Psychological Parameters of School Drop Out of Tribal Girl Students in Jhargram District of West Bengal

School dropout among tribal girl students in Jhargram district, West Bengal, a predominantly tribal region in the Jangalmahal area, remains a persistent challenge with deep-seated psychological barriers and socio-economic hardships despite educational initiatives. While economic and infrastructural factors have been nuanced critically, the psychological parameters influencing dropout have received meager scholarly attention. Psychological parameters have critical contributions to disengagement from formal education. Key primary psychological factors include lack of motivation, low self-esteem and lesser interest in studies, leading to perceptions that education is unnecessary and holds little value for their future. Tribal girls face feelings of devaluation, helplessness, and diminished aspirations brewing out of cultural conflicts between mainstream school values and traditional indigenous identity. Fear and trauma from harsh teaching methods like corporal punishment, induce anxiety and school aversion. Limited parent-child interaction, discriminatory practices within families, such as preferential treatment for boy children, and absence of role models further erode confidence and resilience. Protective and positive parental engagement and participation in extracurricular activities and culturally attuned interventions are essential to reignite motivation, enhance psychological empowerment, build self-efficacy and overcome these invisible barriers for sustained educational pursuits.