Abstract
Another approach of Educational Choice (Populaire Summary)
With her dissertation, ‘And what can I be when I grow up?’, Slijper investigated the educational choice process of 89 first year Law students. The study has shown that if the future plays an important role in the process of educational choice amongst prospective students, it is quite probable that this leads to disappointments and dropout. Students who make their educational choice based on the contents of their studies drop out less frequently. In her research, Slijper followed the students’ process of choice over time. The educational choice is not a one-time decision, but has to be conceived as part of a process, states the researcher. However, little research is available on the full trajectory of educational choice. The current study contributes to understanding what happens before students start their studies, as well as to what happens after they started their first year. What does such an educational choice entail? Is there a difference between adolescents who choose a major on the basis of extensive explorative experiences, and those who do not? Comparing different orientation programs, this study found that adolescents who prepared themselves more intensively beforehand show less dropout. Besides the link between orientation and study success, Slijper also investigated different forms of study failure such as switching and dropping out. This research provides insight into why adolescents make a certain educational choice, and what the bottlenecks are when it comes to dropout of specific groups. Slijper therefore pleads for more future research, whereby the individual development of each student serves as a starting point, to get a better understanding of educational choice and educational progress.
With her dissertation, ‘And what can I be when I grow up?’, Slijper investigated the educational choice process of 89 first year Law students. The study has shown that if the future plays an important role in the process of educational choice amongst prospective students, it is quite probable that this leads to disappointments and dropout. Students who make their educational choice based on the contents of their studies drop out less frequently. In her research, Slijper followed the students’ process of choice over time. The educational choice is not a one-time decision, but has to be conceived as part of a process, states the researcher. However, little research is available on the full trajectory of educational choice. The current study contributes to understanding what happens before students start their studies, as well as to what happens after they started their first year. What does such an educational choice entail? Is there a difference between adolescents who choose a major on the basis of extensive explorative experiences, and those who do not? Comparing different orientation programs, this study found that adolescents who prepared themselves more intensively beforehand show less dropout. Besides the link between orientation and study success, Slijper also investigated different forms of study failure such as switching and dropping out. This research provides insight into why adolescents make a certain educational choice, and what the bottlenecks are when it comes to dropout of specific groups. Slijper therefore pleads for more future research, whereby the individual development of each student serves as a starting point, to get a better understanding of educational choice and educational progress.
Original language | Dutch |
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Qualification | Doctor of Philosophy |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisors/Advisors |
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Award date | 11-May-2017 |
Place of Publication | [Groningen] |
Publisher | |
Print ISBNs | 978-90-367-9754-2 |
Electronic ISBNs | 978-90-367-9753-5 |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |