Abstract
M.Ed.
Research teams from the Department of Educational Sciences of the Rand Afrikaans University (RSA) and the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Social Ecology of the Ben Gurion University (Israel) have joined hands in a research project. Knowledge, experience and expertise were pooled
in an endeavour to expose the causes leading to the dropout phenomenon amongst adolescents
worldwide, and more specifically within their own countries. The development of prevention
programmes to address the problem will be introduced in follow-up studies with a goal of reducing
the number of school dropouts.
The aim of this study is to compare disadvantaged standard seven at-risk and not at-risk pupils in order to determine whether or not school climate could be considered an influencing factor in early school leaving. The method of the research is twofold. A literature study constitutes the first part in which
terminology, concepts, definitions, causes and consequences of dropout are discussed. The emphasis is placed on school climate in general and the relation between school climate and
academic achievement in particular.
This was followed by an empirical investigation to determine whether there are significant
differences between at-risk and not at-risk standard seven pupils with regard to their perception of
school climate. These pupils were identified by their teachers and their replies measured in a
questionnaire.
The empirical investigation involved standard seven pupils affiliated to five high schools in the
Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging area. In total, 734 pupils answered the questionnaire. The
information was processed at the Statistical Consultation Service of the Rand Afrikaans University.