Early school

dropouts

If you lose the toughest students, school will be no

longer a school. It will be a hospital looking after

healthy people and rejecting sick ones.

“Don Milani”

Nobody in Europe will be abandoned. Nobody in Europe will be excluded. Europe will only succeed if we work together.

“Angela Merkel”

According to Censis survey school no

longer functions as a "social elevator." Once school was useful to improve its students' social position. Nowadays

the educational system no longer

guarantees employment

opportunities. That is why school might be supposed to be

unhelpful.

Early school dropout is a complex phenomenon that is only partially represented by statistical surveys. It affects:• the psycho-

social dimension of students

• the organization of teaching and educational strategies

• the national education policy

• the dynamics of the territory.

Inclusiveness is a well recognized value.

To fight the effects of socio-economic disparities it must be

combined with educational practices avoiding individualism

and competition.

The success of most students depends on teachers' skills and

abilities. The goal is to stimulate their curiosity and cognitive interests in order to create

individualized learning paths.

Early leaving from education and training (ELET) is a serious issue in many EU countries and has attracted the attention of many researchers, policy-makers and educators.

Although the situation varies across countries and the underlying reasons for students leaving early are highly individual, the process leading up to it includes a number of common elements: learning difficulties, socio-economic problems, a lack of motivation, guidance or support.

Sure, we lose some… but who’s counting?

Early leaving school is a problem, not only for young people, but also for societies. For many, early leaving will lead to reduced opportunities in the labour market and an increased likelihood of unemployment, poverty, health problems and reduced participation in political, social and cultural activities.

Consequences for the individual

Consequences for the individual European reports have shown that leaving education and training early creates a higher risk of unemployment, jobs with less employment security, more part-time work, and lower earnings

In 2013, the unemployment rate amongst early leavers across the EU was 41 %

compared to an overall youth unemployment rate of 23.5 % .

Young people who leave education and training early are also less likely to

participate in lifelong learning, which – given future skill requirements – will

further restrict their opportunities in the labour market

Consequently, early leavers tend to depend more often on social welfare

programmes and are at a higher risk of poverty and social exclusion

Causes for dropping out

Family issuesSchool difficulty

Pregnancy

ExpulsionJob offersSelf-made

money

Mental issuesSocial lifeBoredom

Early school leaving in Europe

The Top 5 European Countries With the Highest Number of School Dropouts

1. Turkey 37.5%

2. Spain 23.6%

3. Malta 20.8%

4. Iceland 20.5%

5. Portugal 19.2%

Dropout in ItalyThe situation is heterogeneous in our regions: the region Molise is the only one to have reached the European target, with an indicator value of 9.9%. School leaving phenomenon interests above all the South, with peaks of 25.8% in Sardinia, 25% in Sicily and 21.8% in Campania.

Dropout in ItalyIn Abruzzo the number of Early School Leavers is reducing in the last years, but it is still higher than European target.

EU countries have committed to reducing the average share of early school leavers to less than 10% by 2020

In June 2010 education

ministers agreed on a framework for

coherent, comprehensive,

and evidence-based policies to

tackle early school leaving

Between 2011 and 2013 a working group on early school leaving, has looked at good practice examples in Europe and

exchanged experiences in reducing early school leaving.

The Working Group on Schools Policy (2014-2015) created policy messages identifying

key conditions for implementing a whole

school approach to tackling early school

leaving…

as well as an online 'European Toolkit for Schools', which offers resources and

practical examples of effective practices to promote educational success and

prevent early school leaving

In 2015, the Council adopted conclusions on

reducing early school leaving and promoting success in

school.

Not one lessshould be our

goal…

Thank you for your attention

The Italian team