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Tackling early school leaving

There are several reasons for ESL, among them we can see the following:

● Migration background – They don’t speak the language, so they can’t go to school,

instead they look for jobs.

● Lack of a comprehensive strategy – They don’t know what they should do. For

example: If a pupil wants to raise his/her grades, but doesn’t know how, he/she might

give up.

● Lacks of evidence-based policy-making – Students think that there’s no reason to go to

school. ● Insufficient prevention and early intervention – Schools aren’t quick enough to help students who

skip school. ● Family academic background – Children think that you don’t need to finish school.

● Economy – Can’t afford school.

● Insufficient interest in school – They think school is boring, so they drop out.

● Other opportunities – They think that they can get a job.

● Non-nuclear families – bad economy

● Mobbing – Children get afraid to go to school

Consequences

Individual Consequences:

The effects of ESL are greater in some countries than others. But in general it might be

concluded that ESL:ers earn less than the non-ESL. The clear general view is that ESL strongly

curtails labor market opportunities. However, we need to ask how far this clear disadvantage is

due to poor academic skills, irrespective of school completion EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING status.

Moreover, “…these effects remained significant after controlling for the duration of education

and educational attainment”. This suggests that the factors affecting ESL also have an

independent direct effect on labor market behaviors and outcomes, and not just because they

lead to early leaving. Finally, it is important to register that ESL could benefit some young

people to say nothing of the schools they attend. “Some students are not able or willing to get

anything out of school; others choose other alternatives over going to school, alternatives that

in some cases can be more fulfilling and rewarding. And some students who remain in school

can be very disruptive to those students who want to be there and to learn”.

From Spain YNE have reported: Raúl Álvarez, Edvin Englund, Jorge Painagua, Senni Salmu,

María Fernández-Miranda, Graciela Díaz, Erin Dempsey.

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INTERVIEW WITH POLITICIANS ABOUT INTERVIEW WITH POLITICIANS ABOUT INTERVIEW WITH POLITICIANS ABOUT INTERVIEW WITH POLITICIANS ABOUT

EARLY SCHOOL LEAVNIGEARLY SCHOOL LEAVNIGEARLY SCHOOL LEAVNIGEARLY SCHOOL LEAVNIG

After watching the numbers of early school leavers in Spain, our journalists have decided to make some questions to our politicians about this problem.

Are there any early warning signs for early school leaving?

-The main signs are lack of interest and motivation in studying. People with social disadvantages (for example lack of parental motivation or low education background) or people with mental or physical disabilities tend to leave the school earlier than others.

Do you think you can prevent early school leaving b efore it happens?

-Yes, by providing high-quality early childhood education and by making sure that ethnic minorities, like the Roma people understand the importance of education.

How do you think you can do this?

-By improving the teaching, by making sure that the students would be interested in what they’re studying and encourage them to learn new things and by stressing that the things they’re studying will be useful in the future.

Do you think it’s a global issue?

-It’s an European issue.

How do you think it’s affecting the finance of your country?

-The less students with secondary certificate the more unemployment rate in the country.

Is there any way to get people back to school after they leave the school early?

- It’s difficult enough, since they only pay attention the amount of money they earn, and they aren’t aware of the work environment and job security are not so good for not qualified workers.

What are the consequences of people leaving school early?

- Unemployment, poverty and social exclusion. Also, early leavers are usually less active citizens and they are more dependent on social assistance.

From Spain, ESL has reported: Marina Aramburu, Heidi Pökkylä, Celia Conejero,

Levi Vanhout, Sharon Mebrahtu, Nikita McDonnell, Aida López.

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INTERVIEW WITH ROMA FOUNDATION STAFF

Today, we have been with Elías, Matilde and Diana, who represent the Castrillón’s Roma

foundation (Secretariado Gitano).

We started asking Elías, a student who has been supported by ROMA FOUNDATION, some

questions.

Question: Do you think that, without the help of your family and ROMA fOUNDATION you

would be where you are today?

Answer: “My parents and my Friends helped me a lot. It’s not normal for people in my social

community to give support. For example I have two sisters that haven’t finished secondary

school”.

Q: What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about leaving school early?

A: It was a pity because without an education you can’t get a good job. The majority of them

leave early to get married. He hoped that he would be different and continue with his studies.”

We have also joined by Elena Venta, representative from the Municipality and responsible for

Social Services.

Question: Is it better to save to sorry?

Answer: “Of course it is better to prevent, because the earlier we interfere, the better.”

Q: Could you please tell us some specific actions in order to promote children’s rights?

A: We’re talking about education, but we also have to speak about health, environment, family,

free time, leisure… Why early school leaving is not just a school issue?

Q: Is there any difficult moment when giving up studying? Can you tell us any situation like

that?

A: Yes. The most difficult moment comes up when they reach sixteen, especially girls,

because they are requested for the marriage. To prevent it we have to help them long time

before it happens.

Q: Do you think that general, global or international measures are possible? Or an analysis of

specific characteristics of the problem is required for the measures to be successful?

A: Of course they are necessaries, since Roma is the most important minority in Europe. Local

measures are also needed because things are different depending on the place.

From Spain YOUTH NEWS EUROPE has reported. Ana Bango, Laura Quirke, Miguel Álvarez, John

Karlsson, Adriana Proenza, Evelina Lokkila, Álvaro Prieto, Vladut , Philip Clavin, Sophie Cuypers.

This is a report by

Sergio Monferrer / Danielle McGouran

Daisy Glover / Julia Stolp

Paula Fernández / Colette Hooyberghs

Ines Geentjens / Joel Pevida / Elena López

EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVES THAT AVOID ESL

EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVES THAT AVOID ESL

Make the future parents do some formation courses previous to the access of their children and entering the school and after continuing with the report of the evolution and the characteristics of the child.

● Families are the main source of information for their children, so they can inform them about the pros of education.

● They are also the best ones to encourage them and keep the motivated so they will not dropout.

FAMILY

● The families are the people in charge of keeping on top of the children to keep a record in attendance and marks.

● From the beggining the family should have made school a routine for the child. But also, they should have never made dropping out of school an option.

FAMILY

Solutions for ESL

Systematic languages support● This Swedish programme tries to support

immigrants by teaching them in their own language, letting them continue their studies, so everywhere they go to study, they´ll be prepared.

•At the same time, this programme give to these people the chance to learn the country´s language.

Systematic languages support

●Sas is a programme of school reinsertion targeting 13 to 17- year- olds who have dropped-out of school.

Sas transition centres (Belgium)

●The basic principle is to offer a sabbatical period of maximum one year to allow pupils to explore other fields of activity (e.g. art-related), providing them with an experience, which may reinforce self- esteem and may equip them to face the challenges of school more easily.

Sas transition centres (Belgium)