Social Bonding to School and Educational Inequality: Race/Ethnicity, Dropping Out, and the Significance of Place

• NCJ Number: 250814
• Journal: Sociological Perspectives Volume: 59 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2016 Pages: 317-344
• Author(s): A. A. Peguero; S. M. Ovink; Y. L. Li
• Date Published: June 2016
• Length: 29 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2012-IJ-CX-0003
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored)

Annotation

This study examined how five types of social bonding (attachment, academic and sports involvement, commitment, and belief) influenced the likelihood of school dropout for racial/ethnic minorities in urban, suburban, and rural schools, using national survey data.

Abstract

Social bond theory suggests that strong bonds to school influence better outcomes on measures of educational progress and success; however, little is known about the relationship between social bonding to school and dropout for racial/ethnic minorities, or how this relationship varies across school settings. The current study's findings suggest that strong social bonds to school have the potential to mitigate some of the observed racial/ethnic gaps in dropout risk; however, the opportunity to form such bonds, as well as the strength of their protective effects, vary by student race/ethnicity, type of social bond, and school location. 73 references (Publisher abstract modified)