Exploring Factors Influencing Dropout Among TVET College Students: A Relationship-Based Study

The National Certificate (Vocational) (NC(V)) programme was introduced in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to enable college institutions to train and produce vocationally well-skilled artisans, who are anticipated to play a positive role in improving the nation’s economy. However, the programme has faced challenges of low levels of programme completion, high failure, and attrition rates since its inception and implementation. These low levels of completion, high failure, and attrition rates imply that the goal of training and producing vocationally skilled artisans is not being fully achieved. Therefore, it is crucial to pinpoint college experience factors that influence the likelihood of student dropout in TVET colleges and to explore the nature of the relationships these factors have with dropout likelihood. This study aimed to examine and identify the factors influencing the probability of dropout among NC(V) students in TVET colleges and to examine the nature of the relationships between these factors and students’ decision to dropout. Data were collected in four public TVET colleges located in Gauteng province, South Africa. From each college, one college campus offering NC(V) Engineering and Related Design (ERD) courses was selected to participate based on plausible approaches from expert recommendations using a Delphi approach involving management staff and corroborated by findings from an extensive literature review. The study employed a quantitative method to collect data on college students’ experiences and factors influencing dropout from students’ perspectives. The targeted population was NC(V) students enrolled in ERD programmes doing Levels 3 and 4. A sample of 169 NC(V) ERD students from four campuses was selected using purposive sampling from a population of approximately 600 students. Furthermore, one classroom at each level was selected using the quota sampling method. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The college experience factors that were found to have significant relationships with student dropout likelihood were: student self-motivation and missing classes, peer relationships, college support, and programme satisfaction. There is a need for TVET colleges to implement interventions that enhance student’s self-motivation and class attendance; encourage positive peer relationships and improve student satisfaction with the NC(V) ERD programmes.