""2-4r_'.-. , .t IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZIIIII|4IIIIIIII 3 1293 106692 This is to certify that the dissertation entitled A STUDY OF INFLUENCES ON STUDENT ATTRITION IN GIRLS' SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SAUDI ARABIA presented by Fouziah Ibraheem Dumiati has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for CURRICULUM AND Ph- D- degree in INSTRUCTION I £42442 / 7 Majonférofessor Date April 7, 1986 M5 U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 0- 12771 MSU LIBRARIES RETURNING MATERIALS: Place in book drop to remove this checkout from your record. ~FINES will be charged if book is returned after the date stamped below. "I , g‘ol f‘.‘ II; 4-1 '1 '2"? A STUDY OF INFLUENCES (N STUDENT ATTRITION IN" GIKS' SEOCNDARY SCHOOLS IN SAUDI ARABIA By Fouz 1 ah Ibraheem Dumi ati A DISSERTATION 3 Submitted to Michigan State University ‘ I r $.21! in partial fulfillment of the requirements "‘ ,‘1 for the degree of ‘ “ri‘Depar‘bnent of Teacher Education DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ‘ ; 1 1986 _ t I I . h i". e '. .17— Vt. A g ABSTRACT A STUDY OF INFLUENCES 0N STUDENT ATTRITION IN GIRLS' SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SAUDI ARABIA By Fouziah Ibraheem Dumiati This study was undertaken to identify the influence of factors associated with the high attrition rates in secondary girls' schools in Saudi Arabia. The randomly selected sample of females comprised 50 dropouts. 50 ninth graders. 50 eleventh graders. and 50 teachers from three intermediate and three secondary schools. Fifteen additional dropouts were selected for interview. Six factors that influence girls' decision to leave or remain in school were identified: teachers'influence. family influence. students' attitude toward school. marriage and pregnancy. student achievement. and sex role. Questionnaires. designed by the investigator. were administered and interviews conducted to determine attitudes and opinions pertaining to those factors. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data obtained from the questionnaires. interviews. and government documents. Statistical techniques used were multivariate analysis of variance and univariate F-test. For analysis purposes. the six factors were combined into four: teacher influence. family influence. student attitude and Fouziah Ibraheem Dumiati achievement. and marriage and sex role All factors were considered influential in girls' attrition. Dropouts and teachers ranked the four factors identically. Dropouts and teachers ranked "teacher influence" the primary factor affecting girls' attrition. whereas students ranked it third among the four factors. Dropouts and teachers perceived "family influence" as the second most important factor in girls' attrition; students ranked it the most important factor. Dropouts and teachers perceived "student attitude and achievement" as the third most influential factor in girls' attrition; students ranked it second. All three groups perceived "marriage and sex role" as the least influential factor in girls' attrition. Interview results corroborated the questionnaire results; moreover. the interviews uncovered a factor that was not included in the study: "the lack of career options for Saudi fenales." Young women who had left school had done so for a variety of reasons. including (a) dislike of the school atmosphere. (b) poor academic achievement. and (c) lack of family support for continuation in school. Socioeconomic level of dropouts exceeded that of girls in school. Based on the study findings. recommendations for policy changes were provided to enhance further the significant advances in education of fanales in Saudi Arabia. “WNWOF ALLAH nu: mam. 'IHE WWASSXONATE s flu'lz; I If. 2 . f' 'i- :-“-1 ‘o. ‘ :31. 1‘ I 4 0| I To my parents for their encouragement and prayers. lI To my husband. Mansour. for his support and advice. 1 "i To my children. Mohamed and Bian. for giving me happiness with their cheerful smiles. w...,..-r A _ -‘ -M It). . ‘I‘T: 1.-4 --..-U «2 v n1”:- 4 A ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank God. who provided me with the strength and perseverance to accomplish this task. It has been a privilege for me to have Dr. James Gallagher as both my committee chairman and my maJor advisor. I wish to express my deepest appreciation to him for his support and guidance in making this research a real learning experience for me. My respect and thanks are also due to Dr. Howard Hickey for serving as a committee member and giving me guidance and assistance throughout the doctoral program. I would also like to thank Drs. Kenneth Neff and Ben Bohnhorst. committee members. for their advice and assistance. Special appreciation to my brothers and sisters. especially my sister Sultana. who never stopped helping me with her advice during my doctoral program. I appreciate the help of everyone who helped in the data collection. my sister-in—law Summer and her husband. Mohammad; my friend Shifa; and my brother-in-law Mohammad. Special thanks and deep appreciation to my dearest friend. Balgees. for her support and encourh agement. Words cannot express the gratitude that is her due. A sin- cere thank-you to all the students and teachers who spent their valuable time completing the study questionnaire. I would like to thank the Saudi Arabian government for providing me With a scholarship that gave me the opportunity to accomplish this stage ofstudy. I would alsolike to express my sincere appreciation Susan Cooley for her cooperation and help in typing the dissertation manuscript. Most of all. I would like to give special thanks and deep appreciation to my husband. Mansour. for his sacrifices. support. encouragement. and assistance. which were so important in my completion of this work. Finally. I wish to acknowledge my children. Mohammad and Bian. who have given me the happiest moments of my life with their cheerful smiles. rm TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TmLES I I O O IIIIII O I C I LIST OF FIGURES ....... . . . . . . LIST OF APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . REF-ACE o I o I o o o I ooooo a o a Chapter I 0 INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O I O 0 Statement of the Problem Purpose of the Study . . Family Influence . . . Marriage and Pregnancy . Sex Role . . . . . . . Student Achievement . Student Attitudes . . Teacher Influences . . Research Questions . . . Research Hypotheses . . Importance of the Study . . Limitation of the Study . . Delimitations of the Study . Definition of Terms . . . . Plan of Presentation . . . . II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE . I I o o o o o o n o o Generalization of the Study Findings Women in Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . Women in the Beginning of Islam Women's Education in the Arab World Women's Education in Saudi Arabia Student Attrition From School Relationship to Student Attrition Family Influence on Student Attrition Review of Research Concerning Six Factors and Their Page vlii xi xiii Marriage and Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . Sex Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Student Achievement . . . . . . . . . Students' Attitudes Toward School . . . . Teachers' Influence on Student Attrition . Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III. METHODS AND PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analysis of Written Materials . . . . . . Survey Questionnaires . . . . . . . . . . Interviews . . . . . . . The Study Population and Sampling Procedures . Preparation of the Questionnaire and Interviews Questionnaire and Interview Translation . Description of the Questionnaire and the Interview Questionnaire Validity . . . . . . . . . . Questionnaire Reliability . . . . . . . . Research Questions and Hypotheses . . . . . The Pilot Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . Data-Collection Procedures . . . . . . . Statistical Procedures and Techniques Used 1 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV. PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS . . . . . . . . . Demographic Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dropouts'. Students' and Teachers' Responses Factors That May Influence Girls' Decision School or to Continue in School . . . . . Results of Hypothesis Testing . . . . . . . Results of Student Interviews . . . . . . . Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to Six to Leave V. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS . . . . A Theoretical Framework . . . . . . . . . . The Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The School . . . . . . . . Findings Related to the Factors Selected for Factors Related to the Home . . . . . . . Factors Related to the School . . . . . . Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Study 85 111 131 144 150 152 152 153 155 158 160 169 172 VI. SUMMARY. CONCLUSIONS. AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . Summary of the Study . . . . . . Purpose . . . . Procedures . . . . . . . . . . Sample . . . . . Data Collection and Analysis . Summary of the Findings . . . . Conclusions . . . . . Recommendations . . . . . Suggestions for Further Research APPENDICES . BIBLIOGRAHIY a o o O o o I o o a a o o o o Page l75 175 175 177 177 178 179 185 187 189 192 282 Table 2.1 2.2 2.3 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 LIST OF TABLES Enrollment in Girls' Intermediate and Secondary Schools in Saudi Arabia. l964 Through 1984 Elementary-Level (Government) Schools for Girls in Saudi Arabia. 1961 Through 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . Statistical Summary of Intennediate—Stage Government Schools in Saudi Arabia. 1976 Through 1984 Secondary-Level (Presidency ) Schools for Girls in Saudi Arabia. 1964 Through 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . Composition of the Study Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Respondents Distribution of Respondents Distribution of Respondents Education . . . . . . . . Distribution of Respondents Education . . . . . . . . Distribution of Respondents Distribution of Respondents Distribution of Respondents School From Their Homes . Distribution of Respondents in Elementary School . . Distribution of Respondents in Intermediate School . Distribution of Respondents Besides Self in Their Families by Age by Marital Status . . . . . by Father's Level of by Mother's Level of by Family Monthly Income . by Their Family Situation . by the Distance of the by the Years They Had Spent by the Years They Had Spent by the Number of People viii Page 25 26 27 72 86 87 88 90 92 94 96 97 98 100 4.13 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 Distribution of Dropouts by the Age at Which They Left sch 001 l O O D l O C O O I I I O I I I O O U I 0 Distribution of Respondents by Marital Status When Dropouts Left School and Present Marital Status for Students Still Attending School . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Respondents by Number of Children When Dropouts Left School and Present Number of Children for Students Still Attending School . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Respondents by School Attendance . . . . Distribution of Respondents by Failure in School . . . . Distribution of Respondents by Plans to Continue Their Educati on O O I O I I I I O I O I I I O O O I O I I 0 Distribution of Dropouts by the Persons Who Most Influenced Them to Leave School . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Dropouts by When They Decided to Leave sch 001 I O I O I O l I O O I O I I I O I D I O l O O 0 Rank Order of Items Related to "Family Influence" for Dropouts. Ninth and Eleventh Graders Combined. and Teachers I I O O O I O I O I O I O I I O O O O I O 0 C Rank Order of Items Related to "Teacher Influence" for Dropouts. Ninth and Eleventh Graders Combined. and Teach ers O I O I C I O I I O O I C O O O O I O O O I 0 Rank Order of Items Related to "Student Attitude" for Dropouts. Ninth and Eleventh Graders Combined. and Teachers I I I I I I O I O O O I D I I O O I O O l O I Rank Order of Items Related to "Marriage and Pregnancy" for Dropouts. Ninth and Eleventh Graders Combined. and Teach ers O O D O O I O O I I I I I O O O O O O I I Rank Order of Items Related to "Student Achievement" for Dropouts. Ninth and Eleventh Graders Combined. and Teachers 0 O O I O O O I I O I O O I O O i O O O 0 Rank Order of Items Related to "Sex Role" for Dropouts. Ninth and Eleventh Graders Combined. and Teachers . . Page 101 102 104 105 107 108 109 110 113 116 119 122 125 128 Page 4.25 Rank Order of the Six Factors for Dropouts. Students Attending School. Teachers. and All Groups Combined . . 130 4.26 Results of the Multivariate Test of Significance for Hypothesis l: Differences Between Dropouts and Students Attending School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 4.27 Results of Univariate F-Test for Dropouts Versus Students Attend1ng schoo1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ‘33 4.28 Means and Standard Deviations for Dropouts and for Students Attending School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13“ 4.29 Results of the Multivariate Test of Significance for Hypothesis 2: Differences Between Ninth- and Eleventh- Grade students I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 137 4.30 Results of Univariate F—Test for Ninth- Versus Eleventh- Grade Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 4.31 Means and Standard Deviations for Ninth— and Eleventh- Grade Students I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 138 4.32 Results of the Multivariate Test of Significance for Hypothesis 3: Difference Between Students Attending School and Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 4.33 Results of Univariate F-Test for Students Attending School Versus Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 4.34 Means and Standard Deviations for Students Attending School and Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “13 4.35 Distribution of the Dropouts' Responses Concerning Their Reasons for Leaving School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]51 5.1 Rank Order of the Factors by Dropouts. Students Attend‘hlg SCho°1D and TeaCherS e o o o o o a o o t e o o ‘59 LIST OF FIGURES Page "u I“. ~ ’11! Distribution of Respondents by Family Income . . . . . . 93 ‘ThIOI‘Bt'ICl1 Frmwork 0f the study 0 o o o o o o I o o 0 I73 . I z LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page A. ENGLISH VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND NINTH GRADERS' QUESTIWNAIRE I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I '93 B. ARABIC VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND NINTH GRADERS' QUESTIWNAIRE I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 205 C. ENGLISH VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND ELEVENTH GRADERS' QUESTIWNAIRE I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 216 D. ARABIC VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND ELEVENTH GRADERS' QUESTIWNAIRE I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 227 E. ENGLISH VERSION OF DOVER LETTER AND DROPOUTS' QUESTIWNAIRE I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 238 F. ARABIC VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND DROPOUTS' QUESTIWNAIRE I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 250 G. ENGLISH VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND TEACHERS' QUESTIWNAIRE I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 262 H. ARABIC VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND TEAOTERS' QUESTIWNAIRE I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 27] I. ENGLISH VERSION OF DROPOUT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS . . . . . 278 J. ARABIC VERSION OF DROPOUT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS . . . . . 280 PREFACE Saudi Arabia is a deveioping country, and education is an essentiai tooT in faciiitating that deveiopment. The high rate of attrition of giris from secondary schooTs has been a serious probTem in Saudi Arabia, and it runs counter to the desired objectives of the nation's pians for economic and socia] deveiopment. In this study, an attempt was made to investigate selected factors related to home and schooi in Saudi Arabia. in order to dis- cover the factors underiying the high rate of attrition among girTS in secondary schoois. The probiem of attrition among femaie intermediate and secondary schooi students must be understood if it is to be reduced. The importance of reducing the high rate of giris' attrition from schooi is underscored by recognition of the importance of femaies' contribution to fu11 deveiopment of Saudi Arabian society. their contributions are essentiai to the society‘s growth. xiii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION W The rapidly developing countries of the Arabian Gulf and Penin— sula face different kinds of problems than are faced by other countries that are traditionally termed "developing" or "Third World" countries. In these countries (generally Kuwait. Oman. the United Arab Emirates. Bahrain. and Saudi Arabia). huge oil revenues have fueled an unprece- dented development of infrastructure and social progress that is ham- pered by a lack of human resources. Limited human resources is one of the problems that Saudi Arabia has been trying to solve through its First Development Plan (1970-1975). Second Development Plan (1975- 1980). Third Development Plan (1980-1985). and Fourth Development Plan (1985-1990). "The development of Saudi human resources stands at the heart of the development process. The National development plan aims at the formulation of policies necessary for the development of these human assets" (Ministry of Planning. 1979. p. 287L Education. a powerful tool in developing human resources. has been emphasized by the Saudi government to provide the country with needed human assets. This tool provides human beings with the theories and knowledge necessary to improve their ability to work. produce. and contribute effectively to the society. In Saudi Arabia. where formal education was not begun until the 19605. and universal primary and secondary education has not yet been fully realized. education is seen as having great potential for developing human resources in all fields. According to the Third Development Plan. The labor force participation rate [can be increased] by creating better educational and training opportunities for all citizens of the Kingdom. by increasing the reward system through differential earning based on productivity. and by providing better working conditions for all male and female members of the work force. (Ministry of Planning. 1974. p. 216) In the absence of adequate human resources. Saudi Arabia has been forced to depend heavily on foreign workers to fill the profes- sional. technical. and "blue collar" positions required to sustain development. Labor force development has greatly affected the rate of implemen- tation of development projects during the first plan period. As the requirements for skilled workers build up. the continued large scale expansion of the non-Saudi segment of the labor force becomes more and more evident (Ministry of Planning. 1974. m 215) While foreign workers have contributed a great deal to the country's development and modernization. the influx of expatriate work— ers has had some undesirable effects on the society. Not the least of these is the implicit threat any sovereign state feels in depending on outsiders for essential services. As the number of foreign workers and their effect on society have increased. the pressure to develop native human resources has intensified. Thus. one of the objectives of the Second Development Plan was to "reduce dependence on foreign manpower and to concentrate on Saudization in all economic activities" (Ministry of Planning. 1974. p.331). Secondary-school students are considered one of Saudi Arabia's main sources of the human assets needed in a variety of fields. Because not enough Saudi women have the necessary education. Saudi females do not occupy even the very limited jobs available to them. Whereas most jobs available to Saudi women require college-level train- ing (physicians. teachers. and so on). many girls leave the formal educational system before reaching high school. As a result. only a small fraction of young women in Saudi Arabia qualify for training for skilled occupations. Therefore. this investigator intends to examine the reasons Saudi females drop out of formal education after interme- diate school. In brief. the problem of this study is to investigate the influence of key factors on the attrition rate. among Saudi females. after intermediate school. Outside the Islamic world. it is often assumed that Muslim women are subject to discrimination and thus kept out of sight and at home for religious reasons. On the contrary. Islam affirms the equal- ity of men and women as human beings. Their differences are perceived to exist solely in terms of the roles necessary for a balanced family system. In the Islamic family. the roles of men and women are comple- mentary. rather than competitive (Nelson. 1968). different rather than discriminatory of either sex (Ahmed. 1975). In other words. the male and female roles are considered equal in importance. but not identical in substance. Islamic teachings hold that wOman is completely equal with man in the sight of God. in terms of her rights and responsibilities. The Our'an. the holy book of Islam. states: "Every Soul will be [held] in pledge for its deeds" (74:38L The Qurian generally addresses men and women together in its directions. It states: For Muslim men and women. for believing men and women. for devout men and women. for true men and women. for men and women who are patient and constant. for men and women who humble themselves. for men and women who give in charity. for men and women who fast (and deny themselves). for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise. for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward. (33:35) Whoever works righteous deeds. man or woman. and has faith. verily to him we give a new life that is good and pure and will bestow on such reward according to the best of their actions. (l6:97L A misconception prevailing in Muslim society concerns the exclusively household role and position of women in the Islamic family. While the woman's role as wife and mother is considered the most sacred and essential one. nothing in Islam prevents her from fulfilling other roles in society if they are not undertaken at the expense of her family role. In an Islamic family. social and economic activities are undertaken Jointly. and their benefits are shared by both males and females. Al-Oteiby (l982) maintained that Since the beginnings of Islam in the sixth century. women have always participated in work. Islamic doctrine did not forbid women to work; rather. it enhanced women's status and encouraged educa- tion for women as well as men. Islam gave women an independent economic personality fourteen centuries ago. Women in early Islamic times presented lectures and received public admiratiom They also gave advice on political issues. Women fought side by side with men and played salient roles in nursing the men who were injured in battle. Few changes in the role of women occurred during the occupation of Arab lands by foreign powers. (p. 120) There are many examples that explain the important role played by women in the early Islamic society. Those women were characterized by their powerful personalities. their ability in thought and persua- sion. and their wisdom in solving personal and social problems. Those women had highly independent personalities. both within and outside their homes. They played an important role in tribal society and occupied prominent positions in literature. culture. the arts. and the social and economic life of their society. Some of those women became quite famous for their active participation in political struggles and wars. For example. Nessiba Bint Kaab . . . fought with her sword by the side of Mohammad in the battle of Ahad and did not abandon the fight until she had been wounded thirteen times. .. . Mohammed held her in great respect and said. "The position due to her is higher than that of menJ'(El-Saadawi. 1980. p. l25) Another prominent woman among the Arabs of that time was KhadiJa. first wife of the prophet Mohammad. She was well known for her strong personality. for her social and economic independence because she made her own living through trade. and for the freedom she insisted on in her decision to marry Mohammed. Clearly. then. actual religious tenets do not prevent women from studying and from having careers. On the contrary. the Prophet Muhammad encouraged both women and men to acquire knowledge. In view of the great importance of knowledge. the Holy Prophet always stressed that his followers should spend more time in learn- ing and made it a duty of every Muslim. man and woman. to acquire knowledge. (Afzalurrahman.l98l. m 203) Saudi Arabia needs to have females participate effectively in the medical and teaching jobs available to them. but education for girls lags behind that for boys at all levels. In an attempt to alleviate this problem. a specific goal of the Third Development Plan (Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Planning. 1979) is to "increase the propor- tion of Saudi women teachers and administrators in schools to 59 per- cent of the total by the end of the plan" (p. 290). Girls'secondary education in Saudi Arabia began just over 20 years ago. and since that time great advances have been made in the education of girls in the Kingdom. Enrollment trends from 1964 through 1981 show that the number of girls in secondary schools (grades 10-12) constituted one-half or less of those enrolled in intermediate or middle schools (grades 7-9) (see Table 1.1). Obviously. large numbers of girls terminate their formal schooling after middle school. W The purpose of the study is to identify the most influential factors associated with the high dropout rates for intermediate girls' schools in Saudi Arabia. The investigator selected six factors for examination.based onan extensive review of theliterature.her own background and experience in Saudi girls' schools. and a pilot study she conducted in six intermediate and secondary girls' schools. In this pilot study she interviewed each of the school principals. asking for their opinions and ideas concerning the reasons girls may drop out of school. Based on the interviews. the researcher identified the factors on which most of the principals agreed. The six factors chosen for study are(l) family influence. (2) marital status.(3) sex role. (4) student achievement. (5) attitude toward school. and (6) teachers' influence. Table 1.1.--Enrollment in girls' intermediate and secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. 1964 through 1984. Middle School Secondary School Year (Grades 7-9) (Grades 10-12) 1964 295 21 1965 544 32 1966 775 81 1967 1.253 129 1968 1.989 212 1969 3.181 254 1970 4.525 350 1971 7.861 550 1972 12.706 1.863 1973 19.589 3.244 1974 26.330 5.795 1975 37.111 9.538 1976 46.214 13.061 1977 53.898 16.671 1978 62.323 19.333 1979 69.012 23.406 1980 77.835 27.731 1981 85.530 34.150 1982 94.473 40.358 1983 105.337 47.829 1984 119.064 56.542 Source: Presidency for Girls' Education Statistics Departnent. Statis- tical Summary. 1984. W In Saudi Arabia. adult family members have great control over and influence on their children. This is especially true for girls. for whom the family constitutes a strongly protective environment that exerts considerable control over their behavior and decisions for their future. Almana (1981) discussed the Saudi family. "The family type is the extended family. It functions as a socializing agent for its members and determines their occupational role and status" (p.54). Minces (1982) supported this assertion by stating. The education young girls receive from their mothers and aunts. especially when the extended family still lives under one roof. .. . The girls are taught that their sole aim in life should be marriage and child bearing. . . . everything is done to turn a girl into the ideal wife and mother. (p. 31) Because the mothers teach their daughters. they teach these girls what they believe is good for their future. whether it be to pursue an education or how to be good wives and mothers. If mothers and females in the family in general are educated. the mothers will consider education to be very important for their daughters also because they will understand that education will help them be good wives and mothers. Parents' educational level. socioeconomic status. and opinions influence the directions and future that they plan for their girls. Some Saudi parents may realize their sons need education because they will have to support their families but may strongly believe that the best future-for their daughters is to have good husbands. In a study by Al-Afandy (1983). it was found that most of the illiterate mothers (795%) preferred that girls take care of the house. while 205% claimed that girls' education is more important. In contrast. most of the educated mothers (85.8%) supported girls'education. whereas only 14.2% supported something else. These percentages demonstrate the strong relationship between mothers' level of education and their attitudes toward their daughters'education. That is. the more edu- cated the mother. the more she preferred her daughter to be educated. Although parents may not direct their daughters to leave school to stay at home and help with domestic duties. Saudi families neither value 91 r1 5' secondary and higher education nor encourage young women to continue their studies. In Saudi Arabia. "education for women was regarded as being of secondary importance to maintaining the home and the family" (Al-Oteiby. 1982. p. 7). W Marriage is the most important role for girls in Saudi Arabia; traditionally. girls marry when they are between 15 and 18 years old. "In Saudi Arabia. the early marriage is one of the most influential reasons for the girls dropout"(A1-Afandy. 1983. p. 158). If girls do not marry by the ti me they are 18. they may have difficulty finding a suitable mate. Fifteen is also the age at which girls complete the intermediate level of education. Thus. many Saudi girls marry and quit school to stay at home. Others who are not married may drop out of school because they fear that if they continue their studies they will be unable to find a desirable husband when they are older. Most girls become pregnant soon after they marry. Minces (1982). in his book about women in the Arab society. maintained that Once the girl is married. she usually stops work [or school]. Pregnancy soon follows. since the tradition according to which a wife is primarily a bearer of children still exercises a consider- able hold over both men and women. (p. 48) Once pregnant. they either cannot continue their studies or lack the interest and motivation to do so. even if their husbands encourage them to complete their education. Darab (1979) commented that hi (‘9- kn 10 Women who have been out of school for several years are unlikely to return to high school after childbirth.. .. They would find it difficult to return to school because of home obligations and the difficulty of making adequate child care arrangements. (p. 90) 5329.89.13: Most people in Saudi society. including family. relatives. and school authorities. believe in the traditional role of women as housewives. that women are inferior to men. that they should always be protected by men. and that women should follow behind men. not beside them. These traditions. which came when Islam started to spread throughout other places of the world and acquired some of the tradi- tions of those places. have affected girls' positions and tended to encourage negative attitudes toward women and negative self-concepts and dependence among them. The strict segregation between the sexes which still prevails is not often broken and. even in such cases. professional women. by the very nature of their occupations. usually deal only with children and women. Furthermore. they are expected to conform to the general law of these societies: They must marry and have children of their own. (Minces. 1982. p. 30) Wm: Low achievement could also be one of the important factors influencing attrition in girls'schools. It might be that girls who have low achievement scores fail much of the time or have to repeat grades. Often they have excessive absenteeism and do not participate in extracurricular activities. Many times these girls tend to drop out of school and stay at home. Academic failure or low achievement could be a result of the curriculum. which young women do not perceive as 11 significant. rote teaching methods. and/or teachers' lack of interest and enthusiasm. Penty(1956)found inher study ofdropouts who had poor achievement in reading that "lack of a sense of self-worth was expressed in feelings of inferiority. shame. and disgust with self. These emotional reactions had resulted from constant exposure to aca- demic and social failure at school" (p.37). Low achievement dimin- ishes students' self-esteem. erodes self-confidence. and discourages interest in classes; this could encourage dropping out of school. §Iufl§n1_A1111ud§§ Looking at Saudi school girls and their attitudes. we can say that some girls do not view school seriously or as an important element in their lives. According to Almana (1981). education is still a secondary role for many women. while the most important roles for them are the traditional ones of marriage and child rearing or homemaking. She wrote: The appropriations allocated for female education for 1970-71 amounted to only 17 percent and for 1973-74 to 20 percent of the total appropriation for education. which indicates that females' eggcation is not given the same importance as that of the male. (p. Also. Minces (1982) noted in his book that the most important role for women is to find an appropriate husband and to have children. Their mothers prepare them for these roles. Some girls view the school curriculum as boring and inappropriate to their future needs. They also may view the school teacher as uninterested. unknowledgeable. and boring; hence they may not like the teachers. This perception is 12 exacerbated by teaching methods that rely on rote memorization as the basis for learning. Brehmer (1980) and Timerlake (1979) indicated that one of the important reasons students drop out of school is their lack of interest inand dislike ofschool. These authors maintained that such student attitudes are a result of youths' dissatisfaction with their peers. teachers. school work. and the school in general. W Teachers' attitudes and their treatment of students are criti- cal to girls'classroom behavior and achievement. especially at the intermediate-school age. when girls are very sensitive. Adolescent girls need teachers who understand and treat them sensitively and respectfully. However. some instructors feel their duty is to control the class and that their most important goal is to complete the cur- riculum by the end of the year. No time is given to discussion or friendly interaction between teacher and students Also. most girly teachers are foreigners (63.8% of the intermediate school girls' teach- ers are non-Saudi. and 71.3% of the secondary school girls' teachers are non-Saudi) (General Presidency of Girls' Education. 1984). who deal with the pupils according to their own culture and traditions. These conditions engender arguments between students and teachers. making the girls dislike their teachers and perceive them as inadequate. Mobatt and Erickson (1981) examined cultural differences in teaching styles and found that culture plays an important role in the educational process. They observed that students who are taught by foreigners tend to learn less and many times cannot understand their teachers; 13 likewise. foreign teachers often cannot understand their students. This conflict is a result of cultural differences between teachers and students. and leads students to dislike and not respect their teachers. Mobatt and Erickson found that in such cases students often have low achievement and tend to leave school before graduation. The teacher's influence on her pupils is very important. Teachers can influence students' self-esteem. sway their choice of specific fields of study. or even cause them to hate school and drop out. W Four research questions were posed to guide the collection of data in this study. They are: 1. What are the most influential factors associated with school dropout rates at the intermediate level in Saudi girls' schools? 2. How do students who have dropped out differ from those who are attending school. in terms of the factors identified as associated with female dropouts? 3. How do intermediate-school girls differ from secondary- school girls in identifying the most influential factors associated with leaving or continuing in school? 4. How do teachers and students differ on the identification of factors most associated with school leaving among secondary-school girls? 14 W Three null hypotheses were formulated to test the data col- lected in this research. These hypotheses are as follows: fiypgthesls_1: There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between students who have dropped out and those who have not dropped out concerning their identification of the most influential factors associated with premature school leaving in secondary girls' schools. : There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between girls attending intermediate schools and girls attend- ing secondary schools concerning their perception about the most influential factors associated with premature school leaving in secondary girls'schools : There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between students who have not dropped out and teachers concern- ing their identification of the most influential factors associated with premature school leaving in secondary girls' schools. Magnum Because Saudi Arabia is one of the rapidly developing third- world countries that has severe shortages of native workers. develop- ment of human resources is important to assist the country to depend primarily on its own assets. One way to develop human resources is to attend to girls' education. The importance of this study is its effort to help educators and scholars understand those factors that are related to school attrition among girls after the intermediate leveL The investigation may produce findings that can help educators and educational policy makers shape or change educational practices and policies at the intermediate and secondary levels to improve girls' education. Also. the findings may help explain relationships. if any. between six selected factors and the retention or attrition of 15 secondary girls. who drop out of school in large numbers around age 15. after completing the intermediate leveL W The study is descriptive and should provide information helpful in solving the problem under investigation. The researcher does not focus on building critical programs to overcome problems because this would require excessive money and time. D3lindjnI19n§_QI_Ihfl_§Iud¥ The study sample is delimited to girls in the secondary and intermediate schools in Medina only. because the investigator is a female and it is extremely difficult for her to travel from one city in Saudi Arabia to another. Also. the study concerns intermediate- and secondary-school girls because high rates of Saudi girls drop out of school between these two levels. Finally. the study is delimited to girls because Saudi Arabia has segregated education for girls and boys according to the policies. traditions. and religious customs of the Arab Islamic society. fieneralizat12n_9£_tbe_§tudx_E1ndin9§ This study is related to a problem in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. But because the country"s educational system is centralized and all schools use the same curriculum. syllabi. course content. graduation requirements. texts. and teaching methods. the findings of the study. which is limited to girls' schools in Medina. though they cannot be generalized throughout the country. may at least suggest 16 tendencies that may be confirmed through further research. This means that significant factors that are found to exist in the girls' schools in Medina are likely to exist in girls' schools in other cities in Saudi Arabia. Also. because of the similarities among Islamic socie- ties. the findings may suggest topics for research in other Islamic nations. mm The following key terms are defined in the context in which they are used in this dissertation: Attritlgn: Loss of students through the act of dropping out of school; used interchangeably with school leaving or dropping out. Dropout: A pupil who leaves school for any reason before completing her studies. 