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Transferring to another school or dropping out of education completely: the voluntary departure from a certain educational institution has considerable consequences not only for the student that makes the decision to leave, but also for the school and its student population in general. The objective of this article is to investigate the effects that dropout and mobility rates at the school level have on non-mobile students in terms of engagement and sense of belonging in school. Theoretically, this paper draws on peer effect research in dropout and mobility literature and on studies regarding the importance of social integration of students in school. Data was derived from thirty Ghentian schools, who took part in the International Study of City Youth-project (ISCY). Multilevel analysis was carried out to determine the effects of schools’ student dropout and mobility rates on engagement and sense of belonging of the non-mobile student population. Preliminary results show that non-mobile students exhibit lower levels of behavioral engagement in schools where there is a high inflow of mobile students. Moreover, their sense of belonging in school is negatively affected in schools with high levels of out-mobility. This effect, however, shows to be a composition effect, as it disappears when the schools’ socioeconomic composition is taken into account. In conclusion, this paper assesses if schools potentially get caught up in a vicious circle, in which high dropout and mobility rates of a school bring about lower levels of engagement and sense of belonging of non-mobile students, making those students in turn more vulnerable for negative educational decisions as dropping out or changing schools.

Research into socio-economic determinants of school deviance is inconclusive. Recently, scholars argued that economic deprivation, rather than SES background, affects delinquency. Using multilevel analyses on data of 9,174 students across 111 schools in 4 European cities (2013-2014), we investigate the association of SES and economic deprivation with school-deviant behavior. Furthermore, we study the role of academic self-efficacy. Lower-SES and deprived students might perceive goal blockage with regard to study-related goals, leading to deviant coping – that is self-efficacy as mediator – or self-efficacy might condition SES and deprivation effects – that is self-efficacy as moderator. Results showed that deprivation relates to school-deviant behavior. This association was not mediated, nor moderated, by academic self-efficacy. The relationship with SES was moderated by academic self-efficacy. We conclude that deprived and lower SES-students are prone to break school rules, the latter more so when feeling less competent at reaching academic goals.

For decades, western education confronts the problem of student unqualified dropout, which is most prevalent in vocational education. Relatively little research focuses on the role teachers might play in students’ decision to quit school. By means of multilevel analyses on data of 2589 vocational students in 48 Flemish secondary schools, this study examines whether teachers’ shared expectations of their students associate with vocational students’ (intention to) dropout. In vocational education, teachers’ beliefs about the teachability of students influence students’ intention to quit, irrespective of students’ perceived teacher support and students’ sense of futility, Universidad de Granada. Departamento de Didáctica y Organización Escolar, Grupo FORCE (HUM-386)