School dropout at the basic education level in rural Cambodia: Identifying its causes through longitudinal survival analysis

This study sought to identify the causes of school dropout in Cambodia by following three student cohorts (grades 1-4, 4-7, and 7-9) over a period of 3 years. The results showed that economic status, child labor, and parents' aspirations had no significant effect in any of the cohorts. The odds of dropout increased significantly with divorce of parents, relationships with friends, and late school entry of students in grades 1-4, and with grade repetition and relative academic achievement of those in grades 4-9. In addition, dropout rates differed significantly between schools.