131§Lm§d131e_§ch991: Grades seven through nine. which typi- cally enroll students ages 13 to 15. fiesgndany_§chogl: Grades ten through twelve. which typically enroll students ages 16 to 18. Elan_9I_ELesen1a119n Following a discussion of the research problem. objectives. and purposes of the study in Chapter I. a review of related literature and government documents is provided in Chapter II. The methods of data collection and descriptive statistical techniques are explained in Chapter III. and the results of the data analysis are provided in CHAPTER 11 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The review of related literature is divided into three sections. The first presents background information about women in Saudi Arabia. Discussed in the second section are studies about student attrition from school. The third section presents studies related to the six factors selected for investigation in this study. The literature review was derived primarily from an ERIC search and an extensive review of journals. books. magazines. and other publications. W This section provides information concerning wOmen inSaudi Arabia. The discussion is divided into the following parts: Women in the Beginning of Islam. Women's Education in the Arab World. and Women's Education in Saudi Arabia. WW Although the specific circumstances and concerns of women are as diverse as the cultures in which they live. their recent demands and the beginnings of efforts on the family. national. and world levels show a commitment to obtaining results within their own lifetimes. The speed and the extent to which women's desire to improve their status and condition have intensified and spread throughout the world. 19 In pre-Islamic times. women frequently were treated as chattel. to be bought and sold or inherited. Polygamy was unrestricted in many cultures. and a husband could break off the union as he chose. Infan- ticide of baby girls was common. especially in the Arabian Peninsula. With the beginning of Islam in the seventh century. there was a new social reformation with great relevance to the status of Arabic women. Islam helped women to attain their legal status and to regain many of the rights and duties they had been denied. For instance. men enjoyed many rights that women did not. A man could divorce any of his wives at any time and marry another one. but when Islam came a man's right to divorce his wife was limited by the imposition of a three- month waiting period. before which the break could not be considered final. Minces (1980) noted that."women were entitled to inherit and own property. without their guardians or husbands having to serve as intermediaries" (p. 16). No longer could women. themselves. be inher- ited as property. They were allowed to go into business or to ply a trade. and they no longer required their husband's consent before taking a case to court. With Islam came a legal system. as set forth in the Qur'an. The Qur'an says. "Do not kill your children" (8:189). referring par- ticularly to the practice of burying newborn females alive to do away with them. Theoretically. polygamists were restricted to a maximum of four wives. Furthermore. a husband was required to treat each of his wives equitably. and this would be difficult. if not impossible. Minces indicated that the Qur'an added that if a husband was not 20 certain of his capacities in this regard (because such equity is prac- tically impossible). he should take only one wife; but the matter was left to his own conscience. The Our'an contains many other equally important reforms. But as it spread. Islam became impregnated with local pre-Islamic tradi- tions. many of which have survived to this day. Nevertheless. Islam did not prevent women from participating in social and public life. They were entitled to education on the same basis that men were. (Minces. 1980. p. 16) Several centuries after Islam had spread throughout the land. women's position was altered and they were denied many rights that Islam provided. This occurred because when Islam was disseminated it was mixed with existing customs and traditions from pre—Islamic peri- ods. as well as the customs of those countries the Muslims settled. and also by foreign occupation. According to Al-Oteiby (1982). The status of women in Islam was the same from the introduction of Islam in the sixth century until its decline in the mid-thirteenth century. From that time until the second half of the nineteenth century the Arab world was subject to various kinds of foreign occupation. and during these centuries the position of women in Arab countries was generally not favorable. The foreign occupation experienced by Arab nations served to inhibit their progress in many areas of development. Education. for example. was lacking. When efforts to remedy this problem finally began. only schools for boys were initially developed; women's education was subject to negotiation with religious and social customs. Education for women was regarded as being of secondary importance to maintaining the home and the family. (pp. 6-7) From the middle ages until the mid-nineteenth century. society restricted woman within the four walls of her home. She served the family. the husband and the children. receiving no compensation but her food. her clothing. and a roof over her head. According to Minces (1980). 21 From early childhood. girls are taught obedience. . . . Her father. her elder brother. her uncle or other male guardians. even her cousins. exercise absolute authority over a woman or girl of their family; later her husband and his family will take over this role. A young girl passes from the tutelage of the men of her family to the tutelage of her husband without ever acceding to true adulthood. (pp. 30-31) ' The family was supposed to be capable of feeding and clothing its women. This has been the situation in most Arabic countries for the past few centuries. MW In the Arab world. women are still prohibited from enjoying rights equal to men. One of the rights women do not yet enjoy is equal educational opportunity. Consequently. the Islamic world. and the Arab world in particular. has the highest illiteracy rates among women. the lowest level of schooling for girls. and the smallest number of women in paid employment. In 1970. 85% of Arab women were illiterate. as against 6% of the men (UNESCO. 1972). The gap between the number of literate men and women remains large. "and indeed grew by 5% between 1960 and 1970 as more schools. attended mainly by boys. were opened" (Minces. 1980. p. 73). Studies of the literacy rate by age group have illustrated just how tenacious are the traditions that restrict women's access to educa- tion; illiteracy is almost as prevalent among young women as among older ones. For instance. "in Libya in 1970. 84 percent of young girls between 10 and 14 were illiterate as against 95% of women aged 60 years and over" (Minces. 1980. p. 73). The same condition prevails in many Arab countries. where no serious efforts have been made to alter the 22 situation. However. in recent years. the number of schools has increased considerably in several countries. even though the educa- tional system itself remains unsatisfactory and the number of teachers is inadequate. especially in rural areas. Even in those countries such as Egypt. Lebanon. Syria. and Iraq that have introduced reforms. considerable disparities in schooling persist between boys and girls. According to Minces (1980). "Although the situation has improved somewhat over the years. it is in any case difficult to assess the true level of women's schooling and education in the various Arab countries" (p. 73). In most Arab nations. the level of schooling for girls is low. varying considerably between countries and within a particular country. The effects of the Islamic tradition on women's education can take widely different forms in different societies. WWW Historically. formal public education for women in Saudi Arabia started in the 19605. It can be divided into three stages that developed before the beginning of girls' formal education. The first stage was the trial of teaching groups of girls in their homes. with limited education; girls were taught writing and reading the holy book (OuflanL Also. girls were taught some basics of mathematics and religion (Al-Oteiby. 1982). In the second stage. semi-systematic schools for girls were developed by the residents of large cities. During this stage. there 23 were three schools. one in Mecca in 1942. one in Riyadh in 1950. and the third in Jeddah in 1951. In the third stage. several government officials and members of the royal family were motivated to establish more structured schools for their daughters. which brought about pressure to establish more schools for girls. By 1959. there were 15 private schools in Riyadh. Mecca. Jeddah. and Dammam. Those private schools were not adequate or prepared for large numbers of girls. In addition. some private schools had high tuition fees. which many parents were unable to afford. Then in 1959. the General Presidency of Gi r1 5' Education was established by the Saudi Arabian government. One factor that delayed the educational process for Saudi girls was the misunderstanding of people who opposed women's education by using the Islamic religion to support their position. Opposition to gi rls' education stemmed mainly from ignorance and misconception. Until recently this attitude was the major problem facing Saudi Arabian society (Al-Kazmi. 1981). Al-Kazmi emphasized that some people. because of misconceptions. thought that women's education was not encouraged by Islamic principles. Another factor that negatively affected 91 r1 5' education. which is related to Islamic culture and customs. is that most people did not welcome or encourage education for women in Saudi Arabia. Al-Afandi (1980) maintained that tradition has played a very important role in hindering the status of women in general. and their education in par- ticular. Women are socialized to be dependent on men. and they seldom 24 receive any support from relatives to leave their homes for education or work. According to Al-Oteiby (1982). Saudi Arabia is a nation heavily influenced by tradition. . . . Women have not been socialized to work outside the home for income. Furthermore. females in Saudi Arabia have been socialized to behave in a dependent. passive and subordinate manner. whereas males have been socialized to be aggressive and independent. The Arabian male has a dominant role over the female and is thus the only one who can fulfill the tasks expected of the head of the family. (p. 44) Although there were some difficulties in women's education. other factors facilitated the education of females. One was the dis- covery of oil and subsequent social changes that took place during the first half of the twentieth century. After the discovery of oil. the government started to open many schools for boys and others for girls. to develop the human resources needed as a result of the oil discovery. Then a Saudi middle class began to emerge. and some people began to view women's education positively and encouraged such education. In addition. the government was able to import numerous female teachers from Egypt and other Arab countries to teach Saudi girls. All of these factors. taken together. facilitated and helped to improve women's education in Saudi Arabia. In looking at the development of women's education. it can be seen that the number of public elementary schools for girls increased very rapidly. Table 2.1 shows the number of gi rls' elementary schools in Saudi Arabia from 1961 through 1984. 25 Table 2.l.--Elementary-level (government) schools for girls in Saudi Arabia. 1961 through 1984. Number of Year Villages Number of Number of Number of & Cities Schools Classes Students 1960-61 10 15 127 5.180 1961-62 18 31 291 11.812 1962-63 32 60 531 18,880 1963-64 61 124 1.002 31.884 1964-65 62 135 1.274 40.896 1965-66 68 160 1.623 50.870 1966-67 90 200 2.056 67.903 1967-68 109 233 2.450 81.067 1968-69 134 286 2.892 96.824 1969-70 182 347 3.311 114.172 1970-71 184 357 3.645 127.131 1971-72 229 453 4.324 148.581 1972-73 284 552 5.072 168.840 1973-74 381 684 5.928 191.137 1974-75 493 839 6.963 215.454 1975-76 577 903 8.037 237.945 1976-77 671 1.103 9.107 256.535 1977-78 751 1.223 10.226 267.239 1978-79 877 1.417 11.660 286.182 1979-8O 1.018 1.598 13.196 311.735 1980-81 1.158 1.810 14.666 344.363 1981—82 1.396 2.130 16.636 378.161 1982-83 1.584 2.434 18.705 414.313 1983-84 1.713 2.737 21.070 464.138 Source: General Presidency of Girls' Education. Statistical Summary. 19&-M. In 1964. intermediate schools were opened for girls; these schools operated for two years at the elementary level. In 1966. intermediate schools began operating separately from the elementary schools. The development of intermediate schools was slow in the beginning. but after 1971 it advanced sharply. Table 2.2 contains 26 information about the growth of intermediate schools; it shows that the number of intermediate schools as well as the number of girls enrolled in these schools increased steadily from 1965 through 1984. Table 2.2.--Statistica1 summary of intermediate-stage government schools in Saudi Arabia. 1976 through 1984. Number of Year Villages Number of Number of Number of & Cities Schools Classes Students 1965 4 7 22 544 1966 6 9 29 775 1967 9 12 39 1.253 1968 9 12 63 1.989 1969 9 12 96 3.181 1970 9 2 135 4.525 1971 9 17 222 7.861 1972 38 55 365 12.706 1973 53 82 589 19.589 1974 55 85 802 26.330 1975 63 102 1.079 37.111 1976 77 120 1.345 46.214 1977 94 147 1.665 53.698 1978 115 182 1.968 62.323 1979 156 256 2.343 69.012 1980 212 331 2.744 77.835 1981 264 407 3.211 85.530 1982 326 491 3.609 94.473 1983 406 580 4.042 105.337 1984 458 679 4.560 119.064 Source: General Presidency of Girls' Education. Statistical Summary. 1983-84. Public secondary schools for girls experienced some difficul- ties. such as the lack of female teachers at this stage and the Presi- dency's concentration on e1 ementary and intermediate schools. Table / 27 2.3 illustrates the development of public secondary schools for girls from 1964 through 1984. Table 2.3.--Secondary-1evel (presidency) schools for girls in Saudi Arabia. 1964 through 1984. Number of Year Villages Number of Number of Number of & Cities Schools Classes Students 1964-65 1 1 3 32 1965-66 1 1 5 81 1966-67 1 1 6 129 1967-68 1 1 7 212 1968-69 1 1 8 254 1969-70 1 1 10 350 1970-71 1 1 15 550 1971-72 9 10 47 1.863 1972-73 9 13 94 3.244 1973-74 9 13 160 5.795 1974-75 14 19 269 9.538 1975-76 20 27 360 13.061 1976-77 30 41 502 16.671 1977-78 32 50 613 19.333 1978-79 42 73 819 23.406 1979-80 58 100 1.017 27.731 1980-81 74 124 1.218 34.150 1981-82 93 159 1.510 40.358 1982-83 125 204 1.793 47.829 1983-84 147 250 2.098 56.542 Source: General Presidency of Girls' Education. Statistical Summary. 1983-84. Tables 2.1 through 243 indicated that the number of females enrolled in elementary. intermediate. and secondary schools has increased rapidly since education for girls was established. Besides 28 the number of students. the number of schools has also increased to meet the needs of these new students. Also. another kind of education was provided for girls at the intermediate and secondary levels. This type of education was provided by the teacher training schools. which prepared girls to teach at the elementary level because of the lack of female teachers. A college- 1eve1 teaching institution was established in 1979. called intermediate college. Its purpose was to prepare girls to teach at the intermediate level. Finally. in 1971. some colleges and universities began to open their doors for 91 r1 5' education. In addition. a number of colleges were established solely for girls in Riyadh. Mecca. Jeddah. Medina. Dammam. Borai dah. and Tobuk. This section contained a brief summary of the development of formal education for girls. This summary was designed to help the reader understand the background of girl 5' education in Saudi Arabia and to provide some insights into their educational problems. W221 This section deals with studies related to the dropout. For all the public concern that has recently been shown. the school dropout is not a new phenomenon. President John F. Kennedy was so concerned about the dropout problem that he drew it to the attention of Congress and the American people in his 1963 State of the Union Address. In his message he indicated that the dropout problem is closely related to the economic well-being of America. He said that "the loss of only one 29 year's income due to unemployment is more than the total cost of 12 years of education through high school. Failure to improve educational performance is thus not only poor social policy. it is poor economics" (quoted in Schreiber. 1967. p. 3). Also. President Johnson in 1965 spoke to Congress about the danger of the dropout problem by saying it is "the darker side to education.. .. One student in three drops out before finishing high school--a total of almost one million every year" (quoted in Schreiber. 1967. p. 3). Zeller (1966) mentioned a number of other factors concerning the current attrition problem. He maintained that the dropout is a greater problem today than before because of the following factors: 1. Although the percentage of dropouts is decreasing. the number of young people who are leaving school is greater today. 2. The present and developing economy requires a greater degree of skill than was formerly required of the labor force. 3. The age at which an individual enters the labor force is rising. 4. When students are faced with too great an experience of frustration and failure. they are deprived of the incentive to succeed. 5. Students who drop out may become candidates for many social-welfare programs throughout their lives. 6. There is a great lack of places in society for dropouts. 7. The dropout appears to be a major educational and social failure. 30 Another danger is the desire to simplify this complex problem in order to find solutions that are temporary and do not treat the dropout problem in depth. In MW. Zeller (1966) said that the first step in lowering the dropout rate is to understand the problem. Tbo often. teachers and even some adminis- trators hold misconceptions about dropouts that have no basis in fact. One of the misconceptions he mentioned is that the dropout problem is a new phenomenon. In reality. the problem is not new. but the increasing concern about students who leave school before graduation makes attri- tion appear to be a recent phenomenon. Schreiber (1968) supported some of Zeller's ideas. He agreed that there are some misconceptions about attrition. One myth is that people believe the reasons for attrition are diagnostic in nature. From most of the studies on school attrition conducted in the last decade has evolved a list of student characteristics that are thought to affect or cause attrition. Some of these characteristics are low intelligence. low socioeconomic background. poorly developed reading skills. withdrawn or aggressive behavior. and a feeling of not belong- ing to the school. Unfortunately. many of these lists fail to include the exceptions and do not tell why a characteristic tends to produce dropouts. Moreover. the relationships of children with their school are changeable and affect children until graduation. Another myth concerning dropouts is that all dropouts are»a specific type of person. This myth. related to dropouts' personality. includes a number of generalizations. such as that students who drop 31 out are primarily disturbed youths and troublemakers. Most studies. especially the larger ones. have shown that delinquents account for only a minority (and. most of the time. a small minority) of the total number of dropouts. In fact. many troublemakers continue in school despite their behavioral problems. Another false generalization related to the personality char- acteristics of dropouts is that most dropouts come from broken homes. This generalization is true to some extent. but the number of dropouts from broken homes is too low for this factor to be used in identifying potential dropouts. Also. transfer from one school to another is often considered a contributing factor in attrition. However. an Illinois dropout study did not produce strong evidence that "frequent school transfers are important factors in determining the dropout problem" (Schreiber. 1968. p. 30). Another cause of attrition is low family income. But. again. many students from low socioeconomic backgrounds struggle through school on their limited incomes and never consider dropping out of school. In fact. many see it as a way of escaping their low socioeconomic status. Another aspect of the myths surrounding the dropout's person- ality is the belief that dropouts as a category are unintelligent and that students who leave school have lower measured intelligence levels. In fact. many dropouts are among the brightest in their classes. The Illinois dropout study compared students who dropped out of school and those who remained to graduate. in terms of academic aptitude. The investigators discovered that "more than three times as many male 32 dropouts as male graduates were in the bottom tenth of the class in terms of academic achievement. Yet. 14% of the dropouts were in the top 30% of thelclass in terms of academic aptitude. which indicates they should be able to do college work successfully" (Schreiber. 1968. p. 30). The final myth about the dropout problem is that the solution to the problem is mandatory school attendance. Some educators believe that the most effective solution to the attrition problem is requiring all students to attend and remain in school until graduation and con- vincing them to stay in school. However. many high school teachers shudder at the prospects of keeping 17-. 18-. or l9-year-old students in school when they have no desire to continue their studies. Those teachers envision. as a result of such an attendance requirement. the complete collapse of the high school diploma as a characteristic of achievement. A number of authors has investigated the characteristics of the educational system and the schools themselves as these factors contribute to the attrition problem. Other writers have considered the personality and behavioral characteristics of children and their influence on attrition. Adams (1978) maintained that the causes of the dropout problem stem from the society and comprehensive education. Boyson (1974) noted that. in considering the problem of attrition. it is important to keep in mind the incongruity in expectations for students' behavior by the school system. on the one hand. and by parents. on the other. Mays 33 (1973) recommemded establishing some basis for policy options for dealing with the dropout problem. to which he believed the school is a major contributor. According to Schreiber (1968). the school. which is the social institution most related to the educational system. is a very powerful force in directing whether students will be interested in their studies or bored with schooL. 1hus the school is one of the major determinants of attrition. Schreiber believed that the continuously increasing failure of the school with poor urban youths and its failure to plan for individual development as well as national needs has created a strong basis for criticism. Schreiber also maintained that schools have failed to deal with the differences among social classes and the restrictions in dealing with just one specific class of the society. Schools must reach chil- dren in relation to their background. their habits. and the language they understand. The school's responsibility is to draw each pupil out of his isolated social class and to provide all youths with a common cultural heritage. The various populations who attend school naturally respond differently to school. How many poor students are forced into difficult situations that do not fit their dispositions and for which their background has not prepared them? Many disadvantaged students cannot cope with the differentiation between the middle and lower class. As a result. some of those students fall behind in their work and drop out of school as soon as possible. 34 In discussing the school as a powerful force affecting the dropout problem. Schreiber concentrated on analyzing some of the aspects of schools that he considered the most influential in terms of attrition. For example. he discussed the schools' emphasis on liter- acy. maintaining that there is great anxiety about teaching reading and that reading deficiency is an accumulating disadvantage that results in painful feelings of inferiority. Reading is crucial because of the standards that schools set and because of the kinds of success to which schooling leads. Concerning the school and its emphasis on literacy. Schreiber asserted: In the present dispensation. we would be as well off if it were socially acceptable for large numbers not to read. It would be harder to regiment people. There would be more folk culture. Serious letters would benefit if society were less swamped by trash. lies. and bland verbiage. Much suffering of inferiority would be obviated. And conceivably. more people might become genuinely literate if it were understood that reading is a useful art with a proper subject matter. imagination and truth--not "communication" of top-down decisions and bad norms. (p. 33) Another aspect of the school that Schreiber said is affecting the dropout problem is restrictions on the child. He maintained that schools are supposed to educate children and not to restrict their behavior. That does not mean that schools should ignore discipline problems. but they should not concentrate too heavily on this topic and ignore their main responsibility. He wrote. Most teachers and many principals who visit their classes operate as if progressive education had not proved the case for noise and freedom of bodily motion. Of course. the classes are too large to cope with without "discipline." Then make them smaller; or don't wonder if children escape out of the cage. either into truancy or baffled daydreams. (p. 4) 35 Schreiber also noted that Schools institute some calisthenics and proudly record the improvement in meeting the standard. But no program is instituted to unblock the muscles tensed by inhibition--the fear of expres- sion. the fear of body contact. and the fear of nakedness. Physical training teachers do not try to free the bodies of the children to weep. shout. reach in love. strive with determination. . . . The children are supposed. somehow. to manifest grace. agility. and strength as if they were not unitary organisms. Is this realistic? Of course. if a teacher used eurythmics and physi- cal therapy to unblock feeling. there would be an outcry from the churches. some parents and the yellow press that fattens on pornog- raphy and murder. The officials would cower. the teacher would be fired. Instead. the children are sacrificed--or drop out. (p. 35) According to Schreiber. another important aspect of the school that contributes to the attrition problem is the lack of education for leisure. He maintained that schools are created to educate for the satisfaction of life and for leisure. In his thinking. if most people conducted a candid self-examination. the results would show that their most absorbing. long. and satisfactory hours are spent in such activities as friendly competitive sports. friendly gambling.. .. earnest or argumentative conversation. dedicated political activity. solitary study and reading. contemplation of nature and the cosmos. art work. music. and religion.. .. Now. none of these requires the use of many commodities. Indeed. elaborate arrangements and equip- ment take the life out of them. (p. 35) Schreiber also thought that the school's size and its standardization are related to the problem of attrition. The greatest damage is done to children by the size and standardization of the large systems. He believed that schools should be small buildings with few cl asses so that the teachers and principals can know their students' names. their social situations or backgrounds. their concentration. and 36 the knowledge related to their needs and backgrounds. Such factors. he felt. would encourage children to remain in school. The final aspect of the school that Schreiber maintained contributes to the problem of student dropout is academic standardization. He wrote: There is almost never conveyed the sense in which learning is a truly practical. enlightening experience. initiating and giving courage for change. reforming the state. deepening personal and social peace. On the contrary. there is a professional cynicism and the resigned conviction that nothing can be done. This is Yale. If this is the university. how can we hope for aspiring scholarship in the elementary schools? On the contrary. everything will be grading. conformist and getting ahead--not in the subject. but up the ladder. The improvement of "academic standards" is a sell. and the bright boys and girls are being had. Some of them know it and balk. (p. 38) Another study that supported Schreiber's contention that attri- tion is affected to some degree by school characteristics was conducted by Sande (1952). He reviewed about 50 studies of early school attri- tion and categorized the results into four primary groups related to (a) age placement of dropouts. (b) economic characteristics of drop- outs. (c) sociological characteristics of dropouts. and (d) character- istics of the schools. A number of other recent studies have supported the claim that certain school characteristics encourage attrition. Durkin (1981) maintained that to try to find solutions to the dropout problem. edu- cators must examine this problem in depth. They must not merely con- sider the characteristics of the dropouts themselves. but also must look at the schools. their policies. and their facilities as important factors influencing the dropout problem. He also stated that it is 37 difficult to specify what percentages of dropouts are influenced by school or personality characteristics. but that one cannot deny the influence of school characteristics on attrition. In his 1980 study. Felice examined the degree to which school rejection policies and racial discrimination contribute to students' decision to drop out of school. He found that "the three most important determinants were . . . student perception of occupational structure openness. perceived school racial discrimination. and the behavior and expectations of teachers" (p. 1). Fox and Elder (1980) examined practices and policies for discipline. as well as selected school characteristics. and their relationship to attrition. They found that a relationship existed between school size and attrition. According to the study results. "schools of intermediate size and location have a greater holding power than small rural and large urban schools" (p. 5). In addition. Williams et a1. (1980) found that a larger percentage of students drop out of government schools than nongovernment schools. Other researchers have also found that more students in rural areas than in urban areas drop out of school. Whereas the foregoing research efforts supported the claim that school characteristics have a strong influence on attrition. numerous other investigators have maintained that characteristics of the students themselves strongly affect attrition. Russell (1968) identified a number of individual characteristics associated with 38 students who drop out of school. These characteristics fell into three categories: 1. Students who are experiencing difficulty in school and cannot get along with the school's expectations. as well as those who cannot adapt themselves to the work field. 2. Students who have difficulty adjusting to both the school atmosphere and their society. 3. Students who cannot study at school without special help from either outside or within the school and who need special treatment most of the time. Russell maintained that these specific characteristics appear to be associated most often with those students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. But these characteristics are not associated solely with students from a poor background. V055 and Elliot (1966) identified three other characteristics of students who drop out of school: 1. Students who leave school because of personal problems. which cause them to face more difficulties in school. 2. Those who have learning difficulties and low 105 and cannot handle their academic studies. and as a nesult experience frequent failure. 3. Those who have the ability to continue their studies but leave school because of negative attitudes toward school and education. In discussing the characteristics of dropouts. Green (1966) noted: "Closely related to the factor of intelligence is the problem 39 of failure. On this variable there is almost unanimous agreement. In all probability. dropouts are failing at the time of their withdrawal from school" “h 25). Another characteristic Green noted was poor reading skills. Third. Green linked attrition and age of the dropout. He maintained that "there is little doubt of the peak age and grade of early school leavers. Many youngsters leave school shortly after reaching age sixteen and leave either from the ninth or tenth grade" (p. 26). Concerning the relationship between attrition and attendance. Green wrote. "Attendance might not be a causal factor in dropping out of school. but it is symptomatic of the potential dropout" (p. 27). A fourth characteristic Green examined was home background of dropouts. He maintained that dropouts tend to come from low socioeco- nomic backgrounds and that many other characteristics are related to low socioeconomic status. as well. such as broken home. poor level of education. and low level of aspiration. In addition. Green indicated that financial need is a determinant of attrition. He also noted that dropouts are those who do not participate in school activities. "Potential dropouts do not feel that they 'belongJ Their social relationships with other students are poor. and their friends are more likely to be out of school" (p. 29). Finally. according to Green. dropouts are those whom the schools have failed to satisfy. Numerous other recent studies have explored the characteristics of students who leave school. In a study he conducted to identify dropouts. Martin (1981) discovered a number of variables or characteristics associated with students who leave school. He 40 concluded that dropouts tend to come from larger families and broken homes. have parents with a low educational background and low occupa- tional status and fathers who are relatively uninvolved in school- related organizations. are over-age for their grade when they drop out of school. have low IQ scores and low average reading stanine scores. have been absent excessively in every grade. do not participate in extracurricular or out-of-school activities. work part-time. have often been sent to the principal's office for misbehavior. have negative attitudes toward school. and do not get along well with their teachers. Schrom (1980) found that a large percentage of students who drop out of school dislike their school. For example. 17% of the boys and 15% of the girls in his sample indicated that they did not like school and that the school did not meet their expectations. Schrom also found that 12% of the dropouts had money problems. and 15% left school to make a living and be independent. Canada and others (1982) concluded that dropouts are characterized by financial/family problems. low academic ability. lack of motivation. and lack of informal interaction with faculty or admin- istrators. They also found that younger students leave school more often than older ones. Finally. Fox and Elder (1980) described some of the student characteristics they found to be related to attrition. According to these authors. dropouts are not successful in school. do not attend school regularly and have high rates of absenteeism. are not interested in school activities. and manifest behavioral problems. 41 W W maximum Peng and Takai (1983) conducted a study in which they examined the factors that influence high school students to drop out of school. The investigators found that many dropouts came from lower socioeco- nomic backgrounds. When students who left school were asked to give their reasons for dropping out. "about 14 percent indicated that they dropped out because they had to help support their families" (p. 6). These findings were supported in research conducted by Poole and Low (1982). In a study entitled "What the Secondary Counselor Should Know about College Student Attrition." Canada and others (1982) found that one of the most important reasons that dropouts leave school is finan- cial/family problems. Jackson and McMillan (1977) found that "blacks withdraw more often than whites" (p. 5). In addition. Stine (1977) observed that 60% of the withdrawers in his study were of non-Caucasian background. The effect of lower socioeconomic family background on student attrition was examined in a study undertaken by Schrom (1980). He found that [Both] occupational level. which has been used by many researchers to reflect family socioeconomic status. and ethnic background are two important family background influences. Both have been found to influence school-leaving behavior. with those from higher status families and those from migrant backgrounds more likely to stay on at school. (p. 5) 42 Fox and Elder (1980) indicated that if a student comes from a family in which a sibling or the parents have not graduated from high school. the chances that he/she will not graduate are greatly increased. Poole and Low (1981) also discovered high rates of attri- tion among students whose parents had low educational attainment levels. They wrote. "There is lack of home security and encouragement. both psychological and financial. among lower-socioeconomic-status families" (p. 2). Parents' educational level is very important in determining whether a student stays in school or leaves school early. Poole and Low (1981) pointed out that most students who drop out of school have parents with low educational levels. In a study he undertook to identify potential dropout. Martin (1981) concluded that students who drop out of school have parents with a low educational level. These parents are not able to help their children make wise decisions about staying in or leaving school. Also. because of their limited degree of education. they cannot help their children with school assignments and do not always appreciate the value of an education to their children's future. Corroborating Martin's and Poole and Low's conclusions. Peng and Takai (1983) indicated that one of the most important factors influencing student attrition is the low level of parental education. Likewise. Schrom (1980) indicated that parents who have a low level of education hold low educational expectations for their children. who. in turn. often do not remain in school until graduation. On the other 43 hand. parents who have a high level of education in general appear to have higher educational expectations for their children. who. in turn. stay on longer at school. Therefore. parental education has a very strong effect on attrition. This could be the key to a major problem in Saudi Arabia-- that most girls whose parents have a low level of education may tend to drop out of school. In Saudi Arabia there are many families in which parents have little or no education. This lack of education. especi- ally among the mothers. most of whom are illiterate. creates a serious rift between the school and the family. The school alone cannot help girls fulfill their educational needs and interests. The family has an important part to play in this fulfillment. but if the parents are uneducated they cannot perform their role in this regard. All of these factors influence girls to neglect their education. and many of them drop out of school. In the United States. another aspect of parental influence on children's education is the high separation and divorce rate. Many children from broken homes feel insecure and exhibit unstable behavior. which in turn results in neglect of their studies. Researchers have examined the effect of a broken home on student attrition. In attempt- ing to identify the reasons for student attrition. Martin (1981) found that students who came from broken homes were likely to drop out of school. Students whose parents were separated tended to experience more difficulty in school than those who came from united families. 