Factors that influence school dropout in the province of Cuanza Norte

Abstract

This text aims to identify the main factors that determine school dropout in urban, peri-urban and rural areas in the province of Cuanza Norte. The methodology used fits the socio-critical paradigm. The first step was the selection of schools. To this end, a stratified random sampling of schools was carried out by levels and areas, taking into account that they were schools of three levels of education (Primary Education, 1st Cycle of Secondary Education and 2nd Cycle of Secondary Education) and three areas different locations of these schools (urban, peri-urban and rural). The municipalities were selected through intentional sampling, taking into account the student population density and the geographical proximity between them. The selection of students was made through simple random sampling, based on the list of students in each class in each selected school. A questionnaire survey was applied to the students who made up the sample. The results show that there are factors that are more influential than others, and this influence varies according to school level, geographic location and municipality. In urban schools, the most influential factor in dropping out of school is economic constraints, while in peri-urban and rural schools the most influential factor is interest in other activities.