TITLE OF THE PUBLICATION
Risk Factors for School Failure: the relevance of psychological and behavioural variables for pupil school failure (Fatores de Risco para o Insucesso Escolar: A Relevância das Variáveis Psicológicas e Comportamentais do Aluno)
SURNAME AND NAME OF AUTHOR(S)
Miguel, Rita Ramos; Rijo, Daniel; Lima, Luiza Nobre
PUBLISHER
Revista Portuguesa de Pedagogia
PLACE AND DATE OF PUBLICATION
Lisbon, 2012
TYPE OF PUBLICATION
Research
LANGUAGE OF THE DOCUMENT
Portuguese
LANGUAGE OF THE REVIEW
English
THEMATIC AREA
Identification of students’ at risk
DESCRIPTION OF CONTENTS
In the modern knowledge societies, the culture of success at school is a basic requirement for citizens to be fully prepared for adulthood. Consequently, school failure and school dropout correspond to important handicaps, influencing the individual’s development throughout their whole lives. Research has identified a considerably great amount of variables that may function as risk factors, which may be classified in three different types: family factors, school/organizational factors, and individual factors. Since they constitute important targets for psychological intervention, research about individual risk factors is critically reviewed in this paper. Finally, a comprehensive model is proposed, which includes the student’s cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal variables that may influence school performance and achievement.
COMMENTS ON THIS PUBLICATION
This is an academic paper, which is well structured, presenting a clear and rigorous analysis of the main psychological and behavioral risk factors of students, which affect their success in school.
In addition to the theoretical and conceptual framework through which the authors analyse this topic, they present a very relevant summary ("Cognitive, behavioral and interpersonal aspects which have a strong impact on school failure and its several manifestations") for the understanding of the phenomenon of school failure. The importance of this paper for teachers arises precisely from this analysis, since, on the one hand, it allows a better understanding of which factors most contribute to explain how the process of divorce from school starts and how it develops.
On the other hand, the paper defends the need for a specific type of intervention that meets these risk factors and seeks to change them. It is a very valuable article for educators and teachers, especially for those who are connected to school intervention in the field of special education.
Name of Compiler
Domingos Santos
Name of Institution
Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco
Role in the institution
Researcher
