Analysis on the Lack of Motivation and Dropout in Engineering Students in Spain

The dropout rate of engineering students is a concerning problem at the present time in many countries, resulting in difficulties to follow the demand of professionals in certain technological sectors as well as an associated negative economic impact. This study identifies a number of factors affect...

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Main Authors: Abdelhamid Tayebi, Josefa Gomez, Carlos Delgado
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2021-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9420090/
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author Abdelhamid Tayebi
Josefa Gomez
Carlos Delgado
author_facet Abdelhamid Tayebi
Josefa Gomez
Carlos Delgado
author_sort Abdelhamid Tayebi
collection DOAJ
description The dropout rate of engineering students is a concerning problem at the present time in many countries, resulting in difficulties to follow the demand of professionals in certain technological sectors as well as an associated negative economic impact. This study identifies a number of factors affecting the motivation degree of current electrical and computer engineering students, as well as the main reasons behind the dropout. A survey was completed by 624 students belonging to 8 different Spanish universities, rating the factors that could influence them to abandon their studies and those affecting their motivation to continue studying. Non-parametric analyses were performed in order to test the association of motivation as well as self-reported likelihood of dropping out with several variables. According to the research results, 23 of the 40 analyzed factors are correlated with the degree of motivation and 14 factors are correlated with the self-reported probability of dropping out. About 46% of the students declared to have thought about dropping out at some point in the past. Difficulty, followed by bad academic performance and negative relationships with professors are the main reasons for dropping out given by the students. Lack of vocation and distance to their home address were less frequent reasons.
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spelling doaj.art-58d70f9c0986407083e8ee54e5c2615b2022-12-22T04:25:35ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362021-01-019662536626510.1109/ACCESS.2021.30767519420090Analysis on the Lack of Motivation and Dropout in Engineering Students in SpainAbdelhamid Tayebi0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6216-257XJosefa Gomez1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0111-8898Carlos Delgado2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0981-6527Department of Computer Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, SpainDepartment of Computer Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, SpainDepartment of Computer Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, SpainThe dropout rate of engineering students is a concerning problem at the present time in many countries, resulting in difficulties to follow the demand of professionals in certain technological sectors as well as an associated negative economic impact. This study identifies a number of factors affecting the motivation degree of current electrical and computer engineering students, as well as the main reasons behind the dropout. A survey was completed by 624 students belonging to 8 different Spanish universities, rating the factors that could influence them to abandon their studies and those affecting their motivation to continue studying. Non-parametric analyses were performed in order to test the association of motivation as well as self-reported likelihood of dropping out with several variables. According to the research results, 23 of the 40 analyzed factors are correlated with the degree of motivation and 14 factors are correlated with the self-reported probability of dropping out. About 46% of the students declared to have thought about dropping out at some point in the past. Difficulty, followed by bad academic performance and negative relationships with professors are the main reasons for dropping out given by the students. Lack of vocation and distance to their home address were less frequent reasons.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9420090/Attritiondropoutengineering educationhigher educationmotivationsurvey
spellingShingle Abdelhamid Tayebi
Josefa Gomez
Carlos Delgado
Analysis on the Lack of Motivation and Dropout in Engineering Students in Spain
IEEE Access
Attrition
dropout
engineering education
higher education
motivation
survey
title Analysis on the Lack of Motivation and Dropout in Engineering Students in Spain
title_full Analysis on the Lack of Motivation and Dropout in Engineering Students in Spain
title_fullStr Analysis on the Lack of Motivation and Dropout in Engineering Students in Spain
title_full_unstemmed Analysis on the Lack of Motivation and Dropout in Engineering Students in Spain
title_short Analysis on the Lack of Motivation and Dropout in Engineering Students in Spain
title_sort analysis on the lack of motivation and dropout in engineering students in spain
topic Attrition
dropout
engineering education
higher education
motivation
survey
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9420090/
work_keys_str_mv AT abdelhamidtayebi analysisonthelackofmotivationanddropoutinengineeringstudentsinspain
AT josefagomez analysisonthelackofmotivationanddropoutinengineeringstudentsinspain
AT carlosdelgado analysisonthelackofmotivationanddropoutinengineeringstudentsinspain