Tackling Early School Leaving 6 September 2013 Naples Dr. Ilona Murphy ICF-GHK Early Warning...

Tackling Early School Leaving 6 September 2013

Naples

Dr. Ilona Murphy ICF-GHK

Early Warning Systems

icfi.com | ghkint.com

Context of our work

Europe 2020 headline target to bring down the share of early school leavers to below 10% by 2020

Council Recommendation of 28 June 2011 on policies to reduce ESL

Highlights the need for comprehensive policies (prevention, intervention and compensation)

European Commission Thematic Working Group on Early School Leaving (ESL) established Dec 2011


TWG policy context and activities

Activities include:– Two Peer Learning Activities (Netherlands and France)– Peer Review on policies to reduce ESL– Mapping exercises (data collection, early warning systems, cost

of ESL)– Report on comprehensive policies against ESL


Early school leaving in Europe – scale of the problem In 2012, 12.9% 18 to 24 years old had not completed

upper secondary education and no longer in education and training

Represents 5.5 million young people More young men than young women are ESL ESL major problem for disadvantaged minorities More pronounced in VET Wide disparities among European countries and regions Unemployment rate amongst early school leavers was

40.1% in 2012 - economic crisis is having diverging impacts on ESL


ESL rate 2012, Europe 2020 target and national targets


Early warning systems (EWS) in Europe – mapping exercise

EWS ‘broad term’, taking different forms - definition and characteristics are tentative

EWS collect and use data on students to identify risk factors and trigger follow up

Aim is to warn school staff of young people at risk EWS typically integral to mainstream school monitoring

and management systems A small number of countries have developed separate

systems, others have no such systems in place


Variations in approach

Austria:

Youth Coaching programme (providing advice and guidance to young people identified as being at risk

Croatia:

School informs partners when young people miss school. E-register- improve communication between schools and parents

Bulgaria:

Legislation stipulates teachers monitor attendance and inform parents

Ireland:

Legislation requires schools to report annually to the National Education Welfare Board

Sweden:

Legislation in place but broader measures to help teachers, parents and students identify risks

Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia:

New legislation to collect data on attendance

EWS largely driven by national legislation but implementation tends to be local


EWS signals

Poor attendance/truancy - different levels of absence trigger a warning

Poor behaviour - often based on national regulations governing school and/or school standards

Academic achievement / test results

Repetition of academic year - problematic and should be replaced with additional support

Other - psycho-social problems, language barriers

Schools and teachers play an important role in recognising early signs of disengagement


Other methods to identify youth at risk – country examples

Collaboration

Austria: youth coaches work with young people

Hungary: Person employed with responsibility for child/youth welfare

Sweden: All school personnel obliged to report person identified at risk

Belgium: Teachers involved in mediation

Ireland: School Completion Programme to help young people in disadvantaged areas

Research and data

UK England: Risk of NEET indicators

Student registration systems

Belgium, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovakia – systems assist in identification of EWS through recording absences and academic achievement


Responses to EWS

• Poland, Belgium – parents informed• Estonia – e-Kool system (system of sharing data between

school and parents)Involve parents

• Lithuania – support extended to families • Estonia – student assistance roundtables• Belgium – broad intervention, mediation services

Multi-disciplinary support team

• Sweden – action programme set up to support young people in needIndividual action plans

• Teachers involved in reporting must be part of the solution to ensure link between reporting and intervening Teacher involvement

Responses should be accompanied by clear and timely support

Some countries impose fines, sanctions and prosecution


Impact of EWS

Little evidence of the impact of EWS – evaluations are rare, difficult to identify causality between trends

Eurostat and national data show reductions in ESL – view that EWS have contributed to reduction

More resources and evaluation of approaches required

– How are EWS defined in different European countries? – When schools or local authorities report absences – what is the outcome

of this activity?– What is the data used for? Does it inform policy making? How accessible

is it to users? – What distinguishes EWS from being a bureaucratic exercise from systems

that address EWS?– How do countries determine different EWS?– How is collaboration and partnerships working in practice?


Key lessons, success factors and challenges

Key lessons and success factors: – Important role of teachers– Importance of individual support and guidance for students– Cooperation between schools, supporting systems, professionals

Challenges:– Budget cuts, ensuring legal responsibilities related to EWS are

implemented, need for user-friendly data systems, lack of training on ESL, lack of coordination, establishing buy-in, unwillingness of some schools


Concluding remarks

Clear definition of EWS A comprehensive list of EWS must be broader than

monitoring absenteeism alone (social, family related issues)

EWS should be evidenced based and operate through a process of identification/assessment of signals – intervening - monitoring

EWS must be accompanied by clear and timely support EWS must be evaluated and monitored to ensure

efficiency and effectiveness within the context of the school


Thank you for your attention

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Tackling Early School Leaving 6 September 2013 Naples Dr. Ilona Murphy ICF-GHK Early Warning...

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