Moving from school disengagement and early leavers to school success for all!
After several years researching the issue of early school leaving, I believe that the Council Recommendation of 2011 on policies to reduce early leaving from education and training has accelerated change at a European and national level. As a result, the reduction in the total number of early leavers from education and training in the EU has been remarkable. However, such accomplishments have been overshadowed by young Europeans’ poor acquisition of basic skills, the increasing prevalence of bullying, and the alarming growth in mental health issues among European youth, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite its focus on the whole-school approach and systemic change, the fight against early leaving from education and training has coincided with the growth of a rather individualistic and ‘deficit view’ of at-risk pupils, who are often seen as the main culprits for their school disengagement. While educational institutions and policymakers verbally recognise the complexity of the factors that lead to early leaving from education and training, they tend to place the blame on pupils themselves, who are often seen as not resilient enough, or not sufficiently motivated. At the same time, the institutional and systemic flaws that were at the root of their disengagement are conveniently disregarded. As a result, measures designed to tackle early leaving from education and training are excessively focused on learners’ supposed deficits and how these could be corrected.
In this context, a new vision of education is needed in which the focus does not fall on individual flaws and inadequacies, but rather looks at what needs to be done at a systemic level to achieve school success for all. Concern about pupils’ – and all educational actors’ – well-being is a key element here. As we aspire to more just, sustainable and equitable societies, we need to move beyond the mere objective of avoiding dropouts. The last decade has shown us that reducing early leaving from education and training – albeit an important objective – must be complemented with actions targeted at tackling underachievement in basic skills, improving pupil well-being and mental health, and providing an education that can truly inspire and encourage young people to reach their full potential. This is one of the key messages of the proposed Pathways to School Success Recommendation.
On the one hand, education can be viewed in a very instrumental way, simply as a ‘factory’ for future workers, or a ‘platform’ to the labour market. It is often in this context that discourse around the need to tackle early leaving from education and training is framed. On the other hand, education can be seen as an emancipatory tool that allows and encourages children and adults to learn throughout their lives and become better versions of themselves. These apparently contrasting visions of education can coexist, given that education can be, simultaneously, a facilitator of labour market insertion and a tool for self-improvement. This highlights the importance of jointly addressing issues like early leaving from education and training, underachievement in basic skills, and well-being, through an integrated and inclusive approach focused on school success for all.
Cosmin Nada is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Research and Intervention in Education. He holds a European PhD in Educational Sciences (University of Porto) and has more than ten years of experience in the field of educational research. Cosmin has participated in numerous academic conferences and has published in leading scientific journals in education. He is currently Administrative Coordinator of NESET and member of the Editorial Board of the European Toolkit for Schools.