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European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu 10.5281/zenodo.175723 Volume 2│Issue 11│2016 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DROP-OUTS AND STAY-INS IN RELATION TO CASTE, OCCUPATION AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF THEIR PARENTS Mohd. Abid Siddiqui1, Afa Dul Mujiaba2 Dr., Associate Professor, Department of Education, 1 Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India Dr., Afa Dul Mujiaba, Assistant professor in Education, 2 Govt. Degree College, Nowshera (J&K), India Abstract: The major thrust of this paper was to study the primary school drop-outs and stay-ins in regard to caste, occupation and educational background of their parents. The Present study was carried-out on the sample of 200 students comprising of 100 drop-outs and 100 stay-ins selected through stratified random sampling method from 80 primary schools of Poonch district. In order to measure the caste, occupation and educational background of drop-outs and stay-ins a standardized Socio-Economic status scale (SES) was used to collect the required information. The collected data was tabulated by using percentage method. The study revealed that majority of students who dropped-out from the schools before completing their elementary education belonged to low caste, occupation and educational background as compared to their stay-ins counterpart. In the end of this paper, some suggestive measures have been put forward by the authors. Keywords: drop-out, stay-ins, SES, caste, occupation and educational background Introduction Quality education is the birth right of every child. Sufficient efforts have been made in India before and after independence to provide free and compulsory elementary education to every child without any discrimination. In independent India Article 45 of the constitution provided a basic framework in this connection. Afterwards, various Commissions and Committees appointed by the Government of India also recommended a serious of measures to achieve the objective of universalization of Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved Published by Open Access Publishing Group ©2015. 71 Mohd. Abid Siddiqui, Afa Dul Mujiaba A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DROP-OUTS AND STAY-INS IN RELATION TO CASTE, OCCUPATION AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF THEIR PARENTS elementary education in India. A number of significant programmes/schemes such as Operational Blackboard, District Primary Education Programme (DPEP), mid-day Meal Scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), National Programme for Education of girls at elementary level (NPEGEL) and KGBV were initiated. The Right of Children to free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) 2009 is a detailed and comprehensive piece of legislation which includes the provision related to free and compulsory education of all the children in age group of 6-14 years as fundamental right under 86th amendment act, article 21 (A). Despite all these policy initiatives and government efforts the goal of universalization of elementary education remained elusive due to various reasons and the most potent being high drop-out rate. The problem of drop-out is complex and multifaceted and there is increasing evidence that a number of different types of students from diverse backgrounds and circumstances are leaving school (Lecomplete, 1987). Across the globe, there are high rates of students leaving the school, especially pronounced in the developing World. India is the 4th largest country of drop-outs. It has good primary school enrollment ratio, but three in ten drop-out by the time they reach the final grade (UNESCO, 2013). Various factors are associated with the premature withdrawal of students from the schools and their retention, but most responsible among them is socio-economic background of the students. Students who come from families with lower socio-economic status tend to experience higher dropout rates and lower graduation rates than do students who come from families with higher SES (Heckman & Krueger, 2003; Orfield, 2004). Several studies like (Akhtar (1996); Deolalikar (1997); Tansel, (1998); Brown and Park, (2002); Connelly and Zheng, (2003); Boissiere, (2004); Desai and Kulkarni, (2008); Okumu et al. (2008); Husain and Chatterjee, (2009) have demonstrated that the type of the family, occupation, parental education, large family size, caste affiliations, place of residence and educational infrastructure as the determinants of enrolment and primary school dropouts. Occupation of parents has a significant positive relationship with the students’ education, the better the parental occupational background is, the better the results of the students (Olayiwola, et al. 2011). Most research outputs identified parents’ educational level and occupational status as principal determinant factors in the retention and dropouts of students (Saifi and Mehmood, 2011; Al-Matalka, 2014). Farooq et al. (2011) showed significant relationship of parental caste, occupation and educational status with the success and failure of the students. Another study was carried-out by Ahmad and Khan (2012) and showed significant relationship between father’s level of education and educational attainment of the children. It was found that majority of children whose parents were well-educated have performed better in educational system as compared to those children whose parents were less educated or European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 11 │ 2016 72 Mohd. Abid Siddiqui, Afa Dul Mujiaba A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DROP-OUTS AND STAY-INS IN RELATION TO CASTE, OCCUPATION AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF THEIR PARENTS illiterate. Moreover, there is ample evidence that children from better educated parents more often go to school and tend to drop out less (UNESCO, 2010; Huisman and Smits, 2009; Ersado, 2005; Buchmann and Brakewood, 2000; Colclough, Rose and Tembon, 2000; Shavit and Blossfeld 1993). Parents who have reached a certain educational level might want their children to achieve at least that level (Breen and Goldthorpe, 1997). For educational enrolment of girls, education of the mother might be especially important (Emerson and Portela Souza, 2007; Shu, 2004; Kambhampati and Pal, 2001; Fuller, Singer and Keiley, 1995). Another study by Memon et