This document consists of a report on the Minor Field Studies (MFS) program of the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) and contains two MFS papers by teacher trainees at the Malmo School of Education in Sweden. The papers presented are "Drop-outs in Orissa," by Elisabeth Rosen, and "Education in India: A Study of Drop-Out Children in Orissa," by Anna Hedstrom. The study reports penetrate the important problem of dropouts in Indian schools, but treat the subject from different angles, and so complement each other. These two students were trainees in a junior and secondary school teacher training program and wrote their papers during their early terms in basic teacher training. Dropout is one of the biggest educational problems in schools in India. After a short time many children, especially girls, leave school. The reasons are numerous, very often related to poverty, but also to tradition. The first study is an attempt to point out different dropout situations in cities, villages, and with tribes in the Indian state of Orissa. Specific connections between a child's environment and the cause for becoming a dropout are explored. Dropout problems in different areas are attributed to the need to have children contribute to the family income among some castes and tribes, teacher dropout, lack of communication between parents and school, and accessibility of schools. The second study attributes dropout to lack of motivation brought about by a complex interaction of factors including socioeconomic status, social contacts, and material possessions. (DK)