UNIVERSITY QUITTING, A PENDING SUBJECT FOR THE INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT

Abstract

The research project “University quitting: incidence of endogenous and exogenous factors on the curricular and academic process” has been set forth to produce specific and relevant information linked with the issue of students quitting at “Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero” with the purpose of contributing with basic information to make decisions at institutional management level as well as academic-curricular level, oriented to improve educational quality.

To investigate about exogenous factors affecting the academic-curricular process information about the socio-demographic and cultural traits of the students was verified, through surveys. To analyze the endogenous factors, on the hand, inquiry on documents was carried out, on the other hand, the inquiry was carried out through semi-structured surveys that allowed to know students´, parents´ as well as teachers´ representations on school-failure. In terms of the analysis and interpretation of the actors of these three groups partial perspectives are observed. On the one hand, it appears that there is a naturalization of he issue, which shows an absence of critical reasoning and the denial of the possibility of solving it. On the other hand, the attribution of the responsibility of the shortage of the in coming students to the poor quality education of the previous level, which avoids the university co-responsibility, without considering the incidence of them in the real formation quality: Moreover, when teachers accept such an incidence, they believe the responsibility of the solution should be taken by the institutions, as a direct and abstract referent.

It is possible to question ourselves how from the educational system, from the educational institutional management and from the very actors conditions are met for the production and strengthening towards an attitude from the acceptance of the issue, the actors commit themselves to form part of a theoretical as well as empirical analysis, and real efforts to achieve affective progress in the diminution of student´ quitting percentage.