al. (2010) in Pakistan also found that students, whose parents were well educated, performed better in schools as compared to those students whose parents were less educated. Similarly, students whose parents have higher educational level differ significantly with respect to students whose parents are either illiterate or are unable to observe the educational activities of their children (Singh and Singh, 2014). The findings of Akhtar (2012) revealed significant difference between mother’s education and retention of students in school. It can be concluded on the basis of empirical work cited above that Socioeconomic status of the parents is a major determinant factor of drop-out and retention of the students in the education system. But three main sub-variables of socio-economic status like caste; occupation and educational background are seemed to be very much associated with success and failure of the students. Keeping in view the significance of these variables an attempt has been made to study them separately and deeply. Objectives of the Study 1. To Study the Caste, Occupation and Educational background of the parents of primary School Drop-outs. 2. To Study the Caste, Occupation and Educational background of the parents of primary School Stay-ins. 3. To compare caste, Occupation and Educational status of the parents of Drop-outs and Stay-ins. Sample of the Study In the present investigation the size of the sample was 200, comprising of 100 drop-outs and 100 stay-ins selected from 80 primary schools of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir through stratified random sampling technique. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 11 │ 2016 73 Mohd. Abid Siddiqui, Afa Dul Mujiaba A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DROP-OUTS AND STAY-INS IN RELATION TO CASTE, OCCUPATION AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF THEIR PARENTS Collection of data For carrying out the present investigation, the data was collected from the selected sample by applying a standardized Socio-Economic Status Scale (SES). The tool was administered on the stay-ins during working hours in the schools and drop-outs by visiting their residence. Tool used in the present study Standardized Socio-Economic status scale by Dr. Beena Shah was used in the present study. The analysis of results was done with the help of percentage method. The reliability of scale was determined by test retest method and the coefficient of reliability was found to be 0.92 for 20 days and 0.89 for 30 days. The validity of the present test in regard to its sub-components i.e. caste, occupation, education, income, property and social participation was found to be 0.72, 0.82, 0.86, 0.83, 0.78, 0.69 respectively. Analysis and Interpretation of Results Figure 1 The data presented in the Figure no. 1 indicates that 41% of students who dropped-out from the schools belonged to the family of general category as against 62% in case of stay-ins. More than half i.e. 59% drop-outs belonged to lower caste (reserved category) whereas percentage of stay-ins in this category was 38%. The obtained result is on expected lines and can be justified on the basis of fact that casteism plays an important role for deciding the education of the child. The lower or primitive cast’s people because of historical reasons are always ignorant about the education of their wards. While as upper casts people being socially and educationally well off show more concern for the education of their children. This result is corroborated by the findings of pillai (1980); Gupta (1989); Vyas (1992) who declared that most of the students who dropped-out belonged to lower castes. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 11 │ 2016 74 Mohd. Abid Siddiqui, Afa Dul Mujiaba A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DROP-OUTS AND STAY-INS IN RELATION TO CASTE, OCCUPATION AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF THEIR PARENTS Figure 2 Above Figure no. 2 depicts that a least proportion i.e. 5% of drop-outs were found among the families of high class-Gazzetted officer. However, 57% of stay-ins belonged to these families. Furthermore, 25% of drop-outs were associated with middle-classNon Gazzetted officer families as against 30% stay-ins. A large majority i.e. 70% dropouts were found in the families of labor worker as compared to 13% in case of stay-ins. It indicates that drop-outs and stay-ins significantly differ in respect to the occupational background. Thus, it can be concluded that parental occupation of stay-ins was better than the occupation of the drop-outs. It may be because of the fact that occupation is the main deciding factors for the education, people with primitive occupations does not care much for the education of their wards, they prefer to engage them with their hereditary practice of work. While as, the people who had left these primitive occupation and are engaged in white collar jobs prefer modern education to their children. This finding is supported by the findings of (Saifi and Mehmood, 2011; AlMatalka, 2014) who identified parental occupational status as principal determinant factors of retention and drop-out of students. Figure 3 European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 11 │ 2016 75 Mohd. Abid Siddiqui, Afa Dul Mujiaba A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DROP-OUTS AND STAY-INS IN RELATION TO CASTE, OCCUPATION AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF THEIR PARENTS Figure no. 3 shows that 39% drop-outs were found in uneducated families and least proportion of drop-outs i.e. 13% was noticed in highly educated families. The table further depicts that a small minority i.e. 7% of stay-ins were belonged to uneducated families and 47% stay-ins were associated with highly qualified families. Thus it may be interpreted that education of stay-ins’ family is better than the education of the dropouts’ family. It seems to be quite understandable on the basis of the fact that education is the single solution for the ills of the society likewise for the problem drop-outs. People with higher education always aspire for the quality education of their wards, while as illiterate or low educated parents show little concern for the education of their wards. It is evident that poor education of their parents is a hurdle in the educational attainment of their children. Ignorant parent fails to understand the importance of education in the life of individual and do not show the required concern towards education of their children. This leads to higher drop-out rates among such families. This result is corroborated by the findings of Memon et al. (2010), (Singh and Singh, 2014); Farooq et al. (2011) who reported that students whose parents have higher educational level differ significantly with respect to students whose parents are either illiterate or are unable to observe the educational activities of their children Conclusion and Implications The present study focuses its prime aim to study and compare the caste, occupation and educational background of drop-outs and stay-ins. The findings of the study showed that parental education, caste and occupation plays a significant role in determining the success and failure of the students. The present findings have the following implications: A.  