The European Scenario in Fighting Early School Leaving

The European Scenario in Fighting Early School Leaving

Final ConferencePrato - F.Datini Institute -

10th September 2013

Prof. Mauro Di Grazia

Traduzione Prof.ssa Paola Bertini

Prato 10 settembre 2013

2012 European Data

Early school leavers are reducing in the EU:The decline is slowing

Reduction target of 10% ( ET 2020 European Strategy for Education and Training ) is far away for many countries. EU average is 13 %

Of 27 EU countries:• 12 have reached the target

• 10 are about to reach it

• 2 are still far away ( Italy / Romania)

• 3 are more than 20 % drop out rate (Spain, Portugal , Malta)


2010 2011 2012Change 2011-2012

National target

Finland 10.3 9.8 8.9 -0.9 8.0

Un. Kingdom 14.9 15.0 13.5 -1.5 No target

France 12.6 12.0 11.6 -0.4 9.5

Germany 11.9 11.7 10.5 -1.2 less than 10.0

Greece 13.7 13.1 11.4 -1.7 9.7

Ireland 11.4 10.8 9.7 -1.1 8.0

Belgium 11.9 12.3 12.0 -0.3 9.5

Romania 18.4 17.5 17.4 -0.1 11.3

Italy 18.8 18.2 17.6 -0.6 15.0-16.0

Spain 28.4 26.5 24.9 -1.6 15.0

EU 14.0 13.5 12.8 -0.7 less than 10.0


Italian data

Eurostat data of 2013 - ( about year 2012): Statistical models and inconsistencies Italian Istat data 2012: 18.8% ( worse than

the 17.6 % ) Strong gender difference , in Italy as in the

EU: boys 22% , girls 15.4 % : males are left behind.

Tuscan data : increase of drop out ( from 15.5 % in the year 2008 to 17.5% in 2010)

in parallel with the worsening of the economic crisis.


2020 EU Strategy

Recommendations of the EU Council 191/2011 Early school leaving reduction thanks to the "

smart growth" (higher education / higher growth ) and "inclusive growth" (less unemployment , less social exclusion : reduce the poor rate by 20 million)

ESL = 52% unemployed But : youth unemployment in the EU 23% (IT

39%, Spain / Greece 60 %): 5.6 million young people without a future , a dramatic crisis of our socio-economic model


2020 EU Strategy

Early identification of groups at drop out risk : children of immigrants socially and economically disadvantaged groups DSA (Learning Disabilities) and young people with

other disabilities

“Reviewing existing policies” " with " global cross-sector-based strategies ," with " a range of measures relating to the school as a whole ", " systemic”

Cross-sector-based integration of school policies , with those concerning social welfare, children, youth, families,work, integration


Suggested Measures

Permanent monitoring of ESL (Early school leaving) - causes, even internal to the system, starting from data

Strategic plan for each country by 2012 involving :

- "prevention " / " intervention " / " compensation" measures addressed to immigrants , gypsies , DSA students , disadvantaged young people

- Involvement of education and vocational training ( key role of the latter )

- Extension of nursery school

- Enhancement of the " key role " of teachers and headteachers


Prevention Policies

Optimize education opportunities and training (high quality for everybody):

- increase education beyond compulsory level

- plans for disadvantaged areas

- language support and the participation of parents

- flexibility and "permeability" of education paths (eg modules - combined school and work )

- strengthen Vocational Training

- strengthen the link work / training ( internships, involving companies )


Schools Intervention Policies

Turning schools into learning communities (vision shared by everybody, "an open, stimulating and pleasant " environment )

- Early identify students at-risk

- Establish a network of relationships with parents and external parties ( local communities, immigrant associations , sport, volunteer work , work associations...)

