Paper Title
Factors Related To Decreasing The Drop-Out Rate Among Vocational Students

Abstract
The drop-out rate represents a significant problem for vocational education in Thailand. In 2014, 22,893 or 14.66% of newly entered students dropped out of Thai vocational schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors related to decreasing the drop-out rate such as self-regulation strategies, school participation, promotion of discussion, lack of self-determination and intention to persist in school. Self-report survey data were collected from 277 vocational students under the Office of Vocational Education Commission in Thailand. Correlation and regression analyses were applied to the data. The results indicated that lack of self-determination was the main factor associated with intention to persist in school. The correlation of intention to persist in school had a positive relationship with school participation but had a negative relationship with self-regulation strategies, promotion of discussion and lack of self-determination. Regression analysis results showed that lack of self-determination was the strongest predictor for intention to persist in school. Implications of this study are important for educational planning, for developingthe competency of vocational students and for decreasingthe drop-out rates in the Thai vocational education system. Keywords— Drop-out rate, Self-regulation strategies, Lack of self-determination, Vocational Education.