Dropping out of school has been viewed as a final stage in a cumulative process of disengagement. In recent years, the construct of engagement has received increased attention leading policymakers and scholars to suggest that efforts to increase engagement in school could reduce high school dropout rates. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), this study examined the predictive relationship between tenth-grade students’ engagement and dropping out of high school. Engagement was viewed as a meta-construct comprised of multiple dimensions within three domains: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. Additionally, this study examined how school processes, specifically administrator control and school morale, influenced students’ engagement on dropping out of high school. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) indicated that emotional engagement was a statistically significant predictor of dropping out of school, whereas, behavioral and cognitive engagement were not significant predictors. An analysis of the dimensions of engagement (i.e., conduct, class participation, class preparedness, attitudes about teachers, attitudes about the school social environment, attitudes about the school academic environment, persistence, and effort) revealed that students’ conduct in tenth-grade (i.e., lateness, cutting class, absent from school, not following school rules, and suspensions), a component of behavioral engagement, is a statistically significant predictor of dropping out. Students’ ninth-grade grade point average (GPA), age in tenth grade, and family characteristics (i.e., socioeconomic status, lives with both birth parents, and parental involvement) were also important predictors of dropping out. Furthermore, dropping out of high school did not depend on both students’ engagement and school processes (i.e., administrator control and school morale). Overall, the study findings support the need for high schools and districts to put systems in place that would track student engagement at the beginning of high school to identify at-risk students and provide them with additional supports. These findings also emphasize the need for further research to identify what school factors influence student engagement and when low levels of engagement begin to develop.
","abstract_html":"<p>Dropping out of school has been viewed as a final stage in a cumulative process of disengagement. In recent years, the construct of engagement has received increased attention leading policymakers and scholars to suggest that efforts to increase engagement in school could reduce high school dropout rates. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), this study examined the predictive relationship between tenth-grade students’ engagement and dropping out of high school. Engagement was viewed as a meta-construct comprised of multiple dimensions within three domains: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. Additionally, this study examined how school processes, specifically administrator control and school morale, influenced students’ engagement on dropping out of high school. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) indicated that emotional engagement was a statistically significant predictor of dropping out of school, whereas, behavioral and cognitive engagement were not significant predictors. An analysis of the dimensions of engagement (i.e., conduct, class participation, class preparedness, attitudes about teachers, attitudes about the school social environment, attitudes about the school academic environment, persistence, and effort) revealed that students’ conduct in tenth-grade (i.e., lateness, cutting class, absent from school, not following school rules, and suspensions), a component of behavioral engagement, is a statistically significant predictor of dropping out. Students’ ninth-grade grade point average (GPA), age in tenth grade, and family characteristics (i.e., socioeconomic status, lives with both birth parents, and parental involvement) were also important predictors of dropping out. Furthermore, dropping out of high school did not depend on both students’ engagement and school processes (i.e., administrator control and school morale). Overall, the study findings support the need for high schools and districts to put systems in place that would track student engagement at the beginning of high school to identify at-risk students and provide them with additional supports. These findings also emphasize the need for further research to identify what school factors influence student engagement and when low levels of engagement begin to develop.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mastrorilli, Tara Marie"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Educational Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["David Rindskopf","Sophia Catsambis"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Sophia Catsambis","Irvin Schonfeld"],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-06-03T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-06-03T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:14Z","subjects":["Educational Psychology","High School","Dropouts","Engagement","School Processes","Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/822","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["David Rindskopf","Sophia Catsambis"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Sophia Catsambis","Irvin Schonfeld"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mastrorilli, Tara Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-02-16T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Educational Psychology","High School","Dropouts","Engagement","School Processes","Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/822"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Dropping out of school has been viewed as a final stage in a cumulative process of disengagement. In recent years, the construct of engagement has received increased attention leading policymakers and scholars to suggest that efforts to increase engagement in school could reduce high school dropout rates. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), this study examined the predictive relationship between tenth-grade students’ engagement and dropping out of high school. Engagement was viewed as a meta-construct comprised of multiple dimensions within three domains: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. Additionally, this study examined how school processes, specifically administrator control and school morale, influenced students’ engagement on dropping out of high school. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) indicated that emotional engagement was a statistically significant predictor of dropping out of school, whereas, behavioral and cognitive engagement were not significant predictors. An analysis of the dimensions of engagement (i.e., conduct, class participation, class preparedness, attitudes about teachers, attitudes about the school social environment, attitudes about the school academic environment, persistence, and effort) revealed that students’ conduct in tenth-grade (i.e., lateness, cutting class, absent from school, not following school rules, and suspensions), a component of behavioral engagement, is a statistically significant predictor of dropping out. Students’ ninth-grade grade point average (GPA), age in tenth grade, and family characteristics (i.e., socioeconomic status, lives with both birth parents, and parental involvement) were also important predictors of dropping out. Furthermore, dropping out of high school did not depend on both students’ engagement and school processes (i.e., administrator control and school morale). Overall, the study findings support the need for high schools and districts to put systems in place that would track student engagement at the beginning of high school to identify at-risk students and provide them with additional supports. These findings also emphasize the need for further research to identify what school factors influence student engagement and when low levels of engagement begin to develop.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Understanding the High School Dropout Process Through Student Engagement and School Processes: Evidence from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["David Rindskopf","Sophia Catsambis"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Sophia Catsambis","Irvin Schonfeld"],"dc:creator":["Mastrorilli, Tara Marie"],"dc:date.available":["2016-02-16T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Dropping out of school has been viewed as a final stage in a cumulative process of disengagement. In recent years, the construct of engagement has received increased attention leading policymakers and scholars to suggest that efforts to increase engagement in school could reduce high school dropout rates. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), this study examined the predictive relationship between tenth-grade students’ engagement and dropping out of high school. Engagement was viewed as a meta-construct comprised of multiple dimensions within three domains: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. Additionally, this study examined how school processes, specifically administrator control and school morale, influenced students’ engagement on dropping out of high school. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) indicated that emotional engagement was a statistically significant predictor of dropping out of school, whereas, behavioral and cognitive engagement were not significant predictors. An analysis of the dimensions of engagement (i.e., conduct, class participation, class preparedness, attitudes about teachers, attitudes about the school social environment, attitudes about the school academic environment, persistence, and effort) revealed that students’ conduct in tenth-grade (i.e., lateness, cutting class, absent from school, not following school rules, and suspensions), a component of behavioral engagement, is a statistically significant predictor of dropping out. Students’ ninth-grade grade point average (GPA), age in tenth grade, and family characteristics (i.e., socioeconomic status, lives with both birth parents, and parental involvement) were also important predictors of dropping out. Furthermore, dropping out of high school did not depend on both students’ engagement and school processes (i.e., administrator control and school morale). Overall, the study findings support the need for high schools and districts to put systems in place that would track student engagement at the beginning of high school to identify at-risk students and provide them with additional supports. These findings also emphasize the need for further research to identify what school factors influence student engagement and when low levels of engagement begin to develop.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/822"],"dc:subject":["Educational Psychology","High School","Dropouts","Engagement","School Processes","Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002"],"dc:title":["Understanding the High School Dropout Process Through Student Engagement and School Processes: Evidence from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:14Z"}