44 Ghamdi's (1977) study of secondary-school dropouts strongly supported the influence of the broken home on student attrition. He found that for a large number of dropouts (34 percent) either one or both parents are dead as compared to only 11 percent of matriculating students and 26 percent of high school graduates. Furthermore. 16 percent of the dropouts' parents were separated. while only 2 percent of the non-dropouts' parents were separated. To summarize. 80 percent of the dropouts came from unhappy or broken homes. as compared to only 13 percent of non-dropouts and 32 percent of the high school graduates. . . . The dropout is more likely to come from an unhappy broken home. while the non-dropout usually has a rather happy family background. (p. 106) In Saudi Arabia there is a much lower divorce rate than in the industrialized western nations. However. the broken home might be a result of the death of one or both of the parents. or it could be that the father has more than one wife and family to support. This could lead to an unhappy home life for the students. If. for example. a girl cannot complete her schooling because of an unhappy home situation. she may drop out of school to get married and seek security with a husband. Finally. the family's attitudes about education and their aspi- rations for their children's future may affect student attrition. Many studies have strongly supported such a relationship. For example. Rock (1983) indicated that parental attitudes influence children's outlook on school and life. Therefore. if parents have negative attitudes toward school. they will not encourage their children to conti nue their studies. Likewise. in examining the factors influencing students to leave school. Schrom (1980) indicated that the school-leaving intentions of both boys and girls are most influenced by the aspirations they perceive their parents holding for them. their attitudes toward school. and their occupational 45 aspirations and . . . these factors mediate the effects of family background and school characteristics. Students who intended to leave school earliest perceived that their parents had low educa- tional aspirations for them. held negative attitudes toward school. and aspired to low status jobs. (p. l) Schrom reported that students who intended to finish School perceived that their parents expected them to continue in school. had positive attitudes toward school. and had high occupational aspirations for their children. Not surprisingly. children who intended to con- tinue in school reflected their parents' expectations (in the form of either pressure or encouragement); they were finding school to be a positive and worthwhile experience. and aspired to good job opportuni- ties that require education. Students who intended to drop their schooling earliest perceived that their parents had low educational expectations for them and were finding school to be a negative and boring experience. Also. concerning the effect of parental attitudes on students' attitudes toward school. Ruby and Law (1983) noted: If we assume that a child comes by his mind in the same way that he/she comes by his/her body through the process of development. then it must follow that students' attitudes toward teachers and school behavior are born in the home and then nurtured in the classroom. (p. 6) The findings of Ghamdi's (1977) investigation also supported the influence of parental attitudes on their children's education. In this study. students were asked to indicate how their families felt about their going to school. The results revealed that The majority of the dropouts (67 percent) and 62 percent of the high school graduates indicated they received either some encour- agement or no encouragement at all from their parents. while only 2 percent of the matriculating students (non-dropouts) gave the same 46 answer. The 62 percent of the high school graduates could have the opportunity to continue their education through the college level if they had the encouragement that the matriculating students had. The results indicated also that there is a significant differ- ence between dropouts and non-dropouts in regard to their parents' attitude toward education. Parents of graduates were more positive toward the importance of education for their children than were parents of dropouts. (pp. 106-107) Parents' attitudes toward school and aspirations for their children's future could also play an important role in gi rls' attrition in Saudi Arabia. Girls are strongly influenced by their parents' attitudes. and as females they must consult their parents. especially the mother. on every situation. In her study of the relationship between mothers' level of education and their perceptions of girl 5' education. Al-Afandy (1983) found that "79.5% of the uneducated mothers preferred that girls do housework. whereas 20.5%-of them preferred education for girls. In contrast. 85.8% of the educated mothers pre- ferred education for girls. whereas 14.2% preferred that they do house- work" (p. 161). They feel the schools will not prepare their daughters to be good wives and mothers. 1hese negative parental attitudes toward school and their belief that staying home is better preparation for the future homemaker role cause girls to hold the same beliefs and negative attitudes toward their schooling and encourage them to drop out of school. W A number of writers have described marital status as a very important factor contributing to student attrition. especially for females. In their study of reasons high school students drop out of 47 school. Peng and Takai (1983) discovered that students' desire and plan to get married were very important reasons for leaving school. Also. Felice (1980) and Hendricks and others (1984) found that a large number of dropouts were married. In their study of black adolescent fathers. Hendricks and others (1984) indicated that "those who are fathers or who do not believe they have control of their destiny (an attitude more prevalent among fathers than nonfathers) are more likely to be school dropouts than others" (p. 1). Other authors have suggested that schools should help students who have married and become parents continue their study. thereby reducing the number of these young people who drop out of school. Green (1984) explained that Pregnant students and those who are already parents have the same legal rights to public education as do all other students. To meet this responsibility and to lower dropout rates. schools need to make educational opportunities available to these students. (p. l) The positive relationship between marriage/pregnancy and attrition has been supported by many other researchers. Crumb (1982) concluded that a large number of students drop out of school because of personal problems. such as pregnancy and difficulty in arranging child care. He also indicated that 26% of the dropouts in his sample had experienced problems with pregnancy and taking care of their children. Bassoff and Ortiz (1984) also confirmed that there is a strong relationship between pregnancy and high rates of attrition. More than 500 young female dropouts between 13 and 19 years of age were asked their attitudes about parenthood. sex roles. sexuality and pregnancy. feminism. and future aspirations. The authors found these women were 48 driven by their feminism and sexuality and became pregnant; this was the most important factor causing them to leave school. In his study of high school attrition in relation to the influence of race. gender. and family background. Rumberger (1983) found that most girls tended to drop out of school because of marriage or pregnancy. Corroborating this result. Fulton and others (1981) discovered that most students who left high school did so because of conflicts between school and personal responsibilities. which included marital and child-rearing duties. Most males left school to work and support;their families. Most females dropped out of school because they were pregnant or found that household responsibilities took most of their time. Darabi (1979) conducted a study of high school dropouts after the birth of their first child. He maintained that "pregnant teenagers present a special case of dropouts since many have interrupted their schooling by force rather than by choice" (p. 2). He discovered that 33% of the sample returned to school after their babies were born; this means that the remainder of the sample dropped out of school and did not return after the child was born. Camp (1980) also found that marriage and pregnancy. including child bearing. attract many students away from school. He asked the high school students in the sample about their intention to return to school after marriage or the birth of their baby. Most of these young people responded that they wished they could return to school and continue their studies. but the diffi- culties they encountered in terms of family and child-rearing 49 responsibilities made it very difficult for them to continue schooling. Also. they felt they could not afford day-care centers. that the cen- ters were too far away. or that such facilities could not provide the necessary care for their babies. After evaluating certain programs for pregnant girls who had left school. Syrpolus (1971) concluded that most of the girls did not even continue in those programs because of prob- lems with their pregnancies. Other researchers have concluded that some'high school students who feel a lack of security or belongingness in school are influenced to seek a feeling of identity in marriage. For example. Aughinbaugh (1966) found that most of the female dropouts in her study had plans for getting married. When asked their reasons for getting married. the girls said it would increase their security and sense of belonging. Of the dropouts in Aughinbaugh's study. WTL4% .... were married; the remaining 28.6% were single. Two of the single dropouts expressed a strong desire to find a husband and to establish their own home. The other two dropouts in the single category expressed no such desire" “L 30). Concerning the relationship between pregnancy or motherhood and attrition. Aughinbaugh found that a high rate of the girls who dropped out of school were full-time homemakers who hoped to return to their studies once the children were enrolled in school. From the results of the preceding studies of the relationship between marriage or pregnancy and student attrition. one can see that marriage and pregnancy influence attrition of girls. 50 Male Some individuals still look at women in a specific traditional role. which places women in many problematic situations. One of the problems girls face because of their sex role is school attrition. The influence of the sex role is seen in such aspects as their attitudes about themselves. society's attitudes about them. and their independence. Many studies have supported the idea that attrition among females is affected by their status in society as a consequence of gi r1 5' attitudes about themselves. Maccoby and Jacklin (1975) sug- gested that some girls have lower levels of self-esteem and seek less attention than boys. Such girls have acquired their attitudes because of the environment in which they have matured--their families. rela- tives. society. and even the schools differentiate between girls and boys through their dealings with the young people. As a result. some girls develop negative attitudes about themselves that influence them to leave school. Bachman et a1. (1976) wrote that early attrition for females could be a consequence of socialization influences associated with self and schooling. In their study concerning the reasons for continuing in or leaving school. Poole and Low (1981) answered many questions related to attrition among girls. Somerof the questions for which the researchers sought.answers were: Why do girls (stayers and leavers. achievers and nonachievers) rate their chances of success so low?’ Have their expectations of suc- cess been lowered by school-based feedback or family and community 51 attitudes? Why are females less sel f-interested and more intro- verted than males? Has this been the result of earlier socializa- tion. or is it the result of the school socialization process? (pp. 11-12) One of the researchers' important findings related to female dropouts was that most girls. despite their higher grades. higher optimism. and conforming attitudes toward school values. have not formed images of their own success. Conversely. boys perceive success for themselves. despite their lower achievement levels. This finding directs one to a set of sex-linked dimensions of societal expectations concerning individual attainment. motivation. and expectations. Poole and Low concluded by saying: To create opportunities for more students to mesh their own aspirations. values. and expectations with a supportive environment (home and school based) will necessitate. as a firstlneasure at least. building up the self-confidence of girls through the process of schooling. To help male and female leavers. schools will need to address a variety of motivational. organizational. and value dimensions before a higher commitment to schooling can be achieved. (p. 13) Other investigators have concentrated on examining the rel a- tionship between sex role and women's education--whether they continue in or leave school. Stein and Bailey (1975) described sex role in relation to the components of achievement as ”emotional independence. assertiveness. and competitiveness. all of which are traditionally unfeminine characteristics" (p. 350). By this they meant that sex-role attitudes are one of the strong influences on educational status through students' academic achievement. A similar analysis of determinants of women's continued educa- tion was conducted by Davis and Bumpass (1976). They found that modern 52 sex-role attitudes were strongly correlated with continuous schooling and that such attitudes could be one of the most important predictors of early attrition among female students. Darabi (1979) found that women who became pregnant during their school days and who were motivated to continue schooling for several months of the pregnancy tended to continue their studies after deliv- ery. These women's decisions were affected by their high educational aspirations and modern sex-role attitudes. They believed that women are not restricted to traditional roles and that they have an equal right:to further their education in order to satisfy their needs and desires. This finding might indicate that women's continuation of their education may be affected to some degree by their attitudes about their own sex role. When women consider themselves important individu- als. they feel they must share with men the educational opportunities and not restrict themselves to the traditional sex roles. Conversely. women who relate to the traditional sex role may see school as uninter- esting or unuseful in their lives and may decide not to continue their schooling. Like the preceding researcher. Knight and others (1979) asserted that "the negative effects of sex role stereotyping cannot be ignored. Neither can there be a quick. shallow solution to such a difficult problem. Sex stereotyping has been a subtly accepted fact for years in American society" “h 3). The authors noted that. during their early school years. 91 r1 5' occupational perceptions are very limited to the traditional female fields: teacher. nurse. secretary. 53 and mother. Knight and his co-authors explained that sex-role sociali- zation in the family. in the labor market.iand in society in general is the major influence shaping and affecting women's careers. They con- cluded that schools need to develop programs and strategies for chang- ing stereotypical sex-role attitudes.iespecially in relation to the family. On the other hand. women's perceptions of their opportunities may broaden in relation to their growth. For example. in high school they are concerned with forming a sense of identity. especially in regard to their womanhood. According to Kane et a1. (1976). women are concerned about their identity. especial 1y in the context of mother- hood. because of peer pressure and natural self-doubts. which cause them more difficulties in making decisions in favor of nontraditional roles. This explains why many women prefer to get married and have families instead of continuing their education. Likewise. they may prefer working in traditionally feminine occupations. Herron and Kemp (1979) and Conroy (1977) found that one of the factors that affect dropouts is sex role. This is especially true with regard to girls' feminism and negative sex-role attitudes. Mrosla (1983) found that low-achieving students were more field-dependent than high achievers. He also discovered that females tended to be more field-dependent than males. and those who were more field-dependent generally had lower levels of achievement. Many other authors have asserted there is a strong relationship between low 54 achievement and attrition. which was discussed earlier in the section on achievement. Finally. Tal madge (1981) and Dunnell (1981) found that trans- portation difficulty had a greater effect on attrition among girls than among boys. especially for those girls who lived in rural areas. That difficulty is prevalent in Saudi Arabia because Saudi females are not allowed to drive; therefore. they must depend on a male family member to drive them back and forth between school and home. When that indi- vidual is unavailable. lack of transportation might be one of the obstacles to the girl's continuing in school. StudenLAchexemenI Another factor that must be considered when examining the factors that influence student attrition is student achievement. In a study of secondary-school attrition. Paul (1981) found that most drop- outs had lower occupational aspirations than their peers and also had lower reading achievement and motivation toward school. Students who had low achievement scores tended to fail their exams and consequently had to repeat grades several times. Also. they lacked motivation to study and then dropped out of school. Research by Poole and Low (1981) supported the strong influence of low student achievement on attrition. They discovered that students who intended to leave school were not academically motivated. These students had poor verbal ability and experienced frequent failure in school. which caused them to have feelings of failure and low motiva- tion toward school. Likewise. Peng and Takai (1983) concluded that 42% 55 to 45% of the dropouts in their study got "D" grades. The reason students most frequently cited for leaving school were "I had poor grades" and ”I was not doing well in school" q» 7). Canada and others (1982) reached the same conclusion--that dropouts had low academic ability and lacked the motivation to stay in school. The data indicated that dropouts usually had lower academic abilities and rankings than did students who remained in school. Ghamdi (1977) also concluded that poor grades and academic failure often appeared to be associated with attrition. He discovered that Eighty-six percent of the dropouts and 64 percent of the high school graduates (who failed to continue their education through the college level) had failed in at least one or two courses. while the majority of non-dropouts (64 percent) had experienced no failure at all.(p. 112) Clearly. when a student experiences many failures in school he/she may leave school. The more failures the student experiences. the more likely he/she is to drop out of school. Low achievement scores. repeated failure. lack of motivation. and repetition of classes could be important factors related to attrition among girls in Saudi Arabia. Girls who experience these difficulties may lose interest in school and have low motivation to study; this might lead to their dropping out of school. A number of researchers have maintained that absenteeism influ- ences student attrition: Most dropouts have a record of excessive absenteeism. Dyke and Hoyt (in Ghamdi. 1977) found that dropouts were absent an average of 15 out of 180 days. compared with an average of 6 out of 180 days for persisters. Canada and others (1982) also 56 concluded that dropouts tended to have high levels of school absentee— ism. Pupils cannot keep abreast of their assignments when they are absent so often. As a result. they often drop out. _ Durkin (1981). likewise. found that students who drop out tend to be absent from school frequently. Students who have high absence rates tend to have a low sel f-image and lack a clear sense of identity. Also. they lack interest in school. which leads to their absences. Dropouts often have personality/adjustment difficulties and educational problems. as well. leading to high rates of absenteeism. Other researchers have examined the relationship between attri- tion and students' level of participation in extracurricular activi- ties. One of these studies was conducted by Martin (1981). He found that most dropouts "participated in school-sponsored extracurricular activities for fewer grades during their entire school career than persisters" (p. 8). According to his study results. Durkin (1981) concluded that dropouts seldom participated in extracurricular activi- ties. He discovered that "while still in school. dropouts participated in extracurricular activities less often than other students" (p. 6). Similar results have been achieved by researchers examining the relationship between attrition and participation in extracurricular activities. For example. Dillon (in Ghamdi. 1977) found that "of 798 dropouts. 73 percent had never participated in extracurricular school activities. one-fourth had participated in one or two. and only 2 percent in two or more" (p. 57). In his study of factors associated with secondary-school attrition. Ghamdi (1977) found that more than 57 ‘two-thirds (74%) of the dropouts had participated in no activities. The other one-third (36%) had participated. He concluded that students who avoid participating in extracurricular activities are likely to drop out of school. Female student attrition in Saudi Arabia could be affected by low academic achievement. Also. low levels of achievement could stem from excessive absenteeism and lack of participation in extracurricular activities. .5IfldanI5l_Aliltud&&_IQla£d_§£hQQl One of the most influential factors associated with the attri- tion problem is students' attitudes toward school and education in general. The findings of numerous studies have shown that students' attitudes toward school. teachers. curriculum. and teaching methods in general areicritical to the dropout problem. Many researchers have found that most students who drop out of school hold negative attitudes toward school. For example. Ruby and Law (1983) compared successful high school students and potential dropouts in terms of their attitudes toward education. school. teachers. and parents/peers. They found that Both groups held strong negative attitudes toward teachers. How- ever. the potential dropout students also held strong negative attitudes toward both teachers and appropriate school behavior. which precedes dropping out of school. “L 1) Also. Meyer (1984) indicated in his study of dropouts that Through joint efforts by parents. educators. and the community career education strategies can provide part of the solution to many of today's problems. such as the high rate of high school dropouts and the lack of interested learners. (p. 1) 58 The preceding quotation shows that one of the primary problems that needs attention is student attrition. and Meyer stressed that this problem is related to lack of student interest. Parents. educators. and the community should consider this lack of interest in attempting to solve the problem of attrition. Timberlake (1983). Canada (1983). Schrom (1980). and Spooner (1980) reached similar conclusions in their studies concerning the relationship between attrition and lack of interest in school. They concluded that most dropouts tend to be unmotivated toward staying in school and also hold negative attitudes toward their teachers. peers. and school work and appropriate school behavior in general. These students think of school as boring; they also think their teachers are not good. that the school is a place to fear. and that school is just not for them. McMillan (1983) and Al-Najjar (1984) drew similar con- clusions as a result of their studies of dropouts. They noted that students who drop out of school before they graduate are likely to have a general dislike for school. feelings of fear of failure. and poor relationships with teachers and the principal. Pezzullo (1983) asserted that "positive attitudes from both students and parents promote a feeling of wanting to complete high school. Factors compared included (1) delay avoidance. (2) work meth- ods. (3) teacher approval. and (4) education acceptance" (p. 1). By this Pezzullo meant that students who complete school tend to have positive attitudes toward school. teachers. education. and work St. 59 methods. Conversely. those who drop out tend to have negative atti- tudes in these areas. In addition. Wells (1982) found that School factors did bear a direct relationship to dropping out. Primary reasons for leaving were dislike of school. not learning anything. boredom. and problems with teachers. Dropouts respond to staff who treat students as individuals. show respect. exhibit fairness. and are understanding. (p. 1) In his study of high school attrition. Crossland (1983) found that dropouts tended to dislike their school. the school staff and especially teachers. and even their peers. He concluded that Over four-fifths of the dropouts cited poor or less than satisfac- tory relationships with teachers and/or peers as the primary rea- sons for leaving school. Teachers' lack of sensitivity to students' problems and concerns and poor classroom performance by teachers are included in teacher-assigned reasons. Dropouts per- ceived themselves as outsiders or nonpersons and excluded from the school social structure by peers and school staff. q» l) Ozieh (1984) also discovered a strong relationship between attrition and students' attitudes toward school in general. He concluded that most students who left school tended to think of the teachers as unqualified and unknowledgeable. They perceived the school as having inadequate equipment and felt that the curriculum was boring. According to Ozieh. "Most students drop out of secondary school due to (l) the inability of parents to finance their children's education. (2) lack of adequate qualified teachers. (3) inadequate infrastructure. [and] (4) existing curriculum unsuitable for all students" (p. 1). In his 1983 study. Timberlake achieved different results. He stated: Of 30 attitudinal items relating to students' attitudes toward peers. teachers. school work. and school in general. only two statistically significant factors were revealed. Persisters' responses indicated that teachers do not expect enough work from 60 students. Nonpersisters. when compared to persisters. felt teach- ers did have time to spend with students. Persisters'lnean scores revealed more positive attitudes toward school work and school in general than did mean scores of nonpersisters. Data on student attitudes toward teachers. peers. school work. and school in gen- eral indicated that they are not strong determining factors as to whether or not a student persists.(p. 1) Although Timberlake maintained that his study findings did not evidence a strong relationship between students' attitudes and their continua- tion in school. he did find that persisters' mean positive-attitude scores were higher than those of dropouts. This could still indicate a relationship between attrition and students'iattitudes toward school. Other researchers have found that students who have low self- esteem and self-concept are likely to hold negative attitudes toward school. teachers. and the curriculum. For example. Namenwirth (1969) and Bachman et a1. (1976) found that dropouts often lacked emotional stability and evidenced less initiative than persisters. Such behavior might be indicative of a negative attitude toward school because atti- tude is recognized as the main force that directs the individual's behavior. Academic failure.iabsenteeism. and lack of participation in extracurricular activities have been found to influence students' interest in school. their self-confidence. and their motivation to continue in school. Martin (1981) concluded that dropouts were absent more often. in every grade. than students who did not leave school. In his study. when students with high rates of absenteeism were asked why they had dropped out of school. they said they were not interested in school because they were not being taught what they wanted to know. 61 Other reasons related to low self-concept. For example. dropouts said school was not for them and that they did not expect to be able to graduate from high school. IsashaLsLInflusnsm W311... Many researchers have attempted to determine whether a rela- tionship exists between teachers' influence and student attrition. Teachers influence children in numerous ways. One way is through their attitudes. which include perceptions of their classes and expectations for the students. Also. teachers influence students by the way they teach their courses. Several investigators have examined the influence on attrition of teachersfl attitudes and perceptions concerning their classes. After two massive reviews of research in the area of attitudes. Aiken (1970. 1976) maintained that there is a definite correlation between teachers' attitudes and students' attitudes and achievement. Poole and Simkin (1976) concluded that teachers' attitudes are very important to whether children leave or continue in school. He maintained that "on the whole. the school impressions of early leavers tend to be less favourable than those of the stayers.. .. Teachers are seen as not giving sufficient attention or support and as having negative attitudes" (p. 2). Poole and Low (1981) discovered that female leavers are "likely to be students who achieve higher grades. conform to school values. [and] are influenced by teachers"(p. th They pointed out that although these dropouts had high grades. they did 62 not continue their schooling because they were influenced by teachers' attitudes and negative perceptions toward their classes. Students of these teachers evidenced the same negative attitudes toward school. became unmotivated. and as a result dropped out of school. Some studies have shown that teachers' expectations influence students' behavior and achievement. For instance. if teachers expect particular achievement from their students. the pupils usually fulfill those expectations. Hence if teachers expect that certain students will leave school. those students are likely to drop out. Teachers with such expectations often behave negatively and carelessly with those students. Contrariwise. if teachers perceive students to be smart. those pupils are likely to continue their studies and graduate. Research conducted by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) supported the idea that teachers' expectations influence students' behavior and achievement. The researchers presented data supporting the existence of a self-fulfilling prophecy in the classroom. They pointed out that The expectations and predictions of teachers about how well their students would do in the future in some way brought about the very behaviors the teachers expected. In other words. simply making the predictions caused the expected results to happen. (p. 331) Other researchers have drawn similar conclusions supporting the idea that teachers' expectations may indeed influence student perform- ance (Cornbleth 8. others. 1974; Good. 1970; Pippert. 1969). Brophy and Good (1970) suggested that Teacher expectations may affect students in the following manner. Teachers begin by forming expectations about how well different students will do in their class. The teachers then begin to treat the students differently. based upon their expectations. If they expect a student to do well. the student may be given more 63 encouragement or more time to answer a question. Because the students are being treated differently. they respond differently and in ways that complement the teacher's expectations. Students given more time and more encouragement give the right answers more often. If these different treatments are repeated daily for months. the students given more time and encouragement will do better academically and score better on achievement tests. (p'. 332) In Saudi Arabia. teachers' attitudes and expectations could have a strong relationship to female student attrition. The attitudes and expectations teachers hold for their classes influence their behavior. lesson preparation. and the way they explain the materials. Positive teacher perceptions influence students to reflect the same positive attitudes; as a result they like school and continue their studies. Conversely. negative teacher attitudes toward school and their students influence children to have negative attitudes toward school; hence they may drop out. Numerous studies have supported the notion that teachers influence their students' decision to continue or drop out of school through the knowledge and skill they exhibit in their teaching and the extent to which skill and knowledge are related to the curriculum content. Teachers also influence students through their choices of teaching materials and methods. These choices are based on a number of factors. including the subject matter to be covered. students' abili- ties and needs. and the overall goals to be attained. Peters (1977) maintained that when students' achievement is disappointing it is useful to recall that teaching is conditional upon the presence of educational content in teacher activities. and that the activities of teaching are conditional upon the content knowledge of teachers. In this sense. content has priority in teacher education. (p. 62) 64 He concluded that teachers must rel ate their content knowledge with logical and strategic teaching. thereby helping students understand the materials and meeting their academic needs. In the same vein. Fenstermacher (1980) concluded that In the classroom. teachers have not only social control. but epi- stemic control as well. If teachers'iauthority is not anchored in content knowledge. it can frustrate the independent thinking of students. On the other hand. content knowledge helps the teachers to recognize the source of mistakes that learners make and to unravel patterns of misunderstanding. Confusion is not done away with by pointing out what the right answer to questions is. To further student learning. misunderstandings have to be traced. fathomed. and responded to by the teachers in a pedagogical fashion. (p. 63) He maintained. The logical acts of teaching--explaining. concluding. informing. giving reasons. amassing evidence. demonstrating. defining. comparing--require content knowledge on the part of the teacher and some content to be exercised on. (p. 63) Dewey (1965) cast teachers in the role of observers and directors of mental activity. He asserted. The detachment that is associated with this role implies a shift of focus from the teacher‘s own performance~to that of the learner. Such detachment can hardly be achieved without the confidence that stems from thorough content knowledge. In this sense content knowledge not only supports but makes room for a teacher's atten- tion to the logical activities involved in learning subject matter. But how can one recognize. let alone guide. mental activities involved in learning if neither personal experience of such pro- cesses nor an intellectual grasp of what is to be taught prepares one for this task? In observing and guiding mind activity. teach- ers need "a sense of what adequate and genuine mental activity means." (p. 64) The findings of Brophy and Good's (1970) study of teacher behavior and its effects indicated that content knowledge is a specific preparation for teaching with regard to the reflection of teaching skills. 65 Teachers' knowledge and skills could also be important factors associated with female students' attrition in Saudi Arabia. Some Saudi teachers lack the knowledge and skills that would help them be effec- tive teachers. Sometimes teachers have the requisite knowledge but cannot relate it to the curriculum; their students often become frus- trated and have low achievement. which impels them to leave school. On the other hand. teachers who possess rich knowledge as‘well as good teaching skills can relate the curriculum content to the students' understanding and needs. Such teachers encourage students to like school and have high achievement instead of making them feel disap- pointed about the curriculum. the teachers. and the school. Cultural differences between the teacher and student are another important aspect of teachers' influence on student attrition. Many studies have supported the notion that cultural differences between teachers and students cause many students to have a high rate of repeated failure and to drop out of school. One of these investiga- tions was the ethnographic study by Mobatt and Erickson (1981). which concerned Indian children's dilemma in school and why they have low achievement and high attrition. This study provided a means of understanding cultural influences in the context of classroom teaching. The authors examined cultural differences between the two teachers (one native teacher and one nonnative teacher) in the ways they organized classroom structures for student participation. In this caserstudy. the two teachers both taught first-grade Indian children. but they organized everyday classroom life very 66 differently through their pacing of events and exercise of social control. Mobatt and Erickson maintained that these discrepancies in teaching styles were not just individual differences. but rather appeared to be related to cultural patterns for the conduct of everyday life in community contexts outside school. which were extended to definitions of appropriate ways to act and interpret the acts of others in everyday life at home. in children's play. and in adult life in the community. 