Differences in the reasons for university dropout and by gender: A cross-cultural study between Spain and Brazil

Abstract

University dropout is a multi-causal problem of international scope. Consequently, there is an ongoing effort among governments and universities to mitigate this issue. Spain and Brazil are no strangers to this problem. The objective of this study is to determine if there are differences in the importance that Spanish and Brazilian students attach to the different reasons for dropping out, which would show the existence of cultural differences. Accordingly, an adapted questionnaire consisting of 39 items was used, which, based on Tinto’s interactionist model, covers six factors: financial, institutional, academic, teacher, social, and well-being. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 1676 Spanish and Brazilian university students. The results show that there were differences in the importance placed on the different factors related to dropout between countries and depending on gender, which shows the need to analyze the cultural context. The study contributes to a consolidation of dropout models.