Tools for retention of university students in international practice

Theories and methods

Abstract

The goal of the article is to provide a conceptional background for the development of a university-level pro-retention program. The article gives an overview of theoretical explanations and practical measures of university student retention, and outlines a new social constructionist model. In the first part of the paper, the author discusses main theoretical models – in scientific research and policy development – that explain the decisions of students on continuation or discontinuation of their university studies. The paper complements the list of explanations with a new theoretical model, based on social constructionism, which explains the effect of different factors not by their “objective” features, but by the co-constructed meanings attached to them. The second part of the paper reviews some of dilemmas concerning the policies and measures aimed at reducing attrition.