According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, all children have the right to education. From 2000 to 2020, the number of out-of-school children of lower secondary school-age shrank from 98 million to 63 million, and the number of out-of-school children of upper secondary school-age fell from 175 million to 132 million. Students at risk of dropout may have a lower chance of becoming successful productive citizens because their starting point is far behind compared to their peers. In this context, school dropout and its prevention are not only a problem of the education system, but a problem of the whole society, which can lead to rising unemployment, perpetuation of poverty, increase of delinquency etc., affecting not only the present but also the future of several countries. The purpose of this article is to analyse the learning motivation of students at risk of school dropout from socio-ecological perspective, to explore the learning motivation (through individual characteristics), in relation to the microsystem (through relationships with parents and peers), the mesosystem (through relationships with teachers), the exosystem (through the extended school community) and the macrosystem (through social norms and government initiatives). The main findings: Based on several resources analysis, we can conclude that in recent years the amount of interest amongst people in the world of education and research has risen to check characteristics of school and their influence on the low achievements of students at risk, absences and dropout. Several factors were found to be significant, among them the structure of the organization, staff-student relationships and non-organizational resources. Looking deeper, how to ensure participation of parents and local communities in the learning motivation process of students at risk of school dropout? The framework discussed can contribute to more effective practical interventions.