ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicEducation Not Cancelled: Pathways from absence to post-secondary educationView all 10 articles
Pathway insights: Exploring profiles and processes of drop-in students in relation to completion rates in Second Chance Education
Provisionally accepted
- Special Needs Education, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Obtaining an upper secondary degree is highly esteemed for its economic and societal value. For students dropping out of school who return to education to earning an upper secondary degree (cf. high school – ISCED level 3) – termed "drop-in students" in this study – alternative pathways like "Second Chance Education" (SCE) have emerged. Empirical studies on these programs are limited, hindering theoretical progress and the understanding of drop-in students' psychological and educational processes. To address this, the study aims to examine the profiles of drop-in students and the processes that may influence course completion rates in SCE. In doing so, it contributes to the growing body of research on SCE by investigating (1) student profiles and (2) the processes potentially affecting completion rates within a large sample of drop-in students. On this basis, a novel model was developed, including background variables (demographic, educational, and employment information), individual processes (educational motivation, aspirations, psychological needs, and well-being), and environmental processes (supportive relationships and contextual barriers). Conducted in Belgium, this quantitative study surveyed 528 drop-in students (Mage = 25; 58% male). The results advance theoretical understanding and offer insights into the profiles of drop-in students and the processes influencing completion rates (i.e., lower completion rates for those students who speak a different home language, experienced grade retention, have lower motivational quality, higher relatedness and competence frustration, and fewer supportive relationships). This study points to implications of reimagining support for students in education, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach to address various aspects simultaneously.
Keywords: second chance education, school dropout, Basic psychological needs, educationalmotivation, self-determination theory
Received: 29 Apr 2025; Accepted: 03 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Van Den Berghe, De Pauw and Vandevelde. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Lana Van Den Berghe, lana.vandenberghe@ugent.be
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