Preventing Early School Leaving in Europe: A Collection of Good Practices

LETS GO TO SCHOOL IN EUROPE A COLLECTION OF
GOOD PRACTICES] 2012-1-DK1-COM06-05363
2012-1-DK1-COMO6-05363.
1
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 5
SUMMARY OF THE PROYECT ................................................................................... 6
DENMARK NORRE NEBEL SKOLE............................................................................. 8
. GOOD PRACTICE ARTICLE AKSEL OELLGARD .................................................. 9
FRANCE ..................................................................................................................... 11
REIMS COLLGE MARYSE BASTI.................................................................... 11
OPEN SCHOOL SBASTIEN FERGEAU. ........................................................... 12
CLASS PROJECT SYLVIE WARY. ...................................................................... 13
GOOD PRACTICES IN OUR SCHOOL MARLNE FERGEAU. ........................... 15
MARESEILLES COLLGE JEAN CLAUDE IZZO .................................................... 17
. A GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICES TO PREVENT EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING

DIDIER JAU ......................................................................................................... 18
GREECE, 3RD GYMNASIO IRAKLIOU KRITIS ......................................................... 22
NATIONAL POLICIES TO COMBAT EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING STRATEGIES

DEVELOPED AT NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVEL TO REDUCE AND PREVENT
EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING IN GREECE LYKOGIANNAKI STYLIANI .................... 24
CLASS ACTIVITIES FOR DEVELOPING EMPATHY AND SELF ESTEEM

LYKOGIANNAKI STYLIANI ..................................................................................... 27
INCORPORATING THE WORLD CAF METHOD IN THE CLASSROOM

LYKOGIANNAKI STYLIANI ..................................................................................... 35
WRITING CREATIVE REFLECTIVE JOURNALS IN CLASS LYKOGIANNAKI

STYLIANI ................................................................................................................ 36
GOOD PRACTICES TO PREVENT EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING KARKANAKI ELENI

................................................................................................................................ 37
IRELAND ST. KEVIN'S COMMUNITY COLLEGE....................................................... 41
THE BUDDY SYSTEM PROPOSAL AISLING CAFFREY..................................... 42
EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS AISLING

CAFFREY................................................................................................................ 44
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ST. KEVINS COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM SUZANNE

GRAHAM................................................................................................................. 46
THE IMPORTANCE OF POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS IN BUILDING SELF-ESTEEM

SUZANNE GRAHAM ............................................................................................... 50
ROMANIA ST VASILE SCHOOL, PLOIESTI ............................................................ 60
SOME SIMPLE WAYS TO KEEP STUDENTS AT SCHOOL GRATIELA PADUROIU.

................................................................................................................................ 61
PREVENTION OF SCHOOL ABANDONMENT ALINA ENESCU . ......................... 63
EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING- A PROBLEM OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

GILDA SCHINDLER . .............................................................................................. 66
COMMUNITY IS THE KEY MARIA ROU............................................................... 67
ABSENTEEISM A PROBLEM OF THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY ANCA

DANILOF, SIMONA BRATU. ................................................................................... 68
UNICEF AND THE FACTORS INFLUENCING SCHOOL DROPOUT ROXANA

AGA. ..................................................................................................................... 69
SCHOOL DROPOUT: A NATIONAL CONCERN ANA-SORINA

CONSTANTINESCU. .............................................................................................. 72
EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING- WHY? FLORICA DOBRE. ....................................... 73
REFLEXIONS AFTER APPLYING TWO QUESTIONNAIRES CRISTINA MARIAN-

IONESCU. ............................................................................................................... 75
SCHOOL - MICROCOSM OF SOCIETY VASILICA STAN. ..................................... 81
WAYS OF PREVENTING SCHOOL DROPOUT ALINA COTORCEANU, .............. 82
STUDENTS ABSENTEEISM- CAUSES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS OVIDIU

MARIAN- IONESCU. ............................................................................................... 83
PREVENTING SCHOOL ABANDONMENT VALENTINA MONA IANCU. ................ 85
SCHOOL DROPOUT, THE COMPLEXITY BENEATH THE STATISTICS LUMINIA

MARIAN AND ROXANA AGA................................................................................ 86
SPAIN IES N1 GIJN, ASTURIAS ............................................................................ 90
LEARN BY PLAYING PAZ FONTICIELLA GUTIRREZ......................................... 91
SILENCE! SHOT PAZ FONTICIELLA GUTIRREZ ................................................ 92
PLAY TO LIVE HOW CAN WE MOTIVATE STUDENTS AT RISK OF DROPPING

OUT OF SCHOOL ZARA GONZLEZ GARCA. ..................................................... 93
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PREVENTIVE EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING.I NSTITUTIONAL APPROACHES IN IES
N 1. ALFONSO ACEBAL....................................................................................... 97
A PROPOSAL OF WORK FROM THE FILM INDUSTRY TO PREVENT EARLY

SCHOOL LEAVING.JUAN ANTONIO GONZLEZ MENCA ................................. 100
AN EMOTIONAL APPROACH TO THE FAMILIES THAT PREVENT SCHOOL

