What the study found
The review found that student dropout is framed as a leadership-mediated, system-level organisational challenge rather than an individual deficit. It identified four connected themes: leadership theories such as transformational, instructional, and distributed leadership; responses to behavioural and psychosocial risk; data-informed approaches using early warning systems for absenteeism and disengagement; and adaptive, collaborative, technology-supported school leadership.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that dropout prevention depends on coordinated leadership across system, school, and classroom levels. They also state that governance alignment, institutional capacity, and sustained implementation frameworks are important, and that this approach supports inclusion and equity by addressing dropout through coordinated institutional action.
What the researchers tested
The researchers carried out a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA framework. They searched Scopus and Web of Science for peer-reviewed studies published between 2020 and 2025, screened the results against explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria, and included 32 studies. They appraised study quality using a Kitchenham-based framework and synthesised the data through integrative thematic analysis, staged coding, cross-study comparison, and higher-order abstraction.
What worked and what didn't
The review found an emerging shift toward integrated leadership configurations that position schools as coordinated organisational actors mediating institutional capacity and student risk. It also found that leadership responses increasingly draw on data-informed approaches, especially early warning systems for absenteeism and disengagement. The abstract does not report which specific approaches worked best or failed.
What to keep in mind
The review is limited to peer-reviewed, English-language studies published from 2020 to 2025 and indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, so earlier foundational work and some regionally indexed scholarship may be missing. The authors also note the need for longitudinal and cross-regional studies of implementation dynamics.
Key points
- The review treats dropout as an organisational and leadership issue, not only an individual student issue.
- Four themes stood out: leadership theories, responses to behavioural and psychosocial risk, early warning systems, and adaptive school leadership.
- The authors say effective dropout prevention requires coordination across system, school, and classroom levels.
- The review included 32 peer-reviewed studies published between 2020 and 2025.
- The evidence base was limited to English-language studies indexed in Scopus and Web of Science.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Leadership and institutional capacity shape dropout prevention
- Authors:
- Bity Salwana Alias, Siti Nur Aishah Sumap, Salleh Amat
- Institutions:
- National University of Malaysia, National University of Malaysia, National University of Malaysia
- Publication date:
- 2026-04-04
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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