Skip to main content
Log in

Penetrating a wall of introspection: a critical attrition analysis

  • Published:
Cultural Studies of Science Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper presents a critical analysis of student discourse on attrition as it unfolds in interviews on early departure from higher education. A synthesis of relevant studies and modelling done in the field shows that essential aspects affecting attrition and retention can be effectively conceptualized and acted upon in terms of the interplay between student and institution. These aspects were used in combination with James Gee’s notion of Discourse models to design a unique framing for interpretation of interviews aimed at bringing out new causal dynamics that lie in this interplay. To illustrate this interpretation, Aristotle’s notion of four causes is used. The analysis presented is a study of interviews with seven former physics students about their early departure. This framing of the analysis was necessary because the students’ description of how they understood their actions did not explicitly reveal interplay between student and institution. These details lay behind a ‘wall of introspection’ that otherwise posed a serious challenge to the use of student testimony as direct means to identify and address issues of early departure. The results are used to discuss research implications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen, D. (1999). Desire to finish college: an empiricial link between motivation and persistence. Research in higher education, 40, 461–485.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen, N. O., & Laursen, K. B. (Eds.). (2003). Studieforløbsundersøgelser i naturvidenskab—en antologi (Vol. 5). Copenhagen: Center for Naturfagenes Didaktik.

    Google Scholar 

  • Appel, M. (2007). Förebygga, förstå och förhindra. En åtgärdsinriktad intervjustudie om studieavbrott på fyra olika utbildningsprogram vid Uppsala universitet. Uppsala: Enheten för kvalitet och utvärdering.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aquinas, T. (1272/1961). Commentary on the metaphysics (J. P. Rowan, Trans., 1st ed.). Chicago: Henry Regnery Company.

  • Bean, J. P., & Metzner, B. S. (1985). A conceptual model of nontraditional undergraduate student attrition. Review of Educational Research, 55, 485–540.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, U. (1992). Risk society. Towards a new modernity. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university. Maidenhead Berkshire: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braxton, J. M., Sullivan, A. V. S., & Johnson, R. M., Jr. (1997). Appraising Tinto’s theory of college student departure. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. XII, pp. 107–164). Bronx: Agathon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braxton, J. M., Vesper, N., & Hossler, D. (1995). Expectations for college and student persistence. Research in higher education, 36, 595–612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briggs, B. H. (1976). Student attitudes to physics. Physics Education, 11, 483–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brinkmann, S. (2007). Could interviews be epistemic? An alternative to qualitative opinion polling. Qualitative Inquiry, 13, 1116–1138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera, A. F., Nora, A., & Casteñeda, M. B. (1993). College persistence: Structural equations modeling test of an integrated model of student retention. The Journal of Higher Education, 64, 123–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S. M. (2009). Aristotle’s metaphysics. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (spring 2009 ed.). http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2009/entries/aristotle-metaphysics/.

  • Davies, R., & Elias, P. (2003). Dropping out: a study of early leavers from higher education (research report 386). London: Department for Education and Skills.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elby, A. (1999). Another reason that physics students learn by rote. American Journal of Physics, 67, S52–S57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engstrom, C., & Tinto, V. (2007). Pathways to student success: the impact of learning communities on the success of academically under-prepared college students. Syracuse: School of Education, Syracuse University. Final report prepared for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2004). Europe needs more scientists!. Brussels: Directorate-General for Research, High Level Group on Human Resources for Science and Technology in Europe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gee, J. P. (2005). An introduction to discourse analysis. Theory and method (2nd ed.). Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gee, J. P. (2011). An introduction to discourse analysis. Theory and method (3rd ed.). Abingdon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Godfrey, E., Aubrey, T., & King, R. (2010). Who leaves and who stays? Retention and attrition in engineering education. Engineering Education, 5(2), 26–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haggis, T. (2006). Pedagogies for diversity: Retaining critical challenge amidst fears of ‘dumbing down’. Studies in Higher Education, 31, 521–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haggis, T. (2009a). Student learning research: a broader view. In M. Tight (Ed.), International handbook of higher education (pp. 23–25). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haggis, T. (2009b). What have we been thinking of? A critical overview of 40 years of student learning research in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 34, 377–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasse, C. (2002). Gender diversity in play with physics: The problem of premises for participation in activities. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 9, 250–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasse, C. (2007). Learning through reactions—The social designation of institutional cultural code-curricula. In C. H. Sørensen (Ed.), Body and learning: A transdisciplinary approach (pp. 193–215). Copenhagen: Danmarks Pædagogiske Universitets Forlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazari, Z., Tai, R. H., & Sadler, P. M. (2007). Gender differences in introductory university physics performance: The influence of high school physics preparation and affective factors. Science Education, 91, 847–876.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hegel, G. W. F. (1807/1977). Phenomenology of spirit (A. V. Miller, Trans.). Oxford: Oxford University Press (originally published in 1807).

