RURAL SOCIAL REALITY AND HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES AMONG YOUTH

Abstract

The rural socio-educational complexity in Colombia demands research attention due to its significance in the high rates of school dropout in basic and upper secondary education. The general objective of this research sought to generate a theoretical construct based on the rural social reality of school dropout among high school youth in Colombia, representing reliable knowledge that allowed for the projection of a reality that has been occurring for many years in Colombian territory and indicates a negative perspective at the formative level. The methodological consideration was guided by an interpretive paradigm; therefore, it adopted a qualitative approach. The information was obtained from teachers and students as informants of the reality within the context of the study, who were selected based on specific criteria, utilizing semi-structured interviews for data collection, while assuming the phenomenological method. As a contribution, the construct denominated "School dropout: facticity and transcendence of rural education" was consolidated, which states that the phenomenon of school dropout emerges in this educational context as part of a habitus deeply rooted in the peasant identity. This predisposition is fueled by local success models that dispense with formal schooling, favoring the immediacy of livelihood or the suggestion of activities outside the law by accepting potential offers of quick resources derived from informal activities or illicit crops, given the student's disillusionment when faced with the distant promise of professionalization.