TITLE:
“Why Are They Out?” Exploring School Heads and Teachers’ Views on Secondary School Students’ Dropout in Peri-Urban Communities of Zanzibar, Tanzania
AUTHORS:
Donatus Doe, Shemsa Othman Shindano, Asia Ally Kimolo
KEYWORDS:
Out of School, Push Pull Factors, Dropout, Rural, Peri-Urban, Youth
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.10,
September
23,
2022
ABSTRACT: The
study purposed to explore school heads and teachers’ views on students’ dropout
in peri-urban Zanzibar with the aim of understanding the factors influencing
dropout of children in secondary schools from school heads’ and
teachers’ perspective, strategies adopted by schools to address dropout and to
identify challenges faced by head of schools in returning out-of-school
children in Zanzibar. Employing a qualitative approach, the study used case
study design with purposive sampling in understanding school heads’ and
teachers’ views. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with
respondents being 17 teachers and heads of schools. The research used
frustration-self-esteem
model and participation model by Finn to understand and explain why some
students withdraw from school. The findings show that distance to school, failure and repetition in school,
inability to cope with school demands, poverty, engaging in economic
activity, conflict between parent and non-commitment,
English as language of instruction, indiscipline and community factors such as
game centre activities and entertainment clubs are some of the reasons for
dropout. The findings indicate that dropout is caused at various levels
including family, school, individual, and community level in Zanzibar. On
strategies adopted to curb dropout, school heads and teachers are helping in
ways such as counselling students, establishing English clubs to address the language problem and instituting community related
engagements. The study results have implications on policy and practice
towards addressing dropout.