Exploratory Factor Analysis and Internal Consistency of the Paraguayan University Dropout Evaluation Instrument

Abstract

It is understood that the study of dropout is a multi-causal problem, and therein lies its difficulty in evaluating it, and determines, in turn, the scarcity of evaluation research, reliable results and proposals to solve it. The general objective of this research was to obtain the exploratory factor analysis and the internal consistency of the pilot instrument “Perception of destruction factors in Face-to-Face and Virtual Careers. Student Version” (Coppari, et. Al., 2019), in order to have a valid and reliable instrument to detect a problem that affects higher education. For this, a study was carried out that assesses the perception of university students about the factors associated with dropping out. The sample consisted of 351 students belonging to private and public universities in Asunción, Paraguay. They were evaluated and selected in an intentional non-probabilistic way. An instrumental investigation was carried out with a descriptive cross-sectional design and the data were analyzed with the statistical package SPSS v.2.2. The exploratory factor analysis identified 8 factors I-FACC, II-FACT, III-FAEPPE, IVFRAE, V-FASLM, VI-FAAU, VII-FRAFP and VIII-FRCAI, associated with university dropouts, of which 6 of they, I-FACC, II-FACT, III-FAEPPE, IV-FRAE, V-FASLM and VI-FAAU, report good internal consistency (> .70) after making modifications to the instrument. In conclusion, this line of research can benefit university academic policies that require reliance on reliable data to counteract the causes of forced abandonment of academic studies and promote their completion.