Mechanisms Used by Middle School Teachers to Manage and Address School Dropout Problems (A Field Study in Some Middle Schools in the City of Saida)

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate the mechanisms used by middle school teachers to manage and address school dropout problems, based on the following questions: What is the degree of the mechanisms used by middle school teachers to manage and address school dropout problems? Are there differences between the responses of middle school teachers regarding the mechanisms for managing and addressing school dropout problems according to the gender variable? Are there differences between the responses of middle school teachers regarding the mechanisms for managing and addressing school dropout problems according to the teaching profession variable? During the 2022/2023 academic year, and in order to achieve the objectives of the study, the two researchers relied on the descriptive approach, using a questionnaire as a research tool to measure teachers’ mechanisms for managing school dropout problems. It consisted of (28) items whose statements were graded on a five-point scale after verifying its validity and reliability. The study was applied to a random sample consisting of 158 male and female teachers, representing 20%, from which 132 questionnaires were retrieved. As for the statistical processing, it was carried out using Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation coefficients, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, the arithmetic mean and standard deviation, the Wilcoxon test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test. The results of the study showed that the degree of the mechanisms used by middle school teachers to manage and address school dropout problems was high. The results also revealed that there were no statistically significant differences between the responses of middle school teachers regarding the mechanisms for managing and addressing school dropout problems according to the gender variable, and no statistically significant differences between the responses of middle school teachers regarding the mechanisms for managing and addressing school dropout problems according to the teaching profession variable.