The Factors Contributing to School Dropout in Schools in Aqaba Governorate, Jordan: The Perspective of School Principals

The research aims to identify the factors contributing to school dropout from the perspective of school principals; and to demonstrate the impact of a set of variables including gender, educational qualifications, and teaching experience. The research sample consisted of 123 male and female principals, selected randomly. A questionnaire was developed comprising three domains: school factors, social factors, and economic factors. The results were as follows: The factors contributing to school dropout for students in the schools of Aqaba Governorate were of moderate degree. There were statistically significant differences in the gender variable in favor of females, while there were no differences in the educational qualifications and teaching experience. In light of the results, some recommendations were proposed, including expanding the development of training programs for school counselors to deal with dropout students and conducting further studies on the satisfaction of students' parents with the counseling and social services provided to their children to mitigate the phenomenon of dropout as a preventive measure.