Original title: The Tools of the Trade: Educational Psychology, Institutional Dynamics, and Practitioner Intervention in Secondary School Dropout (A Systematization of Educational Experiences and Clinical-Institutional Action Research in Youth and Adult Secondary Education)
Maria Elena Haydee Ponce · September 2026
Many adults and young people drop out of secondary school, but this is a broad, complex problem built into modern school systems rather than an isolated accident. To address it, a researcher examined an educational psychology field practicum in a night school in Paraná, Argentina. The study organized a five-part toolkit that practitioners can use to intervene. This toolkit spans professional, institutional, situational, specific, and technical dimensions. For example, it treats vocational guidance as a direct way to help students connect with their desires, learning, and future plans instead of viewing it as separate from dropping out. By testing reflective workshops with graduating students and staff, the work demonstrates a practical way to handle school distress where psychologist roles lack formal definitions.
You are working in a garden where some plants are in the full shade because the trees were planted without considering their growth. The gardener keeps telling those plants to grow faster, but the real problem is the lack of sunlight. In this paper, the night-shift students are the shaded plants, and the school system is the garden that fails to adjust the arrangement. The practitioner toolkit is like redesigning the garden to give each plant the right conditions to thrive.
Youth and adult students who work all day and attend night school are often seen as the problem when they drop out. This paper argues that dropout is caused by how schools are designed, not by students' lack of effort. It offers practical tools for teachers and psychologists to address the deeper issues and keep students engaged.
The abstract does not state explicit limitations. The study is based on a single supervised practicum in one school in Argentina. It does not provide quantitative data on dropout reduction. Findings may not generalize to other contexts. The toolkit is illustrated with workshops but its long-term impact is not measured.
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The Tools of the Trade: Educational Psychology, Institutional Dynamics, and Practitioner Intervention in Secondary School Dropout (A Systematization of Educational Experiences and Clinical-Institutional Action Research in Youth and Adult Secondary Education) — Maria Elena Haydee Ponce — EdArXiv — doi:10.35542/osf.io/6hyfd_v1
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper. This is a preprint, so it hasn't necessarily been peer reviewed.