How to stop students dropping out | 4 ways to achieve greater student engagement and keep kids in school

If you’re a teacher working for an institution, or working in any capacity for an educational nonprofit, and you’re looking for ways to keep students in school, we’ve got 4 approaches to help you achieve greater student engagement and keep kids from dropping out.

Following academia through to the masters and doctorate levels definitely isn’t for everyone, but completing high school, being able to communicate ideas and debate effectively, and achieving a base level of numeracy and literacy gives people a chance to build a good life for themselves as adults.

It sets them up to make connections, perform well in interviews, and gives them the foundation upon which to develop more specific skill sets they might take an interest in later in life.

1. Encourage parent and community involvement

There are many variations on the saying that education begins at home. While a child might spend 30 to 35 hours a week in school, they spend a significant chunk of the other 133 to 138 at home, and the rest of it around their local community.

It’s a fact that if parents are engaged in their child’s education, their child is more likely to stick at it and perform well. If a parent shows no interest or accountability in their child’s education, the child is less likely to take it seriously. If the person who raised you and helped develop your values has a dismissive attitude about education, there aren’t many children with the internal drive and forethought to rise above that. Parental and community influence are incredibly important.

Reaching out to parents, or even local sports clubs where a lot of students participate, and getting the relevant adults to adopt a pro-education attitude can go a long way to keeping children engaged in their schoolwork.

Pro tip: Parental outreach can be gamified in all sorts of ways. From customising Surveys to assess current parental involvement, and putting the thought bubble above parents’ heads about how they can support their children academically, to even creating gamified refresher courses in challenging subjects, so parents are able to help their children out with homework and with studying.

Think about it: if a parent never passed algebra or Pythagorean theorem, and their child asks them for help, they’re at a disadvantage. Making gamified refresher courses can give all parents the tools to quickly, effectively, and engagingly gain an understanding of what their children are studying. This literally engages them in their children’s education and puts them in a better position to help.

It’s also worth considering the logic that a child might apply to their provider not understanding their schoolwork. “If they don’t understand it and have managed to buy a house and put food on the table, it can’t be that important.”

2. Encourage students to get involved in extracurricular activities like sports, music, and hobbies

Promoting participation in extracurricular activities such as sports, music, and hobbies can go a long way to keeping kids in school. Engaging in these activities which they actively enjoy can demonstrate the value of perseverance, discipline, and hardwork, as they apply themselves and see how they can improve.

This can then have a positive crossover impact on their studies. Students who participate in extracurriculars, particularly if it’s on school teams, or clubs that are part of the school, are more likely to develop a sense of belonging and commitment, reducing the likelihood of dropping out.

3. Introduce gamified learning

We’ve already talked about gamification to help parents, but perhaps where gamification is most effective is in catering to students of all learner-types, particularly those at risk of dropping out.

Gamified content applies gaming principles to typically less fun activities, such as schooling, and by appealing to a student’s desire for discovery, appetite for story and immersion, and their competitive natures, more effectively engage them.

Creating custom learning games, which can easily be done using the Drimify gamification platform, allows you to bring more challenging subjects to life, and empowers you to let students “play” with complicated ideas rather than mentally wrestling with them.

Pro tip: Learning games can remove the fear of failure. As they’re not assessments, they don’t involve asking a student who might be struggling to speak up and risk embarrassment, and they offer repeatability through quick feedback cycles and addictive game mechanics.

By moving education to a medium students will be more familiar and comfortable with, like online games, you can completely change a student’s relationship with certain subjects, and potentially even change their relationship with learning.

4. Look into participating in, or setting up a mentoring programme

Participating in or establishing a mentoring program within your school community is a way of creating a culture of success among your student body.

Pairing model students with younger students in need of structure and support can give those that need it most pastoral and academic help, as well as a relatable role model. Ultimately, a student mentor is someone only a few steps ahead in life, whereas the life of a parent or a teacher can be hard for students at risk of dropping out to connect their own experience to.

Key takeaway

Keeping students in school to at least complete their mandatory education in all but exceptional cases is essential to give them a chance at success in future life.

How you solve the educational challenges you’re facing will vary depending on the root causes that might make a child drop out or abandon their education. It could be environmental, self-esteem-related, or because their learning style doesn’t mesh with how they’re being taught.

Because everyone has different needs, it’s best to take a holistic and broad approach to stopping students from dropping out, that caters to as many of the challenges as possible that the students you’re trying to help could be facing. The 4 strategies listed here offer actionable starting points for stopping children falling through the cracks and getting left behind.