Factors Behind the High Rate of Student Leavers: Basis for Retention Strategies
Sherwin Zapatero
Received: 29 March 2026; Revised: 14 April 2026; Accepted: 14 May 2026; Published: 19 May 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.66074/SCI22U44I5
Abstract
This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined the factors behind the high student leaver rate at Peñarrubia Integrated School and used those findings to inform retention strategies. Phase 1 consisted of a descriptive survey of 20 learner respondents (10 former students and 10 at-risk students). Phase 2 used semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with learners and additional purposively selected informants, 22 teachers, 10 parents/guardians, and 1 school administrator, to explain the survey patterns. Frequency counts and percentages were used for the checklist-based survey, thematic analysis for qualitative data, and document review for contextual triangulation. The most frequently endorsed factors were financial difficulties (16 of 20, 80.0%), lack of interest in studying (16, 80.0%), need to work to support the family (13, 65.0%), and difficulty understanding lessons or poor academic performance (13, 65.0%). Across the 87 total factor mentions, family-related pressures accounted for the largest share (41.4%), followed by personal (28.7%), school-related (20.7%), and community-related factors (9.2%). Qualitative findings showed that household economic precarity, early parenthood, academic struggles, transport constraints, and limited support systems intersected in ways that increased the likelihood of school leaving in the rural Abra context. Because the sample was small and purposive, the findings are best interpreted as school-specific and exploratory. Even so, they provide a clear empirical basis for coordinated retention strategies that combine financial referral, flexible learning arrangements, academic remediation, counseling, and stronger school-family-community partnerships.
Keywords: retention strategies, rural schooling, school leavers, socio-economic factors, student dropout
Author Information: Peñarrubia Integrated School, Abra, Philippines; [email protected]
Volume 2, Issue 2, June 2026