'Thus individual differences of the teachers influenced their students in the classroom learning environment. The authors concluded that "a shared sense of pacing between teacher and students . . . is manifested behaviorally in an interac- tional smoothnessJ' Viewing the videotapes of Classrooms l and 2. they noted that children sometimes were unfamiliar with the demands of their nonnative teacher and misbehaved more as a result. Such actions cause an unfriendly environment to develop between teacher and students. which could influence pupils' achievement. Mobatt and Erickson also noted that the non-native teacher was unfamiliar with many children's names. lherefore. he concentrated on just a few pupils whose names he could remember and ignored the rest of the class. In such situations. children lose interest in school. encounter more difficulties in learning. and feel they cannot measure up to the teacher's expectations. As a result of his investigation. Dumont (1972) drew the same conclusion as Erickson and Mohatt did. He provided a partial explanation for the generally low school achievement and high dropout rates among Indian students in Canada and the United 67 States. Dumont maintained that ”the terms 'bicultural' and 'bilingual' have meaning even when the referential language of the children is English" (p. 109). He indicated that invisible cultural rules survive and remain strong long after children lose their referential language. Systematic cultural differences appear in classroom interactions even when everyone speaks English. Finally. results of both the Mohatt and Erickson and the Dumont studies indicated that cultural differences among students in the same class affect their ability to learn; also. cultural differences between the teacher and the class influence students' learning. Teachers from the same culture as the students can relate the learning process to the children's actual lives by using examples from their own culture. The drawbacks of having non-nati ve teachers are particularly evident in Saudi Arabia. Most individuals who teach secondary-school girls come from fereign countries with unique cultures. Most female teachers who teach Saudi girls come from Egypt and various Arabic countries. Although those countries share the same language. religion. and Islamic culture. cultural differences that existed before the rise of Isl am remain today and make every country unique. Differences in customs and traditions often cause misunderstandings between foreign teachers and their Saudi students. which leads the girls to misbehave toward and dislike their teachers. Also. having many foreign teachers could influence Saudi students to sense an unfriendly learning environ- ment. The aforementioned conditions could influence Saudi girls' 68 academic achievement and cause them to dislike school and to drop out prematurely. W This chapter contained a review of related literature..which was divided into three sections. The first section contained literature related to the background of women in Saudi Arabia. specifically women in the beginning of Islam. women's education in the Arab World. and women's education in Saudi Arabia. Most of the literature in the first section comprised documents or reports of studies done in Saudi Arabia and other Islamic nations such as Egypt and Syria. The second section was a discussion of literature related to student attrition from school. The third section was a review of literature related to the six factors selected for this study as having a potential relationship to attrition. Most of the studies reviewed in the second and third sections were conducted in western nations such as the United States and Europe. The literature suggested that all six factors. teacher influence. family influence. marriage and pregnancy. students' attitude. students' achievement. and sex role. are influential with regard to student attrition or retention. This study concerns a third- world country that differs from the western. industrialized nations. Thus the researcher sought to determine whether these six factors influence Saudi girl 5' attrition from secondaary school and whether there are other factors that might be more influential in influencing Saudi girls to leave school. CHAPTER III METHODS AND PROCEDURES The primary purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with an understanding of the methods used in conducting the study. The chapter also contains an explanation of the procedures followed in the investigation and the techniques used in collecting data for the study. flatbedelmx Three methods were used in collecting information for the study. First. the researcher used written materials on the topic under consideration. such as statistical data and results of previous research. In addition. survey questionnaires and face-to-face inter- views were used to collect pertinent data for the study. WWW One major source of information for this study was an extensive review of literature related to attrition and retention of students at the intermediate- and secondary-school levels. The review included research conducted in Saudi Arabia. in other Arab and Islamic nations. and in western industrialized countries. Pertinent documentary evi- dence and statistical data were gathered from the Ministry of Education and the Office for Girls' Education in Saudi Arabia. These documents explained the nature of the female dropout problem and contained 69 7O evidence about the effect of student attrition on Saudi Arabia. The documents also contained statistics concerning female attrition for each year from 1964 through 1984. In addition. previous studies and their results were used in writing the literature review. Those investigations provided valuable information about specific factors related to student attrition. W A survey questionnaire was a major tool used in obtaining data related to the six selected factors that influence girls to leave school or to continue beyond the intermediate level. The questionnaire was chosen over personal interviews as the major technique with which to collect data from study participants because: lhe questionnaire is likely to be a less expensive procedure than the interview. It requires much less skill to administer them than interviews; in fact. questionnaires are often simply mailed or handed to respondents with a minimum of explanation. Further. questionnaires can often be administered to large numbers of indi- viduals simultaneously. . . . Another advantage of questionnaires is that respondents may have greater confidence in their anonymity and thus feel freer to express views they fear might be disapproved or might get them into trouble. Another characteristic of the questionnaire that is sometimes. though not always. desirable is that it may place less pressure on the subject for immediate response. When the subject is given ample time for filling out the questionnaire. he can consider each point carefully rather than replying with the first thought that comes to mind. (Selltiz. 1965. pp. 238-41) In addition. because of the restrictions that Saudi females face in making public contacts. female researchers encounter difficulty in attempting to conduct interviews with girls because it is hard to meet anywhere but at school. 71 1111911131: Despite the drawbacks involved in conducting personal inter- views with females in Saudi Arabia. the researcher held a short inter- view with 15 girls who had dropped out of school after the intermediate level. The main purpose of using the interview was to support the questionnaire responses and to elicit more information and factors than could be collected through the questionnaire alone. Each member of the interview sample was asked her own opinions and attitudes about the six selected factors. WW5 The study population comprised four groups of females from Medina: (a) Saudi female students who had dropped out of school after the intermediate level. (b) Saudi female students who were attending intermediate school. (c) Saudi female students who were attending secondary school. and ((1) Saudi and non-Saudi female teachers who were teaching in intermediate and secondary gi r1 5' schools. A sample of 200 subjects was selected randomly from the afore- mentioned groups by using school enrollment lists and a table of random numbers. Breakdown of the sample was follows: (a) 50 girls who had dropped out of school after the intermediate level. (b) 50 girls from ninth grade (intermediate school). (c) 50 girls from eleventh grade (secondary school). and (d) 50 Saudi and non-Saudi female teachers who were teaching in intermediate and secondary gi rls' schools. (See Table 3.1.) 72 Table 3.1.--Composition of the study sample. Number of Respondents Respondents Answering questionnaires Female dropouts 50 Ninth-grade female students 50 Eleventh-grade female students 50 Female teachers (Saudi & non-Saudi) 50 Interviews Female dropouts 15 Total 215 The interview population comprised girls in Medina who had dropped out of school. A sample of 15 subjects was randomly selected by using school files and a table of random numbers. WWW Several steps were taken in preparing the study questionnaire. The investigator reviewed several texts related to questionnaire and interview design and techniques. This helped her to understand the steps involved in developing a questionnaire and an interview schedule. Also. the researcher reviewed literature related to the present study. This review helped the researcher design similar'questionnaireiand interview items to serve the purpose of the study. The researcher's experience as a female student in Saudi schools helped her formulate pertinent.questions. 73 The researcher interviewed female Saudi principals in a pilot study. This helped clarify the most important factors that cause girls to drop out of school and gave further insight into the types of questions to include in the questionnaire. A research consultant at Michigan State University helped formulate the questionnaire and the interview schedule. The investigator discussed the research with Saudi Arabian friends who had had experience in questionnaire and interview design. which helped her pose appropriate questions based on the coun- try's culture and customs. Frequent meetings with her dissertation advisor helped the researcher modify questionnaire items to cover all of the factors included in the study. WW Imslatien Because the questionnaire and interview were administered in Saudi Arabia. they were translated into Arabic. Several steps were taken in the translation. The questionnaire and interview were first taken to a female professor in the female College of Education in Medina who speaks both Arabic and English. The instruments were trans- lated under the researcher's supervision. The questionnaire and inter- view were edited by an Arabic-language professor for the sake of gram- matical and spelling corrections. Next the researcher checked the instruments to ensure that the questions retained the meaning desired for the study. The questionnaire and interview were then typed and made ready for pilot testing. 74 The questionnaire and interview were pilot tested by distributing them to several female students from both the intermediate and secondary levels. This was done to ensure clarity of the items because the students were asked to mark any ambiguous questions.~ After pilot testing. the questionnaire and interview were revised and retyped for distribution. The Arabic version of the questionnaire was retranslated into English as a check of the accuracy of translation. Waite Walnut Because of the nature of the study. four questionnaire formats were used. one for each of the distinct sample groups. Each question- naire was accompanied by a cover letter explaining the purpose of the study and encouraging respondents to answer the questions frankly. The questionnaire was divided into three sections. The first contained questions designed to elicit demographic information. such as age. parents' level of education. school attendance. family income. and so on. These questions were concerned solely with factual information and did not seek attitudes or feelings. (This section was not included in the teachers' questionnaire.) The second section included a number of questions concerning subjects' opinions and attitudes about selected topics. Respondents were asked to indicate whether they strongly agreed. agreed. were undecided. disagreed. or strongly disagreed with various statements. They were also asked to indicate whether certain reasons for staying in or leaving school were very important. somewhat important. of little 75 importance. of very little importance. or not a factor. The third section of the questionnaire contained open-ended questions to which subjects were asked to respond. (See Appendices A-H.) These open- ended questions asked the respondents to indicate their plans for continuing education or to identify the persons who most influenced them to leave school. The interview schedule developed for the female dropouts was divided into two sections. The first introduced the researcher and the purpose of the study. Respondents were encouraged to be frank in giving their answers and were assured that their answers would be confidential. The second section contained questions designed to elicit information related to the study's purpose. (See Appendices I and J.) Wigwam The validity of the questionnaire was an important considera- tion in this investigation. Validity means the extent to which a questionnaire or interview measures what it is intended to measure. Several steps were taken to ensure that the questionnaire and the interview were val id. The researcher met frequently with her major advisor. committee members. a research consultant. and graduate-student friends from Saudi Arabia. Based on their comments and suggestions. the questionnaire and interview were revised. The questionnaire and interview were pilot tested with selected students to obtain their feedback about item clarity. These students were not part of the final sample. In addition. the Arabic version of the questionnaire was 76 tested by an Arabic-language professor to ensure that the translation was correct. 1he preceding steps were supervised by the researcher to ensure that suggested changes were accurate. WW1 Reliability of the questionnaire and interview refers to the consistency in respondents' answers to the questions. Reliability can be measured by comparing respondents' answers to the same question twice in hopes of obtaining similar results. Reliability can also be assessed by comparing each respondent's answers to certain questions with his/her responses to other questions to determine if there is consistency in the answers. Because the researcher had limited time in which to collect the data. the questionnaire could not be distributed twice as a pilot study. Therefore. it was distributed once for a pilot study. and respondents' answers were reviewed by a female expert in Saudi Arabia. Since the pilot study sample was small (n = 20). the female expert was able to review each student's responses to determine reliability and consistency of responses. This procedure was followed because the girl 5' college in Saudi Arabia does not have a computer center. The questionnaire expert determined that the questionnaire and interview were reliable. According to Oppenheim (1966). "If we find that a measure has excellent validity. then it must also be reliable" (p. 70). However. the instruments' reliability was tested and approved by the female 77 expert. Thus the questionnaire and interview were judged to have acceptable validity and reliability levels. Howeven. when the researcher returned to the United States. she wanted to ensure that the questionnaire was reliable. Cronbach's alpha. a statistical approach to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. was used. It was found that the questionnaire was highly reliable. with alpha = 0.817. W The following research questions were posed to guide the col- lection of data for this study: 1. What are the most influential factors associated with school dropout rates at the intermediate level in Saudi girls' schools? 2. How do students who have dropped out differ from those who are attending school. in terms of the factors identified as associated with female dropouts? 3. How do intermediate-school girls differ from secondary- school girls in identifying the most influential factors associated with leaving or continuing in school? 4. How do teachers and students differ on the identification of factors most associated with school leaving among secondary-school girls? To answer the first research question. responses to the three sections of the questionnaire and the second section of the interview were statistically described. To answer the second. third. and fourth research questions. three null hypotheses were formulated. ‘They are as follows: 78 MW: There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between students who have dropped out and those who have not dropped out concerning their identification of the most influential factors associated with premature school leaving in secondary girls' schools. W: There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between girls attending intermediate schools and girls attend- ing secondary schools concerning their perception about the most influential factors associated with premature school leaving in secondary gi r1 5' schools. : There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between students who have not dropped out and teachers concern- ing their identification of the most influential factors associated with premature school leaving in secondary gi r1 5' schools. MW Two pilot studies were conducted to ensure the accuracy of the study. The first pilot study was undertaken to determine the factors that might cause girls to drop out after intermediate school. In this pilot study the researcher conducted interviews with three intermediate school principals and three secondary school principals. Each inter- view lasted between 30 and 45 minutes. The principals were asked about the factors that may cause girls to leave school. The factors on which principals were in agreement were then considered for testing and examination in the present research. To support the importance of the selected factors. the researcher undertook a comprehensive review of literature related to the study. The factors that were supported by the review of literature and the pilot study were included in the study. The second pilot study was undertaken to test the validity and reliability of the questionnaire and the interview. After the research 79 proposal was approved. the researcher went to Saudi Arabia in September 1985 to collect the data. Before administering the questionnaire and conducting the interviews. she pretested the questionnaire by distrib- uting it to 20 students (ten ninth graders and ten eleventh graders). The students were asked to check any ambiguous questions and comment on them on the back of the questionnaire. The researcher pretested the interview with three students who had dropped out of school. to determine whether any questions needed clarification. Both the questionnaire and the interview were revised and retyped following the pilot study. based on students' comments and the researcher's recognition of vagueness in some of the questions. Based on the pilot study. the questionnaires for student dropouts and teach- ers were also revised and retyped. To avoid bias in responding to the questionnaire. students who participated in the pilot study were not included in the main data collection. Wane: This section describes the steps that were taken in collecting the data for the study. First. the researcher took the translated questionnaires and interview to the General Office of Girl 5' Education. where an expert reviewed them to determine if acceptable questions were asked. i.e.. that the questions did not conflict with the country's rules and culture. After receiving agreement from the General Office of Girl 5' Education. the researcher was given a letter that enabled her 80 to enter the girl 5' school and ask for the school administrators' cooperation in conducting the research. The questionnaires were distributed as a pilot study to ten ninth graders and ten eleventh graders. Based on these students' comments. the questionnaire was revised and retyped. Next. a list of secondary and intermediate school teachers was prepared. A table of random numbers was used to select the sample of teachers for the study. Students' files were also reviewed. in order to randomly select drop- outs for the sample. The dropout questionnaire was mailed to the selected sample. A deadline was set at five weeks after distribution of the question- naires; the researcher did not consider any responses received after the deadline. To ensure that 50 responses would be received from the dropout sample. the researcher selected 90 dropouts to receive the questionnaire. The researcher made follow-up calls to those who had not responded by the deadline. Only the first 50 responses were con- sidered. even though 64 completed questionnaires were received. Fifteen dropouts (not from the 50 who completed the questionnaire) were randomly selected. and interviews were conducted with each one separately in her own home. Each interview lasted 40 to 55 minutes. The interviews were not tape recorded because the researcher thought the respondents might not feel comfortable if they noticed their answers were being recorded. Therefore. the researcher took notes instead. as accurately as possible. 81 The researcher and the school principals arranged for a con- venient time when the researcher could distribute the questionnaires to the students. The sample students. who were randomly selected. were gathered together in a large room. Questionnaires were distributed during cl ass periods (45 minutes long); the researcher was available to answer any questions the girls had. Students were encouraged to answer all items frankly. The questionnaires were collected at the end of the class period. The teachers' questionnaire was distributed and returned during the 30-minute break time. After finishing the data-collection proce- dures. the researcher visited the school principals and teachers and thanked them for their help and cooperation. W W After the data were gathered through both the questionnaire and the interviews. a coding book for the questionnaire was developed and checked with a research consultant at Michigan State University to ensure that it was reliable. The questionnaire items were then coded. and data were prepared for computer analysis. The interview responses also were coded. and similar responses were combined for the sake of the analysis. The coding and combination of responses were checked by several individuals who had had experience in research; they agreed that the coding and response combinations were val id. The data gathered through the questionnaire were analyzed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The 82 descriptive statistics used in reporting the results of the data analy- sis were means. standard deviations. and frequencies. Means were used to show the value of each item and to indicate whether the item was highly influential. influential. uninfluential. or not a factor. The higher the mean value. the more influential the item was considered to be. and vice versa. Along with the mean. the stand- ard deviation was obtained to show the variance in responses; the lower the standard deviation. the more agreement existed in responses. and vice versa. The specific technique used to test the hypotheses was the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). which showed whether a statistically significant difference existed between two groups in their responses concerning the six factors selected for this study. Along with the MANOVA. the univariate F-test was used to determine on which individual factors statistically significant differences existed. The three null hypotheses were tested at the.05 significance level. Responses to the first section of the questionnaire. which contained the demographic questions. were described by using frequen- cies. means. and standard deviations. Results for the second section. which contained 43 questions. were described by using means and stand- ard deviations. In this section each student was asked to indicate on a five-point Likert scale whether she strongly agreed. agreed. was undecided. disagreed. or strongly disagreed with each item. They were also asked to indicate whether certain reasons for staying in or leav- ing school were very important. somewhat important. of little importance. of very little importance. or not a factor. Points were 83 assigned to each response. from 5 = strongly agree or very important to l = strongly disagree or not a factor. The third section of the instrument contained open-ended questions. Responses to these ques- tions were coded and treated like the demographic data in the first section. The total points for each item were added together; the sum was then divided by the total number of responses to that item to obtain the mean value. The higher the mean. the more influential the item was; the lower the mean. the less influential the item. The items were categorized into six categories that reflected the six factors selected for study. The items were then rank ordered and their means were added together and divided by the number of items to provide the overall factor mean. which indicated the degree of the factor's influence; that is. the higher the mean. the more influential the factor. and vice versa. Specific criteria were delineated to indicate the importance of the items and the factors. There criteria were as follows: 1. Items or factors with a mean from 4.00 to 5.00 were consid- ered highly influential. 2. Items or factors with a mean from 3.00 to 3499 were considered moderately influential. 3. Items or factors with a mean from 2.00 to 2.99 were considered uninfluential. 4. Items or factors with a mean from 1.00 to~l.99 were considered totally uninfluential. CHAPTER IV PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS In this chapter. the data obtained through the questionnaire and interviews are presented in tabular form and are described in narrative form. The questionnaire respondents were 50 female students who had dropped out of school after the intermediate level. 50 female ninth-grade students. 50 female eleventh-grade students. and 50 female intermediate- and secondary-level teachers. Interview respondents were 15 female students who had dropped out of school more than a year before the time of the survey. In both the questionnaire and the interview. respondents were asked about the influence on female attrition of the following six selected factors: teacher influence. family influence. student attitude. marriage and pregnancy. student achievement. and sex role. This chapter is divided into four sections. The first section is a presentation of the demographic data. A rank order of the items and factors that might influence girls' decision to leave school or to continue in school is provided in the second section of the chapter. Results of the hypothesis testing are discussed in the third section. and the fourth section presents the results of the interview. An overall summary concludes the chapter. 84 85 W Included in this section is personal information about the students who dropped out of school. the ninth-grade students. and the eleventh-grade students. Data on the teachers who participated in the study are not included in this section because the questionnaire did not elicit personal information about them. Tables 4.1 through 4.18 present the demographic data of interest in this study. The respondents' ages are shown in Table 4.1. Most of the dropouts were between 23 and 26 years of age. whereas most of the ninth and eleventh graders were between 16 and 19 years old. The mean age for the dropouts was 24.26. with a standard deviation of 7.387. For ninth graders. the mean age was 15.58. with a standard deviation of 1.341. Eleventh graders' mean age was 17.34. with a standard deviation of 1.255. Table 4.2 shows that 88% of the dropouts were married. whereas only 2% of the ninth graders and 4% of the eleventh graders were married. These figures indicate that marriage might be an important factor influencing girls to drop out of school. Table 4.3 provides information about fathers' level of educa- tion. The highest percentage of illiteracy (22%) was found among fathers of girls who had dropped out of school. ‘Twenty-four percent of the dropouts'fathers were just literate but did not have a formal education. Very few of them (8%) had graduated from college. Fathers of respondents who were still attending school also had very low levels of education. However. fathers of dropouts had a mean 86 o.oo_ om o.oo_ om o.oo_ om .mHOh .. .. .. .. o.c m mN .. .. .. .. 0.: N wN .. .. .. .. o.m m KN .. .. .. .. o.w— m 0N .. .. .. .. o.m_ m mu .. .. .. .. o.o~ 0. am o.~ _ .. .. o.o_ m mu .. .. o.~ _ o.m m NN .. .. .. .. 0.: N _N .. .. .. .. o.~ _ ow o.:_ m .. .. 0.: N m— o.o_ m o.~ _ o.~ _ m— o.m: mm o.~_ m o.~ _ n— o.- __ c.m~ :. .. .. m— .. .. 0.:: Nu .. .. m— .. .. 0.0— m .. .. :— .. .. o.~ _ .. .. m— g E E c: E c: >ucmauocm >ucoauecu >uceacmcu >ucozcmcm >ocmacocm >ocoaamcu o>_um_om mun—cma< o>_um_om mus—cmn< o>mum_mx mun—ema< om< mcocmco zuco>o_w mcocmco cuc_z muaoaoLo .omm >3 mucoccOQmoc mo comu:n_cum_onu._.q u_amh 87 0.00_ 0m 0.00. 0m 0.00. cm .mu0k .. .. C.N — .. .. UchQme Oz 0.~ _ .. .. 0.: N neoco>_0 0.: N 0.0. m .. .. cmmmmcm 0.: N 0.~ _ 0.00 :: 00_ccmz 98 9. OS 9 9m .3 £95 0.0 :0 30 A20 3 0: >ucoacocm >ucosoocu >ocmzoocu >ucoaoocu >ucozaocu >ucozaocm o>_um_mm mus—cmn< o>_um_mm mun—0mn< o>_um_om mus—emn< _M”wmwm mcocmcu suco>o_m mcotmcw zuc_z mu5000c0 . .maumum _mu_cme >0 mucovcoamOL Go co_u:n_cum_0nu.~.: v.0mk 88 0.00. 0m 0.00. 0m 0.00. cm .mu0h 0.0 m 0.0. N 0.NN __ oumcou.___ . . . co.umuaco .mELOm 0 :N N. 0 N. 0 0 :N N. 0: Han oumcmu_. . . . oumacmcm 0 w. m 0 0. m 0 0N m. .oo;um >Lmucueo_m . . . oumacmcm 0.0. 0 0... N 0.0. m abmaemtm .oogu. 30.: 0.0. 0 0.s~ N. 0.0 0 mumsemtm amo..00 .N. .z. .0. .z. .N. .z. >ucozoocu >ucosoocu >ucmaaocu >ucosoocu >ocoaoocm >ucoaaocu co_umo:uu o>_um_om mus—0mn< o>.um.om mun—emn< o>.um.om bu:_0mn< mo .o>04 manomcu suco>o_m mcocmcu Luc.z muaoao.0 .co_umu:co mo _o>o_ m.co:umm >0 mucotcoame. mo co_u:n.cum.0nu.m.: 0.0mh 89 educational level of 4.14 (SD = 1.404). which means that the dropouts' fathers'average level of education fell between elementary-school graduate and literate with no formal education. The mean for fathers of ninth graders was 3.20. which fell between intermediate and elemen- tary school (50 = 1.954). and for fathers of eleventh graders the mean was 3.44. which fell between intermediate and elementary school (SD = 1.473). These figures indicate that the fathers of dropouts had a lower level of education than did fathers of ninth and eleventh graders who were still attending school. Table 4.4 shows the level of education of the respondents' mothers. In general. there was a very high percentage of illiteracy among respondents' mothers. However. the highest percentage of illit- eracy'(52%) was found among the mothers of girls who had dropped out of school. The lowest percentage (28%) was found among thelnothers of eleventh graders. The mean level of education for mothers of dropouts was 5.22. which fell between literate with no formal education and illiterate (SD = 1.243). The mean for ninth graders' mothers was 4.78. which fell between elementary school and literate with no formal education (SD = 1.529). whereas the mean educational level of mothers of eleventh graders was 4.26. which fell between elementary school and literate with no formal education (80 = 1.614). Both Tables 4.3 and 4.4 show that the level of education of the respondents' parents was very low. However. the educational level was lowest among the parents of students who had dropped out of school. 90 0.00. 00 0.00. om 0.00. 00 .muOh 0.0N :. 0.0: :N . 0.Nm 0N oumaou.... . . . co.umoavo .mEco. 0 0N m. 0 w. m 0 Nm 0. 0: 0:0 eumcou.0 . . . oumzvmcm 0 0. m 0 a. m 0 0 0 .000Um >Lmuceee.m . . . oumzumcm 0 0 m 0 0. m 0 N . .oocum mum.0oecwuc_ 0.0. 0 0.0 0 0.0 m «00:00.0 .oogu. 00.: 0.0 m 0.0 m .. .. oumaumcm 000..00 .0. .z. .0. .z. .0. .z. >ucmaaecu >ucoaoocu >ucoscocm >ocmaoocu >ucoaomcu >ucoacocm co.umuanm o>.um.om bu:.Om0< m>.um.mm 003.0m0< m>.um.mm 603.0m0< mo .o>o0 mceomcw cuco>o.m mcoumco 00c.z 00300000 .co.umuavo mo .o>o. m..o0uoe >0 mucovcoamo. mo co.u:0..um.0--.:.: 0.0mh 91 As shown in Table 4.5. the family monthly income of the largest cluster of the students was between 2000 and 5000 riyals. which is the average family income in Saudi Arabia. Most of the respondents did not know their family's exact income. The mean monthly income for families of dropout students was 4.980. whichOfell between 2000 and 9000 riyals (SD = .318). whereas the mean for ninth graders was 4.040. which also fell between 2000 and 9000 riyals (SD = .321). and for eleventh graders it was 4.163. which fell between 2000 and 9000 riyals. as well (SD = 1.650). Figure 4.1 presents the distribution of respondents by family income in a histogram. It shows that the respondents had similar family incomes; however. by comparing the mean family income of drop- outs (4.980) with that of students attending school (4.115). it can be seen that dropouts were from families with higher socioeconomic status than the families of students attending school. This finding may indicate that dropouts are not always from families with low socioeco- nomic status. or it could also be that dropouts' parents were older as the dropouts themselves were older than students attending school. Older parents would be expected to earn more than younger ones. Table 4.6 shows that most of the dropouts (76%) lived in their own homes with their husbands. Since Table 4.2 indicated that 88% of the dropouts were married. this finding may suggest that a few of them were living with a widowed parent. Most of the respondents who were still attending school lived with their parents (ninth graders = 90%. eleventh graders = 86%). 92 0.00. 00 0.00. 00 0.00. 00 .muo» 0.N . .. .. .. .. omcoamo. oz 0.0 . 0.0 . 0.0 0 .0....uota. 000.00 0 A .. .. 0.0 0 0.0 0 .00005.000. 000.00 0 A .. .. 0.0 . 0.0 0 ..uu.0. 000.0. 0-000.0. 0 0.0 . 0.0 0 0.0. 0 ....o. 000.0. 0-000.0. 0 0.0. 0 0.0 . 0.0 0 ..uo.0. 0000 0-0000 0 0.00 0. 0.0. 0 0.0. 0 ...m.. 0000 0-0000 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0. 0 ..uo.0. 0000 0-0000 0 0.00 00 0.00 00 0.00 0. ....u. 0000 0-0000 0 0.0 0 .. .. 0.0 0 .0....uata. 0000 0 v 0.0 . 0.0. 0 0.0 0 .0oume...o. 0000 0 v .0. .z. .0. .z. .0. .z. >ucoaoocu >oceaoocu >ocoauocu >ocmauocu >ocesumcu >ucoauocu o>.0m.m0 003.0004 o>.um.00 00:.Om0< m>.um.00 mu:.Om0< oEOuc. >.0ucoz mcmvmco cuco>o.m mceumcu 00c.z mu:000.0 .oEouc. >.0ucoe >..Emw >0 mucoucoamm. mo co.u:0..0m.0-.m.: 0.0mh Number of Respondents d—n—n—a—o—o—o-d—O-‘NNNNNN \DO-‘waWO‘NmmO-‘NW-L‘Ul flchPUlO‘Nm Ii. T w T 4 l .1 1 Less th 2000 R Figure 8.1. 93 - Dropouts Students attending school an 2000- 6000- 10,000- More than 59998 99998 19,999R 20,000R Distribution of respondents by family income. 9h 0.00. om 0.00. 00 0.00. cm .0000 .. .. 0.N . .. .. 0000000. 02 .. .. . . m 00300 :30 .30> :. 0>.. 0 N . 0 0m 0 000 00.0002 000 30> .. .. . .. .. one.» m>.. so. 0 N . 030 0>..0 000 0000000 0>.00.00 0 o. o. o. o. oo o. £Uw30>~— 30> new 0000 000 0000000 0000 .. .. .. .. . 000.0 0>.. 30> 000 0 N . 0000 000 0000.00 0000 00000 000 00.3 0.0 0 0.0 . 0.0. 0 m>.. 00> 0:0 0000 0. 0000000 .30> 00 0:0 E000 .0 0:0 00.: 0>.. 0.0 m 0.N . .. .. 30> 000 00u.o>.0 00 000000000 000 0000000 . . . 000005 0:0 .0. .z. .0. .z. .0. .z. >uc030000 >uc030000 >uc03u000 >uc030000 >uc030000 >uc030000 > 0>.00.00 003.000< 0>.00.00 003.000< 0>.00.00 003.000< 00.0030.m ..E00 00000.0 00c0>0.m 0000000 000.2 00300000 .co.0030.m >..Emw 0.000 >0 00000000000 .0 no.000.t0m.0-..0.0 a.03 95 Most of the respondents' schools were located less than one mile or between one and three miles from their homes (see Table 4.7). The mean for dropouts was 2.320 (SD = .170). for ninth graders it was 2.360 (SD = .148). and for eleventh graders it was 2.080 (SD = 1.140). All three means were over 2.0. falling between 1-3 miles and 4-10 miles. According to Table 4.8. most of the respondents had spent six years in elementary school. Specifically. 78% of the dropouts. 92% of the ninth graders. and 92% of the eleventh graders had spent six years in elementary school. These figures indicate that most of the respond- ents did not fail and have to repeat grades in elementary school. The mean for dropouts was 1.340. which fell between 6 and 7 years (SD = .060). for ninth graders it was 1.16. which fell between 6 and 7 years (SD = .584). and for eleventh graders it was 1.080. which also fell between 6 and 7 years (SD = .274). By examining the means. it can be seen that dropouts had a slightly higher percentage of failure than had those students who were still attending school. Most of the respondents had spent three years in intermediate school (dropouts = 76%. ninth graders = 78%. eleventh graders = 86%). (See Table 4.9.) The mean for dropouts was 1.460. which fell between 3 and 4 years (SD = .119). for ninth graders it was 1.320. which fell between 3 and 4 years (SD = .097). and for eleventh graders it was 1.140. which also fell between 3 and 4 years (SD = .351). Comparing the means of the three respondent groups. it can be seen that the 96 0.00. om 0.00. om 0.00. om .0000 0.0. m 0.0N 0. 0.0N m. 00..E 0. 0000 0.0: 0.0. m 0.0. m 0.0. n 00..E 0.-0 0.0N m. 0.00 0N 0.0N m. 00..E mu. 0.N: .N 0.NN .. 0.0m n. 0..E . 0000 0000 .0. .z. .0. .z. .0. .z. >00030000 >00030000 >0003U000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 000000.0 0>.00.00 003.000< 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0>.00.00 003.000< 0000000 0000>0.0 0000000 000.2 00300000 .00500 0.000 50.0 .00000 000 00 000000.0 000 >0 00000000000 .0 00.030.000.0-.>.0 0.000 97 0.00. 00 0.00. 00 0.00. cm .000h .. .. 0.N . 0.N . 0000> 0 0000 000: .. .. 0.: N 0.0 0 0000> 0 0.0 .. 0.0 . 0.0. 0 0.52. 0 0.Nm 00 0.Nm 0: 0.0> mm 0.00> 0 .0. .z. .0. .z. .0. .z. >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00033000 0>.00.00 003.0004 0>.00.00 003.000< 0>.00.00 003.000< 0.00> .0 000532 0000000 0000>0.m 0.00000 000.2 00300000 ..00000 >00000E0.0 0. 00000 000 >000 0000> 000 >0 00000000000 .0 00.030.000.0-.0.0 0.000 98 0.00. 00 0.00. cm 0.00. cm .0000 .. .. 0.N . 0.0 0 0.00> m 0000 0002 o. a. com M O.Q M WLNO> m 0.0. m 0.0. > 0.0. m 0000> 0 0.00 m: 0.0> mm 0.0m 0m 0.00> m .0. .z. .0. .z. .0. .z. >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0000> mo 000E32 00000.0 0000>0.u 0.00000 000.2 ..00000 000.0050000. 0. 00000 000 >000 0000> 000 >0 0000000000. .0 00.030.000.0-.m.0 0.00h 99 eleventh graders had had the lowest percentage of failure in interme- diate school. Table~4.10 shows the number of people in the respondents' families. Most of the dropouts lived with one person. probably their husbands because 88% of the dropouts were married (see Table 4.2). On the other hand. most of the ninth- and eleventh-grade students lived with more than one person--and generally between five and nine pewsons--who might have been parents. brothers. and sisters. because only 2% to 4% of them were married. The mean for dropouts was 4.163. which fell between 4 and 5 people (SD = .360). for ninth graders it was 6.260. which fell between 6 and 7 people (SD = .262). and for eleventh graders it was 6.360. which fell between 6 and 7 people (SD = 1.650). Table 4.11 presents the distribution of students according to the age at which they dropped out of school. The table shows that most of the students were 18 or older when they dropped out. and by looking at Tables 4.8 and 4.9 it can be seen that dropouts had repeated a few years of school. That is. 22% of them had spent more than six years in elementary school. and 24% of them had spent more than three years in intermediate school. Otherwise. most of them would have been expected to be 16 years old when they left schooh. The mean age of the dropouts when they left school was 17.78 (SD = 1.087). As illustrated in Table 4.12. most of the dropouts (62%) were married or engaged. while only 10% of the ninth graders and about 6% of the eleventh graders were married or engaged. Thus most of the stu- dents who were still attending school were single. whereas most of the 100 0.00. cm 0.00. cm 0.00. om .0000 .. .. .. .. 0.N . 00000000 02 0.00 0. 0.00 0. 0.0. 0 0.00 to 000.0 0.N. 0 0.0N 0. 0.N . 00>00 0.0. 0 0.0. 0 0.0. 0 x.0 0.NN .. 0.0 m 0.N. 0 0>.0 0.N . 0.0 0 0.0. m 0300 0.0 0 0.0. 0 0.0. 0 00.00 0.N . 0.N . 0.: N 030 .. .. .. .. 0.0N m. 000 .0. .z. .0. .z. .0. .z. >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 0>.00.00 003.000< 0>.00.00 003.000< 0>.00.00 003.000< 0.0000 00 000532 0000000 0000>0.m 0.00000 000.2 00300000 .00...50. 0.000 0. 0.00 000.000 0.0000 00 000530 000 >0 00000000000 00 00.030.000.0--.0..0 0.000 IO] o.oo. om .0000 0.N: .N 0.0 0000> m. 00>o 0.0m m. 0.0 0000> 00000m.m o.w. m 0.0 0000> 000000>0m o.m : 0.0 0000> 0000x.m o.~ . 000. 00 00000.0 AN. sz 0m< >00030000 0>.00.0m >00030000 003.0004 ..00000 000. >000 00.03 00 000 000 >0 00300000 00 00.030.000.0nn....: 0.000 102 o.oo. om o.oo. om o.oo. cm .0000 0.0 m 0.N . 0.N . 00000000 02 0.N . 0.N . o.m~ 0. 00.000: 0.: N 0.0 a 0.00 0. nommmcu o.mw a: o.ww a: 0.0m m. 00.00080: .0. .z. .0. .z. .0. .2. >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0>.00.0¢ 003.000< 030000 .00.00z 0000000 0000>0.m 0000000 000.2 00300000 0000000 000 .00000 ..00000 00.000000 ...00 00000300 000 030000 .00.000 000. 00300000 0003 030000 .00.00E >0 00000000000 00 00.030.000.0uu.