ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on my doctoral thesis on student withdrawal from a college of further education. For those interested in the complete method and underpinning methodologies I would refer you to the original work, A Framework for Understanding Student Dropout in the Further Education Context (Page, 1996). The research was undertaken at the college where I was employed. When I first asked for permission to do the study, no one was particularly interested in student dropout. It was so unimportant that the management information systems did not even try to measure student withdrawal. Obtaining permission was therefore quite simple; everyone thought the investigation was ‘harmless’, although they had the good grace not to say so directly. I was dissatisfied with the current thinking on, and acceptance of, student dropout. I therefore set about this research in an attempt to throw some light on the sources of my own dissatisfaction. Since that time, student retention has become something of a ‘buzz’ word as government funding is now in part, attached to student achievement. Colleges now recognize the need to keep students on course, otherwise they risk going out of business in today’s ‘market forces’ driven educational climate. This climate change forms a significant part of the historical context in which the research took place.
