Academic Aspirations and Dropout Intentions in the Perspective of Positive Youth Development: Protective Factors in Adolescence

Early school leaving is a problem that, especially in adolescence, can lead to maladaptive development. It is, therefore, essential provide quality, equitable, and inclusive education. Following the Positive Youth Development perspective, the aim of this study was to identify the possible strengths and resources of adolescents. Specifically, we analyzed three protective factors of school dropout intentions and academic aspirations: positivity, self-efficacy for self-regulated learning (SESRL), and school engagement. The participants in the present study were N = 260 ninth-grade students (M = 14.36, SD = 0.78, 204 boys) that were recruited in two Technical high schools in the center of Italy. There were two multiple hierarchical regression analyses that were carried out, considering academic aspirations and intentions to drop out of school as dependent variables. Hierarchical regression models highlighted that positivity, SESRL, and school engagement have significant and positive roles in school aspirations. Moreover, positivity and SESRL were negatively associated with intention to drop out of school. These results have pivotal implications in the prevention and promotion of interventions, suggesting the importance of building positive orientation and self-efficacy for self-regulated learning, and school engagement in the classroom context.