Model for predicting learning perseverance among boarding school students in Israel

The high dropout rate (8.7%) among Israel immigrant pupils is of concern but maybe not surprising, due to the processes of transfer between countries. The present paper deals with the issue of dropping out, but in contrast with most studies with a focus on the dropout students themselves, this paper focuses on those students instilled with learning diligence, perseverance, and with the socio-psychological factors that help them remain in the educational framework, despite the many hardships they encounter. The psycho-sociological variables tested were social control, the degree of the adolescent's separation- individuation from parents, and the adolescent's ego identity profile. The present study consists of a sampling of two populations with differential cultural gaps in relation to Israeli society-pupils from Ethiopia and pupils from the former USSR. The research was conducted in 10 boarding schools, during after-school hours. Based on prevalent theories, we expected to find positive direct and indirect correlations between the research variables and the level of learning perseverance. The hypotheses deriving from the model were generally supported. These findings indicated that it was possible to predict which pupils would persevere with their studies and which pupils would not by means of the following variables: attachment to parents, commitment to parents and the formation of 'ego-identity'. Therefore, examining the subject of dropping out of school from the point of view of those who persevere contributed to the creation of a model for predicting learning perseverance.