Investigating the Causes of Nursing Student Drop Out

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Drop out of nursing students is a very important problem in the educational system. It is not only a personal problem but also causes social, mental and family problems. This study was done to investigate the causes of student drop out in Hazrat Zeinab nursing and midwifery faculty of Amol, Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done on 100 students of semester 3 -8 of Amol nursing and midwifery faculty. Students were divided into 2 groups the ones who had dropped out (the average of their passed credits was less than 16) and the ones who had not dropped out (the average of their passed credits was more than 16). Data was gathered by questionnaire including demographic characteristics and questions related to the factors affecting student drop out. Then the factors affecting student drop out were evaluated.FINDINGS: The average grade of the diploma was 16.87±1.6 and the average of the passed credits was 15.99 ± 1.2. There was a significant difference between two groups of students according to marital status (p<0.000) accommodation situation (p =0.009), acceptance quota (p=0.01), interest in the course (p<0.000) and the educational consultation (p= 0.02). There was the greatest relationship between the diploma average and the dropping out (p<0.000). CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, numerous factors such as marriage and acceptance quota can affect the student dropout. Drop out prevention and hazardous consequences of dropping out require careful recognition of these factors and effective planning.

Keywords

• educational drop out
• personal characteristics
• educational characteristics