SELF-DETERMINATION AND PERSISTENCE IN A REAL-LIFE SETTING - TOWARD A MOTIVATIONAL MODEL OF HIGH-SCHOOL DROPOUT

The purpose of this study was to propose and test a motivational model of high school dropout. The model posits that teachers, parents, and the school administration's behaviors toward students influence studen ts' perceptions of competence and autonomy. The less autonomy supporti ve the social agents' behaviors are, the less positive are students' p erceptions of competence and autonomy. in turn, the less positive stud ents' perceptions are, the lower their levels of self-determined schoo l motivation are. Finally, low levels of self-determined motivation le ad students to develop intentions to drop out of high school, which ar e later implemented, leading to actual dropout behavior. This model wa s tested with high school students (N = 4,537) by means of a prospecti ve design. Results from analyses of variance and a structural equation modeling analysis (with LISREL) were found to support the model for a ll participants and for each gender separately.