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Title: Dropping Out of High School: The Influence of Race, Sex, and Family Background
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Rumberger, Russell W.
Dropping Out of High School: The Influence of Race, Sex, and Family Background
American Educational Research Journal 20,2 (Summer 1983): 199-220.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1162594
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Educational Research Association
Keyword(s): Children; Dropouts; Family Background and Culture; High School; High School Dropouts; Marriage

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper examines the extent of the high school dropout problem in l979 and investigates both the stated reasons students leave school and some of the underlying factors influencing their decision. Particular attention is focused on differences by sex, race, and family background. Data for this research come from the NLSY, a national sample of youth who were 14 to 21 years of age in l979. A multivariate model is developed to estimate the effects of family background and other factors on the decision to drop out of school. Several results emerge from the study. The reasons students cite for leaving school vary widely, with women more likely to leave because of pregnancy or marriage and men more likely to leave to go to work. Family background strongly influences the propensity to drop out of school and accounts for virtually all of the racial differences in dropout rates. A variety of other factors, including ability and aspirations, also influence this decision.
Bibliography Citation
Rumberger, Russell W. "Dropping Out of High School: The Influence of Race, Sex, and Family Background." American Educational Research Journal 20,2 (Summer 1983): 199-220.