Karriereveiledning og støtte

This example describes innovative approaches in an upper secondary school in Sweden - Beda Hallberg. The school offers a range of programmes that provide the foundation for personal development and active participation in society. The school also aims to provide continued support to learners and reduce the risk of drop-out by working hard to minimizes the closing times of the school with the view to staying open during some longer holidays. A team of health professionals are also well represented and includes social and psychological counsellors available to support the needs of young people.

In Irish schools, different initiatives to facilitate social inclusion and equality include breakfast clubs, lunch clubs, chess clubs and homework clubs. Schools promote the benefits of providing an early morning breakfast - this includes improved school attendance and retention, improvements in punctuality, interaction with adults, allowing students to have fun whilst at the same time developing social skills, meeting nutritional needs and developing positive links between the school and the family.

It is undeniable that medical, psychological, social, educational and legal interventions are required in a number of cases of truancy and early school leaving, but research also shows clearly that in all cases, school and teaching staff can have a decisive influence. This document comprises a checklist for self-assessment of schools, 59 detailed recommendations for improvement of school attendance, pupil engagement and school culture, as well as proposals for behaviour agreements and examples of questionnaires for teachers and parents. The recommended measures are primarily directed at the target group of teachers, principals and parents. The document has been translated from the manual by Nairz-Wirth, Feldmann, Diexer (2012): Handlungsempfehlungen für Lehrende, Schulleitung und Eltern zur erfolgreichen Prävention von Schulabsentismus und Schulabbruch.

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Making good choices regarding school subjects increases the chances of future success for students. This project involves parents and students in the process of making well-considered decisions about school subjects. It provides information on the Flemish education system.

The Danish Production schools were created in the 1980s with the aim of combating youth unemployment. Production Schools offer alternative education opportunities to improve labour market integration. The fundamental aim of this type of school is to create a practical learning environment to support young people to complete and earn qualifications in general and vocational upper secondary education and/or maintain a job. The students are offered the opportunity to develop professional, social and personal skills through counselling, participation in practical work experience and production in different workshops ranging from areas such as metalwork, carpentry and textile work in theatre, media and music-based workshops. The focus is on social, personal and physical skills which are complemented by more formal knowledge and skills. Learning processes are organised through workshops and classroom teaching, but every young person is free to organise an individual course where they may challenge themselves and build their confidence.
The most significant challenge for production schools is to prepare and motivate “non-academic” students for the ordinary school system. The last legislative change in 2006focused the aims of Production Schools so that its most important task has been to build a bridge to vocational education and training through relevant practical and academic qualifications. In 2009, there were over 6,000 students in production schools. The student capacity at each school can vary from 20-25 to over 200. Generally speaking the schools are small, with half of the schools accepting fewer than 50 students. Today there are 78 Production Schools in Denmark.

Dannewerkschule Schleswig, Germany is a comprehensive lower secondary school offering grades 5-10, a quarter of which have a migratory background and learning German as a second language. The school aims to be a place of learning where students with different talents and personalities are welcome and can use a wide blend of learning environments and tools.

Research done in the Netherlands has shown that one year of intensive coaching is likely to reduce school dropout by more than 40 percent and yield a net social gain. The target group of students was the general population of students starting in intermediate vocational education. Results suggest that the largest gains are made in the first year of coaching and effects are largest for students with a larger ex-ante probability of school dropout. Examples of coaching are working on study skills (e.g., planning and organizing), counselling in case of personal problems and contact with parents. Both preventive (before study dropout) and curative actions (among study dropouts) of the coaches have been effective and together resulted in a substantial reduction of school dropout.

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E-EVALINTO har som mål å fremme fadderordninger for å redusere tidlig skoleavgang blant elever med fremmedkulturell bakgrunn og anerkjenne verdien av interkulturalitet, samt utvikle et IKT-rammeverk for å vurdere, administrere og utvikle aktiviteter for interkulturelle sammenhenger. Det Erasmus+-finansierte prosjektet setter søkelys på beslutningsprosesser og identifisering av ulike mønstre i de analyserte situasjonene

In order to prevent drop-out, the Godalen and Thor Heyerdahl Upper Secondary Schools in Norway have focused on improving and strengthening their school leadership strategies. The schools have established a range of measures to support teachers and young people alike.