Relating students’ motivation trajectories in the first nine weeks of their vocational education program to dropout and persistence

To discern early indicators of student attrition, this study examines the dynamics of motivation in the first weeks of a vocational education program. Using a longitudinal approach, freshmen rated on a weekly basis the intrinsic value of their program, expectations of success, their mastery and achievement orientation, and academic and social integration. By comparing responses between eventual dropouts and retained students, the study confirms previous findings that right at the start of the program the distinction between the two groups is minimal. However, motivational differences emerged as early as the second and third weeks, pointing to the potential usefulness of the questionnaire as an early indicator of dropout risk, and of interventions that target motivation early in vocational education programs to reduce dropout rates.