Understanding Intention to Stay or Leave in Senior Secondary School Students in New South Wales

Where there are large differences in a population it is often useful to compare sub‐groups in terms of factors that are known to influence the key variable under investigation. The key variable in this study was the decision to stay on or leave school at the senior secondary school level. In a longitudinal study of 494 students, Hemmings (1994) demonstrated that 13 factors and clusters influence the decision to stay or leave. The standard scores on each of the measures of the 13 factors were compared for those who stayed and those who left. Complementary information was obtained through a series of case studies with a subsample (n=25). This procedure of comparing statistically the differences between subgroups, and then exploring these differences in terms of a case study analysis, proved to be fruitful and meaningful. Students, after their compulsory education, tend to adjust their goal commitment and school commitment at different stages. Timely identification of the critical issues in senior secondary school students’ decision processes is recommended to researchers and educators involved in school counselling. Descriptors: Secondary school, senior students, post‐compulsory education, decision processes, case analysis.