Educational Implications Parents play an important role in motivating their wards towards education. They are required to provide congenial family environment to their children to motivate and sustain their interest towards formal education. Furthermore, uneducated parents, especially women should be educated so that they realize the importance of enrolment and retention of their children in the schools. When the parents are educated, there are maximum probabilities that their children also get education. Therefore, it is equally important that adult education programmes, especially the total literacy campaign (TLC) scheme should properly be introduced in J&K. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 11 │ 2016 76 Mohd. Abid Siddiqui, Afa Dul Mujiaba A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DROP-OUTS AND STAY-INS IN RELATION TO CASTE, OCCUPATION AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF THEIR PARENTS  Special awareness camps should be organized in school for the lower or primitive cast’s pupils in order to mould their attitude towards completing their  elementary education. Infrastructure and quality standard of the government/minority/religious schools should be enhanced at par with the standard of private schools in order to reduce the drop-out rates by attracting the students from all sections of the  society.  the society may prove to be of great importance Guidance & Counselling centers for illiterate, poor and disadvantaged sections of A team of teachers, civil society members / panchayat members / municipal committee members should be formed for proper implementation of right to education. B.  Research Implications Independent researchers should concentrate on the implementation aspects of various government schemes for ensuring universalization of elementary education as these are very much associated with the access and dropout of the  students. Same study may be extended to the wider geographical areas and other subvariables of Socio-economic status. References 1. Ahmad, I; Khan, N. (2012). Relationship between parental socio-economic conditions and student’s academic achievements: A case of district dir, Timergara, Pakistan. Global Advanced Research Journal of Educational Research and Review; 1(7): 137-142. 2. Akhtar, S. (1996). Do Girls Have a Higher School Drop-out Rate than Boys? A Hazard Rate Analysis of Evidence from a Third World City”. Urban Studies, 33(1): 49-62. 3. Breen, R., and Goldthorpe, J. H. (1997). Explaining Educational Differentials: Towards a Formal Rational Action Theory.’ Rationality and Society, 9 (3): 275–305. 4. Brown & Park (2002). Cited in Srivastava, P. (2012). Psychosocial factors of dropout students in elementary and Middle schools. Rajeev Gandhi Shiksha Mission Project. SoS in Psychology, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 11 │ 2016 77 Mohd. Abid Siddiqui, Afa Dul Mujiaba A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DROP-OUTS AND STAY-INS IN RELATION TO CASTE, OCCUPATION AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF THEIR PARENTS 5. Emerson, P.M. and Portela Souza, A. (2007). Child Labor, School Attendance, and Intrahousehold Gender Bias in Brazil.’ The World Bank Economic Review, 21 (2): 301–316. 6. Farooq, M. S; Chaudhry, A; Shafiq, M. and Berhanu, G. (2011). Factors affecting student’s quality of academic performance: a case of secondary school level. Journal of Quality and Technology Management; 7(2):1-14. 7. Lecomplete, M. D. (1987). The cultural context of dropping out: Why remedial programmes fail to solve the problems, Education and urban society; 19 (3): 232249. In the High School Journal; 74 (4) (1991) 211 University of North Carolina press: Retrieved from: www.jstor.org/stable/40364620., 1987. 8. Memon, G.R; Joubish, F.M and Khurram, A.M. (2010). Impact of Parental SocioEconomic Status on Students’ Educational Achievements at Secondary Schools of District Malir, Karachi. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research; 6 (6): 678-687. 9. Mujiaba, A. (2015). Comparative Study of drop-out rates among Government and Private Primary Schools. European Academic Research; III (8): 9470-9480 10. Olayiwola, O. M; Salawu, O.O; Oyenuga, I.F; Oyekunle, J.O; Ayansola, O.A; Olajide, J. T. and Agboluaje, S.A. (2011). On statistical analysis of impact of socio economic factors on students’ academic performance. IJRRAS; 8 (3): 395-399. 11. Siddiqui, M. A. (2003). Study of drop-out rates at the middle school level and their causative factors. Journal of Community Guidance and Research; 20 (3): 253-263. 12. Siddiqui, M. A. (2004). Secondary School Drop-outs. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation. 13. Siddiqui, M. A; Mujiaba, A. (2014). A study of drop-out rate in primary schools of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. International Journal of Multidisciplinary research and development; 1(7): 226-230 14. Siddiqui, M. A; Mujiaba, A. (2014). Meta-Analysis of Drop-out Researches and Their Implications. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Educational Research; 2(5(3): 85-98. 15. Singh, A and Singh, J.P. (2014). The influence of socio-economic status of parents and home environment on the study habits and academic achievement of students. Educational Research; 5 (9): 348-352. DOI: http:/dx.doi.org/10.14303/er.2014.202 16. UNESCO. (2013). Driving home education and not just literacy. Retrieved on 15-82013 from: http://arvisusi.wordpress.com/tag/unesco European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 11 │ 2016 78 Mohd. 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