Citation

Drewry JA, Burge PL, Driscoll LG. Educ. Urban Soc. 2010; 42(5): 499-521.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0013124510366799

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to document and analyze students’ experiences with dropping out of high school, using a social capital framework. Examining the stories of high school dropouts provided valuable information related to the root causes of dropout behaviors. The context of this study was a high school in an urban school division in a Southeastern state. The participants were 5 high school dropouts who spoke English as a primary language and who were a part of the general education population at the school. Triangulation of data sources included field notes, interviews with the participants, and archival documents. Three-iteration code mapping was used for data analysis and was included in an audit trail of all the study procedures. Other points and thematic representations considered were: (a) results of this study presented as narrative descriptions of the dropout histories of each participant, (b) themes resulting from the analysis across all of the narratives as discussed within the social capital framework, (c) suggestions for the development of programs to increase social capital in the family, school, and community, as included in the Conclusion section.