- Provide teachers with adequate tools ( " Tools" !) for their work ( ad hoc training )

- Organize extra-curricular activities - artistic , cultural, sport events to strengthen self-esteem


Policies of Intervention

(Individual) Programming individual mechanisms of support Individual monitoring and mentoring for groups Key to teaching on the needs of pupils

( individualized learning ) Strengthen guidance and counseling activities in

order to promote well-aware choices in line with individual skills

Ensure financial support to young people for the coming back to school


CompensationPolicies

For drop out students Promote "second chance" education

programs, other than school / formal both from the organization and pedagogical point of view

Promote remedial courses and guidance Recognize and validate prior learning

(including non-formal and informal ) Promote individual and specific support

( financial , educational, psychological ... )


1st -2nd March 2012 EU Seminar

Organized by the EU to take stock of the situation: 300 participants - researchers, experts ( Italians

absent... ?) Underline the holistic approach to the problem objectives : Knowing the ESL phenomenon on the basis of evidence

/ data Establish a cross- sector-based cooperation Address the dropout to Vocational Training Develop different forms of teaching Exchange experiences and good practices in the EU


1st -2nd March 2012 EU Seminar

themes emphasized :

Know the processes to build effective/efficient policies Great importance of guidance Growing distinction between traditional learning and

learning via new media


EU Seminar1st Workgroup

Workgroup 1/Who leaves , why and when

- Importance of database and data processing (individual, joined by type , area, region) . Permanent monitoring . Good practices in UK, NL , HU, LU

Suggestions (ideas , success factors...) :

- Develop comparable database

- Focus monitoring on motivation


EU Seminar2nd Workgroup

Workgroup 2/It takes a village to raise a child

- Involve the community to establish local cross- sector-based cooperation


- Flexibility ( adapting to the context)

- Integrating the levels of intervention

- Parental involvement ( emphasized )

- Variety of options for the students


EU Seminar2nd Workgroup


- Early intervention

- Incentives to schools

- Multidisciplinary teams

- Policy-makers should set goals , monitor, evaluate results


EU Seminar3rd Workgroup

• Workgroup 3/Challenge and opportunities

- Enhance the different pedagogical approach of Vocational Education for ESL and drop out ( step by step, little by little teaching )


- More days of internship / training , general education fewer school days

- Take a good balance between theory and practice

- Introduce an operational dimension in the early years of education

- Define a new social contract / training agreement


EU Seminar4th Workgroup

• Workgroup 4/Learning differently

Success factors : Self-mastery Interactive , individual , flexible, peer to peer,

funny learning Motivated teachers , “coaches” more than

“evaluators”


EU Seminar4th Workgroup

Suggestions (ideas... ) :

- Teachers need to feel safe and work in teams

- Schools need to feel part of the community (ie no mega- schools)

- Schools' autonomy is fundamental, which involves responsibility for the results

Good news: the Structural Funds and the ESF 2014/20 , linked to EU targets, include policies for Early School Leaving


Challenge to Schools

Factors of school education influence and sometimes cause Early School Leaving

Challenge for schools: being able to respond to students' different learning styles and help teachers meet the different needs of groups of students with different skills

Not all European countries follow consistent policies to fight early school leaving


Challenge toRegions

In Italy, for example, there is no central government policy against early school leaving (except in the southern regions - see project " Skills For Development " - done with PON funds in the four regions allowed)

The problem is in fact left to the sensitivity of the Regions which manage the IeFP system and the recovery of drop out (see Tuscan regional policy and its commitment in this direction)


Challenge toRegions

The distance between Regions and schools

(especially Vocational ones, entrusted with the task

) is still too big, because both human and material

resources are under state jurisdiction, so

handled with rigid and often inefficient bureaucratic

rules


Project Products

School Inclusion and Stay@School Project deal with the problem from the “inside” of school , through five modules including :

- Early recognition of risk factors

- Protocols for effective communication

- Solicitation of an innovative subject-centered teaching, inductive learning , new technologies and a proper assessment

- Choice of working in a network with many external supports.


Project Products

Stay@School has deepened the tracks traced by School Inclusion Project and the tools produced are going to be presented today

The overall picture has not changed, but the problem has worsened in the context of the general crisis

So, there's the risk of blocking the same efforts put in

Documents

The European Scenario in Fighting Early School Leaving