The Attitude of the Continuous Education of School Dropouts; Study Done in Modara and Mattakkuliya Areas of Sri Lanka
- January 21, 2022
- Posted by: rsispostadmin
- Categories: IJRISS, Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue XII, December 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186
Solangaarachchi T. G. K
Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Dalugama, Sri Lanka
ABSTRACT: This sociological study is done based on Children who are considered to be the School Dropouts of Adolescents in Urban area of Colombo, Sri Lanka. These Children live under the care of their Parents, grandparents, and with other care givers. The school dropouts in the Urban area of Colombo are found to be the victims of a society which is corrupted strongly due to Socio-Economic factors. The main objective of this Research article is to look into the main causes for students to dropout halfway of their schooling. The primary and secondary data were collected by providing questioners, interviews, and observations using accepted data collecting methods. The collected data are presented using most suited methods to analyze data by charts, tables and descriptive methods. The Parents, Teachers and Key Informants are being questioned as to why the percentage of School dropouts in this area is high and vulnerable. In order to achieve this objective, the questionners have been used particularly with School Dropouts and with their Parents further conduct interviews with Teachers and Key-Informants.
Keywords: Adolescent, Dropout, Impact, Family, Society.
I. INTRODUCTION
Education fosters personal development and self-fulfillment. It encourages the individual to develop his mental, physical, emotional and spiritual talents to the full. Understandably, the word Education derives from the Latin word e-ducere, which means to lead out. In advance industrial societies Education is provided by the state as a matter of right for all its citizens. Formal institutions, schools, Colleges and universities are organized for this purpose. (M. Haralambos with R. M. Heald, 2011, P.172). The technical understanding in other words is to transmit the stored knowledge, values and skill from one generation to another. The Global publication of human rights and the act of child rights state that the education is a universal human need. This is also a very powerful human right including freedom and democracy. They are staffed by fulltime professional practitioners, Teachers and Lecturers. Attendance at schools is compulsory; it is upheld by legal sanctions. Education is provided free of charge, though ultimately it is paid for by the tax payer. Although free compulsory state Education is largely taken for granted today and regarded as a perfectly normal and natural state of affairs, it is important to remember that it is a very recent development in the history of man.
The word education has a complex meaning in a broader sense. Further, Education is always on the development process with new adoptions in any country. (Reddy, 1979). Education for human beings and animals has a different meaning. That means, the human beings could be educated always while animals are being trained. French sociologist Emile Durkheim saw the major function of education as the transmission of Society’s norms and values. He maintained that “Society can survive only if there exists among its members a sufficient degree of homogeneity; education perpetuates and reinforces this homogeneity by fixing in the child from the beginning the essential similarities which collective life demands”. Durkheim argues that in complex industrial societies, the school serves a function which cannot be provided either by the family or peer groups. Further he says that Education teaches the individual specific skills necessary for his future occupation. (M. Haralambos with R. M. Heald, 2011, p. 175).
According to the “Sustainable Development” introduced in Brunt Land Report – 1972 of United Nations and Millennium development goals suggested to start in 2000 up to the end of 2015 and its annexure, the younger generation should be provided with a meritocratic education because many issues faced by the present society can be solved through it. Researches done by many of the recognized international organizations including UNESCO, state that most of the children who are in the schooling age, have not received their primary Education. Education is the basic foundation of a person’s life. Therefore, not providing proper education causes to bring bad results to children as well as to the whole society where they live. American sociologist Talcott Parsons argues that after primary socialization within the family, the school takes over as the focal socialization agency. School acts as a bridge between the family and society as a whole, preparing the child for his adult role. Parsons sees the Educational system as an important mechanism for the selection of individuals for their future role in society.
According to the UNESCO report in 2016, 52% of the world population is urban population (8 billion). One billion of the world population belongs to the urban community who receive low income according to the same report and they live in slums. This slum population has a very low economy and their poverty has become their culture. Therefore, this community is the source of many social issues that are directly affected to the co-existence and the development of the human society. socialist states that many deviant and delinquent behaviors such as prostitution, suicides, drug addiction, begging as a profession, underworld criminality, family problems, child abuse etc. have been created by its community.
Use of alcohol and other drugs among school children is a current global problem giving rise to many health hazards, psychosocial problems and reduced school performances, both in academic work and in sports. These problems are also seen in Sri Lanka and very few studies have been done to estimate their prevalence. Furthermore, no not worthy actions have been taken to improve this situation. (National Dangerous drugs control Board, RESEARCH MONOGRAPH, 2006, p. 146).
In the first place, need to discuss the vast amount of resources provided on Education. The highlighted fact is that in Sri Lanka, it is free Education and not only that even government provides free provision of textbooks, uniforms and mid-day meals. It records that the literacy rate of Sri Lanka stands as 92% for adults and 97% for youths. (Perera, 2012). This is a major drawback in schools located specially in the urban areas of Colombo. Thus, the literal meaning of School dropouts can be noted as “A student who leaves the school before completing the education for any reason other than death or without transferring to another school”. (Perera, 2012).
It has been revealed that the highest numbers of school dropouts are from low-income families in urban areas and them quitting education halfway through has a disastrous effect on society. (Ministry of Education, 2017). Even among them, school dropout is frequent among adolescent children (11-18 years of age).
II. METHODOLOGY
Research refers to a search for new knowledge. It is a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. To Redman and Mory, “Research is a systematized effort to gain new knowledge”. (Sminatharatnam and Chandra, 2004). Methods are methods of data gathering and interpretation, whereas methodology is concerned with the theoretical assumptions about methods. (Uyangoda, 2011). This research followed a mixed method design including both qualitative and quantitative research designs. Quantitative research analysis will be utilized to gather ground data of the school dropouts where qualitative research design will be employed to follow the narratives of the other entities related to the subject. The quantitative research design will allow the researcher to understand the family structure, economic structure and their societal relationship towards the community through their relationship among various community organizations of their social setting. Qualitative research design permitted the researcher to identify the unique stories of each and every school dropout regarding the real-life situations that they live.
The School dropouts and their families in Modara and Mattakkuliya of Sri Lanka are taken as the study population of the study. There are 50 families with students who do not attend schools and they are considered as school dropouts. (Field Survey, 2021). It will be non-random methods in selecting the sample of the study. Particularly 5 “Gramasevaka Areas” (GS) will be monitored. It is observed that Modara has 3 “Grmasevaka Areas” while Mattakkuliya has 2 “Gramasevaka Areas”. The key informants (K) such as School Teachers (T), Principals (SP), and Gramasevakas (Headman of the Village) will be selected purposively.
The researcher employed a structured questionnaire which will be followed by interview. The first interview will be done with children (S) and second interview will be with their parents (P) and Guardians. Thirdly, the Teachers (T) will be interviewed and the key-informants (K) as well. The questions of the questionnaire were ninety percent designed with close ended questions whereas researcher will interview each and every dropout selected from purposive sample in filling the answers to all the questions.
