Educational Dropout of Students with NEE in the City of Portoviejo: A Qualitative Analysis Based on 11 Case Studies

Educational abandonment has become for many years a social problem that affects Latin American students. Consequently, several nations, including Ecuador, focus their efforts on mitigating this problem. The research about the educational abandonment of students with special needs aims to identify why 11 students did not continue studying. The sample was part of six public and private schools in Portoviejo. The school was selected due to the high number of students with special needs enrolled in the last school year. For achieving this qualitatively oriented study, semi-structured interviews were applied as a data collection technique, and the case study research method was implemented. Among the results found in the study sample, three factors of educational abandonment stand out. One of them was the socioeconomic situation, which takes precedence over the educational quality that the student could receive regardless of the type of educational institution of which he is a part. The other one was the educational environment stands out, which mainly alludes to the teacher's preparation regarding the methodological adaptations that students with disabilities require to consolidate their learning. Finally, the family factor emphasizes the lack of responsibility of parents towards their children, such as limiting their right to education. This type of research is especially relevant due to the little literature about this vulnerable group, which will allow future explorations to be carried out that seek to enforce their rights