~..: 0.000 103 students who had dropped out of school were married or engaged. Al though 36% of the dropouts were single when they left school. they may have planned to get engaged or married. or perhaps other factors were involved in their leaving school. Table 4.l3 contains information about the number of children the respondents had when they left school or during their continuation in school. Most of the respondents had no children: 86% of the dropouts did not have children. nor did 96% of the ninth graders and 90% of the eleventh graders. The data show that 12% of the dropouts were either pregnant or had children. while only 2% to 4% of the students attending school were pregnant or had children. This could be an indication of the small conflict between having children and con- tinuing school. However. even though a woman had no children. her husband might have influenced her to leave school. Concerning school attendance (see Table 4.l4). whether respondents dropped out or remained in school. they had a high rate of attendance. However. ninth and eleventh graders had a higher percentage of school attendance (02%) than did the dropouts (70%). The mean for dropouts was 1.420. which fell between attending all classes and missing very few classes (SD = .103). for ninth graders it was 1.020. which fell between attending all classes and missing very few classes (SD = .020). and for eleventh graders it was 1.106. which also fell between attending all classes and missing very few classes (SD = .375) O 10h 0.00. 00 0.00. cm 0.00. cm .0000 0.0 m 0.N . 0.N . 00000000 02 oo oo o. co oo o. CMLu—mr—U 03“ CNLH ”.502 o. o. 00 O. 0.N — cmLU—WLU OZP 0.N . .. .. 0.0 0 0..0u 000 . . . 00000000 0 N . o N . o N . 030 .0000..0o 02 0.00 m; 0.00 0: 0.00 m: 5000.0;u oz .00 .2. .0. .2. .0. .5 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0000..00 .0 000532 0000000 0000>0.m 000 .00000 000. 0000000 000.2 00300000 ..00000 00.000000 ...00 00000300 000 0000..0u 00 000530 0000000 00300000 0003 0000..0o 00 000530 >0 00000000000 00 00.030.000.0uu.m..: 0.000 105 0000000 0000>0.m 0000000 000.2 0.00. cm 0.00. om 0.00. om .0000 0.0 m .. .. .. .. 00000000 02 .. .. .. .. 0.N . 00000.0 >005 0000.2 0.N . .. .. 0.0 : 00000.0 0500 0000.: 0.0 m 0.N _ 0.8 S 00002020.. 50> 800.: 0.00 m: 0.00 m: 0.00 mm 00000.0 ..0 0000000< >00me000 >00MHW000 >00me000 >0cwnw000 >00wmw000 >0chnw000 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0>.00.0m 003.000< 000000000< .0000000000 .00000 >0 00000000000 00 500030000009--.0_.0 0.000 106 As shown in Table 4.15. most of the respondents had not failed any grades in school. However. dropouts had had a higher percentage of failure (44%) than had ninth and eleventh graders who remained in school (20%). The mean for dropouts was 2.300. which fell between passing all courses with poor grades and failing 1 or 2 courses (SD = .185). for ninth graders it was 1.694. which fell between passing all courses with good grades and passing all courses with poor grades (80 = .155). and for eleventh graders it was 1.340. which also fell between passing all courses with good grades and passing all courses with poor grades (SD = .717). This table indicates that 56% of the dropouts passed all courses. while 79% of the students attending school did so. Table 4.16 shows that most of the dropouts (64%) did not have plans for continuing their education. whereas most of the ninth and eleventh graders (80% and 62%. respectively) planned to continue their schooling through college graduation. Very few of the respondents intended to find a Job instead of continuing their education. The persons identified by the dropouts as influencing them to leave school are indicated in Table 4.17. Those who had most infl u- enced the girls to drop out of school were teachers (30%). followed by their husbands and other family members. Also. 18% of them indicated that other factors caused them to drop out. which might have been their academic achievement or attitudes toward school. Table 4.18 shows that most of the dropouts (54%) had left school after they got engaged or marri ed or after becoming pregnant. Some of them (36%) dropped out of school because of family influences. 107 0.00. cm 0.00. cm 0.00. cm .0000 .. .. 0.N . 0.N . 00000000 02 O 0 o o O 0 O O O mmmhaou o a N 0 0000 0005 00..00 .. .. 0.: N 0.0 0 0000300 0 00 m 00..00 .. .. .. .. 0.0 m 0000300 0 00 m 00..00 0.0. N 0.NN .. 0.0N N. 0000300 N 00 . 00..00 . . . 000000 0000 000 000 o 0 m o w a o a. 0 0000300 ..0 000000 . . . 000000 0000 000 000 o 00 o: o :0 Nm 0 N: .N 0000300 ..0 000000 .00 .z. .00 .2. .0. .z. >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 003..00 mo >00030000 0>.00.0m 003.0004 0>.00.00 003.000< 0>.00.0m 003.000< 0000000 0000>0.u 0000000 000.2 00300000 ..00000 0. 003..0m >0 00000000000 .0 co_0=n.000_o--.m_.: 0.0m0 108 0.00. cm 0.00. cm 0.00. 0m .0000 >0005 0000 0.: N .. .. o.0 m 0:0 no. 0 05.0 o0 . . . 00030000 0 N0 .m o 00 o: o 0 m 000..00 0 00 00 o.o~ o. 0.0. 0 0.00 N. 50.000300 0000 000 o0 0.... 0 0.0 m 0.00 NM 00.0 oz .0. .z. .0. .z. .0. .z. >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 >00030000 0>.00.00 003.000< 0>.00.00 003.000< 0>.00.00 003.000< 000.0 0000000 0000>0.m 0000000 000.2 00300000 .0o.000300 0.000 030.0000 00 000.0 >0 00000000000 00 00.030.000.0uu.0..: 0.000 109 0.00. cm .0000 0.N . 00000000 02 0.0. 0 00000 0.0m m. .000000000 03o> .. .. .0.000.0. 03o> 0.: N .0.0>.00.00 030> 0.0N 0. .00000000 03o> 0.0N m. 0000.0 00 0000030 03o> .0. .2. 000000 >00030000 0>.00.00 >00030000 003.000< ..00000 0>00. 00 5000 000003.00. 0005 003 0000000 000 >0 00300000 00 00.030.000.0-I.N..: 0.000 110 0.00. 0m .0000 0.0.. m 030.0000 00 0.0003 000 00...00 003 _ 0.0m m. 0000000 >..500 0500 000 _ 0.: N 00000000 000 _ 0000< 0.0. 0 0000000 000 _ 000w< ...00 0. 00.0000 000 _ 080.. 0.0 m 00000 0.00000. >5 0000< .0. .2. >00030000 0>.00.00 >00030000 003.000< 0002 003 00.0.000 0003 ..00000 0>00. 00 000.000 >000 0003 >0 00300000 .0 00.030.000.0nn.m..: 0.000 111 The remaining 10% indicated that academic failure was the reason they dropped out of school. Dropouts. students. and teachers were asked the age at which they thought girls should get married. Just 2% of the teachers and none of the dropouts or students said girls should marry at age 13 or before. Similarly. just 2% of the dropouts and 1% of the students believed girls should marry when they are between 14 and 16 years old. Forty percent of the dropouts. 27% of the students. and 10% of the teachers indicated girls should marry when they are between 17 and 19. A majority of the sample members (58% of the dropouts. 72% of the students. and 88% of the teachers) believed girls should postpone marriage until they are at least 20 years old. The responses indicated that whereas 72% of the students thought girls should wait until they are at least 20 before marrying. only 58% of the dropouts held this perception. Just 27% of the stu- dents attending school thought girls should marry when they are between 17 and 19. but 40% of the dropouts chose that age range as the approp— riate age at which girls should marry. Teachers seemed to concur with students about the appropriate marriage age; 88% of them thought girls should postpone marriage until they are at least 20. This section presents the results of the analysis of dropoutsb students'. and teachers' responses to items in the second part of the questionnaire. The items pertaining to each particular factor were 112 categorized and rank ordered by their means to show the value of each item. The six factors were then rank ordered by their means to show the value of each factor. Instead of repeating the same procedure for dropouts. ninth graders. eleventh graders. and teachers. the data for each group are presented together in the same tabl es; the data for ninth and eleventh graders were combined for analysis purposes and because of their similar ages and situation in attending school. Points were assigned to each response. from 5 = Strongly Agree or Very Important to l = Strongly Disagree or Not a Factor; means and standard deviations were calculated using the procedure described in Chapter III. In the analysis. items with means between 4.0 and 5.0 were con- sidered highly influential. those with means between 3.0 and 4.0 were considered moderately influential. those with means between 2.0 and 3.0 were considered noninfluential. and items with means between 1.0 and 2.0 were considered totally noninfluential. Table 4.19 shows that teachers rated 6 of the 12 items in the "family influence" category as very influential. Students and drop- outs. respectively. rated four and three items in this category as very influential. Looking at the overall means of the respondents. it can be seen that teachers had a higher mean (4.114; SD = 0.430) than the students. This finding indicates that teachers placed more importance on family influence than students did. Following teachers. students attending school placed more importance on family influence. with a mean of 3.691 (SD = 0.541). than did dropouts. who had a mean of 3.608 (SD = 0.513). 113 000.0 0...: .00.0 .00.. m.0.0 000.0 0:002 ..m0o>0 mN—.— OQO.J 0 ONW.— fi—N.M w —ON.— CJ®.N O— .—OO£UM 0>00— Ou m—L—G UUHCQI muCULQQ 03F 0N3 00000005 000 00>.3 wmm.o 000.: m :No.. on.: : 000.0 oNN.0 . 0000 050000 00 000 >.000 00 00 0.0.0 00.000 -000 03000 0.000 >..500 0 00.00 30> 00 00;: .0 0.60000 000.0050000. :oN.. 00:.m m .00.. NNN.N o. N.N.. ooc.m 0 00.00.0500 00000 >.000.0055. 00.0005 00.0000 0.0.0 03000 0.000 >..500 0 00.00 30> 00 0003 o: - . . ..00000 00 O0 000.. .Nm.m m xaN.. :0m.m 0 mMN . an. m a 00503 00.0005 000 0000030000 0>03.0 >..500 000 Am . . . .m m .o . .00.>0300 000 0005 N00 0 on m N 00. . 000 0 0 m 040 a N -000.>00 0000 0 000.>o00 0>03.0 >..500 000 Nm . . . . . . ..0020000 0.0;. 00.00 a. mo. . 00m m 0. 0mm . 0.0 N m 00N . 000 N 0 >..500 0.000 5000 0.00 0>.0000 0>03.0 00000300 0N . . . . . . ..00000 0. 000000 0000 0>.0000 >000 000 0 0:. a m moN . 0mm m m mm. . 000 m 0 0003 00000300 000 000.000 0>03.0 >..500 000 0N .05.0 0500 000 00 0000005 000 mmN.o oNa.a : mNm.o mm:.0 N omo.. 000.: m 00>.3 0000 00 00 5000 00000000 000 .00000 00 00 c0 00000300 000 0000030000 0>03.0 >..500 000 oN . . . . . . .000000 0 0>00 00m 0 0:0 a N NNw 0 00: a m .0. . 000 m m 00 0000300 000 0000030000 0>03.0 >..500 000 o. mNmé 000... . $00. 000.... . 0;. 000.0 .0 . .00000 00 00 00 00000300 0000030000 0>03.0 >. .500 000 . 00000 00000 00000 00 000x 0000 00 000: 0000 00 000: 0000 000532 EUU- EU“. EUH- UCUEUUQHW Eva- .Omuz. 00000000 .oo.uz. 000.0500 000030 ..0 : .5... f m .omuz. 00300000 .00000000 000 .000.0500 0000000 0000>0.0 000 000.0 .00300000 000 :00003.00. >..500: 00 0000.00 0500. 00 00000 x:0¢uu.0..a 0.000 114 These findings indicate that. in general. teachers were more concerned about family influence than were students and dropouts. Examining the items and the order in which respondents ranked them. it can be seen that the rankings are close to each other. For example. Items 1 and l0. which are related to family encouragement of students to go to school and have a career. were ranked first and third by students in school and first and second by the teachers; these items were rated fourth and fifth by the dropouts. This may show that the dropouts did not receive encouragement from their families to have a career or continue school. which could have prevented them from leaving school. The lack of encouragement could have been a result of the dropouts' parents' low level of education (see Tables 4.3 and 4.4). All three groups placed much importance on Item 41. which concerned the familyfls feeling about preparing girls to be good wives and mothers at an early age. The reason for this high rating could be that. in a country like Saudi Arabia. marriage is important and consid- ered the real duty of girls. They need to be well prepared to take carerof household duties. their husband. and their children because most of the work inside the house is their responsibility. whereas most of the work outside the house is the husband's duty. As Minces (1982) stated. "once the girl is married. she usually stops work [or school]. Pregnancy soon follows. since the tradition according to which a wife is primarily a bearer of children still exercises a considerable hold over both men and women" (p. 48). 115 However. the dropouts ranked Item 41 first. perhaps because most of them were married (see Table 4.2). This finding could support the notion that their family's feeling about preparing to be a good wife and mother was high. and thus they encouraged their daughters to get married. Also. the dropouts believed in the importance of prepara- tion to be a good wife and mother. and from their marital experience they were either happy or unhappy with their family's preparation of them for this role. Also. dropouts rated Item 32. which concerned the need for the family to provide a good environment for studying. as second in importance. whereas students attending school and teachers rated that item sixth and seventh. respectively. This finding may indicate that dropouts had not enjoyed a good study environment and hence strongly agreed that the family should provide such an environment. The rank order of items in the "teacher influence" category is shown in Table 4.20. This table shows that teachers rated ll of the 12 items in this category as highly influential. Students and dropouts concurred in their ratings of Items 36. 43e. and 43d as first. second. and third. respectively. Teachers rated Items 36 and 43a as third and second. respectively. The overall mean of teachers was 4.311 (SD = 0.351). which was higher than the means of the students. This means that teachers placed more importance on teacher influence than did students. Dropouts had a mean of 3.858 (SD = 0.367). which was higher than the mean of students in school (3.633; SD = 0.560). which means the dropouts placed more I )6 .mm.o ..m.a oom.o mm¢.m som.o mmm.m memos ..mcu>o ..oo:um :— chose. ou m_Lmo ocmeaouco v.30: new. ‘0 >03 tcm u;:~.:u mum.o omm.a N «mm.o cam.: ~ moo.o c:m.: N .muO. cu_3 so.._Emc one 0:: mcvgumou uc.>m: on: ..oocum c_ :_mEoc ou m_c_m ommc=Oocu mmo.o co~.a m sqo._ o_~.: m mn0.o oo«.: m v_:oz mcozumou ozu zu_: uomucoo .ocOmLoo 0.0: on: ._oo£um :— chases ou m_c.u mmm.c owm.£ 0 w0m.— ONm.m h mNN.— Omo.: : OOQLDOUCO t—DOI LO—Omcaou oucmtuao D so muuu>gvm on: 0.6.. ooo.m N. oo:.. o~_.n __ an... Nwo.m N. .Amvsocumou c_mucou exp—nut mucovsum nNa Nmm.o o:M.a n m._._ om~.m o. o_m.o oo~.m w .mucotaum vcmzou oo:u_uum voom a o>os mgozumo» mm . . . . . . .ac.;omou c. 00:0.Lunxo aco— um; o>mz 0:: Nu» a can a n mwu o o.o a _ mam o mwm : _ acogomou omega >.co no.5 9.:o;m m.oo:om .mooa on . . . . . . .>_uuoccou Luzmcm >05» ~_o o o_m a : nmm _ ohm m m can o com m 0 cos: m_c_m unwoco m>~3_m .oo;om c. mcogumo» mm .co_um>_uoe ommocuc_ :MN.O O@J.J m mn_.— Noo.m m m_m.o Cam.m m Ou mucovaum mCOEm comumquEOu cum—aenum ou >5“ .ooxom c. «Locomou 0:“ we umo: mm .oc_£umou cm mom.o oa_.: __ ooo._ cem.m m new.o cum.m o. umOcou:_ “noun a o>mn mcoxomou .>__~cocou mN . . . . . . ....s... ... cam o o- a _ mm. _ eao m o moo _ com m n ccmumcovc: mucocaum oxu o.oz m>m3_m mcozumo» m~ . . . . . . .:o_umo:oo cwozu oacmucOo ou awe 0 cm. a 0. ma. . 050 m : mmo _ owm m m m_g.o oomcsooco m>m3_m .oo;um c. mcocuooh m. .Eo_aoLo m o>n; >ozu cog: on Logo; cmu m_L_o oo~.o o~m.: o omm.. oom.~ N. am... ma~.m _. 50:3 Amcoumgum_cuscm .Lo_omc20o .Locumouv —oo£um ucu :_ ocOOEOm m>mz_m m. cough m— Lovco Levee Luvco am as»: see: om one: saw: om coo: xcmz acesoum~m Logan: Sou. Eva. Evy. Emu. Aomuzv mcogomoh AGO—"2‘ vwcwnEOu H m DCQOL ...cm.u ;s__ new gem AOm z. s a .wcozumou vcm .voc_aEOU whoomco suco>o_u vcm Lac—c .mu30o05v to. :ouco:_ucm Locumou: on ovum—u; mEou_ uo gouge xcnxn-.o~.a o_nm» 117 importance on teacher influence than did students who wereestill in school. By examining the individual item means. it can be seen that all groups were relatively similar in their mean ratings of the items. although differences existed in terms of item rank orders. Item 25. which concerned the fact that the teachers always help students under- stand the subject. was ranked first by teachers. whereas students and dropouts ranked it sixth and seventh. respectively. The reason for this discrepancy could be the teachers' Judgment of themselves as being helpful for students all the time. Students did not share this percep- tion. The dropouts ranked Item 43c. which was related to the need for services of a guidance counselor to encourage girls to remain in school. in fourth place. Students attending school and teachers ranked this item seventh and sixth. respectively. The dropouts were probably older than the students still in school (see Table 4.1%. and therefore their school experience had been some time ago. Perhaps the school situation was worse then. and that is why they perceived a need to improve the counseling situation. Perhaps the students attending school were not facing such problems and therefore placed less importance on counseling. Teachers. also. might have been satisfied with the Job they were doing. Teachers' ranking of Item 35 (Teachers always praise girls when they answer correctly). was fourth highest. whereas students and drop- outs ranked it sixth and eighth. respectively. Perhaps teachers again 118 felt they were doing a good Job of teaching. whereas students and dropouts were not completely satisfied in that regard. Teachers supported this positive view of themselves in ranking Item 15. concerning the help they provide to students when they have problems. as eighth. However. students and dropouts differed in their perceptions of this item. ranking it eleventh and twelfth. respectively. Neither students. dropouts. nor teachers believed that students dislike their teachers. They ranked Item 42b. which concerned that matter. in eleventh and twelfth place. respectively. Table4.Zl shows that teachers rated 7 of the l4 items in the "student attitude" category as very influential. Students and dropouts. respectively. rated 5 and 6 of the 14 items as very influ- ential. By looking at Table 4.2l. it can be seen that dropouts had a mean of 3.634 (SD = 0.486). students in school had a mean of 3.743 (SD = 0.743). and teachers had a mean of 3.894 (SD = 0.366). Thus all three groups considered students' attitudes toward school an influen- tial factor associated with students remaining in or leaving school. Moreover. the three groups' means were close to each other. yet rank- ings of individual items differed among the three groups. Item l4. related to the possibility of girls continuing to work their way to college. was ranked first by students in school and teachers. whereas it was ranked ninth by dropouts. This difference might have existed because most of the dropouts (8%) were married (see 119 oom.o :mw.m oma.o maN.m mm:.o amw.m memos ..ouv>o ..oosom c. c.mEoc o. m...@ umncaouco maN.o oom.a N owo.o ome.a N moa.o ch.a . v.30) ocognmoeum .oo:um o>.ucooo:m one >.vcu.cu .ma ..oo;um c. c.mEoL cu m...@ oomcaouco oom.o caN.a : N.m.. ma:.m o. :om.o ooN.a N v.30; mu.u.>.uom .ooxum c. co.umo.u.ucmo 0.0: mm: . . . . . . ..oo;om c. c.maoc o. m.c.m omccaooco v.30: mo. . 0:0 a N am: . ON. m .. mmN . oaN m N co.uo:.unc. .m:v.>.vc. ocoE cu.) mommm.u so..mEm one . . . . . . .u>.u.uvosoo o¢m . wa N a. .N: . omm N m. oma o owN N a. new o...mOc mm: ocogomosuo .oozum 0;» xNa NMN.. oem.m .. .om.. ooo.m N. mN... mmm.N N. .xao: .oosom c. noumocouc_ so: use: m.t_u .Na 0.N.. oNe.n m omN.. omo.m o w.... oN..m .. .vauoomnan c.mucoo ox..m.v m...u uNa . . . . . . ..oo;om ou mc.oo co>o 060; an ac. mmN . co. m m. maN . 0N: N :. Nmo . co. m o. ...03 nocco.ogo >ogu omamuoo .ooxom uuo. m.c.u 0N: . . . . . . . , .o... _o_uo. vooa m Nmm . own m N. moN .. cow m a mNN . com N N. o>os cmo m.c.m wees: oum.o >.co «cu m. .oozow MN me.o ow..a m m.N.o com.: a mwN.o oo..: : ..oo:um um mono... coca >cme o>mc m.c.o m. . . . . . . .vmu_.0u Du >m3 5.0;. ma: 0 mmn : . omN o N.N a . .JN . omw m m 4.03 ...: >m£u .c.mom oucmsu Uta o>m£ v.5.0 N. :— .o.o .mo...>..um .m.o0m .mna.o o...ucv.om m.m.o owm.m w w.N.. :mN.m N mNm.o oao.: o ccm u.Eoomom .muLOQm mm seam mo.u.>.uom .cocom c. oumo.u.ucmo ou ox.. m>m3.m m.c.u m. .mo.. oom.n o. o:N.o moo.a m mNo.o om..a m .mommm.o oz. .0 ..m ucouum o. o... n>mz.m m.c.o @ . . . . . . .wuuomnam .auom: ncm 0:.umocouc. mmo . oo. : o mmo . 0mm m m ... . OON m m .o .o. m mco>0u E:.:o..a:o .oozom oz» m . . . . . . .mu.u.>.uum No ..3. mmm 0 one a m mwm o ooN : m w.o . coo : m use m.c_o Lo. u.nm>omco m. .OOLum ou oc.ou a goose cacao covco cm can: xcmm am one: game om coo: xcmz to E: Eva. Ew._ 56.. acoEoumum Ewu_z AGO—H2. vwcmnECu fl mLO UGO .om 2. z N maoccto L... can ;.m Aomuzv wuaoaoco .mcozomuu new .ouc.n50o mcocmca ;.co>o.o vcm s.c.c .muaoaocv to. :oc:....m .cooaum: 0. 60.0.0. many. .0 house xcm¢-I..N.e u.nmh 120 Table 4.2). and most of them (64%) had no plans to continue their education (see Table 4.16). Most of the students attending school (88%) were single (see Table 4.2). and 71% of them were planning to graduate from college (see Table 4.16). Perhaps teachers ranked this item first because they were interacting with students in school and knew their desire to complete college. Item 6. related to the 91 r1 5' school attendance. was ranked third by dropouts and students attending school. whereas teachers ranked this item tenth. This indicates that the girls were happy with their class attendance; most of them attended all of their classes (see Table 4.14). Teachers seemed unhappy with the 91 rls' school attendance and may have thought the students should have 100% attendance records. Item 43f. concerning whether more participation in school activities would encourage girls to remain in school. was ranked second and fourth by dropouts and teachers. respectively. and tenth by stu- dents attending school. Perhaps the dropouts ranked this item high in influence because at the time they were in school. a few years ago (see Tables 4.1. 4.8. 4.9. and 4.11). there were fewer school activities than at present. and participating in such activities might have helped keep them in school. Students in school ranked this item much lower in influence. perhaps because they were satisfied with their participation in school activities and did not consider such participation to be influential in the decision to continue schooling. Teachers. like dropouts. were not satisfied with students' participation in school activities. perhaps because teachers are the educational leaders and 121 believe that such participation would provide further skills to the students. Item 43b. related to the fact that smaller classes with more individual instruction would have encouraged girls to remain in school. was ranked seventh by dropouts and teachers. while it was ranked eleventh by students attending school. Perhaps when the dropouts left school the classes contained more students than they do now because the government has opened additional classes. which has reduced the number of pupils in each class. Students attending school were not aware of what it would be like to have larger classes. so they indicated satisfaction with present class sizes. Teachers were not completely satisfied with class sizes; even though classes were small. they preferred even smaller ones to make their teaching more effective. Table 4.22 shows that teachers rated five of the nine items in the "marriage and pregnancy" category as very influential. Students and dropouts rated only two of the nine items as very influential. By looking at Table 4.22. one can see that teachers placed more importance on marriage and pregnancy. with a mean of 3.945 (SD = (L315). than did students or dropouts. Students attending school placed more importance on this factor than did dropouts (mean = 3.506. SD = 0.424). Dropouts placed the least importance on this factor. with a mean of 3.316 (SD = 0.486). Some similarities as well as some differences existed among the three groups in terms of their rankings of individual items. 122 mam.m m.m.o :N:.o oom.m ooa.o o.m.m mcmoe ..mco>o . . . . . . .co. ocmu ou coco..co co mom.o owm.a : Nmm.. mm:.m m moo.. ooo.N o .ocmcooco ocoz >ocu omamooo .OOcum uoo. m.c.u EN: . . . . . . ..oocom o>oo. .oo . oaN a m Now . o.. m o oN: . oam N m o. soc. ooucmz moocm.. co mocmnmac .m.c.o .N: on... ooo.m o NoN.. omm.m m Nmm.o .mm.N m .... ocoz >ocu omamoon .oo;om goo. m.c.o 0N: . . . . . . .co.omo:oo cocoon. oac.ucou NNo o on : m Nmo o om: : N New 0 can a . ou mo>.3 c.ocu oomc:0ucu v.205m ntcmanaz NN . . . . . . .oom.ccmE ocm Now 0 can m N .om o on N o m.N . .oo m : .OOcom coon oomcmE coo m.c.o umzu xc.;u . .N . . . . . . .co.umo:vo cocm.c o>oc ou ucmu N.N 0 com a N amo 0 one a . mNm o maN : N -cooE. m. u. .cozuoa ocm 0..) 100m u on oh N. . . . . . . . ..oogom as on as moo . oao N w m:. . ooo m N No. . ooN m m cmeoz to.ccmE o co. u.:o..u.v >oo> m. u. o . . . . . . ..oo:Um ou oc.om coco m.c.o co. acoucoos. o:m o ooN N m mom o oMN . m 0mm . oNN N o 0.06 m. to.ccmE oc.uuoo “any xc.zu _ N Luvoo Lovco cooco om coo: xcmz om coo: xcmm om coo: xcmz copes: EUu- EUH— EWu— “CUEUUNum EQU- u .oo.uz. ooc.oEOU 1 Aom z. mcocomoh mcctmco c... ocm £.m .omuzv musoaoco .mcocomou ocm .ooc.osou mcoomco coco>o.o vcm c.c.c .mo30ooco co. :>ocmcooco ucm oom.come: ou oo~m.oc mEou. .0 ounce xcm¢u1.NN.a o.nmh 123 All three groups seemed to agree about the importance of Items 17 and 27. which concerned the importance for girls to have higher education to be good wives and mothers. and the need for husbands to encourage their wives to continue further education. Items 8 and 21. which concerned the difficulty of alnarried woman going to school and the ability of girls to manage both school and marriage. were ranked third and fourth by the dropouts. whereas they were ranked seventh and eighth by teachers and students attending school. This means that the dropouts. most of whom were married (see Table 4.2) already had experience with marriage and believed it would be difficult for a married woman to go to school. Yet they also believed that although it would be difficult for them to go to school. it would be possible to manage both school and marriage. Perhaps that is why dropouts agreed more with these two items than did students or teachers. Most of the current students were single and thus had no basis on which to judge whether marriage and schooling could be com- bined. but they did not believe girls can manage both school and marriage and hence ranked these two items seventh and eighth. The teachers were very likely to be married. but they were going to school. so from their experience they did not believe that it would be difficult for a married woman to attend school. Hence they placed less agreement on this item. ‘Yet they did not believe that girls can manage both school and marriage. and that may indicate that teachers did not think going to school is difficult in itself. but rather the difficulty lies in managing both school and marriage. The teachers may have found 124 that if they performed their household and child care duties well. they sacrificed some of their school work. and vice versa. Item 42o. related to the influence of illness on girl 5' attri- tion. was ranked third by students in school; it was ranked sixth and ninth by teachers and dropouts. respectively. Students attending school might have placed more importance on illness as an influence in girl 5' attrition because they felt illness was a good excuse or reason for students to leave school. However. the dropouts themselves had been forced to leave school by other important factors. such as hus- band. family. or teachers (see Table 4.17). That may be why they placed less importance on illness as an influential reason for dropping out of school. Likewise. dropouts did not agree that having children is an important reason for girls to drop out of school. They rated Item 42n. concerning the influence of child care on gi rls' attrition. in seventh place. whereas teachers and students attending school ranked it first and fourth. respectively. Dropouts' rating of this item also shows that they had had more important reasons than child care for leaving school (see Table 4.17) and that may explain why they placed less importance than teachers and students on this factor. Table 4.23 shows that teachers rated two of the six items in the “student achievement" category as very influential. Students rated one of the six items as very influential and one item as noninfluen- tial. Dropouts rated none of the six items as very influential but 1255 N.o.o oNo.m mom.o mm:.m omm.o NN..m ncooE ..oco>o .co.uo:.o>o .o amo.. ooN.a . mom.o owN.: . no... oam.m . oocuoe >.co ozu mo mono .oacco co oucovcoooo mmo. m. ococu amoouoa .OO:Um c. c.oEoc m.c.o cm: .mmoo ou om... TIA m mom. om..m m N»... oomN m for. mozsoxo .oacco o5 0330.. .093... Co. 3.... “Na . . . . . . .ouoco oEom 0:. uooooc ou acoz uOc o.o woo . ooo a N on: . NMN m : NMN . owm N : oco oc...o. 0.03 >05. omsouon .oosum you. m.c.o 5N: . . . . . . .nococ30um.v 0503 van .OOLUm c. ccoo. .om . ooo m m :oN . ooN m m we. . oem N m uoc v.300 >ocu omaoova .oocom you. m.c.o oNa . . . . . . .xcozoso: MNN . oN. m o Nam . 0.: N o No. . cam N o o5. .o omaouon .oo;um coo: m.c.o .m . . . . . . .mo>.omEo;u ouo:.o>o Sosa mmo . on m : mmo . on m N omo . ooo m N mo.oc u. omaooon mono oc.xou o... m.c.o om cooco couco cotco om coo: xcox om coo: xcoz om coo: xcox 5096:: 50.. So“. Eou. “COEououm Sou. Aomuzv wcocuooh .oc_»z. eocmpeco ..acm.o c... use gum AOmuzv muaoooco oco .voc.n20o .mcocooou mcoooco cuco>o.o vco cuc.c .muaoo0ct co. :.coeo>o.;uo ucovaum: on touo.0c meow. No oovco xcoxan.MN.a u.noh 126 rated four of the six items as noninfluential. All three groups con- curred in rating Item 43h in first place. By looking at Table 4.23. one can see that teachers placed more importance on student achievement. with a mean of 3.620 (SD = 0.617). than did students attending school. However. students placed more importance on this factor than did dropouts (students'lnean = 3.438. 50 = 0.595; dropouts' mean = 3.177. SD = 0.596). Both similarities and differences existed in the three groups' rankings of individual items. All three groups agreed that less dependency on annual exams as the only method of evaluation would encourage girls to remain in school; all groups rated Item 43h in first pl ace. Exams were seen as helping students evaluate themselves; students and dropouts ranked Item 30 second. whereas teachers ranked it fourth. These two items showed that the girls agreed exams are one of several ways to evaluate them- selves. but they disagreed about the annual exam being the only means of evaluation. The teachers disagreed somewhat with the students about girls liking to take exams to help evaluate themselves; they rated this item fourth in importance. All three groups agreed that homework is not a reason for girls to hate school; Item 31 was ranked sixth by all respondent groups. Teachers felt that girls leave school because they are failing; hence they ranked Item 42h in second place. Students and dropouts disagreed with teachers on this item because they knew they were not failing (see Tables 4.8. 4.9. and 4.15) and thus ranked this item fourth in importance. 127 Dropouts did not agree that the reason for attrition was the inability to learn. That is why they ranked Item 42d in fifth place. Students attending school agreed with teachers in giving this item a higher rating (both groups rated it third). perhaps because they thought their ability to learn was a reason for them to»continue in school. Table 4.24 shows that teachers rated only 1 of the 11 items in the "sex role" category as very influential. whereas students rated 2 of the 11 items as very influential. None of the items was rated very influential by the dropouts. Examining the overall means for the three respondent groups. it can be seen that dropouts placed slightly greater importance on sex role than did either teachers of students still attending school (drop- outs' mean = 3.382. SD = 0.432; teachers' mean = 3.342. SD = 0.495; students' mean = 3.299. SD = 0.428). This indicates that dropouts were somewhat more concerned about their female status than were teachers or students in school. Comparing the groups' rankings of individual items. it was noted that their rankings were close to each other. All three groups placed much importance on Items 11 and 12. related to boys and girls having the same chance and opportunity to go to school. as well as the importance for girls to continue their educa- tion even after they getlnarried. Thus all three respondent groups believed in the importance of education for girls. ranking these items in either first or second place. None of the groups thought education was less important for girls than for boys; hence they placed very 12E§ mma.c Nam.m oN:.o mmN.m Nma.o Nom.m mcooe ..oco>o . . . . . . ..OOLom 0“ Eocu oxou o. oco 0c co: Nos. cco on . .mm m N mom . com N o mNm . coo N c. .oso; 50.. co. mo: u. onzoooa .OOcom goo. m.c.o .N: . . . . . . .cosoz cco cos coozuoo o.cmco.uo.oc oNN . coo m a NNo . c:. m N mom . ooN m a oc.xcox o ooocaooco uoc mooo >uo.00m 0:» on . . . . . . .o.:mcoooo. c. oococo .oaoo co to: mm. . s.~ m m mw~ _ sac s _ an. _ ..0 m o case: an. cos .. ....uo. ...... a on v.30: .. an . . . . . . .oeoc Noam co .OOcom ou oo o. . . . . . . .m.c.o co» m. a. coco mNm . co. m m ooN . oaN m o omm . co. m N co.uoo:oo osc.uc0u ou m>oo co. co.moo m. u. NN . . . . . . .m.c.o co. m. a. coco 30m oco coocou mNm . com N o N.m . com N c. 3mm . coo N .. o o>oc ea m>oo co» acouoooe. oooe m. a. o. . . . . . . .oo.ccos muoo ocm coauo co>o co.uou:oo can o aNN a . MNN .. cNo a N Nm. . cam m N co: oac.ucOo cu .c.@ o co. acoucone. m. u. N. . . . . . . ..OOcom o. oo ou >o.c:ucoooo Non . on m N mN. . cNo m N Na. . cam m . oco oococo OEon oou o>oz m.c.o vco m>oo .. . . . . . . .m.c.o coco co.aou:oo oac..c0o mam . co: N .. .No . 0.: N .. mo: . coo N m 0“ m>on Leo acoucoos. ocoe m. a. xc.cu . o No... com.N 0. ooa.. cmo.N m on.. com.N o .wcozo..oo ocu oo v.:o:m c0203 oco wcoooo. osu on m>o3.o v.=ocm cos yoga xc.cu . N ON... 8.... m .2. $9. a 8... 08.. m .86. 8 so... 2;... 2 €2.28 89. is... 2.8 m cooco coocc coocc om coo: xcoz om coo: xcox om coo: xcoa sou. so». Eo.. ucoEouoom chwflz .omuz. mcocooo» .oo.uz. noc.neou mLUUOLU £up— DCQ £um AOmIZV mHDCQCLO .mcocuoou cco .noc.oE0o moococa cuco>o.o oco cuc.c .moaoooco co. :o.o. xom: ou oouo.oc msou. mo covco xcox--.aN.a o.aoN 129 little importance on Items 9 and 16. which were related to its being more important for boys to have education and a career than for girls. Students in school ranked Item 34 in first place. while it was ranked fifth and sixth by teachers and dropouts. respectively.- This item related to the fact that it would be a better society if men and women had an equal chance for leadership. Rankings on this item can be explained by the fact that students in school were the youngest of the three groups (see Table 4.0). and most of them were single (see Table 4.2). In addition. they had plans to continue their education (see Table 4.16). Perhaps their thinking was different from or more moder- ate than that of the other groups. so they believed in women's equality in leadership more than did the other respondents. Table 4.25 shows the rank ordering of the six factors by the dropouts. ninth and eleventh graders. and teachers. Dropouts perceived all six factors to be moderately influential. They considered teacher influence to be the foremost of the factors having a moderate influence on school attrition. followed by student attitude. family influence. sex role.lnarriage and pregnancy. and student achievement. in that order. This group did not perceive any of the factors to be noninflu- ential. Ninth and eleventh graders who were still attending school also considered all six factors to be moderately influential. None of the factors was considered highly influential or noninfluential. Teacher influence was seen to be the first factor in terms of influence. 130 o::.c omm.m o mm:.o Ncm.m o oma.c NNm.m o oNa.o mmN.m o Nm:.c Nom.m : o.0c xom o.o.o o.:.m m N.o.c cNo.m m ooo.c .mm.m m mom.o oma.m m omm.c NN..m o ucoEo>o.coo .covaum m3... 3m.m .. 2m... TEA m 3.... S: .. :2... 8m; .. 23.0 Ema m 35.6.8... .3... 32:2 ..:.c :mN.m m oom.o :mo.m : o.:.c NoN.m N om:.o maN.m . mom.c amo.m N oozu.u.o ucovsum mam.o oNN.m N oma.o a...: N .mm.c moo.m m .cm.o .mo.m N m.m.c moo.m n oucoa..c. >..Eo. aem.c mmo.m . .mm.c ..m.a . :.m.o ooN.m . ooo.c mmo.m m Nom.c omo.m . ouco:..c. cocoooh .330 .530 .530 ..o—v.5 cocoa om coo: xcox om coo: xcox om coo: xcox om coo: xcoz om coo: xcox LOUUQK LOUUOK .509ka LOUUQK LOUUQK LOUUMH ooc.oEOUmcocoooNcco mcocoooh coc.oEoom.:oaoco coc.oEoU mcococo mu30o0co mu30o0co.m.coc:.m..< cco mocooaum ..< Loco...” ecu soc_z .uoc.oEOo mo30ca ..o vco .mcocooou ..oc;om oc.ccouuo mucocaum .muaooocc co. mcouoo. x.m osu No couco xcoxu-.mN.a o.aoh 131 followed by student attitude. family influence. marriage and pregnancy. student achievement. and sex role. Whereas dropouts and ninth and eleventh graders did not per- ceive any of the six factors to be highly influential. the teacher group perceived two of the six factors--teacher influence and family influence. in that order--to be highly influential. 1116 remaining four factors were considered moderately influential. Their order of influ- ence was as follows: marriage and pregnancy. student attitude. student achievement. and sex role. Teachers agreed with the dropouts and ninth and eleventh graders that none of the six factors was noninfluential. WW llie results of statistically testing the three hypotheses for- mulated for the study are presented in this section. To answer the first research questionnWhat are the most influential factors associ- ated with school dropout rates at the intermediate level in Saudi girls' schools?--the items and factors were rank ordered by their means. and descriptive statistics were employed. Data for the first question were discussed in the preceding section of this chapter. The second research question asked: How do students who have dropped out differ from those who are attending school. in terms of the factors identified as associated with female dropouts? To answer this question. Hypothesis 1 was formulated. It states: mm: There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between students who have dropped out and those who have not dropped out concerning their identification of the most influential factors associated with premature school leaving in secondary gi rl 5' schools. 132 To test the hypothesis and determine whether there was a significant difference between the two groups. a multivariate analysis of variance was used. with the criterion for significance set.at the.05 alpha level. Results of the multivariate test of significance for Hypothe- sis l are shown in Table’4.26. The overall difference on the six factors between dropouts and students attending school was shown to be statistically significant at p < 0.001. Hence the first hypothesis was rejected in favor of the alternative--that differences did exist between the two groups. Table 4.26.-~Results of the multivariate test of significance for Hypothesis 1: Differences between dropouts and students attending school. Test Name F-Value dfa Significance of F Wilks 5.939 6.143 0.000* aDegrees of freedom (df) was found from the equation df = N - R - l. N is the number of respondents. which was 150 (50 dropouts and 100 students attending school) in this situation. K is the variable num- ber. which in this situation was 6 because the researcher was attempt- ing to find the statistical difference on all six factors. Therefore. 150 - 6 - l = 143. *Significant at p < 0.001. A univariate analysis of variance was used to determine on which specific factor(s) statistically significant differences existed between the two groups: dropouts and students attending school. Table 133 1L2? presents the results of this analysis. On all six factors. significant differences existed between dropouts and students attending school. regarding their ratings of the importance of each factor. Table 4.27.--Results of univariate F-test for dropouts versus students attending school. Hypothesis Error Signif. Factor Mean Square Mean Square F of F Teacher Influence 2062.618 0.254 8108.568 0.000* Family Influence 2013.000 0.283 7117.379 0.000* Student Attitude 2060.907 0.171 12015.963 0.000* Marriage 8 Pregnancy 1778.169 0.199 8942.301 0.000* Student Achievement 1684.492 0.354 4753.366 0.000* Sex Role 1660.007 0.184 9001.238 0.000* df = 1.148. Degrees of freedom (df) = N - K - 1. Since N = 150. K - 1 because the researcher was trying to find the significant difference on each factor. Therefore. 150 - l - l = 148. *Significant at p < 0.001. To determine how much importance each of the two groups (dropouts and students attending school) placed on each of the six factors. means and standard deviations were computed for each factor. by respondent group. These data are shown in Table 4.28. As shown in the table. not much difference existed between the means of the two groups. Hence the significant differences between the two groups might have been caused by the large difference in sample sizes (dropouts = 50. students attending school = 100). which made even slight differ- ences be seen as significant. 134 Table 4.28.