Chilean Ministry of Education (Mineduc), a total of 50,529 students dropped out of education altogether between 2021 and 2022; in other words, this is the number of students who were not registered in any educational establishments during this last year. This is 24% more than the pre-pandemic figure of 2019. These students who left education during that time are at risk of joining the 227,000 people already traditionally outside the education system. This figure has been calculated based on the number of 5- to 24-year-olds who stopped attending educational establishments between 2004 and 2021 or who never even joined the system between those years.

During out of school has a number of negative financial, employment, mental health and welfare consequences throughout a person's life and is a major cause of inequality and social exclusion among adults and young people. 

In spite of this, many students in Chile who have dropped out of standard education try to go back through Youth and Adult Education (EPJA), although some of them drop out again.

What lies behind these people's failure to successfully complete their school education?

A study carried out by the UOC (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya), the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Center for Research in Inclusive Education (Chile) used data collected from Chilean schools and students to see how various factors interact with each other and affect school dropout rates.

The study, which has been given the title "Dropout in youth and adult education: a multilevel analysis of students and schools in Chile", shows how a combination of individual factors and factors relating to the school environment affect the abandonment of education in Chile. The individual factors highlighted in the study include, among others, students' own academic performance, gender, socio-economic status and age. As for school-related factors, the size and type of school (public or private school), the resources available to it and its socio-economic environment also play a significant role in this situation.

According to Enrique Baleriola, a researcher and member of the UOC's Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, all these people who have dropped out of school have been failed by the education system, or even by society itself: "in other words, it's not motivating them, adapting to them or giving what they need to really enable them to continue studying without worrying about the possibility of their school closing, separately from their responsibilities towards their family, children or spouse. The least we must do to ensure that these students stay at school is, among other things, ensure there are sufficient resources in terms of numbers of teachers and specific training for these teachers so that they're aware of the conditions under which they are teaching these very specific types of student."

In order to reverse the situation, the researchers' proposal is to try to find other models that are truly inclusive, because the current ones, which are designed under neoliberal criteria, are not suitable for the most vulnerable students, such as those in youth and adult education. They therefore recommend an educational model that focuses on:

• • Gender differences
• • Context-specific assessment plans and curricula
• • The promotion of inclusion, democratic school experiences and student participation in the management of schools.

In Professor Baleriola's own words, "you need a two-way communication system in which students, teaching staff and families are listened to and that engages all the players involved in the country's educational process in order to together build a set of policies that meet their needs and do not take them into account only when it comes to socializing decisions that have already been made outside the social context and that the policymakers now wish to apply."

The study also revealed that the teacher-student relationship is a key factor, as the working environment and relationships resulting from this approach lead to greater commitment to school and transform the education experience, preventing students from dropping out.

Addressing these variables from the point of view of welfare and social justice could change the consequences and effects of school dropout among adults and young people, setting out new educational pathways for them.

The study could have a significant impact on the design of education policies and decision-making for student retention in Chile, as it has identified risk factors linked to school dropout, it considers designing tailored actions to address the specific needs of students at risk of dropping out, and it highlights the urgent need to reduce inequalities in access to education and improve opportunities for every student to achieve academic success.

In order to address these challenges, the government, educational institutions and society as a whole must take a comprehensive and coordinated approach to ensure that every adult and young person in Chile can fulfil their potential and contribute to the country's progress.

Reference article

Contreras-Villalobos T, López V, Baleriola E and González L (2023) Dropout in youth and adult education: a multilevel analysis of students and schools in Chile. Front. Psychol. 14:1163088. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1163088 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1163088/full