Dropout from Secondary Education: all's well that begins well

Despite the increased attention to students leaving secondary education without a diploma numerous students still dropout yearly. This paper makes a distinction between the ‘individual perspective’ and the ‘institutional perspective’ of dropping out. The former is explored by multinominal logit models. We observe that particularly motivation of the student and interest in schooling of his/her parents are crucial predictors of the individual dropout decision. The institutional perspective is examined by ordered logit models. In particular, we discuss the influence of the first year of secondary education by analyzing the large differences in the number of dropouts in dutch first year classes. We observe that, more than motivation, the first year of secondary education is crucial in shaping the dropping out decision.