Tinto Student Departure Theory

Research using Tinto’s framework has contributed a great deal to the understanding of what affects student dropout or departure and student persistence. Research studies focusing on persistence of first-generation and low-income students have been consistent in reporting the success of these students in higher education These studies have shown that low-income and first-generation students experience higher education differently than students from more affluent backgrounds. Research has suggested that these students are less likely to attend a four-year institution. They are also likely to receive less support and encouragement from home as well as likely to experience increased difficulty in transitioning to the postsecondary education
In 1975, Tinto began development on model of persistence. The origins of Tinto's student departure theory produced a theoretical model of attrition and persistence. Tinto's work evolved to include persistence research at the two-year college level and the inclusion of minority groups and non-traditional students. Tinto developed a theory to explain student retention. According to Tinto, persistence occurs when a student successfully integrates into the institution; academically and socially. Integration is influenced by pre-college characteristics and goals, interactions with peers and faculty, and out of classroom factors. Tinto’s model claims that the more integrated a student is into the academic and social systems of the institution, the more likely a student will be committed to the institution and to the goal of graduation and as a result, the more likely the student will persist to graduation at that
According to Tinto (1975), students enter college with a variety of attributes, experiences and backgrounds, each of which impacts a student’s performance in college. In general, this model considers attributes of the student such as family background, skills, goals, and commitments. Using his predictive theory of attrition, Tinto (1975) suggested that given a student’s individual characteristics, prior experiences, and commitments that the individual’s integration into the academic and social systems of the college most directly predict the probability of a student persisting. However, Tinto also considered external influences in a student’s decision to continue at a college. Tinto (1975) asserted that external influences are viewed through the student’s lenses of commitment and integration, and that students are continually evaluating their commitment to an institution in relation to these external influences and performing a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether their investment of time, energies and resources are better served by staying in college. These positive interactions will have a positive outcome toward persistence (Tinto,