  • Hineline, P. N. (2003). When we speak of intentions. In K. A. Lattal & P. N. Chase (Eds.), Behavior theory and philosophy (pp. 203–221). New York: Kluwer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Holland, D., Skinner, D., Lachicotte, W., Jr, & Cain, C. (2001). Identity and agency in cultural worlds. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmegaard, H. T., Ulriksen, L., & Madsen, L. M. (2011). The process of choosing what to study. A longitudinal study of upper secondary students’ identity work when choosing higher education (manuscript submitted for publication).

  • Jenkins, R. (2002). Pierre Bourdieu. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johannsen, B. F. (2007). Attrition in university physics. Dissertation for the degree of Licentiate of Philosophy in Physics and Physics Education Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala.

  • Killeen, P. R. (2001). The four causes of behavior. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 136–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knudsen, J. M., & Hjorth, P. G. (2000). Elements of Newtonian mechanics. Including nonlinear dynamics. Third, revised and enlarged edition. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kost-Smith, L. E., Pollock, S. J., & Finkelstein, N. D. (2010). Gender disparities in second-semester college physics: The incremental effects of a “smog of bias”. Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research, 6(2), 020112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kvale, S. (1983). The qualitative research interview: A phenomenological and a hermeneutical mode of understanding. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 14, 171–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kvale, S. (2006). Dominance through interviews and dialogues. Qualitative Inquiry, 12, 480–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lardner, E., & Malnarich, G. (2008). A new era in learning. Why the pedagogy of intentional integration matters. Change, 40(4), 30–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence, J. (2005). Re-conceptualising attrition and retenation: Integrating theoretical, research and student perspectives. Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development, 2(3), 16–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laws, P. W. (1997). Millikan Lecture 1996: Promoting active learning based on physics education research in introductory physics courses. American Journal of Physics, 65, 14–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mastekaasa, A., & Smeby, J.-C. (2008). Educational choice and persistence in male- and female-dominated fields. Higher Education, 55, 189–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mullin, F. J. (1948). Selection of medical students. Academic Medicine, 23, 163–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nora, A., Cabrera, A. F., Hagedorn, L. S., & Pascarella, E. T. (1996). Differential impacts of academic and social experiences on college-related behavioral outcomes across different ethnic and gender groups at four-year institutions. Research in higher education, 37, 427–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2008). Encouraging student interest in science and technology studies. Global Science Forum. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2010). Education at a glance 2010. Paris: OECD Directorate for Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students. Volume 2. A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perkins, K. K., Gratny, M. M., Adams, W. K., Finkelstein, N. D., & Wieman, C. E. (2005). Towards characterizing the relationship between students’ self-reported interest in and their surveyed beliefs about physics. In P. Heron, L. McCullough, & J. Marx (Eds.), 2005 Physics education research conference proceedings (pp. 137–140). Melville: AIP Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to teach in higher education (2nd ed.). London: Routledge Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, N. (1999). Governing the soul. The shaping of the private self (2nd ed.). Sidmouth: Free Association Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roth, W.-M., & Lee, Y.-J. (2006). Contradictions in theorizing and implementing communities in education. Educational Research Review, 1, 27–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schiffrin, D. (1994). Approaches to discourse. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sellars, W., Rorty, R., & Brandom, R. (1997). Empiricism and the philosophy of mind. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seymour, E., & Hewitt, N. M. (1997). Talking about leaving: Why undergraduates leave the sciences. Oxford: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tierney, W. G. (2000). Power, identity and the dilemma of college student departure. In J. M. Braxton (Ed.), Reworking the student departure puzzle (pp. 213–234). Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.

  • Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45, 89–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tinto, V. (2006–2007). Research and practice of student retention: What next? Journal of College Student Retention, 8, 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tobias, S. (1985). Math anxiety and physics: some thoughts on learning ‘difficult’ subjects. Physics Today, 38(6), 60–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tobias, S. (1990). They’re not dumb, they’re different: Stalking the second tier. Tucson, Arizona: Research Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ulriksen, L. (2009). The implied student. Studies in Higher Education, 34, 517–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulriksen, L., Madsen, L. M., & Holmegaard, H. T. (2010). What do we know about explanations for drop out/opt out among young people from STM higher education programmes? Studies in Science Education, 46, 209–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yorke, M., & Longden, B. (2004). Retention and student success in higher education. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yorke, M., & Longden, B. (2008). The first year experience of higher education in the UK. York: The Higher Education Academy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zepke, N., & Leach, L. (2005). Integration and adaptation: Approaches to the student retention and achievement puzzle. Active Learning in Higher Education, 6, 46–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the assistance which Frederik Voetmann Christiansen who is an Associate Professor at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, so generously offered in reading and commenting several early drafts of this paper. Most importantly we acknowledge that Frederik came up with the idea to illustrate Discourses on attrition by using Aristotle’s four causes.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bjørn Friis Johannsen.

Additional information

Lead Editors: K. Scantlebury and A. Hussénius

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Johannsen, B.F., Rump, C.Ø. & Linder, C. Penetrating a wall of introspection: a critical attrition analysis. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 8, 87–115 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-012-9436-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-012-9436-9

Keywords

Navigation