1.1. Skolkultur och skolklimat

The project partners designed and implemented a new anti-bullying programme in schools in five EU countries. It drew on the experiences of existing programmes and practices originated by the project partners working in different cultural contexts.  It provided further evidence of effective approaches to the reduction of bullying in schools that will inform the development of improved child centred, whole school strategies for adoption at European level.

I detta exempel beskrivs nyskapande metoder på en gymnasieskola i Sverige – Beda Hallbergs gymnasium. Skolan erbjuder en rad olika program som skapar förutsättningar för personlig utveckling och ett aktivt deltagande i samhället. Skolan har också som mål att ge eleverna kontinuerligt stöd och minska risken för avhopp genom att arbeta hårt för att minimera skolans stängningstider och sträva mot att hålla skolan öppen under längre lov. Ett hälso- och sjukvårdsteam är också väl representerat och inbegriper kuratorer och psykologiska rådgivare, som finns där för att tillgodose ungdomarnas behov.
Beda Hallbergs gymnasium ligger i Kungsbacka. Skolan slog upp portarna 2013 som en mindre enhet med fokus på den enskilda eleven. För vissa unga vuxna i åldrarna 16–20 år kan den fysiska och sociala miljön i många skolor vara en utmaning och ett hinder för kontinuerligt lärande. Beda Hallberg är öppet för dem som söker en mindre skola där de kan känna sig trygga och bekväma.

To improve the school climate, a group of schools from the Learning Communities project decided to create the Brave’s Club. It is based on a “dialogical model of conflict prevention”. Since the Club started in 2014, it has made progress in eradicating school violence in both primary and secondary schools. This strategy is making it easier to bring together effective evidence-informed practices on preventing violence in classrooms in general, and more specifically, gender violence.

Det går inte att förneka att medicinska, psykologiska, sociala, utbildningsrelaterade och rättsliga åtgärder krävs i ett antal fall som rör skolk och avhopp från skolan, men forskning visar också tydligt att i samtliga fall kan skolan och lärarna ha en avgörande inverkan. Det här dokumentet består av en checklista för skolornas självutvärdering. Det innehåller 59 detaljerade rekommendationer för att skapa bättre närvaro i skolan, elevengagemang och en bättre skolkultur. Här finns även förslag på uppförandeavtal och exempel på frågeformulär för lärare och föräldrar. De rekommenderade åtgärderna riktar sig främst till lärare, rektorer och föräldrar. Dokumentet har översatts från manualen skriven av Nairz-Wirth, Feldmann och Diexer (2012): Handlungsempfehlungen für Lehrende, Schulleitung und Eltern zur erfolgreichen Prävention von Schulabsentismus und Schulabbruch.

UNICEF Serbia and the civil society organisation Centre for Education Policy with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development Republic of Serbia  implemented the project “Combating Early School Leaving in Serbia”.

This project aimed to contribute to decreasing drop-out and early school leaving of children and adolescents through development, establishment, and implementation of the school-based model for early identification of children at risk of dropping out and intervention in situations where dropping-out is taking place.

Combating drop-out and ESL in Serbia has been recognised as a policy priority area.  The Strategy for Education Development in Serbia 2020 (SEDS 2020) calls for the provision of high-quality education for all, an increase of students’ coverage and attainment at all levels of education by maintaining the relevance of education and increasing efficiency. The Strategy implementation is primarily focused on the development of human capital in Serbia, thus underlines importance of the inclusion of pupils from vulnerable and marginalised groups (Roma and children from poor families, children with disabilities and from rural areas etc.).

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.

Det svenska utbildningssystemet bygger på respekt för de mänskliga rättigheterna och grundläggande demokratiska värden, såsom det mänskliga livets okränkbarhet, alla människors lika värde, respekt för individens personliga integritet och jämställdhet. I enlighet med dessa värden finns det ett tydligt fokus på att all utbildning ska vara inkluderande och aktivt förebygga diskriminering och trakasserier i alla former, vilket även omfattar mobbning.

The project goal is to provide a comprehensive analysis of best practices for preventing ESL in partner countries in the areas: of ESL monitoring systems; and, methods of counteracting ESL and reintegrating students.

Project partners were from Poland, the UK and Italy. Outputs include a report on ESL monitoring systems, a report on prevention and reintegration methods, and a training pack.

Essunga, a Swedish municipality, transformed the ranking of its schools from the bottom to the top of the national school league tables between 2007 to the top in 2010. Essunga has three elementary schools and one lower secondary school (grades 6-9). With 5,500 citizens, it is one of the smallest municipalities in the country. The increase in levels of achievement is attributed to a research-based approach of inclusive education. For years, the three elementary schools in Essunga had consistently experienced low educational levels. An increasing number of students were refugees or in “family placements”. In 2007, only 76% of students were eligible for upper secondary school and 20% of these were placed in special education classes. These results compelled political and school leaders and school staff to identify targeted measures to address these challenges. The municipality focused on interventions at school and in the local community to prevent school absence and increase attendance.