--Means and standard deviations for dropouts and for students attending school. Students Attending Factor Dropouts School Mean S.D. Mean S.D. Teacher Influence 3.858 0.367 3.633 0.560 Family Influence 3.608 0.513 3.691 0.541 Student Attitude 3.634 0.365 3.743 0.436 Marriage 8 Pregnancy 3.316 0.486 3.506 0.424 Student Achievement 3.177 0.596 3.438 0.595 Sex Role 3.382 0.431 3.299 0.428 Although both groups considered all six factors to be influen- tial. dropouts placed more importance on teacher influence and sex role than did students who were still attending schoofl. Students attending school placed more importance than dropouts on the other four factors: family influence. student attitude.:narriage and pregnancy. and student achievement. The reason dropouts placed more importance on teacher influence may be that their experience with teachers differed from that of students attending school. From Table 4.1 it can be seen that dropouts' ages were mostly between 23 and 27. Since the students attending school were mainly between 14 and 17 years old. and since most of the dropouts and current students had passed most grades (see Table 4.14). this indicates that the dropouts had left school several years ago. Thus their experiences with teachers might have differed from those of students presently attending school. For example. at 135 present there are more Saudi female teachers than before. and Saudi teachers are more familiar with the country's culture and teaching methods than are foreigners. Besides. Saudi girls spend most of their time at home; as a result. they are very sensitive. and if they have some teachers who treat them harshly. they may wish to leave school. The dropouts placed more importance on sex role than did students who were still attending school; maybe they were unhappy with their status as a Saudi female. Table 4.2 shows that about 90% of the dropouts were married; perhaps that explains why they thought their sex role was an important factor since their job. as a Saudi female. is to care for the household and the children. They are not opposed to marriage. because Saudi males can get married and still go to school or to work. but it is much more difficult for married women to do so. Students who were attending school placed more importance on the other four factors: family influence. student attitude. marriage and pregnancy. and student achievement. In terms of family influence. students attending school seemed to have better-educated parents than did the dropouts (see Tables 4.3 and 4.4). That might be one reason why they are still attending school: Educated parents know the importance of education and therefore insist that their children continue in school. Having better-educated parents might also be a reason students attending school placed more importance on student attitude and student achievement. If students' parents are well educated. they may try to 136 instill in their children a positive attitude toward school. which also would help pupils achieve well academically. Students attending school might have placed more importance on marriage and pregnancy than did dropouts because they knew that in order to continue their education. they should refrain from getting married. That might explain why the unmarried students were still in school and why the married students were primarily dropouts (see Table 4.2). The third research question asked: How do intermediate school girls differ from secondary school girls in identifying the most influ- ential factors associated with school leaving or continuation? Hypoth- esis 2 was formulated to answer the third research question. It states: Hypoth§§1542: There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between girls attending intermediate schools and girls attend- ing secondary schools concerning their perception about the most influential factors associated with premature school leaving in secondary gi r1 5' schools. The results of the multivariate test of significance for Hypothesis 2 are presented in Table 4.29. The overall difference on the six factors between ninth- and eleventh-grade students was significant at p < 0.001. Thus Hypothesis 2 was rejected because the two groups of students perceived the importance of the factors differ- ently. A univariate test was employed to determine on which factor(s) significant differences existed between the two respondent groups. 137 Table 4.30 shows the results of this analysis. Two factors. teacher influence and student attitude. had significant F-values. Table 4.29.--Resul ts of the multivariate test of significance for Hypothesis 2: Differences between ninth- and eleventh- grade students. Test Name F—Value dfa Significance of F Wilks 5.029 6.93 0.000* aDegrees of freedom (df) = N - K - 1 = 100 (50 ninth graders and 50 eleventh graders) - 6 - 1 = 93. *Significant at p < 0.001. Table 4.30.--Results of univariate F-test for ninth- versus eleventh- grade students. Hypothesis Error Signif. Factor Mean Square Mean Square F of F Teacher Influence 4.739 0.268 17.650 0.000* Family Influence 0.422 0.291 1.452 0.231 Student Attitude 2.123 0.171 12.442 0.001* Marriage 8 Pregnancy 0.029 0.182 0.164 0.686 Student Achievement 0.967 0.348 2.781 0.099 Sex Role 0.349 0.182 1.920 0.169 df = 1. 98. Degrees of freedom (df) = N - K - l = 100 - l - l = 98. *Significant at p < 0.001. To determine how much importance each of the two groups (ninth and eleventh graders) placed on each of the six factors. means 138 and standard deviations were computed for each factor. by student group (see Table 4.31). El eventh-grade students placed more importance on teacher influence. family influence. student attitude. student achievement. and sex role than did ninth graders. Conversely. ninth graders placed more importance on marriage and pregnancy than eleventh graders did. Table 4.31.--Means and standard deviations for ninth- and eleventh- grade students. Ninth Graders Eleventh Graders Factor Mean S.D. Mean S.D. Teacher Influence 3.415 0.546 3.851 0.488 Family Influence 3.626 0.646 3.756 0.406 Student Attitude 3.597 0.412 3.888 0.414 Marriage 8 Pregnancy 3.524 0.451 3.489 0.401 Student Achievement 3.340 0.633 3.537 0.542 Sex Role 3.240 0.413 3.358 0.439 As shown in Table 4.31. e1 eventh-grade students placed more importance on teacher influence and student attitude. which might be the reason for their continuing in school. Eleventh graders were probably older than ninth graders (see Table 4.1) and could have had closer friendships with the teachers than did the younger students. This might explain why they thought teacher influence was an important factor in studentsfl leaving school or continuing in school. Ninth 139 graders might be a little young to form friendships with the teachers. and they could be less sensitive than the older girls. Eleventh graders also placed more importance on student attitude than did ninth graders. The reason for this difference might be age. as eleventh graders were probably older than ninth graders (see Table 4.1). Therefore. they might have higher sel f-esteem and feel more independent. and thus feel they have the right to decide whether to leave school or continue. Although no significant difference existed between ninth and eleventh graders on the other four factors. the eleventh graders had higher means on family influence. student achievement. and sex role. Conversely. ninth graders rated marriage and pregnancy higher than eleventh graders did. Perhaps eleventh graders placed more importance on family influence than did ninth graders because their parents were an important factor in their continuing in school since they did not drop out after intermediate school. whereas ninth graders were still not sure if they would continue in school. By looking at Tables 4.3 and 4N4. one can see that the eleventh graders had the lowest percentage of illiterate fathers and mothers. which could have been a factor that encouraged these girls to continue in school. Also. theieleventh graders rated student achievement higher than did ninth graders. which may indicate that the eleventh graders had higher achievement in school and for this reason were continuing in school. Table 4.9 shows that 86% of the eleventh graders had spent only three years in intermediate school. and only 14% of them had spent 140 four years there. whereas 78% of the ninth graders were in their third year of intermediate school. 14% of them had spent four years there. and 8% had spent five or more years in intermediate school. This finding may givelan indication that the eleventh graders had better academic achievement than the ninth graders. which encouraged them to continuelin school and explains why they placed more importance on student achievement as a reason for continuing in school. This assertion can also be supported by Table 4.15. which shows that 80% of the eleventh graders passed all their courses with good grades and just 6% of them passed all their courses with poor grades. Conversely. only 64% of the ninth graders passed all courses with good grades and 8% passed with poor grades. Only 14% of the eleventh graders failed one or two courses. while 22% of the ninth graders had done so. Thus it appears that the eleventh graders achieved better in school than did the ninth graders. which kept them continuing in school and led them to rate student achievement higher than the ninth graders did. Moreover. the eleventh graders rated sex role higher than the ninth graders did. The reason for that could be related to the fact that the eleventh graders were older than the ninth graders. were concerned about their sex role and were not happy with it. wanted to prove that men should not necessarily be the leaders andlwomen'the followers. and felt that by continuing their education they can be equal to men. Contrariwise. ninth graders rated marriage and pregnancy higher than did eleventh graders did. This could be related to the fact that 141 most attrition takes place after intermediate school. and most dropouts get married (see Table 4.2). Thus the ninth graders were not sure if they would continue school. and recognized that one of the factors influencing them to drop out could be marriage. However. the eleventh graders had been able to resist such threats to their continuation in school and thus did not rate this factor high in importance. The third research question asked: How do teachers and students differ on the identification of factors most associated with school leaving among secondary-school girls? To answer this question. Hypothesis 3 was formulated. It states: W: There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between students who have not dropped out and teachers concern- ing their identification of the most influential factors associated with premature school leaving in secondary girls! schools. Results of the multivariate test of significance for Hypothesis 3 are presented in Table 4.32. As shown in the table. the overall difference on the six factors between students attending school and teachers was significant at p < 0.001. Therefore. the third hypothesis was rejected because the two groups differed on the importance of the six.factors. A univariate test was employed to determine on which factor(s) significant differences existed between the two respondent groups. Table 4.33 shows the results of this analysis. Four factors. teacher influence. family influence. student attitude. and marriage and preg- nancy. had significant F-val ues. 142 Table 4.32.--Results of the multivariate test of significance for Hypothesis 3: Difference between students attending school and teachers. Test Name F-Value dfa Significance 9f F Wilks 17.497 6.143 0.000* aDegrees of freedom (df) = N - 6 - l = 150 (100 students attending school and 50 teachers) - 6 - 1 = 143. *Significant at p < 0.001. Table 4.33.--Resul ts of univariate F-test for students attending school versus teachers. Hypothesis Error Signif. Factor Mean Square Mean Square F of F Teacher Influence 15.309 0.251 61.098 0.000** Family Influence 5.964 0.257 23.228 0.000** Student Attitude 0.764 0.172 4.450 0.037* Marriage 8 Pregnancy 6.427 0.153 41.904 0.000** Student Achievement 1.100 0.362 3.032 0.084 Sex Role 0.061 0.204 0.298 0.586 df = l. 148. Degrees of freedom (df) = N - l - l = 150 - l - l = 148. *Significant at p < 0.05. **Significant at p < 0.001. To determine how much importance each of the two groups (students attending school and teachers) placed on each of the six factors. means and standard deviations were computed for each factor. by respondent group. These data are shown in Table 4.34. As shown in the table. teachers placed more importance on all six factors than did the students attending school. 143 Table 4.34.--Means and standard deviations for students attending school and teachers. Students Attending Factor School Teachers Mean S.D. Mean S.D. Teacher Influence 3.633 0.560 4.311 0.351 Family Influence 3.691 0.541 4.114 0.430 Student Attitude 3.743 0.436 3.894 0.366 Marriage 8 Pregnancy 3.506 0.424 3.945 0.314 Student Achievement 3.438 0.595 3.620 0.617 Sex Role 3.299 0.428 3.342 0.495 Teachers placed more importance on teacher influence than did the other two groups. perhaps because they knew how much influence they have. either positive or negative. on students! decision to remain in school or to drop out. Also. teachers placed more importance on family influence. maybe because the teachers themselves were mothers and knew how much influence they have on their children. and especially because they had a high level of education and were concerned about their children's schooling. Teachers also placed more importance on student attitude and student achievement. This may have been because the dropouts and students only knew themselves. but the teachers were faced with different students every year and thus had a more complete picture of 144 the influence of students' attitudes and achievement on their decision to leave school or continue their education. Also. because most of the teachers were married and yet had been able to continue their education. they probably had a very positive attitude toward school. which had encouraged than to pursue their own education. Moreover. the teachers placed more importance on marriage and pregnancy and sex role than did dropouts or students attending school. This may have been because of teachers' experience with Saudi females. who tend to leave school as soon as they get married. Yet perhaps. for the students themselves. other factors than the marriage itself had influenced them to quit school after marrying. For example. their parents might have pressured them to leave school. or they might have had to move to another city. W Because it was difficult for the researcher to engage in personal interviews because she is a female. interviews were conducted with only 15 students who had dropped out of school. (They were not among the 50 dropouts who responded to the questionnaire.) The inter- views. which lasted about 45 minutes each. took place in the respond- ents' homes. Interviews were conducted to support the questionnaire responses and to discover other factors that may have been involved in students' decisions to leave school. The investigator learned a great deal about the dropouts while she was conducting the interviews. Because most of the girls were 145 nervous about being interviewed. the investigator spent about 15 minutes before commencing the questioning. talking about topics of a general nature to make the respondents feel more at ease. Several of the inter- viewees served a beverage before the formal interview began. In general. the dropouts who were interviewed seemed to have a high socioeconomic level. In most cases. the environment was conducive to the interview. In two homes. however. there were numerous interrup- tions from the respondents' children or the telephone; in these instances the investigator waited quite some»time until the respondents could give their undivided attention to the interview. The interview contained nine questions. Responses were coded. and similar answers were combined for purposes of the discussion. W: How old are you now? How old were you when you dropped out of school? ‘Besponses. Fifteen girls who had left school responded to the question. The present age of the respondents ranged from 17 to 25. The ages at which they dropped out of school ranged from 15 to 18. 1nIgLn:e11119n_o£_nespgn§es. The responses to the first inter- view question showed that the dropouts had left school several years ago. Their present ages ranged from 17 to 25. whereas they had been 15 to 18 years old when they left school. .Question_2: Are you married? If yes. how many children do you have? 335923535. Fifteen dropouts responded to Question 2. Responses to the first part of the question were: 146 --Yes. I am married (14 out of 15) --No. I am not married (1 out of 15) For the second part of the question. the responses were: --I have no children (2 out of 15) --I have 1 child (5 out of 15) --I have 2 children (3 out of 15) --I have 3 children (1 out of 15) --I have 4 children (2 out of 15) --I have 5 children (1 out of 15) --I have 6 children (1 out of 15) InI9LQLQIaI19n_Q£_£§annses. Responses to Question 2 indicated that almost all of the dropouts were married and had children. These might have been important factors in their decision to leave school. ingestignji: Do you think getting married is more important for girls than going to school? Why? Responses. All 15 dropouts responded as follows to this question: --Yes. because marriage is a natural duty for every girl (5 out of 15) --Yes. because she will not need her diploma to take care of the children and the house (4 out of 15) --No. because it is important for girls to be educated and help the society through their education (4 out of 15) --No. going to school is more important because it is insurance for every girl's future (2 out of 15) W. Nine of the 15 respondents indi- cated that marriage is more important than going to school. saying that marriage and child care are the natural duties of women. Six of the women interviewed. however. disagreed with the notion that marriage should take precedence over going to school. Their attitudes toward girls attending school were positive. 147 ,Queetlen_4: Is there a relationship between your achievement in school and your attrition from school? How? Beseenses. All 15 dropouts who were interviewed responded to this question. Their responses were as follows: --Yes. I had poor achievement in English (4 out of 15) --Yes. I don't like to study (1 out of 15) --Yes. I was failing frequently (1 out of 15) ~~Yes. I have difficulty learning (2 out of 15) --No. there is no relationship because I left school for other reasons (7 out of 15) y1n1eneeetetien_e£_neeeenee§. Poor academic achievement influ- enced more than half of the dropouts to leave school. However. several students indicated their leaving school had nothing to do with achieve— ment. Queetjen_5: What is your family's reaction to your attrition from school? Why? Beeeenees. All 15 female dropouts who were interviewed responded to this question. The responses were as follows: --They were not against my wishes because they believe that marriage is the most important career for me (3 out of 15) --They did not care because they gave me full freedom to do what I wanted (1 out of 15) --They encouraged me to leave school because they thought I did not need it (6 out of 15) --They disagreed with me because they wanted me to have a career (2 out of 15) --They advised me to continue my education because they wanted me to be a good wife and mother (2 out of 15) --They wanted me to have a certificate and a career. in order to be independent (1 out of 15) W53:- Forty Percent of the dropoutS' parents had encouraged their daughters to leave school. and another 27% had not opposed their daughters' decision to leave school. About 33% of the families had advised their daughters to continue in school. 148 .Queetlen_§: Did your teachers influence your attrition from school? How? ‘Beeeenees. All 15 of the female dropouts answered this ques- tion. Their responses were as follows: --Yes. they treated me badly and discouraged me all the time (6 out of 15) --Yes. they could not teach me well and I kept failing in school (2 out of 15) --Yes. they ignored my responses all the time. which caused me to hate school (3 out of 15) --No. they were friendly and supportive (3 out of 15) --No. they had good personalities and good teaching techniques. but I left school because my mother wanted me to get married (1 out of 15) Was. Interviewees' responses indicated that teachers had had a very strong influence on their leaving school. Seventy-four percent (11) of the 15 dropouts interviewed indicated that their teachers had played an important part in their decisions to leave school or to continue in school. which means that teachers influenced the students' attrition from school. gueetjen_l: What is your perception about the importance of education for Saudi girls? Why? .Beseenees. Fifteen female dropouts responded to this question. The responses to this question were as follows: tudes toward education were positive. --Education is very important. especially for Saudi girls. because the country needs them badly (4 out of 15) --Education is unimportant for girls because they will be able to be good wives and mothers without an education (3 out of 15) -—It is important for girls to get educated so they can raise their children in an educational environment (5 out of 15) --Education is essential for every girl. to gain society's respect (3 out of 15) .1nIeeeeetetlen_ef_neepenees. In general. the respondents' atti- Most of the interviewees 149 indicated that it is important for girls to have an education. so that they can help their children and make a positive contribution to Saudi society. Twenty percent (3) of the dropouts interviewed said that education is useless for girls. Quesfleu: Do you think education is more important for boys than girls? Why? Bespenses. Fifteen interviewees answered this question. Their responses were as follows: —-No. education is important for both boys and girls because the country needs both of them to participate in building the society (3 out of 15) --No. education is even more important for girls because a good wife and mother is one who is well educated so she can raise her children in an educated way (1 out of 15) --Everyone needs to have education equally. without exception. because both sexes can help the country in one way or another (2 out of 15) --Of course it is more important for boys than for girls because boys will get married and be responsible for a family. but girls will stay home to care for the children (6 out of 15) --Yes. because the family needs the boys' protection. but the girls will have very limited options for jobs (3 out of 15) Wags. Most of the Saudi girls inter- viewed in this study (60%. or 9 of 15) believed that education is more important for boys than for girls because boys will need to support their families. whereas girls will not have many employment options. However. 33% of the respondents indicated that education is important for both sexes. to fulfill the country's developmental needs. One woman said that education is more important for girls. to help them become effective mothers. 150 .Questien_2: What are the three most important reasons for your attrition from school? .BESQQDSBS- All 15 interviewees responded to this question. as follows: --Getting married. and husband's wishes (10 out of 45) --Having poor achievement in school (5 out of 45) --Family wishes (9 out of 45) --Teachers' treatment and method of teaching (10 out of 45) --Not important for girls to be educated (3 out of 45) --Do not want to be a teacher or nurse (3 out of 45) --I got sick and was unable to continue going to school (Zout of 45) --The lack of enough money for buying clothes and books (1 out of 45) --I don't have anybody to take me to school (2 out of 45) --Having a child (2 out of 45) Table 4.35 shows the distribution of dropouts' responses to Question 9. W595. Respondents identified several reasons for leaving school. The reasons mentioned most frequently were marriage. pregnancy. and husbands' wishes; teacher influence; family influence. and poor achievement and attitude. Some additional factors were identified. such as illness. limited career options. and economic situation. but they were mentioned infrequently. We: Data from both the questionnaires and the interviews were presented in this chapter. The chapter was divided into four parts to address the research questions and hypotheses. The first part pre- sented demographic information about the study participants in tabular and narrative form. The second part of Chapter IV contained students' and teachers' responses to six factors that may influence girls' decisions to leave school or to continue in school. Results of the 151 hypothesis testing were discussed in section three. and the fourth section contained the results of interviews with 15 female dropouts. A more extensive interpretation of the results of the data analysis is presented in Chapter V. Table 4.35.--Distribution of the dropouts' responses concerning their reasons for leaving school. Absolute Relative Reason for Dropping Out Frequency (N) Frequency (%) Marriage. pregnancy. and husbands' wishes 10 66.7 Teachers' treatment and teaching methods 10 66.7 Family wishes 9 60.0 Poor academic achievement and attitude 8 53.3 Lack of career options 3 20.0 Illness and consequent inability to continue in school 2 13.3 Lack of transportation to school 2 13.3 Insufficient money for clothes and school materials 1 6.7 CHAPTER V THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS This chapter begins with a theoretical framework that was developed to emphasize the relationship between home and school and the effect of these two institutions on the student. Then the findings regarding the six factors examined in this study are discussed in terms of both agencies of socialization: home and school. Wm Individuals' skills. motives. attitudes. and behaviors are all shaped from the moment of birth. This process of shaping is called socialization. "Social ization is the process whereby an individual's standards. skills. motives. attitudes. and behaviors are shaped to conform to those regarded as desirable and appropriate for his or her present and future role in society" (Hetherington 8 Morris. 1978. p. 3). Many agencies are responsible for the socialization process. In this study. family and school were considered the two main agencies of socialization. Hetherington and Parke (1979) indicated that "cer- tain groups and organizations within society play key roles in sociali- zation: parents. siblings. peers. and teachers" (p. 415). This can be done through spending time to communicate values and modify behaviors. 152 153 Other organizations. like school and church. have evolved. whose mis- sion it is to transmit the culture's knowledge and its social and ethical standards. and to develop and maintain culturally valued behav- iors. Culture is transmitted through two general methods. formal and informal. Informal methods are continuous patterns of teaching in the society. Formal methods of transmission are undertaken by official organizations. which perform the shaping or teaching function (Brook- over 8 Erickson. 1969L Ibeilome The family or the home is considered the most influential agency in the socialization process. Because the family is considered the basic unit of social organization and the most important agency of socialization. several attempts have been made to study the family as an instrument of socialization. Some researchers have attempted to determine how the general features of the family affect the development of the child. These studies have described how the family in the social structure or cultural milieu influences the child-rearing orien- tations and behaviors of parents and other socialization agents. Social class and religious.and ethnic background have been the most frequently used indices of placement. Features of parents' occupa- tional experiences have also been examined. Another type of investigation has been directed toward child- rearing and how parents' actual practices impinge on a child. Some researchers have attempted to determine how particular modes of parental control and communication patterns influence children's 154 individual cognitive. emotional. and social development and competence (Clausen. 1978L. Other studies have been conducted to ascertain the relationship between family characteristics and attitudes and chil- dren's personalities and cognitive. social. and emotional development. The early attachment of parents to the child and of the child to its parents is considered the foundation for later family relation- ships (Hetherington 8 Parke. 1979). The child's competence and his healthy functioning in society depend primarily on how he has been raised in the family. Psychologist Stanley Coopersmith (1967) attempted to identify parental characteristics that led to high levels of self-esteem in their children. He concluded. Parents who have high self-esteem are likely to have children with high sel f-esteem. These parents tend to have close social rel a- tionships with their children. encourage the child's independence. and allow them considerable personal freedom.. . . Parents of low self-esteem have children of low self-esteem; they lack the confi- dence necessary to establish a strong family framework. (p. 69) Parents also perform the roles of teacher and model. They inculcate in their child the rules of the society in which he must live by teaching him the rules and disciplining him when he deviates from acceptable standards of behavior. Parents tend to influence their children to think and behave according to what they believe are approp- riate sex roles (Derlega 8 Janda. 1981). By imitating the behavior of adults. "girls may stay close to their mothers. watch what they do. and learn to imitate feminine behavior. and boys may copy their fathers in order to learn masculine behaviors" (p. 190). Thus parents shape their 155 children's sex-role behavior by expecting boys to behave like boys. and on girls to behave like girls. Home conditions also influence the child's learning process. Parents convey their attitudes to their children. For example. Greene (1966) found that parents who had negative attitudes toward schooling transmitted this outlook to their children. thereby developing atti- tudes in their children that made them prone to leave school. Also. the amount of support the children are given at home affects their attitude toward schooling. Some parents do not encourage their chil- dren to achieve and persist in school. whereas others put excessive pressure on their youngsters. Either extreme can affect students' achievement (Greene. 1966). Home conditions. including parents' back- ground. family attitudes and relationships. parents' likes and dis- likes. their methods of communicating. and the amount of support they give the child all affect and shape individual behavior. This influ- ence is extended by the school. IheJcbml The school is a very important agency in socializing children as individuals. Most child-development theorists have maintained that the school has a unique opportunity to shape the developing child. A large portion of children's lives is dominated by the school. Even when children are not at school. academic demands and extracurricular activities pervade their lives. Many studies of the influence of school on children's values and their aspirations have verified the importance of the school as a 156 socializing agent (Bronfenbrenner. Devereux. Suci. 8 Rodgers. 1965). Such studies have shown that the school. along with the family and the peer group. can influence the child's moral value orientations as well as his academic achievement and occupational aspirations. Other cross- cultural studies have emphasized that schools affect the way in which children organize their thoughts and cognitions. Hetherington and Parke (1979) pointed out that: Schooling teaches an abstract symbolic orientation of the world which allows children to develop the capacity to think in terms of general concepts. rules and hypothetical events. School teaches children to think about the world in different ways. These diverse impacts of schooling underline the important and unique role that the school plays in modifying children's social and cognitive development. (p. 522) Teachers are the most influential individuals in the schools. Hence the teacher's relationship with the youngster is highly important in influencing student behavior and learning. Cervantes (1965) raised an important point about this relationship: The teacher as teacher doesn't accept the student as a total person nor does the student accept the teacher as such. The teacher accepts the student insofar as he is educable. not insofar as he is a person. The teacher is the representative of a compulsory and determined societal educational system which is bent upon making sure that knowledge makes an entrance--be it bloody or otherwise. The teacher is a task master with objective standards that devastate any personal acceptance based upon mutual regard and affection alone. (p. 113) Teachers' behavior and their treatment of students affect stu- dents in many ways. Teachers' attitudes toward and expectations of their students directly influence students' achievement and behavior in school. Also. the way in which teachers organize the class. including their evaluation procedures. influences students' performance and 157 motivation in school. "The way that teachers organize evaluation procedures makes an important difference to children's attitudes. moti- vation and performance" (Hetherington 8 Parke. 1979. p. 535). School staff play an important role in achieving culturally responsive education. They create the learning environment in which students succeed or fail. Culture is acquired by direct. frequent. varied participation and experiences in all aspects of the life of a group of people. A very large part of this acquisition occurs outside of the learner's awareness. It follows that culture in this deep sense cannot be taught in culture classes. Culture can only be "taught" or transmitted if special efforts are made to incorporate into the school. its curriculum. its staff and activities as many aspects as possible of the life of the cultural group to which the learner belongs. (quoted in Aspira v. Board of Education of the City of New York. 1974. p. 15) Teachers' behaviors may differ from the culturally accepted conduct of their students if the teachers themselves are not members of their pupils' culture. In such situations. teachers' practices may conflict with the behaviors that are usually accepted as part of daily classroom life. In relation to the theoretical framework discussed on the preceding pages. the present study revealed that the six factors found to influence student attrition were associated with the two main agen- cies of socialization: home and school. Those two agencies inter- changeably influenced students' attitudes toward school and their decision to leave or remain in school. Findings regarding the six factors and their relationship to the theoretical framework are dis- cussed in the following section. 158 WWW For analysis purposes. factors that conveyed almost identical meanings were combined. Student attitude and student achievement were combined into one factor because they are closely related; marriage and pregnancy and sex role were combined for the same reason. Combin- ing factors resulted in the following four factors: teacher influence. family influence. student attitude and achievement. and marriage and sex role. (See Table 5.1.) Table 5.1 shows that dropouts and teachers ranked the four factors in the same order: Teacher influence was the most influential factor in student attrition. followed by family influence. student attitude and achievement. and marriage and sex role. in that order. Students who were still attending school differed from dropouts and teachers in their ranking of the factors. They considered family influence the most influential factor in student attrition. followed by student attitude and achievement. teacher influence. and marriage and sex role. in that order. One explanation for the similarity between dropouts and teach- ers in their ranking of the four factors could be their similar marital status and age. Most of the female teachers in Saudi Arabia are for- eigners--that is. 64% at the intermediate level and about 71% at the secondary level (General Presidency of Girls' Education. 1980). and the Saudi government requires foreign teachers to be married and to have at least three years of teaching experience. The teachers in Saudi inter- mediate and secondary schools must be college graduates. and the 159 mmm.m : mNm.m : mem.m s «.0. xmm ucm www.ccmz . . . acoEo>o.cuo. NNN m N .No m N ..m N m new ves....m seme=.m a...: N .mo.m . moo.m N oucm:..:. >..e~. ..m.: _ mmo.m m www.m . cocoa..c. Logbook ooo.c cocco cocco coo: xcom coo: xcom coo: xcom ocuoou oeuuo. ocuoo. c0uuo. mcocoooh .oocom oc.ocouu< mu30qoco mucoozum .mcocuooo oco ..oo;um mc.ocouuo mucooaom .moaoo0cc >3 chuoom ocu mo cocso xcomnn...m o.noh 160 typical age at graduation is 22 years. Thus. by adding to that the three years of experience. the foreign teachers in the study would have been at least 25 years old when they began teaching in Saudi Arabia. which is similar to the age of the dropouts surveyed (24.26 years on the average; see Table 4.1). Moreover. like the teachers. most of the dropouts (88%) were married (see Table 4.2). Thus because dropouts and teachers were similar in terms of marital status and because the drop- outs studied were adults. it is understandable that their ratings of the four factors were similar to each other but different from those of the students. most of whom were single and between 15 and 18 years of age. Table 5.1 also indicates that teachers rated all four factors more positively than did students or dropouts. This finding suggests that teachers had a higher commitment to education. They are consid- ered educational leaders; thus it is likely that they place more impor- tance on education and feel more strongly about those factors that lead to a high rate of attrition. In the pages that follow. data from the study are interpreted first from the perspective of the influences of the home and second fran the perspective of school influence. 391W Data from this study reconfirmed the importance of family influence in students' retention in or attrition from school because parents played such an important role in shaping their children's attitudes toward school. For students. family influences regarding 161 student retention were greater than for teachers and those who had already dropped out of school (see Table 5.1). Most of the students (88%) lived with their parents. whereas most of the dropouts (7%) were married and lived away from their parents (Table 4.6). The fact that most students were still under their family's protection and control whereas the dropouts were now under their husband's protection might explain the students' higher ranking of family influence. It was found that parents influenced their children in many ways. but their level of education was one of the greatest influences. Students attending school seemed to have better-educated parents than did the dropouts (Tables 4.3 and 4.4). Twenty-two percent of the drop- outs' fathers were ill iterate. whereas 10% of the students attending school had illiterate fathers. Furthermore. 52% of the dropouts' mothers were illiterate. as compared to 38% of the students' mothers. Thus it is expected that parents with higher levels of education will encourage their children to continue their education because they recognize the important role education plays in shaping people to be active participants in society. Schrom (1980) noted that parents who have a low level of education tend to hold low educational expectations for their children. who. in turn. often do not remain in school until graduation. Fox and Elder (1980) indicated that if a student comes from a family in which siblings or the parents have not graduated from high school. the chances that he will not graduate are greatly increased. 