6.7: Education

In early adolescence, the transition from elementary school to middle school can be difficult for many students, both academically and socially. Crosnoe and Benner (2015) found that some students became disengaged and alienated during this transition which resulted in negative long-term consequences in academic performance and mental health. This may be because middle school teachers are seen as less supportive than elementary school teachers (Brass et al., 2019). Similarly, the transition to high school can be difficult. For example, high schools are larger, more bureaucratic, less personal, and there are less opportunities for teachers to get to know their students (Eccles & Roeser, 2016).

Peers:

Certainly, the beliefs and expectations about academic success supported by an adolescent's family play a significant role in the student's achievement and school engagement. However, research has also focused on the importance of peers in an adolescent's school experience. Specifically, having friends who are high-achieving, academically motivated and engaged promotes motivation and engagement in the adolescent, while those whose friends are unmotivated, disengaged, and low achieving promotes the same feelings (Shin & Ryan, 2014; Vaillancourt et al., 2019).

Gender:

Crosnoe and Benner (2015) found that female students earn better grades, try harder, and are more intrinsically motivated than male students. Further, Duchesne et al. (2019) described how female students were more oriented toward skill mastery, used a variety of learning strategies, and persevered more than males. However, more females exhibit worries and anxiety about school, including feeling that they must please teachers and parents. These worries can heighten their effort but lead to fears of disappointing others. In contrast, males are more confident and do not value adult feedback regarding their academic performance (Brass et al., 2019). There is a subset of female students who identify with sexualized gender stereotypes (SGS), however, and they tend to underperform academically. These female students endorse the beliefs that "girls" should be sexy and not smart. Nelson and Brown (2019) found that female students who support SGS reported less desire to master skills and concepts, were more skeptical of the usefulness of an education, and downplayed their intelligence.

Life of a high school student:

On average, high school teens spend approximately 7 hours each weekday and 1.1 hours each day on the weekend on educational activities. This includes attending classes, participating in extracurricular activities (excluding sports), and doing homework (Office of Adolescent Health, 2018). High school males and females spend about the same amount of time in class, doing homework, eating and drinking, and working. However, they do spend their time outside of these activities in different ways.

• High school males. On average, high school males spend about one more hour per day on media and communications activities than females on both weekdays (2.9 vs. 1.8 hours) and weekend days (4.8 vs. 3.8 hours). They also spend more time playing sports on both weekdays (0.9 vs. 0.5 hours) and weekend days (1.2 vs. 0.5 hours). On weekdays, high school males get an hour more of sleep than females (9.2 vs. 8.2 hours, on average).
• High school females. On an average weekday, high school females spend more time than boys on both leisure activities (1.7 vs. 1.1 hours) and religious activities (0.1 vs. 0.0 hours). High school females also spend more time on grooming on both weekdays and weekend days (1.1 vs. 0.7 hours, on average for both weekdays and weekend days).

High School Dropouts:

The status dropout rate refers to the percentage of 16 to 24 year-olds who are not enrolled in school and do not have high school credentials (either a diploma or an equivalency credential such as a General Educational Development [GED] certificate). The dropout rate is based on sample surveys of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons in prisons, persons in the military, and other persons not living in households. The dropout rate among high school students has declined from a rate of 12% in 1990 , to 6.1% in 2016 (U.S. Department of Education, 2018). The rate is lower for Whites than for Blacks, and the rates for both Whites and Blacks are lower than the rate for Hispanics. However, the gap between Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics have narrowed (see Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)).

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). Percentage of high school dropouts among persons 16 through 24 years old (status dropout rate), by race/ethnicity: October 1977 through 2017. Image source.

The dropout rate for males in 1990 was 12%, where it stayed until 2000. Thereafter the rate has dropped to 7.1% in 2016. The dropout rate for females in 1990 was 12%, and it has dropped to 5.1% in 2016 (U.S. Department of Education, 2018).

The overall status dropout rate for 16- to 24-year-olds decreased from 7.0 percent in 2012 to 5.3 percent in 2022. During this time, the status dropout rate declined for those who were American Indian/Alaska Native (from 12.8 to 9.9 percent), Hispanic (from 12.8 to 7.9 percent), Black (from 9.0 to 5.7 percent), White (from 4.7 to 4.3 percent), and Asian (from 2.6 to 1.9 percent) (National Center for Education Statistics, 2024).

Reasons for Dropping Out of School:

Garcia et al. (2018) reviewed the research on why students dropped out of school and identified several major obstacles to school completion. These included:

• Residing in foster care or being part of the juvenile justice system. In fact, being confined in a juvenile detention facility practically guaranteed that a student would not complete school.
• Having a physical or mental health condition, or the need for special educational services, adversely affected school completion.
• Being maltreated due to abuse or neglect and/or being homeless also contributed to dropping out of school.
• Adolescent-specific factors, including race, ethnicity and age, as well as family-specific characteristics, such as poverty, single parenting, large family size, and stressful transitions, all contributed to an increased likelihood of dropping-out of school.
• Community factors, such as unsafe neighborhoods, gang activity, and a lack of social services increased the number of school dropouts.

School-Based Preparatory Experiences

According to the U. S. Department of Labor (2019), to perform at optimal levels in all education settings, all youth need to participate in educational programs grounded in standards, clear performance expectations and graduation exit options based upon meaningful, accurate, and relevant indicators of student learning and skills. These should include:

• Academic programs that are based on clear state standards
• Career and technical education programs that are based on professional and industry standards
• Curricular and program options based on universal design of school, work, and community-based learning experiences
• Learning environments that are small and safe, including extra supports such as tutoring, as necessary
• Supports from and by highly qualified staff
• Access to an assessment system that includes multiple measures
• Graduation standards that include options.