School and Family Predictors of Achievement and Dropout in Elementary Schools of a Developing Country.

In 1973 a study of the national primary schools was begun in Ecuador to consider effects of school and non-school factors upon student flow and achievement, to examine the relative productivity of different types of schools, and to study the costs of primary education to the family and nation. Although other variables such as teacher preparation and characteristics of schools were studied, this paper concentrates upon the socio-economic and family variables such as parent's occupation, family's educational resources, and student's attitude toward school. The researchers examined these variables as related to student achievement and dropout rate in the various types of schools. Students in grades 1, 4, and 6 from urban and rural schools responded to a questionnaire to determine socio-economic and family factors and to an instrument to determine attitudes. Responses by grades to items of the socio-economic instrument indicate trends which begin to show some system characteristics. In general, there is a trend for students in the higher grades to answer the questionnaire more positively on an ascending socio-economic scale. These data show differences which are really urban-rural. Lack of strong correlation between school factors or socio-economic status and pupil attitudes leads the author to think that attitude may be so culturally determined as to be impossible to separate from value orientations applicable to all formal organizations. (Author/ND)