162 Poole and Low (1981) also discovered high rates of attrition among students whose parents had low educational attainment levels. Children are also influenced by their family's attitudes and aspirations toward education. The study findings indicated that' girls whose parents encouraged them to marry rather than to pursue higher levels of education tended to get married rather than to complete their education. Subjects were asked how they felt about parents preparing their daughters at an early age for marriage and being a good wife. Dropouts agreed with this idea more than did students (Table 4.19. Item 41). This finding indicates that parents who wanted their daughters to marry conveyed this attitude to their daughters. who then concentrated more on getting married than on their education. In Saudi Arabia. girls are not allowed to drive. and there are no clubs at which they can spend their leisure time. As a result. girls spend much time at home with their parents. especially their mothers. Because most Saudi mothers are illiterate. it is likely that their educational aspirations are low; they are more concerned with their daughters' being good wives and mothers than with their becoming well educated. Mothers indoctrinate their daughters with these atti- tudes from childhood. Education may also help women become better wives and mothers. who can inculcate in their children a respect for learning and a recep- tivity toward continuing their education. llie better-educated mother can help her children with both their academic and social problems. 163 Cochrance (1981) emphasized the vital role education plays in the health and welfare of the family: Education may contribute to the increase in the potential biological support of surviving children in a variety of ways. The association between schooling and better health results in greater fecundity or higher probabilities of conception and also improves the prospect that a pregnant woman will carry to full term. Parents' education further tends to have a positive effect on infant survival. which enables a larger proportion of the children born to educated parents to live to adulthood. (pp. 8-9) The notion that families with positive attitudes toward educa- tion can enhance their children's attitudes toward school was supported by the finding that students agreed more than did dropouts with Item 1. which stated that "the family always encourages students to go to school" (Table 4.19). This finding may indicate that students had received more parental encouragement to pursue an education and thus were still attending school. On this item. teachers seemed to agree more with students than with the dropouts. In question 5 of the interviews. when dropouts were asked about their familyds reaction to their leaving school. 40% of them said their families had encouraged them to leave school and 20% said their parents had not opposed the decision to leave school; 33% said their families had advised them to continue in schooh. These figures may indicate the extent to which parents influence attrition. Parents who hold low educational expectations for their daugh- ters may influence their attitudes toward schooling through the envi- ronment they provide for them. Furnishing an environment that is conducive to studying is considered important in shaping students' disposition toward education. Psychologists and sociologists have 164 recognized that the physical environment can be either a benefit or a detriment in terms of cognitive and social development. "A child growing up in a crowded. noisy. disorganized home with few objects with which to play. and a television set as a central member of the family. may be at some disadvantage for cognitive and social devel opment" (Hetherington 8 Parke. 1979. p. 452). When asked about the importance of providing a good study envi- ronment ("The family always provides a good environment for studying"). dropouts placed more importance on this item than did students and teachers. This finding indicates that the dropouts might not have had a suitable study environment as their families placed a low priority on education. Hence an inadequate study environment might have negatively influenced these girls' attitudes toward school (Table 4.19). Perhaps because the dropouts' parents generally had a lower level of education than the students' parents. they may not have appreciated the value of education or recognized the importance of providing a good study envi- ronment for their children. The dropouts were older siblings in households with numerous children. Because Saudi families usually have many offspring. the household is crowded and noisy. and older children are given many child-care and housekeeping responsibilities. Al-Afandy (1983) found that 79.5% of the uneducated mothers preferred that girls do housework. whereas 20.5% of them preferred education for girls. In contrast. 85.8% of the educated mothers preferred education for girls. whereas 14.2% preferred that they do housework. (p. 161) 165 Thus it seems that the dropouts did not benefit from an environment conducive to studying. and child-care and household duties might have cause them to neglect their school work. These factors could have contributed to their attrition from school. When the dropouts were asked in Question 9 of the interview to indicate the most influential reasons for their leaving school. 60% of them indicated that they had dropped out of school in compliance with family wishes. This influence could have been explicit or implicit. That is. the dropouts' families might have asked them directly to leave school or placed such heavy demands on them in terms of housework and child care that it became necessary to quit school. The home is the first place where individual values are shaped. and where the child develops the first concept of himself. Moreover. one's behavior is shaped by these sel f-concepts. For instance. parents tend to influence children to think and behave according to what they view as appropriate sex roles (Derlega 8 Janda. 1981). Girls are socialized to be dependent and passive. and males to be independent and aggressive (Al-Otei by. 1982). Such sex-role stereotyping is more common in Saudi Arabia than in western societies. and it is reinforced much more by both home and society. The family's influence on students' intention to leave school or to continue their education was supported in a study conducted by Schrom (1980). In examining the factors influencing students to leave school. he indicated that the school-leaving intentions of both boys and girls are most influenced by the aspirations they perceive their parents holding 166 for them. their attitudes toward school. and their occupational aspirations and . . . these factors mediate the effects of family background and school characteristics. Students who intended to leave school earlier felt that their parents had low educational aspirations for them. held negative attitudes toward school. and aspired to low jobs(p. g) . The increased pursuit of education and the socioeconomic changes that have occurred in Saudi Arabia have provided a good step- pingstone for girls. Girls' secondary education in Saudi Arabia began just over 20 years ago. and since that time great advances have been made in girl 5' education in the Kingdom. In time. the sex-role stereo— types of Saudi females will also undergo some changes. Saudi Arabian women are becoming more cognizant of their role as educated and as functional members of society. Increased female education in the Kingdom has awakened women's consciousness about many issues that were not considered important in the past (Al-Baadi. 1981). In the present study. although dropouts recognized their role as housewives and mothers. they still realized that it is important for a woman to pursue an education. That could explain why dropouts. students. and teachers all rated marriage and sex role as the fourth or least influential factor among the factors associated with students' decision to drop out of school (see Table 5.1). Nevertheless. all three groups indicated that this is an influential factor in student attrition from school (Table 4.18). Dropouts. students. and teachers seemed to concur on the impor- tance of girls pursuing.an education. Respondents believed that hus- bands should encourage their wives to continue in school (Table 4.22. Item 27). Yet Saudi husbands are very demanding; they expect to return 167 from work and find a clean house and the meal prepared. This could explain why a large percentage of the dropouts said their husbands had influenced them to leave school (Table 4.17). Thus if marriedwomen are to pursue an education. their husbands must learn to share the household responsibilities. Saudi females seem to place more value on education today than in the past. Both dropouts and students recognized the importance of education for females. Even if women do not plan to pursue a career. an education can help them raise their children in an educationally enriched environment. thereby contributing to the quality of the next generation (Table 4.22. Item 17). In interview question 7. dropouts were asked about the impor- tance of education for girls. Many of them said it is important for girls to pursue an education and that they should postpone marriage until they are over 20 years old. Dropouts appreciated the importance of education in helping Saudi females become active members of society. Likewise. they recognized that marriage can interfere with schooling because of the demands a husband. children. and housework make on women's time. When the interviewees were asked to identify three reasons for their leaving school. two-thirds of them (10 out of 15) gave marriage as a reason. The fact that so many girls drop out of school when they marry explains why a majority of the dropouts. teachers. and students said a girl should delay marriage until she is at least 20. Yet according to the respondents. even if a girl gets married she should 168 not stop attending school (Table 4.24. Items 11 and 12). The study participants believed in equality of the sexes and believed that both boys and girls should have an equal chance to pursue an education. In interview question 8. when dropouts were asked whether education is more important for boys than for girls. 40% of them indicated that education is equally important for both sexes. Students concurred with this view (Table 4.24). Family socioeconomic status was expected to be influential in students' attrition from school. but the findings showed that it had only a small influence. The researcher expected to find that dropouts came from the lower socioeconomic strata. but the opposite was found to be true: Dropouts came from families at higher socioeconomic levels (Table 4.5). This finding may suggest that girls whose families had higher incomes were not interested in pursuing education to prepare for a career because they did not need the earnings. and vice versa. It could also be that the dropoutsfl parents were older and hence were earning more than those of the students because the dropouts themselves were older. From the preceding discussion. it can be concluded that the home played an important role in students! attrition from school. One of the most influential factors related to attrition was family influ- ence because attrition was related to the familyfls level of education. family expectations for their child. and the home environment itself. The family also influences girls' perceptions about marriage and their role in society. 169 WWW As mentioned earlier. the school is considered one of the most important agencies for socializing the individual and facilitating his development. Tables 4.25 and 5.1 show that the study respondents. especially dropouts and teachers. indicated that teachers are an influ- ential factor associated with girls' attrition. In the present study. it appeared that dropouts. students. and teachers all agreed that the school and its members--teachers. counselors. and administrators--help students in many ways. School personnel help students solve their problems. guide them. and encourage them to remain in school (Table 4.20). Teachers are the most influential persons in this regard. All of the respondents in this study strongly agreed that teachers should be knowledgeable about the subject matter and skilled in student- teacher interactions and in the instructional and evaluative methods they employ. Teachers in the present study believed they were helping stu- dents understand the subject matter. However. neither dropouts nor students evidenced high agreement with this item. which might indicate that teachers in Saudi Arabian gi r1 5' schools are not as skilled as they should be (Table 4.20. Item 25). This could explain why a high percentage of the dropouts who were interviewed considered teachers an influential factor associated with 91 rls' attrition from school (Table 4.17 and interview questions 6 and 9). In interview question 6. dropouts were asked about the role teachers had played in their decision to leave school. Sixty-six 170 percent of the dropouts indicated they had left school for some reason related to their teachers. Negative attitudes and poor achievement could be influenced by the teachers and the way they motivate students; lack of motivation can cause students to leave school. Research by Poole and Low (1981) supported the strong influence of low student achievement on attrition. They discovered that students who intended to leave school were not academically motivated. Likewise. Peng and Takai (1983) concluded that 42% to 45% of the dropouts in their study got "D" grades. The reason students most frequently cited for leaving school were "I had poor grades" and "I was not doing well in school" (p. 7). The instructional and evaluative methods that teachers employ play an important role in shaping students'iattitudes toward the sub- ject matter and toward school in general. Woolfolk and Nicolich (1980) elaborated on the extent to which teachers influence their pupils: The teacher has a position of power in the classroom for a number of reasons. Because the teacher is an adult and a subject-matter expert. many students will be quite ready to respect the teacher. The teacher also has the most control over the reward systems in the classroom. By evaluating work and behavior. the teacher can be a source of positive reinforcement. the person who sets priorities and classroom goals. Because students tend to look on teachers as models. by using modeling teachers can encourage the work and interaction patterns that they themselves find most desirable. (p. 336) The study findings indicated that the personal element in teacher-student interactions is lacking in Saudi Arabian schools. Both dropouts and students indicated a desire for more personal contact with their teachers. They expected teachers to be their adult role models and wanted to learn more from them than just the subject matter. Saudi 171 students need more opportunities to socialize with their teachers because such friendships can encourage students to be more relaxed in interacting with their teachers. On the other hand. teachers perceived their sole responsibility as presenting the material clearly so that students could understand the subject (Table 4.20. Items 25 and 43d). Dropouts. students. and teachers agreed that teachers should be familiar with their students' culture. Most of the teachers in Saudi Arabian gi rls' schools are forei gners--about 64% at the intermediate school level and about 71% at the secondary school level (General Presidency of Gi r1 5' Education. 1980). and this situation has many drawbacks. It has been shown that cultural differences between teach- ers and students can negatively affect students' attitudes toward school and hence their academic achievement. The effects of a mismatch between school and student on the student's cognitive development have been recognized by many school psychologists. Mobatt and Erickson (1981) commemted on the effect of cultural differences between teacher and students on student classroom behavior. They wrote: At school the leader [the teacher] attempted to control all activity. communicative and otherwise. In terms of how children were to speak in school. the teacher functioned as a switchboard operator. Much talk was addressed to her. and she allocated turns at speaking. In such a participation structure. the Indian students showed more more inappropriate behavior than did white students in the classroom. The teacher's way of organizing interaction in the classroom seemed culturally congruent with the white students' expectation for how things should happen. but culturally incongruent with the expectations of Indian students. (p. 108) Dropouts. students. and teachers agreed that school activities. friends. and a supportive school atmosphere are important elements in 172 encouraging girls to remain in school and in building a positive atti- tude toward school. The respondents also indicated that participating in school activities helps students develop positive attitudes toward school (Table 4.21. Items 43f and 43i). In Saudi Arabia. the student is evaluated by means of a final examination. covering all of the material taught throughout the year. Both dropouts and students indicated that one of thelnost important school elements that might negatively affect studentsfl scholastic achievement is the use of just this one evaluation tool touneasure their performance. This was considered one of the reasons that might have led to 91 r1 5' attrition from school (Table 4.23. Item 42j). (NW The home and the school are two important agencies that shape the individual's attitudes. beliefs. values. and behaviors. Family social interaction. qualities of the parents. and the physical environ- ment itself shape students' attitudes toward school. The background. culture. and values of school personnel should match as closely as possible those of the students with whom they interact because such a match is thought to have a positive relationship to students' achieve- ment and attitudes toward school. Neither the school nor the home. by itself. is responsible for forming good or bad attitudes in students. Rather. the two agencies complement each other. Figure 5.1 is a pic- torial representation of the theoretical framework of this study. showing the interrelationship between home. school. and students. 173 Societal Expectations Home School Husband J, ......— Teachers Family Students Attitudes and Achievements Figure 5.1. Theoretical framework of the study. Within the home. parents were the most influential factor associated with students' attrition from school. There were a variety of reasons for this: parents' low level of education. the expectations they hold for the students. and the environment they provide for their children. Saudi females today recognize the importance of education in preparing them to be good wives and mothers. Therefore. they believe marriage should be postponed so they can pursue an education. All three respondent groups considered marriage and sex role the least influential factor of those considered in the study. Also. all three groups believed that husbands should encourage their wives to continue 174 their education and help them succeed in school by assisting with household responsibilities. Within the school. teachers were found to be the most influen- tial factor in student attrition because of their teaching methods and treatment of students. Students need more personal contact with their teachers. so as to learn more than just the subject matter. Personal contact between students and teachers could help improve girls' atti- tudes toward and achievement in school. CHAPTER VI SUMMARY. CONCLUSIONS. AND REmMMENDATIONS The main purpose of this chapter is to summarize the study. to draw conclusions in relation to the basic findings. and finally to provide recommendations that could help solve the problem or at least improve the situation of girls' education in Saudi Arabia. The chapter is divided into five sections: summary of the study. summary of the findings. conclusions. recommendations. and suggestions for further research. W Moose The purpose of the study was to identify the most influential factors associated with the high dropout rate at the intermediate level in Saudi girl 5' schools. The researcher selected six factors for examination. based on an extensive review of the literature. her own experience and background in Saudi gi r1 5' schools. and a pilot study she conducted in several intermediate and secondary gi rls' schools in Saudi Arabia. These factors were family influence. marital status. sex role. student achievement. attitude toward school. and teachers' influence. 175 176 Four research questions were posed to guide the collection of data in this study. They are: 1. What are the most influential factors associated with school dropout rates at the intermediate level in Saudi girls' schools? 2. How do students who have dropped out differ from those who are attending school. in terms of the factors identified as associated with female dropouts? 3. How do intermediate-school girls differ from secondary- school girls in identifying the most influential factors associated with leaving or continuing in school? 4. How do teachers and students differ on the identification of factors most associated with school leaving among secondary-school girls? Three null hypotheses were formulated to test the data collected in this research. These hypotheses are as follows: flyeethes1s_1: There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between students who have dropped out and those who have not dropped out concerning their identification of the most influential factors associated with premature school leaving in secondary girls' schools. W: There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between girls attending intermediate schools and girls attend- ing secondary schools concerning their perception about the most influential factors associated with premature school leaving in secondary girl 5' schools. W: There will be no statistically significant differ- ence between students who have not dropped out and teachers con- cerning their identification of the most influential factors asso- ciated with premature school leaving in secondary girls' schools. 177 Enosedunes One major source of information for this study was an extensive review of literature related to attrition and retention at the intermediate— and secondary-school levels. That review included research conducted in Saudi Arabia. in other Arab and Islamic nations. and in western industrialized countries. Pertinent documentary evidence and statistical data were gathered from the Ministry of Education and the Office for Girl 5' Education in Saudi Arabia. The major source of study data was a survey questionnaire. which contained questions related to the six selected factors that influence girls to drop out or persist in school beyond the intermediate level. The researcher also conducted face-tavface interviews with girls who had dropped out of school. in order to support the survey questionnaire. Sam The study population comprised ninth-grade (intermediate level) and el eventh-grade (secondary level) students and dropouts from six intermediate and secondary girls' schools in Medina. After obtaining permission from the appropriate authorities. a random sample was selected from this population. to obtain as study participants: --50 girls from ninth grade (intermediate school) --50 girls from eleventh grade (secondary school) --50 girls who had dropped out of school after completing ninth grade --50 female teachers who were teaching in intermediate and secondary girls' schools in Medina 178 In addition. 15 girls who had dropped out of school were selected randomly for the interviews. WM: Four similar sets of questions were developed to obtain relevant data from each of the above-mentioned groups. The questionnaires were designed to elicit two kinds of information: demographic data and respondents' perceptions about six factors related to school leaving or continuation after completing the intermediate level. Respondents were asked to indicate whether they strongly agreed. agreed. were undecided. disagreed. or strongly disagreed with each item under every factor. Points were assigned to the responses. from 5 = strongly agree or very important to l = strongly disagree or not a factor. and ratings of the factors and individual items were based on the mean scores. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies. means. and standard deviations were used in analyzing the data collected to answer the research questions. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine whether significant differences existed between groups on the six selected factors. The univariate F-test was used to determine on which factor(s). if any. statistically significant differences existed. Frequencies were used to support the results for each item on the survey questionnaire. 179 W As mentioned above. four research questions were developed to guide the study. To answer the first research question. questionnaire and interview responses were described and statistically analyzed. For the sake of the analysis. the six factors were combined into the fol- lowing four factors: teacher influence. family influence. student attitude and achievement. and marriage and sex role. The results indicated that dropouts. students in school. and teachers agreed that all four factors are influential in girls' attri- tion from school; however. the groups' rankings of the factors differed slightly from each other. That is. teacher influence was ranked first by dropouts and teachers. whereas it was ranked third by students in school. Family influence was ranked second by dropouts and teachers. and it was ranked first by students in school. Student attitude and achievement was ranked third by dropouts and teachers. while it was ranked second by students in school. Marriage and sex role was ranked fourth by all three groups. To answer the second research question. the first null hypothesis was tested using a significance level of 0.05. The data showed a significance level of p < 0.001. This hypothesis. which compared the factor ratings of dropouts with those of students attend- ing school. was rejected because the two groups perceived the impor- tance of the factors differently. Dropouts placed more importance on teacher influence and sex role than did students who were still attend- ing school. The latter placed more importance than dropouts on the 180 other four factors: family influence. student attitude. marriage and pregnancy. and student achievement. To answer the third research question. the second null hypothesis was tested using a significance level of 0.05. The data showed a significance level of p < 0.001. This hypothesis. which compared the factor ratings of ninth graders with those of eleventh graders. was rejected because the two groups perceived the importance of the factors differently. Eleventh graders placed more importance on teacher influence. family influence. student attitude. student achieve- ment. and sex role than did ninth graders. Conversely. ninth graders placed more importance on marriage and pregnancy than eleventh graders did. To answer the fourth research question. the third null hypothesis was tested using a significance level of 0.05. The data showed a significance level of p < 0.001. This hypothesis. which compared the factor ratings of students attending school with those of teachers. was rejected because the two groups perceived the importance of the six factors differently. Teachers placed more importance on all six factors than did students. Dropouts'. ninth graders'. and eleventh graders' responses to the demographic items in the first section of the questionnaire were presented in Tables 4.1 through 4.18. Teachers were not asked to provide personal information. Table 4.1 showed that the mean age of the dropouts was 24.26. whereas the students' mean age was 16.46. As shown in Table 4.2. 88% 181 of the dropouts were married. whereas only 3% of the students were married. Table 4.3 showed that 22% of the dropouts' fathers were illiterate. but only 10% of the students' fathers were illiterate. According to Table 4.4. 52% of the dropouts' mothers were illiterate. as compared to 38% of the students' mothers. As Table 4.5 showed. dropouts came from higher socioeconomic levels than did students attending school. Table 4.6 indicated that 76% of the dropouts were living in their own homes and 10% of them were living with their parents. In contrast. 88% of the students were living with their parents. As shown in Table 4.7. dropouts and stu- dents lived from 1 to 3 miles or from 4 to 10 miles from the school. From Table 4.8. it was seen that 22% of the dropouts had spent more than six years in elementary school. while only 8% of the students in school had repeated elementary grades. Table 4.9 showed that 24% of the dropouts and 18% of the students had repeated one or more intermediate grades. In Table 4.10 it was seen that 26% of the dropouts were living with one person (who was probably their husband); 37% of the students were living with eight or more people. As shown in Table 4.11. 7% of the dropouts were 18 or older when they left school. Table 4.12 showed that 62% of the dropouts were engaged or married when they left school. and Table 4.13 showed that 86% of them had no children when they left school. In Table 4.14. it was seen that 70% of the dropouts had attended all of their classes. whereas 92% of the students attended all of their classes. Table 4.15 showed that only 1 82 42% of the dropouts passed all of their classes with good grades. whereas 72% of the students did so. As shown in Table 4.16. 64% of the dropouts had no plans to continue education; only 6% of them planned to earn a college degree. In contrast. 71% of the students attending school planned to graduate from college. As seen in Table 4.17. 30% of the dropouts were infl u- enced primarily by teachers to leave school. followed by husband/fiance or parents. in that order. Table 4.18 showed that dropouts had decided to leave school after they got married or engaged. or for extentuating family reasons. Data elicited through the second section of the questionnaire. which sought the respondents' ideas. opinions. and feelings about items rel ated to girls leaving school after the'intermedi ate level. were presented in Tables 4.19 through 4.25. Table 4.19 contained the rank ordering of the ten items related to family influence. by dropouts. students. and teachers. The overall means showed that teachers placed more importance on family influence than did students or dropouts. with a mean of 4.114 (SD = 0.430). Students placed more importance on family influence that did dropouts. with a mean of 3.691 (50 = 0.541). whereas dropouts placed the least importance on family influence. with a mean of 3.608 (SD = 0.513). Table 4.20 showed the rank ordering of the 12 items related to teacher influence. by the dropouts. students. and teachers. The over- all means showed that teachers placed more importance on teacher influence than did the other two groups. with a mean of 4.311 (SD = 183 0.351). Dropouts placed more importance on teacher influence than did students. with a mean of 3.858 (SD = 0.367). Students placed the least importance on teacher influence. with a mean of 3.633 (SD = 0.560). Table 4.21 contained the rank ordering of the 14 items related to student attitude. by the dropouts. students. and teachers. The overall means showed that teachers placed more importance on student attitude than did students or dropouts. with a mean of 3.894 (SD = 0.366). Students in school placed more importance on student attitude than did dropouts. with a mean of 3.743 (SD = 0.436). Dropouts placed the least importance on student attitude. with a mean of 3.634 (SD = 0.486). Table 4.22 was a rank ordering of the nine items related to marriage and pregnancy. by the dropouts. students. and teachers. The overall means showed that teachers placed more importance on marriage and pregnancy than did students or dropouts. with a mean of 3.945 (SD = 0.315). Students in school placed more importance on this factor than did dropouts. with a mean of 3.506 (50 = 0.424). Dropouts placed the least importance on marriage and pregnancy. with a mean of 3.316 (SD = 0.486). Table 4.23 contained a rank ordering of the six items related to student achievement. by dropouts. students. and teachers. The overall means showed that teachers placed more importance on student achievement than did students and dropouts. with a mean of 3.620 (SD = 0.617). Students in school placed more importance on this factor than did dropouts. with a mean of 3.438 (SD = 0.595). Dropouts placed the 184 least importance on student achievement. with a mean of 3.177 (50 = 0.596). Table 4.24 showed the rank ordering of the 11 items related to sex role. by dropouts. students. and teachers. The overall means showed that dropouts placed more importance on sex role than did the other two groups. with a mean of 3.382 (SD = 0.432). Teachers placed more importance on sex role than did students. with a mean of 3.342 (SD = 0.495). Students placed the least importance on sex role. with a mean of 3.299 (SD = 0.428). Table 4.25 was a rank ordering of all six factors by the dropouts. students. all the students combined. and teachers. The means showed that teacher influence was ranked first by dropouts. all stu— dents combined. and teachers. whereas it was ranked third by students attending school. Family influence was ranked second by students in school and teachers; it was ranked third by dropouts and all students combined. Student attitude was ranked first by students in school. second by dropouts and all students combined. and fourth by teachers. Marriage and pregnancy was ranked fourth by students in school and all students combined. third by teachers. and fifth by dropouts. Student achievement was ranked fifth by students in school. all students com- bi ned. and teachers; it was ranked sixth by dropouts. Sex role was ranked sixth by students in school. all students combined. and teach- ers; it was ranked fourth by the dropouts. Data related to the three null hypotheses were presented in Tables 4.26 through 4.34. and responses to the ninth interview question 185 were presented in Table 4.35. Finally. Table 5.1 presented the rank orderings of the four factors formed from the initial six factors. by the dropouts. students in school. and teachers. The researcher conducted interviews with 15 dropouts. in which she asked them nine questions pertaining to the six influential factors examined in this study. Interview responses supported the question- nai re results concerning the importance of the six factors. Another factor influencing girls' attrition. which was not included among the six factors under study but was uncovered in the interviews. was the lack of career options for Saudi females. Conclusjons The following conclusions were based on the findings from the questionnaire and interview responses: 1. Significant emphasis has been given the expansion of educational opportunities for girls by the Saudi government in the past 20 years. Great advances have been made in the education of girls in the Kingdom in a relatively short period. However. the rate of attrition of girls in secondary school is high. 2. Teachers consistently ranked most questionnaire items more positively than students and dropouts did. This suggests that teachers had a greater commitment to education and societal values than the students and those who had left school. 3. Teachers. students. and dropouts recognized that it is important for students to continue in school and that students should 186 be taught by experienced teachers who are familiar with the Saudi culture. 4. Students and dropouts desired more interaction with teachers outside of the classroom. Teachers are their adult role models. and girls can learn much from them besides the subject matter. On the other hand. teachers perceived their responsibility to students as not extending beyond the classroom. This difference in belief about role and responsibility may influence attrition. 5. Parents' level of education and their educational expectations for their children are important factors in student attrition. The higher the parents' level of education. the higher the expectations they have for their children to continue in school. and vice versa. 6. Young women who had left school had done so for a variety of reasons. including (a) dislike of the school atmosphere. (b) poor academic achievement. (c) lower aspirations. and (d) lack of family support for continuation in school. 7. Of the factors influencing girls to leave school. marriage and sex role were the least influential of the factors studied. 8. Many Saudi girls believe that education is important because it helps them to good wives and to raise their children in an educational environment. even if they do not aspire to a career outside the home. 9. Students are apprehensive about having an annual examina- tion as the sole measurement of their achievement. They feel it is 187 unfair and places them under undue stress to be judged on the basis of just one examination. 10. Dropouts came from families with higher incomes than parents of students who were still attending school. This finding suggests that youths from upper income levels placed less importance on education as a key to security than other members of society. 11. Interviews conducted with dropouts uncovered another influential factor affecting gi r1 5' attrition besides the ones selected for this study; it was lack of career options other than teaching or nursing. Girls who are not interested in being teachers or nurses might see little reason to remain in school. Madam: Based on the study results. the following recommendations are made for policy makers in Saudi Arabia. so they can take appropriate action to reduce the attrition rate among Saudi girls. 1. Since most Saudi parents have a low level of education and are more concerned about their daughters marrying than their attending school. the schools should arrange frequent meetings between parents and representatives of schools. so that parents can grow to appreciate the value of education and learn how to provide a home environment that is more conducive to study. 2. Because the cultural diversity between teachers and students was found to affect students' achievement and attitudes toward school. the Ministry of Education should devise a way for foreign 188 teachers to learn about the Saudi culture. Thereby communication and understanding between teachers and students will be enhanced. 3. Since the family's level of education was found to influence student attrition. the Ministry of Education should concentrate on developing more adult education programs throughout the Kingdom and encourage people to attend these programs. Through such educational offerings. parents could receive another chance to obtain an education. and the benefits would accrue to their children. as well. 4. Since marriage was found to be an influential factor in girls' attrition. husbands should encourage their wives to continue in school. One way of doing this would be to help with the household responsibilities while their wives are students. Also. the government should consider establishing day care centers at which mothers can leave their children while they attend school. 5. Schools should encourage students to participate in school activities. which might increase gi r1 5' interest in school and engender a more positive attitude toward school. Field trips would be one way of attracting student interest. and they could also provide an opportunity for students and teachers to interact outside the classroom. 6. Since students and teachers opposed to an annual examination as the only evaluation method. schools should reduce their dependency on this measure. In addition to more frequent tests throughout the year. teachers should use other methods of evaluation. such as term papers and special projects. 189 7. Students need to be given a means to provide the schools with their feedback about teachers and the school curricula. and to do so anonymously. Evaluation sheets could be provided for this purpose. Such evaluations could give school administrators a clearer understanding of what is occurring in the school. at least from the students' perspective. School personnel could then attempt to respond to the students' concerns that have been brought to their attention. as a way of establishing an environment that will be conducive to retention of students in school. WW Based on the data collected and the study findings. the following suggestions are made for further research: 1. Saudi girl 5' attrition from school is a serious problem and needs more attention in future research. This investigator selected only six factors for study. but in the interviews another factor was uncovered--the lack of career options for Saudi femal es--that could be explored in future studies concerning factors involved in gi rls' deci- sions to leave school. 