Exploring determinants of school dropout across regions in India: a comprehensive meta-analysis

School dropout entangled around various human life factors, highly impacts individual development and societal well-being. Understanding the factors that lead to school dropout is fundamental for lowering the risk of this issue. Up to this point, India needed a comprehensive assessment of these determinants and their effects. Given the critical implications of school dropout, this meta-analytic study aims to fill the existing gap in the literature by providing a detailed estimate of determinants influencing school dropout in India. In this meta-analysis, 14,522 dropouts out of 117,115 students from fourteen studies were included. Rigorous criteria for study selection were applied, and data were drawn from reputable databases such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. The determinants were divided into 34 dropout risk domains. Among these, siblings (r = 0.133; p < 0.05) in the family domain and birth order (r = 0.122; p < 0.05) in the child domain emerged as particularly influential factors, highlighting the nuanced dynamics of familial and individual characteristics. The results of the present study advance our fundamental understanding of the causes of school dropout, emphasizing the pivotal roles of familial and individual factors. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of dropout determinants and underscores the practical implications for targeted interventions. Moving forward, an in-depth knowledge of the magnitude of determinant impacts on school dropout is crucial for creating and enhancing evaluation and prevention programs.