Ma'du'a Azavti Et Beit Hasefer? Why I Left School

According to data published in 2012, nearly 40% of Palestinian students in East Jerusalem do not complete 12 years of study. Comparatively, the dropout rate is a mere 3% amongst the overall Jewish population of Jerusalem. Dr. Laila Abed Rabho designed this study to examine the factors that lead to such high dropout rates from the schools in East Jerusalem and possible ways to contend with this phenomenon. In contrast to previous research, Dr. Abed Rabho gives voice to the dropouts themselves. This study includes extensive in-depth interviews that were conducted with 26 student dropouts from East Jerusalem, who agreed to disclose their varied, personal stories, under condition of anonymity. Interviews were conducted with principals, teachers, advisors and senior educators, to examine the causes and possible solutions to the dropout problem. Dr. Abed Rabho's findings show that the causes for student dropout can be divided into five categories: Personal reasons; family reasons; economic/socio cultural reasons; and reasons of political/security.