2. This research was conducted in Medina. Future studies could include other cities. the entire country. and especially rural areas. 3. Another study could be conducted by spending an entire year observing students in school and interviewing the girls. their parents. and their teachers. Such an ethnographic study could provide more 190 information about the factors that influence girls to drop out of school. and how the attrition problem might be alleviated. 4. This research could be replicated with different groups of students. in addition to those who dropped out after intermediate school. Those who drop out after elementary school or after secondary school also should be included in such research. 5. This study should be replicated with males. Such a study could also include an analysis of males' attitudes toward education for females. 6. The study should be replicated with male dropouts. Factors thought to influence male students'iattrition could be selected. based on interviews with male principals. The influence of these factors on boys' attrition could then be tested in an attempt to alleviate the dropout problem in boys' schools. Such a study could also include an analysis of males' attitudes toward education for females. 7. A study should be conducted comparing attrition of girls in Saudi Arabia and another Muslim country that has a lower dropout rate. Perhaps such a study would uncover someeof the reasons why girls in other Arabic countries remain in school. 8. A study comparing attrition in Saudi Arabia and a more developed country might give the Saudi government some ideas about how to encourage Saudi girls to remain in school. 9. Teachers should be studied as one factor influencing student attrition. in an attempt to discover the nature and extent of that influence. Frequent interviews and observations of teachers need 191 to be conducted to obtain a clearer conception of their teaching tech- niques and of their interactions with students. 10. The nature and extent of the family‘s influence on student attrition should also be investigated more fully. This could be accomplished by frequently visiting students' homes and conducting interviews with parents to discover the educational expectations they hold for their children. APPENDICES I92 APPENDIX A ENGLISH VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND NINTH GRADERS' QUESTIONNAIRE I93 194 COVER LETTER FOR NINTH GRADERS' QUESTIONNAIRE Dear Sister. I am attempting to learn about the reasons some girls leave school and others stay in school. To help me learn about this. I would like you to complete this questionnaire and give me your honest opinions about the questions asked. To insure that the investigation achieves accu- rate results. would you please take time to answer the enclosed ques- tionnaire as frankly as you can? Thank you for your cooperation. This questionnaire consists of two sections. In the first section. you are requested to provide some general information about yourself. In Section Two. you are requested to answer questions related to the factors that may affect you to stay in school or leave school. Please read each item carefully and indicate the most appropriate answer by putting a check mark ( ) in the proper column. Please be assured that the results of this questionnaire will remain confidential. Thank you again for your assistance. Sincerely. Fouziah Dumiati 195 SECTION I: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION How old are you? years What was the date of your birth? month day year Marital status: single married engaged divorced Father's level of education a. College graduate b. High school graduate c. Intermediate school d. Literate but no formal education e. Illiterate Mother's level of education a. College graduate b. High school graduate c. Intermediate school d. Literate but no formal education e. Illiterate Family's monthly income (If you are uncertain. give an estimate) a. Less than R2 thousand ____ b. RZ-RS thousand ____ I am uncertain but give the _____c. R5-R9 thousand estimate on the left ____ d. RlO-R19 thousand ____ I know my family income ____ e. Over R20 thousand precisely Which of the following best describes your family situation? a. You live with your father and mother b. Your parents are separated or divorced and you live with one of them c. One of your parents is dead and you live with the other d. Both of your parents are dead and you live alone e. Both of your parents are dead and you live with a relative f. Your parents are alive but you live alone 9. You are married and live in your own house IO. 11. 12. I96 How far is the school from home? a. b. c. d. Less than 1 mile 1 to 3 miles 4 to 10 miles More than 10 miles How many years did you spend in elementary school? a. b. c. d. Six years Seven years Eight years More than 8 years How many years did you spend in intermediate school? a. b. c. d. Three years Four years Five years More than 5 years How many people in your family live with you? What a. b. c. d. is a. b. c. One _____e. Five Two __ f. Six Three ____ 9. Seven Four h. Eight or more your marital status? Unmarried Engaged Married If married. how many children do you have? a. b. c. d. e. No children No children. but pregnant One child Two children More than two children l3. I4. 15. 16. 197 How would you describe your class attendance in intermediate school? a. Attended all classes b. Missed very few classes c. Missed some classes d. Missed many classes When you were in intermediate school. did you fail in any of the courses? a. Passed all courses and had good grades b. Passed all courses and had poor grades c. Failed l or 2 courses d. Failed 3 or 4 courses e. Failed 5 or 6 courses f. Failed more than 6 courses years At what age do you feel girls should get married? What is your plan for continuing in school? 198 SECTION II In this section you are requested to express your opinion about some factors that might have influenced you to drop out of school. choose only the one option that best describes your opinion. Please o o L 0) on o o L U) U) .- < o 'o > o o >~ on .- :— 0: C Q) U U) C o o o o o L L 'D U) L u 01 c .. u W 4 D o m 1. My family always encouraged me to go to school. 2. I think that getting married is more important than going to school. 3. I always need somebody to drive me to school. 4. Going to school is enjoyable and full of activities. 5. The school curriculum covers a lot of interesting and useful subjects. 6. I always like to attend all of the classes. 7. I think that men should always be the leaders and women should be the followers. 8. It is very difficult for a married woman to go to school. 199 Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree 9. I think it is more important for boys to continue education than girls. 10. My family has always encouraged me to have a career. 11. Boys and girls have the same chance and opportunity to go to school. 12. It is important for a girl to continue her education even after she gets married. 13. I always like to participate in school activi- ties such as sports. academic and scientific clubs. social activities. etc. 14. If I have the chance. I will work my way to college. 15. There is always someone in my school (teacher. counselor. administrators) whom I can refer to when I have a problem. 16. It is more important for boys to have a career and job than it is for girls. 17. To be a good wife and mother. it is important to have higher education. ZOO Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree 18. Teachers in school always have encouraged me to continue my education. 19. I have many good friends at school. 20. My family has always encouraged me to go to school and has prepared me to be a good wife and mother at the same time. 21. I think that I can manage both school and marriage. 22. It is easier for boys to continue education than it is for girls. 23. School is the only place where I can have a good social life. 24. My family has always praised me when I received good grades in school. 25. Teachers always help the students under- stand the subjects. 26. I have always received help from my family in doing my homework. 201 Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree 27. Husbands should encourage their wives to continue further education. 28. I have the right to decide if I want to go to school or stay home. 29. Generally. teachers have a great interest in teaching. 30. I like taking exams because it helps me evaluate myself. 31. I hate school because of the homework. 32. My family always provides a good environ- ment for studying. 33. Most of the teachers in school try to stimulate competition among students to increase motivation. 34. It would be a better society if men and women had an equal chance in leadership. 35. Teachers in school always praise me when I answer correctly. 202 Q) Q) L 0) Di 4.) m L in m .- «c c: '0 > Q) 0 > 0) °- L O) C Q) U U) C. O Q) Q) (0 O L L 'U u: L 4.: m c -— u m < D o m 36. Local schools should hire only those teachers who have had long experience in teaching. 37. My family encourages the married woman to go to school. 38. The society does not encourage a working relationship between men and women. 39. Teachers have a good attitude toward students. U c Q) m U ' u c CL u L to E c o iu - o O. L L H E O o O l— — Q -— u o e u o o. u -—- u o e o -- to — ..C Q) .1 3 —- o >~ o +4 >~ L E U L H o o -- o o > U) .1 > Z 40. How did your family feel about your getting married immediately after completing intermediate school? 41. How did your family feel about preparing you at an early age to become a good wife and mother? 203 Very Important Somewhat Important Little Importance Very Little Imp. Not a Factor 42. In the statements below. indicate the impor- tance of each factor that caused a girl to leave school after Grade 9. a. She left school because she preferred working at home over going to school. b. She disliked certain teacher(s). c. She disliked certain subject(s). d. She could not learn in school and was discouraged. e. She was ill. f. She was not interested in school work. 9. Her parents wanted her to leave school. h. She was failing and didn't want to repeat the same grade. 1. School was far from home. and she had no one to take her to school. j. The annual exam was hard to pass. k. The school atmosphere was hostile and competitive. 1. Her husband or fiance wanted her to leave school. m. She was pregnant. n. She had a child or children to care for. 204 Very Important Somewhat Important Little Importance Very Little Imp. Not a Factor 43. What encourages you to remain in intermediate school? a. Specific vocational instruction (e.g.. home and child care) b. Smaller classes with more individual instruction c. Services of a guidance counselor d. More personal contact with the teacher e. Having teachers who are familiar with local culture and way of life f. More participation in school activities 9. Friendly relationship with school personnel h. Less dependence on annual exams as the only method of evaluation i. Friendly and supportive school atmos- phere 44. At what age do you think that a girl should be married? a. Before 13 years old b. 14-16 years old c. 17-19 years old d. 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Jam-$3»- Y “1.31.1.1... ~111.,1. ..1.:.~11.,1.o-. ”ah-U34»: “Iv-:5 .J'Mr)*” all--1 a-I’M'ofli a“ 0"5‘13'“ :afio‘iw' ob‘fyo‘ oUwH-itcr-x— .33..- 'OHCJ APPENDIX C ENGLISH VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND ELEVENTH GRADERS' QUESTIONNAIRE. 216 217 COVER LETTER FOR ELEVENTH GRADERS' QUESTIONNAIRE Dear Sister. I am attempting to learn about the reasons some girIs Teave schoo1 and others stay in schoo‘l. To heTp me 'learn about this. I wou'ld ‘like you to compTete this questionnaire and give me your honest opinions about the questions asked. To insure that the investigation achieves accu- rate resuIts. would you pTease take time to answer the encTosed ques- tionnaire as frankTy as you can? Thank you for your cooperation. This questionnaire consists of two sections. In the first section. you are requested to provide some genera] information about yourseTf. In Section Two. you are requested to answer questions re1ated to the factors that may affect you to stay in sch001 or Teave schoo]. PTease read each item carefuTTy and indicate the most appropriate answer by putting a check mark ( ) in the proper coTumn. PTease be assured that the resuTts of this questionnaire wiTT remain confidentiaT. Thank you again for your assistance. SincereTy. Fouziah Dumiati 218 SECTION I: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION How old are you? years What was the date of your birth? month day year Marital status: ____ single married engaged divorced Father's level of education a. College graduate b. High school graduate c. Intermediate school d. Literate but no formal education e. Illiterate Mother's level of education a. College graduate b. High school graduate c. Intermediate school d. Literate but no formal education e. Illiterate Family's monthly income (If you are uncertain. give an estimate) a. Less than R2 thousand ____ b. R2-RS thousand ____ I am uncertain but give the c. RS-R9 thousand estimate on the left ____ d. RlO-Rl9 thousand ____ I know my family income _____e. Over R20 thousand precisely Which of the following best describes your family situation? a. You live with your father and mother b. Your parents are separated or divorced and you live with one of them c. One of your parents is dead and you live with the other d. Both of your parents are dead and you live alone 9. Both of your parents are dead and you live with a relative f. Your parents are alive but you live alone 9. You are married and live in your own house 14. 15. 16. 17. 219 How would you describe your class attendance in intermediate school? a. Attended all classes b. Missed very few classes c. Missed some classes d. Missed many classes When you were in intermediate school. did you fail any of the courses? a. Passed all courses and had good grades b. Passed all courses and had poor grades c. Failed l or 2 courses d. Failed 3 or 4 courses e. Failed 5 or 6 courses f. Failed more than 6 courses years At what age do you feel girls should get married? What is your plan for continuing your education? 220 SECTION II In this section you are requested to express your opinion about some factors that might have influenced you to drop out of school. choose only the one option that best describes your opinion. Please 0 Q) L 0 Cl 0 m L. m m o— < D U >~ 0 0 > a) 0— L m C O) U U”! C O 0 0 CO C L L '0 ill L 4.: m c ._ H V, < D D (I) My family always encouraged me to go to school. I think that getting married is more important than going to school. I always need somebody to drive me to school. Going to school is enjoyable and full of activities. The school curriculum covers a lot of interesting and useful subjects. I always like to attend all of the classes. I think that men should always be the leaders and women should be the followers. It is very difficult for a married woman to go to school. 221 Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree I think it is more important for boys to continue education than girls. l0. My family has always encouraged me to have a career. ll. Boys and girls have the same chance and opportunity to go to school. l2. It is important for a girl to continue her education even after she gets married. 13. I always like to participate in school activi- ties such as sports. academic and scientific clubs. social activities. etc. 14. If I have the chance. I will work my way to college. 15. There is always someone in my school (teacher. counselor. administrators) whom I can refer to when I have a problem. 16. It is more important for boys to have a career and Job than it is for girls. 17. To be a good wife and mother. it is important to have higher education. 222 Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree 18. Teachers in school always have encouraged me to continue my education. l9. I have many good friends at school. 20. My family has always encouraged me to go to school and has prepared me to be a good wife and mother at the same time. 21. I think that I can manage both school and marriage. 22. It is easier for boys to continue education than it is for girls. 23. School is the only place where I can have a good social life. 24. My family has always praised me when I received good grades in school. 25. Teachers always help the students under- stand the subjects. 26. I have always received help from my family in doing my homework. 223 Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree 27. Husbands should encourage their wives to continue further education. 28. I have the right to decide if I want to go to school or stay home. 29. Generally. teachers have a great interest in teaching. 30. I like taking exams because it helps me evaluate myself. 3l. I hate school because of the homework. 32. My family always provides a good environ- ment for studying. 33. Most of the teachers in school try to stimulate competition among students to increase motivation. 34. It would be a better society if men and women had an equal chance in leadership. 35. Teachers in school always praise me when I answer correctly. 22h 0 0 L 4) Di 0) m L m m 0. .< c: U > 0 d.) > —- 'D 0 - a) O- b m C 0 U 01 C o o o m o L L ‘U m L a m c: -- u L U) < D D U) 36. Local schools should hire only those teachers who have had long experience in teaching. 37. My family encourages the married woman to go to school. 38. The society does not encourage a working relationship between men and women. 39. Teachers have a good attitude toward students. "‘ o E 8 a u L m E to Q L L L __ a — u o s u o O. u — H m E m -- .L '— .c 0 —l 3 —- m > a) U > L E u L H o o - o o > m ..l > 2 40. How did your family feel about your getting married immediately after completing intermediate school? 41. How did your family feel about preparing you at an early age to become a good wife and mother? 225 Very Important Somewhat Important Little Importance very Little Imp. Not a Factor 42. In the statements below. indicate the impor- tance of each factor that caused a girl to leave school after Grade 9. a. She left school because she preferred working at home over going to school. b. She disliked certain teacher(s). c. She disliked certain subject(s). d. She could not learn in school and was discouraged. e. She was ill. f. She was not interested in school work. 9. Her parents wanted her to leave school. h. She was failing and didn't want to repeat the same grade. i. School was far from home. and she had no one to take her to school. j. The annual exam was hard to pass. k. The school atmosphere was hostile and competitive. 1. Her husband or fiance wanted her to leave school. m. She was pregnant. n. She had a child or children to care for. 226 H C G) ‘0 U ° +4 C Q u L m E c O H - ('0 Q t— L H E O Q) 0 L — Q .— u 0 E +4 u Q U — u m e m ~- ‘u. — .C (D _l 3 ._ m >- m u >~ L E 4-1 L y 0 O -- 0 O > U) _l > z 43. What encouraged you to remain in intermediate school? a. Specific vocational instruction (e.g.. home and child care) b. Smaller classes with more individual instruction c. Services of a guidance counselor d. More personal contact with the teacher e. Having teachers who are familiar with local culture and way of life f. More participation in school activities 9. Friendly relationship with school personnel h. Less dependence on annual exams as the only method of evaluation 1. Friendly and supportive school atmos- phere 44. At what age do you think that a girl should be married? a. Before 13 years old b. l4-l6 years old c. l7-l9 years old d. Over 20 years old APPENDIX D ARABIC VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND ELEVENTH GRADERS' QUESTIONNAIRE 227 228 . . . swig—fin .v—s «rJI-I-"éw‘é-v «I; ..J' ...; wet-‘1' thJ-‘J' and M ...—J- “ LI)... «Lb-um, «=st In ,1. mm dug}, . . ”in“! .dgL-aubfiui J6, ..u, . . punLLm'uiuhugvm. 1.91:. . 1.4.1.5.! eWIM -u..: 43...»... 4,3! g..." . . as), 0. ur... 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Lad 1...... you" L... “PF" .. ...... -- «qr- .l. « -~~——-1 -—-—-~--—-‘ --—-—-—-———- -- .4 Annie“: 01‘s.. quich l. - “- .z...,...n you.” HiwiwlabdeJ-Aq-‘ . Jul-"1i, 43w. (Ls: «1: us M J vioULIJI a.» w. y . 4,33.” Fla-LII 250.21, .¢U,.L1Iv3+9c.Lai-- r pl.) MIC,” Wleuwl '5 9L). 1 -'-.__..e...;-..,,.....l.e;...n 2.5;: . . um swiflwi - swan-.1: um h,.:$,I..:..n 3.1.3- 1 2., Lugs wig, wan-.61.- y ”wiobkh Vick JL’J‘JI‘LJB- A .flEJJD-bb, Upg< ~J'“q‘J¢-” 61‘- \ U'J’JI’U‘ 0’“ (’43.: Wk“ Q3 : a? oth .‘LL-ngJ-‘ o'i-h-n-ito-a- ...-Luv H J ‘0 -(( APPENDIX E ENGLISH VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND DROPOUTS' QUESTIONNAIRE 238 239 COVER LETTER FOR DROPOUTS' QUESTIONNAIRE Dear Sister. I am attempting to learn about the reasons someigirls leave school and others stay in school. To help me learn about this. I would like you to complete this questionnaire and give me your honest opinions about the questions asked. To insure that the investigation achieves accu- rate results. would you please take time to answer the enclosed ques- tionnaire as frankly as you can? Thank you for your cooperation. This questionnaire consists of two sections. In the first section. you are requested to provide some general information about yourself. In Section Two. you are requested to answer questions related to the fac- tors that may affect you to stay in school or leave school. Please read each item carefully and indicate the most appropriate answer by putting a check mark ( ) in the proper column. Please be assured that the results of this questionnaire will remain confidential. Thank you again for your assistance. Sincerely. Fouziah Dumiati 2A0 SECTION I: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION How old are you? ________ years What was the date of your birth? month day year Marital status: single married engaged divorced Father's level of education a. College graduate b. High school graduate c. Intermediate school d. Literate but no formal education e. Illiterate Mother's level of education a. College graduate b. High school graduate c. Intermediate school d. Literate but no formal education e. Illiterate Family's monthly income (If you are uncertain. give an estimate) a. Less than R2 thousand _____b. R2-RS thousand ____ I am uncertain but give the c. R5-R9 thousand estimate on the left ____ d. RlO-RlQ thousand ____ I know my family income ____ e. Over R20 thousand precisely Which of the following best describes your family situation? a. You live with your father and mother b. Your parents are separated or divorced and you live with one of them c. One of your parents is dead and you live with the other d. Both of your parents are dead and you live alone 9. Both of your parents are dead and you live with a relative f. Your parents are alive but you live alone 9. You are married and live in your own house lO. 1]. 12. 13. 2h] How far was the school from home? a. Less than 1 mile b. l to 3 miles c. 4 to 10 miles d. More than 10 miles How many years did you spend in elementary school? a. Six years b. Seven years c. Eight years d. More than 8 years How many years did you spend in intermediate school? What a. Three years b. Four years c. Five years d. More than 5 years was your grade level when you left school? a. First intermediate b. Second intermediate c. Third intermediate d. Fourth high school e. Fifth high school f. Sixth high school How many people in your family live with you? What a. One e. Five b. Two f. Six c. Three 9. Seven d. Four h. Eight or more was your marital status when you left school? a. Unmarried b. Engaged c. Married If married. how many children did you have when you left school? a. No children b. No children. but pregnant c. One child d. Two children e. More than two children I4. 15. 16. l7. l8. 19. 20. 2h2 How old were you when you left school? a. Less than l3 years old b. Fourteen years old c. Fifteen years old d. Sixteen years old e. Over l6 years old Who influenced you the most to leave school? a. Your husband or fiance b. Your parent(s) c. Your relative(s) d. Your friend(s) e. Your teacher(s) f. Other (please identify) How would you describe your class attendance in intermediate school? a. Attended all classes b. Missed very few classes c. Missed some classes d. Missed many classes When you were in intermediate school. did you fail any of the courses? a. Passed all courses and had good grades b. Passed all courses and had poor grades c. Failed l or 2 courses d. Failed 3 or 4 courses e. Failed 5 or 6 courses f. Failed more than 6 courses At what age do you feel girls should get married? _______ years What is your plan for continuing your education? When do you plan on leaving school? 2A3 SECTION II In this section you are requested to express your opinion about some factors that might have influenced you to drop out of school. choose only the one option that best describes your opinion. Please 0 Q) L 0 Cl 0 m L in 01 '- < o 'D >~ 0) Q) >~ D'I '- L- U) c Q) U 03 I: o o o m o L L 'O m L U 0') C o— 4H on < D D m .—l 0 My family always encouraged me to go to school. 2. I think that getting married is more important than going to school. 3. I always need somebody to drive me to school. 4. Going to school is enjoyable and full of activities. 5. The school curriculum covers a lot of interesting and useful subjects. 6. I always like to attend all of the classes. 7. I think that men should always be the leaders and women should be the followers. 8. It is very difficult for a married woman to go to school. Zhh Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree. Strongly Disagree I think it is more important for boys to continue education than girls. 10. My family has always encouraged me to have a career. ll. Boys and girls have the same chance and opportunity to go to school. 12. It is important for a girl to continue her education even after she gets married. 13. I always like to participate in school activi- ties such as sports. academic and scientific clubs. social activities. etc. 14. If I have the chance again. I will work my way to college. 15. There is always someone in my school (teacher. counselor. administrators) whom I can refer to when I have a problem. l6. It is more important for boys to have a career and job than it is for girls. l7. To be a good wife and mother. it is important to have higher education. ZAS Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree . Strongly Disagree l8. Teachers in school always have encouraged me to continue my education. 19. I have many good friends at school. 20. My family has always encouraged me to go to school and has prepared me to be a good wife and mother at the same time. 2l. I think that I can manage both school and marriage. 22. It is easier for boys to continue education than it is for girls. 23. School is the only place where I can have a good social life. 24. My family has always praised me when I received good grades in school. 25. Teachers always help the students under- stand the subjects. 26. I have always received help from my family in doing my homework. 2A6 Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree 27. Husbands should encourage their wives to continue further education. 28. I have the right to decide if I want to go to school or stay home. 29. Generally. teachers have a great interest in teaching. 30. I like taking exams because it helps me evaluate myself. 31. I hate school because of the homework. 32. My family always provides a good environ- ment for studying. 33. Most of the teachers in school try to stimulate competition among students to increase motivation. 34. It would be a better society if men and women had an equal chance in leadership. 35. Teachers in school always praise me when I answer correctly. 2A7 0 0 L 0 OS 0 m L in O) O- .< c: 'O > 00> —- -o u - U) O-LC‘I cmumc OUQJIDO LL‘UUIL umCmu m<3c3m 36. Local schools should hire only those teachers who have had long experience in teaching. 37. My family encourages the married woman to go to school. 38. The society does not encourage a working relationship between men and women. 39. Teachers have a good attitude toward students. U :0 mo. HCQ uLmE c o I» .. COO-I- 3... 1:58.938 0 Eat) QH—um em 0.“ >~ 0 'u >. m sari-‘4 >m4§§ 40. How did your family feel about your getting married immediately after completing intermediate school? 41. How did your family feel about preparing you at an early age to become a good wife and mother? 2&8 Very Important Somewhatelmportant Little Importance Very Little Imp. Not a Factor 42. In the statements below. indicate the impor- tance of each factor that caused you to leave school. a. I left school because I preferred work- ing at home over going to school. b. I disliked certain teacher(s). c. I disliked certain subject(s). d. I could not learn in school and was discouraged. e. I was ill. f. I was not interested in school work. 9. My parents wanted me to leave school. h. I was failing and I didn't want to repeat the same grade. 1. School was far from home. and I had no one to take me to school. j. The annual exam was hard to pass. k. The school atmosphere was hostile and competitive. l. My husband or fiance wanted me to leave school. m. I was pregnant. n. I had a child or children to care for. 2A9 Very Important Somewhat Important Little Importance Very Little Imp. Not a Factor 43. What would have encouraged you to remain in intermediate school? a. Specific vocational instruction (e.g.. home and child care) b. Smaller classes with more individual instruction c. Services of a guidance counselor d. More personal contact with the teacher e. Having teachers who are familiar with local culture and way of life f. More participation in school activities 9. Friendly relationship with school personnel h. Less dependence on annual exams as the only method of evaluation 1. Friendly and supportive school atmos- phere 44. At what age do you think that a girl should be married? a. Before l3 years old b. l4-16 years old c. l7-l9 years old d. Over 20 years old APPENDIX F ARABIC VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND DROPOUTS' QUESTIONNAIRE 250 25I .. “...—~19.» 43' H " : O’NIH.” ,I,__.:...I, . WI...u QWI‘fiad; u," t5...}. JJIVLPWI ubq’di J,I..I cl .,___é'VIJ_..,JI L_.l.| uh J,...u. . 1.5.... «mJ ‘Uul, . . was“?! I... ”1.2.4. atlases), . MLLBLLZLJYI gum... an «I. 1.," . . 2.3.. “‘13:“ Jfi—J‘ I Jr)!- ~41: thgLMIJH cu.» tang]... Jfin o3..." . . as). a we, 'RLYI as... _,___u ...; gu'hrI-r-‘VL WEI-.3 “but. sIaLQL; «an 3.41, . . «3...... a. d—wL-U'Ll. alumnae... J's- JSrifiw g. .. 1.9.4135; ,lu,I,.:..I .'1.IIJ,..-J|vi (l/I a...» odév’lE-n‘r"c6 glc-«a-LLLUM. Web-«‘9' o‘ tr 3.6% «L—‘asl v.__Ll..«'.____.;,,s 252 ...—g... e. L__,,..:.n «. 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I would like you to complete this questionnaire and give me your honest opinions about the questions asked. To insure that the investigation achieves accu- rate resultsi would you please take time to answer the enclosed ques- tionnaire as frankly as you can? Thank you for your cooperation. In this questionnaire you are requested to answer questions related to the factors that may affect students to stay in school or leave school. Please read each item carefully and indicate the most appropriate answer by putting a check mark () in the proper column. Thank you again for your assistance. Please be assured that the results of this questionnaire will remain confidential. Sincerely: Fouziah Dumiati 26h Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree. Strongly Disagree l. The family always encourages the students to go to school. 2. I think that getting married is more impor- tant for the girls than going to school. 3. Girls always need somebody to drive them to school. 4. Going to school is enjoyable for girls and full of activities. 5. The school curriculum covers a lot of interesting and useful subjects. 6. Girls always like to attend all of the classes. 7. I think that men should always be the leaders and women should be the followers. 8. It is very difficult for a married woman to go to school. 26S Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree I think it is more important for boys to continue education than girls. lO. The family always encourages the student to have a career. ll. Boys and girls have the same chance and opportunity to go to school. 4 l2. It is important for a girl to continue her education even after she gets married. 13. Girls always like to participate in school activities such as sports. academic and scientific clubs. social activities. etc. 14. If girls have the chance. they will work their way to college. l5. There is always someone in the school (teacher. counselor. administrators) whom girls can refer to when they have a problem. 16. It is more important for boys to have a career and Job than it is for girls. 17. To be a good wife and mother. it is important to have higher education. 266 Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree 18. Teachers in school always encourage girls to continue their education. 19. Girls have many good friends at school. 20. The family always encourages the students to go to school and prepare them to be good wives and mothers at the same time. 21. I think that girls can manage both school and marriage. 22. It is easier for boys to continue education than it is for girls. 23. School is the only place where girls can have a good social life. 24. The family should always praise the students when they receive good grades in school. 25. Teachers always help the students under- stand the subjects. 26. Students always receive help from their family in doing their homework. 267 Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree 27. Husbands should encourage their wives to continue further education. 28. Girls have the right to decide if they want to go to school or stay home. 29. Generally. teachers have a great interest in teaching. 30. Girls like taking exams because it helps them to evaluate themselves. 31. Girls hate school because of the homework. 32. The family should always provide a good environment for studying. 33. Most of the teachers in school try to stimulate competition among students to increase motivation. 34. It would be a better society if men and women had an equal chance in leadership. 35. Teachers in school always praise girls when they answer correctly. 268 o 2 0 Ch 0 '0 L m U) o— 4: c: U >. oo>~ Oi “-LCD C0005: o o o m o LLUUIL. woman—u m<=om 36. Local schools should hire only those teachers who have had long experience in teaching. 37. The family should encourage the married woman to go to school. 38. The society does not encourage a working relationship between men and women. 39. Teachers should have a good attitude toward girls. ‘Eu- (DUO. ucE uLm— (204-J L. maLdJO u e o -— u L—QHU OuEum Chm-wu- 550-4 rgtuu sszé’é 40. What do you think a family feels about girls getting married immediately after completing intermediate school? 4l. What do you think a family feels about preparing girls at an early age to become good wives and mothers? 269 Very Important Somewhat Important Little Importance Very Little Imp. Not a Factor 42. In the statements below. indicate the impor- tance of each factor that caused girls to leave school after Grade 9. a. They left school because they preferred working at home over going to school. b. They disliked certain teacher(s). c. They disliked certain subject(s). d. They could not learn in school and were discouraged. e. They were ill. f. They were not interested in school work. 9. Their parents wanted them to leave school. h. They were failing and didn't want to repeat the same grade. 1. School was far from home. and they had no one to take them to school. j. The annual exam was hard to pass. k. The school atmosphere was hostile and competitive. l. Their husbands or fiances wanted them to leave school. m. They were pregnant. n. They had a child or children to care for. 270 u . c Q) m 0 ° +4 c O. U L (‘0 E c o u — (O Q L. I. u E o o o L. — D. .— u o E u o o. u — u m E m --.u. — ..C a) _l 3 ._ m > G) U > L. E H L U 0 O -- 0 O > m ...J > z 43. What would have encouraged girls to remain in intermediate school? a. Specific vocational instruction (e.g.. home and child care) b. Smaller classes with more individual instruction c. Services of a guidance counselor d. More personal contact with the teacher 6. Having teachers who are familiar with local culture and way of life f. More participation in school activities 9. Friendly relationship with school personnel h. Less dependence on annual exams as the only method of evaluation i. Friendly and supportive school atmos- phere 44. At what age do you think that a girl should be married? a. Before 13 years old b. l4-16 years old c. l7-19 years old d. Over 20 years old APPENDIX H ARABIC VERSION OF COVER LETTER AND TEACHERS' QUESTIONNAIRE 27] 272 3 3H)». P—L-vdo ,l,__.:...l, . vol-LU ukulwej): u}! .545 V,.;ll.,,|.,‘_.,')ll $6,341 $1.1 bl J,__....u .. 3.5....-:.,l,-LL..I,'u-..vl I... «n.1, muses), ,,___.'1IN| . mu. 3.1.1.2125" "4.3.4.. and... tan . . . . may “I. .013,“ ul‘H' J,» .3”) J—Jlg"? Wieh-‘Ykalfiud aha-1. “"Lhfi'ru" -- "ab" ”-9 q‘ . Loyd—U L's); ,l 2.9.1.." 6"?lebe ‘/’ W MFW'LQWW‘: .. are. Jun-52's.»...- Assails-.9 rant». 01¢... KLLUM—gnSZ-dhl?‘ J u-fil: 21.—:41: 4,: page! Jig-".134 “...-Li. of am: oi via-9A1.- 391' Us ..5 .oJ,_Ju gaelefilJLaI L,,JI . . . . 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Jud-‘1", JjJLrLLe ~11 3,5,5 :5 Lei, JaqugUILJl ...». $.12... . 4,—3.4!P1xw ...-45,2.” 924.991.45.4- 91.94.le awieumu 2.1.5-. .eLJlLJI, uwk‘Wlél-J-U' 4055-0 .Z—J—dliwb 2.1-4' .3...” uIeLLLwlqiiS,uJI;.LJ--1 .2...) ...quawl‘, what-.13).” ”Wight-.2. 3",,» .munm.‘ .pw3»,u..,< °QJ'*"Q~J*H J-k-i =GJF-‘o‘3w' L... H' J} -J 33.-H : Hr: ...... L'u-H : iYa- -.., "tiI *lc APPENDIX I ENGLISH VERSION OF DROPOUT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 278 279 INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR DROPOUT STUDENTS Introduction: Hello. . My name is Fouziah. I would like to know the reasons for your attrition from school and would like to ask you some questions about that. Your answers will be kept confi- dential. l. How old are you now? How old were you when you dropped out of school? 2. Are you married? If yes. how many children do you have? 3. Do you think getting married is more important for girls than going to school? Why? 4. Is there a relationship between your achievement in school and your attrition from school? How? 5. What is your family's reaction to your attrition from school? Why? 6. Did your teachers influence your attrition from school? How? 7. What is your perception about the importance of education for Saudi girls? Why? 8. Do you think education is more important for boys than girls? Why? 9. What are the three most important reasons for your attrition from school? Thank you for talking to me. APPENDIX J ARABIC VERSION OF DROPOUT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 28D ewicre an“; “unsp‘umfi ”I13, . . . 2.». 9...! L-i . . ° ° ° ° bileIaJIréfingi U‘c'w' "1’” J13” QB‘TJJ‘§U"J"|‘J" Ira-21“” 0' ,gwgrufiwcgglal «5129‘ 5le .. .. afllaewl. Um, z_.,...JI 55,: Land); OK‘S ? drag .................................................. ................................................... ................................................... ................................................... OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo BIBLIOGRAPHY 282 BIBLIOGRAPHY Abdullah. Abdul-Rahman S. Ihe History of Edugatlgn 1n Mecca. Jeddah: Dar Alshruog. 1982. Abdul-Wasei. Abdul-Wahab. lbe Education in Saudi Amine Between New and the film. Jeddah: DarhTuhamah. l983. Adams. F. "The Benefits of an Interdisciplinary Approach to the Question of Disruptive Pupils." yfigugat1gn (February 1978): 9l. Afzalurrahman. .Muhammad; Encyclopedia of Search. London: Muslim School Trust. 1981. Al-Afandy. Maisah M. Ibe Secial and W Influenees and Womenis Educatlgn. Riyadh: Dar-Alolom Press. 1983. Al-Baadi. Hamad Muhammad. "Social Chance. Education. and the Roles of Women in Arabia." Ph.D. dissertation. Stanford University. 1982. Al-Kazmi. Zohair Ahmed. "Student Perceptions of Parental Influence in Choice of College and Academic Field of Study at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia." Ph.D. dissertation. Michigan State University. 198l. 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