University Dropout: Resilience as a Possibility of Achievement

Abstract

Dropping out of university is an alarming multifactorial phenomenon because it affects different levels and different agents: students, institutions and the State. Specialized literature suggests that it is common to highlight the student as the sole responsible for quitting superior levels of education. In addition, it poses questions on the persistence of this phenomenon even after decades of research and multiple strategies implemented to address it. It is evident that a change of perspective is needed to look at the role played by institutions within this complex scheme, as well as the urgency to review the normalized notions of success and failure among students at university. Examining these ideas and challenging institutions can be one of the ways to find alternatives to a social phenomenon otherwise regarded as deterministic. This article explores resilience as a key factor in the possibility of success and emphasizes the importance of looking at the students’ potential to address failure and, eventually, lead us towards a more democratic university.

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