School-community interventions to curb learner dropout: The perceptions of key education stakeholders in a rural South African school neighbourhood

The study presented in this article gathered and examined the views of key stakeholders in rural South African secondary schools on strategies for curbing learner dropout. The investigation, which employed a qualitative case study research model, sampled 20 secondary school learners aged 17-20 (11 female, 9 male), 20 youth aged 17-22 (11 female, 9 male) who had dropped out of school, 10 School Governing Board (SGB) members (5 female, 5 male), and 20 teachers (9 female, 11 male), who were purposively sampled from two rural secondary schools engaged in tackling high dropout rates. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with school dropouts and SGB members, and through focus group discussions with teachers and learners. The study revealed that the main strategies the two schools used to curb learner dropout include the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP); the no-fee school system; counselling on personal and family challenges; attractive extra- or co-curricular activities; encouragement of parental involvement in school matters; and collaboration between the community and school leadership in monitoring learners. Based on their findings, the authors advocate for stronger school-community partnership, in which both the community and the school take shared responsibility for children's educational access and opportunity.