School conditions associated with drop-out in secondary education. Analysis from two cases in Mexico

Abstract

This work uses two cases to describe the educational factors associated with young males dropping out of secondary school in Mexico. The data come from a master’s degree thesis completed in the state of Aguascalientes (Delgado, 2007) and present the views of the stakeholders involved (ex students, friends, family members, teachers and educational assistance personnel) of the factors that identify and promote exclusion in secondary school. The qualitative approach uses critical communication methods, whose main feature is the concept that social reality is constructed from individual concepts of each person, and therefore, promotes dialogue among stakeholders and overcomes social inequalities. The study finds an accumulation of factors related to teachers, the organization of school centres and characteristics of the secondary school system discourage the interviewees from staying in school. In addition, important adaptations of educational practices are not identified so as to pay attention to the needs and i interests of the students. The conclusions identify actions of change that, according to the informants and the current literature, are necessary for improving the care provided to youths.