Peer relations and dropout behavior: Evidence from junior high school students in northwest rural China.

Highlights • Our study finds that 6.9 percent of grade 7 students did not finish school, along with 12.3 percent of grade 8 students. • The social aspect of student dropout in rural China merits attention. • Push-out and pull-out peer factors are significantly associated with dropout. • Unstable peer relations can increase student dropout by 7 percentage points. • Association with dropout peers also significantly increases risk of dropout. Abstract A startling number of students drop out from junior high school in rural China every year. Little is known about the social aspect of the dropout process in rural China. The goal of this paper is to examine the relationship between student peer relations and dropout behavior in rural China's junior high schools. Covering 4596 students in 38 schools, our study finds that 6.9 percent of grade 7 students did not finish school, along with 12.3 percent of grade 8 students. Using a "push out and pull out" framework to understand peer relations, results suggest that both push out and pull out factors are strongly associated with student dropout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]