Changing School Culture

According to the study by Alexander (2008), school factors leading to low secondary school completion rates are classified under alterable variables because they are easier to change and can usually be influenced by pupils, parents, educators, and community members. School factors can be dealt with by making changes at local school level involving school staff, pupils and members of the local community. A study by Deal & Celotti (1980) stated the need to personalize the learning environment by setting up schools where students are known so as to give them a sense of belonging. They found that 47% dropout because they are bored, unmotivated and disengaged due to poor teaching methods which rely heavily on lecture, drill and test preparations

Changing school culture involves building a school as a community that adopts rituals and practices that reinforce values and norms that promote achievement and countering any behaviour that promote anti-intellectualism so that pupils valued to be a high achiever (Cleor & Alexander, 1992). A study by Lewin (2007) also asserted that potential dropouts might have behavioral problems as a result of lack of interest in school arising from poor academic performance thereby increasing their risk of dropping out. He recommended the need for studies on school factors contributing to dropout because such research can provide grounds for school based reform. He argued that since patterns of dropouts differ from school to school, school based reform and strategies to deal with the problem of dropouts are better placed to provide lasting solutions to the problem of school dropout.

2.5 Empirical studies

The study under this theme seeks to give an overview school completion and dropout rates in different countries by reviewing empirical studies in done around the globe. Starts with global studies, then narrows to Africa and lastly, focuses on Zambia.

2.5.1 Global school dropout and completion

The findings by UNESCO (2011) on the global picture towards attainment of Universal Primary Education (UPE) indicated that about 31.2million primary pupils in 2010 dropped out of school globally and may never return and this has contributed to the low high school completion rates in secondary schools. The findings of UNESCO (2006) study on global gains made towards attainment of Universal Primary Education (UPE) indicated that many countries have relatively high initial enrolment figures but poor primary and secondary school completion rates. This due to continued dropping out of school making attainment of Universal Primary Education (UPE) difficulty in several countries of the world like Malawi, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bolivia to name a few. Completion rates provide a much stronger test of UPE than enrolment rate alone. Studies by Lloyd , Mete and Grant, (2009) in rural Pakistan on primary and secondary school completion rates found that though Pakistan had a national enrolment of 83% its completion rate was only 48% as a result of high dropout