Giving Up on School: Student Dropouts and Teacher Burnouts

LeCompte's book examines the parallel phenomena of student dropouts and teacher burnout in American schools. The research draws from extensive fieldwork and interviews conducted across multiple educational institutions. The text analyzes systemic factors that contribute to both students leaving school and teachers abandoning the profession. School policies, classroom dynamics, socioeconomic pressures, and institutional structures receive focused attention through real case studies and data. The author connects individual experiences to broader patterns in education, demonstrating how personal and institutional factors intersect. The investigation spans urban and rural settings while considering variables like race, class, and gender. This sociological study reveals the deep connections between student and teacher disengagement, suggesting that solutions must address both populations simultaneously. The work points to fundamental questions about the purpose and structure of American education.

There are not enough internet reviews to create a summary of this book. Instead, here is a summary of reviews of Margaret LeCompte's overall work: Margaret LeCompte's methodological texts receive attention primarily from academic readers and researchers. Reviews focus mainly on her co-authored work "Ethnography and Qualitative Design in Educational Research." Readers value: - Clear explanations of complex research methods - Practical examples and applications - Detailed guidance on conducting ethnographic studies - Comprehensive coverage of research design issues Common criticisms: - Dense academic writing style - Limited accessibility for beginners - High cost of textbooks - Some dated examples in earlier editions On Goodreads, "Ethnography and Qualitative Design in Educational Research" holds a 3.8/5 rating from a small sample of academic readers. Amazon reviews average 4.2/5, with readers noting its usefulness as a reference text. One doctoral student commented: "The frameworks provided helped structure my dissertation research, though the prose could be more approachable." Review coverage is limited primarily to academic circles and course adoptions, with few public reader reviews available online.

Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol This examination of American public schools exposes the systemic issues driving educational inequality and student disengagement across socioeconomic lines.

The Teacher Wars by Dana Goldstein The history of teaching in America reveals recurring patterns of burnout, reform movements, and institutional challenges that continue to impact education today.

Why They Can't Write by John Wagner The exploration of structural problems in education demonstrates how standardized testing and administrative policies contribute to student failure and teacher dissatisfaction.

The Death and Life of the Great American School System by Diane Ravitch This analysis of education reform policies shows the connection between market-based education initiatives and the deterioration of public education quality.

The Allure of Order by Jal Mehta The investigation of repeated reform cycles in American education reveals why standardization and top-down controls lead to teacher demoralization and student dropout rates.

📚 The book was published in 1991 during a period when U.S. dropout rates were reaching crisis levels, with some urban areas reporting rates as high as 50%. 🎓 Author Margaret LeCompte is a Professor Emerita at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she specialized in educational anthropology and sociology for over three decades. 🔍 The research presented in the book combines both quantitative data and personal narratives, following students and teachers for several years to understand the complex factors leading to both dropout and burnout. 👥 The study revealed that teacher burnout and student dropout rates were interconnected, with stressed and overwhelmed teachers being less effective at engaging at-risk students. 📊 The book challenged the then-common notion that dropouts were solely from low-income or minority backgrounds, showing that disengagement from school affected students across all socioeconomic levels.