Understanding the determinants of early school leaving and enrolment in second chance education for Indigenous Fijians : a mixed methods study

Abstract

Non-completion of secondary education is an international issue that leads to poor economic and social outcomes for individuals and communities. For Indigenous Fijians, the situation is particularly concerning, with at least 42% of students who enrol in Year 1 not completing Year 12. This reflects, in part, the absence of a national policy that could direct efforts to support the high number of early school leavers in completing their education and subsequently improving their life outcomes. In Fiji, the Matua Second Chance Education Program is the only pathway through which adult early school leavers can attain a secondary school leaving certificate after an early exit from secondary school. Ninety-five percent of students enrolled in this sole second chance education program in Fiji are Indigenous. A review of international empirical research reveals a body of work that has focused on identifying the factors that contribute to early school leaving, although there is a dearth of such inquiry in Fiji. On the specific issue of enrolment in second chance education, international research has largely centred on identifying the benefits of second chance education, with little research conducted on the determinants of early school leavers' enrolment in such programs. Similarly, work in Fiji's educational research space has primarily focused on factors associated with poor educational outcomes in mainstream education, with scant research on second chance education. Regrettably, research on determinants of enrolment in second chance education is severely limited in both the international and Fijian research spaces, providing little direction for policy and practice that might successfully enhance participation in second chance education for and with the Indigenous Fijian community. The aim of this research was to advance our understanding of the demographic, individual, and contextual motivational influences on Indigenous students' early school leaving in Fiji and on the enrolment of adult Indigenous early school leavers in second chance education. In particular, this study focussed on exploring the individual and contextual motivational influences that stakeholders' perceived to have shaped early school leaving experiences and the individual and contextual motivational influences of enrolment of adult early school leavers into the Fijian School Leaving or Seventh Form Certificate in the Matua Program.

Date of Award	2021
Original language	English