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Aboriginal Graduation Rates Analysis

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School’s Out Forever: A Look into Aboriginal Graduation Rates
Dropping out of school is a thought that even the uppermost achievers in high school may have every once in a while. High school is a very challenging rite of passage for many students, but achievable for all. However, many students, Aboriginal students in particular, do not graduate. It is not a hidden fact that Aboriginal graduation rates are not as strong as non-Aboriginal graduation rates. One look into any school in the country and the answer is usually very blatant, there aren’t as many Aboriginal students completing high school. Why is this so? The statistics can only show numbers which cannot show the real problems. Statistics tell a part of the story, but the explanations …show more content…

Monetary issues, unexpected pregnancy, and lack of motivation are also big contributors, according to Messacar and Oreopoulous (2013, page 56). Conflicts at home can be an issue because they can prevent the student from attending class entirely, perhaps due to having to watch over younger siblings, or, in abusive relationships, not being able to physically attend due to injury. Financial difficulties can prevent students from attending school especially in cases where the student has special needs. Lack of transportation, malnutrition, and being unable to participate in certain social aspects of school, like school sports, can all be linked to monetary issues. Pregnancy can be a frightening and difficult experience, even for the most prepared parents, so it is understandable that these feelings would be heightened in a possibly unexpected, unsupportive situation. Although McKay (2012) states, “the last year for which Canadian teen pregnancy rate data is available is 2006” (page 162), teen pregnancy is still a prominent issue in Canadian society. Having a child unexpectedly can trigger a range of emotions and new issues previously not considered, and can therefore push an individual’s schooling to the backburner. Lack of motivation can come from mental illness, which can lead to decline in social life, and possibly bullying, which can heighten feelings of hurt and lack of motivation. Lack of motivation is not always an underachiever problem, it can also come from students who are not being challenged enough, which shows that lack of motivation is relevant on both ends of the scale. All of these factors contribute in some way to low graduation rates among Aboriginal learners, as shown in

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