Students whose parents get a divorce are more likely to drop out of school without any qualifications, a study being published this week has revealed.
It emerged through the study carried out by the National Observatory for Living with Dignity, that divorce is "one of the significant contributors behind students’ decision to abandon school early".
"Divorce may cause the most profound, emotional trauma and leaves the biggest impact on children, particularly in low socio-economic status contexts defined by limited social and cultural capital.
"Children living in families where parents are divorced are often in constant, apparent or hidden mourning that often leads to early school leaving," observatory chair Carmel Borg said a in a statement ahead of the publication of the results on Friday.
The study, by lead researcher Prof. Milosh Raykov, consists of a literature review of qualitative studies as well as in-depth interviews.
In it, the researchers also warned that while a positive educational environment at home was crucial, quality schools were strategically central to achieving social justice in education.
Early Leavers from Education and Training (ELET) are students aged between 18 to 24 who leave compulsory school without at least five SEC passes and who are not enrolled in any form of educational programme or training.
The study follows up on the latest National Statistics Office (NSO) figures, which in October 18 showed that although Malta’s early school leaving rate dropped to 17.7% in 2017 from 20.3% in 2014, this was still far from the 2020 target of 10%.
It adopts a social justice approach to understanding the phenomenon, where ELET is seen as symptomatic of a society where success is still heavily dependent on the socio-economic status, and of a school system that fails to guarantee education success to all.
In recent years, Malta has continued to register among the highest numbers of school-leavers across the EU, with Eurostat data showing that one in five Maltese students leave school by the age of 18.
The observatory is part of the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society. The entire study will be unveiled on Friday.