ABSENTEEISM JUAN ANTONIO GONZLEZ MENCA. ...................................... 105
TURKEY, ATATURK IKOGRETIMOKULU -AMASYA ............................................... 108
RATE OF EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING IN THE EU ALI DURAN ............................ 109
CONCLUSIN .......................................................................................................... 111
OUR PROJECT IN PICTURES ................................................................................. 112
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INTRODUCTION
Our story began in Amiens, in november 2011, where we , the coordinators of this
project from each country, participated in a Comenius Contact Seminar on the topic of
Early school leaving.
We found each other and bonded immediately, and during the 4 days in Amiens , we
started writing the draft of our future project Lets go to school in Europe!
We thank the french National Agency for organizing this seminar in an excellent
manner !
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SUMMARY OF THE PROYECT
Early school leaving and, more broadly, educational disadvantage have been priority
issues of the EU for a number of years and these priorities are reflected in the targets
in the EU 2020 Strategy.
The main focus of our project Lets go to school in Europe! is prevention of early
school leaving and discovering the root causes of this phenomenon. Among the partner
countries, there are some who have high rates of early school leaving and some have
lower rates. Within this project, we will be able to observe the different problems but
also exchange best practices.
During our project we are going to conduct a survey that will reflect the reality of early
school leaving in each country, investigate the reasons for school dropouts and focus
on good practices for the prevention of abandoning school. Our main purpose is to
identify and correct the causes of early school leaving, identify tools and methods to
eradicate it, detect what is lacking from todays school system at national and
European levels, and suggest positive changes in the governments policy, so as to
carry out effective interventions to tackle the problem of early school leaving
successfully. Our major concern from our position as teachers is to ensure that the
reflection on causes and consequences of early school leaving can contribute to the
prevention of school dropouts.
We will also build a cultural bridge among the countries to promote learning foreign
languages in order to develop understanding among young people. We will support the
use of ICT-based content and services for students and staff. We will thus enhance the
quality of European perspective of the students and teachers.
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DENMARK NORRE NEBEL SKOLE.
Nrre Nebel Skole is situated in the countryside near the sea, and has lots of tourism
and farming. We have great nature all around us, and 40 km away we have the 5th
largest city of Denmark, Esbjerg.
Nrre Nebel Skole is an ordinary primary and secondary school with 400 pupils aged
5-16. We have two separate buildings one as a primary school and one for the older
students in the secondary school. We have good facilities: a kitchen for home
economics, a library, a science lab, access to two gyms, computer rooms and a lot of
new laptops you can use etc.
The parents in this area are very different from one another, it is a less expensive area
so we have rich families who own their own farms and land, and we have poor families
who move here because of the cheap houses. When the families in the area have
different social backgrounds and social contexts, of course our students are very
different as well.
The goal of this project is to prevent early school leavings and this is important in our
school, because we have a number of students, who do not have the means or the will
to take an education, and we want to help them changing the situation. The whole
school is very supportive, ambitious and engaged in this project, and our specialists in
students well-being are highly interested as well.
Nrre Nebel Skoles role in the project is first of all to be a part of the project and
second of all to be the coordinator. We have chosen English as our common language.
All the different partners have been involved in choosing the activities and of course
agree on them, but still we have individual ways of working with the project from
country to country school to school. And the mobilities will give us an opportunity to
see how the different partners deal with potential early school leavers and gather
inspiration from them in order to prevent the early school leaving. Also to cooperate
with other countries will give the students a feeling of belonging in a greater whole,
experience other cultures, getting to know other countries, being and playing a part as
citizens of Europe and also a better affiliation towards their own school and thereby
education.
http://norre-nebelskole.dk
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. GOOD PRACTICE ARTICLE AKSEL OELLGARD
3 types of early school leavers:
- The ones who achieve poorly at school
- The ones who have social difficulties
- The ones who have disadvantaged backgrounds
CD-word
IT-backpack (the students who are dyslectic or have other similar difficulties get a
computer and helping programs from the school)
Differentiated materials, our books often have texts in different levels
Differentiated teaching, we have different expectations and demands to the different

students.
Variety in our teaching where we try to involve the different learning styles
We have several not-academically subjects like woodwork, PE, needlework, home

economics, music, art etc.
Class dividing (we divide them in gender, interests, levels etc.)
Sport days several times a year
Theme days several times a year
Less homework they have to read 20 minutes a day one lesson at the library a
week.
Support teachers, who we can bring the class
Reading counselor at school
AKT department at school
Social worker at school the students can get a contact-person, who can help outside
school.
Career guidance counselor at school
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School psychologist at school
Special needs assistants who help the students who require them
We can test students as much as we want out headmistress thinks that its better to
test too many instead of too few. We need to give the students the help they need.
Class time one lesson a week, where we work on the social bonding in the class with
teambuilding and discussing topics like bullying etc.
We are obliged to focus on social bonding between the students.
We try to see the students in a positive way, see their qualities instead of their limits
The teachers must know the students inside and outside school get to know them
well
The teachers have to read the reports on the different students.
The teachers must be very clear and consistent.
We have surveys at school regarding the well-being of the students
If a student has not showed up at school the secretary will call their parents in the
morning
If there are problems or the students havent made their homework we write in an
online contact book directly to their parents
Pupils council at school where the pupils discuss new ideas for the school or problems
we have to deal with.
Sport clubs after school
Homework help after school
Youth club in the evening three times a week
School party once a year
Class activities planned by parents outside school a couple of times a year
Youth school courses, an offer for students in our municipality
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FRANCE
REIMS COLLGE MARYSE BASTI
Our school, Collge Maryse Basti is situated in the outskirts of Reims, a city in the
North-East of France, 130 km from Paris. It was named after a famous female pilot
from the XXth century,Mrs Maryse Basti,who embodies the victory of will over
fragility. It welcomes pupils aged 11 to 15.
They come from different backgrounds. 59% have social problems and 37% receive a
grant. Our school has got a Special Needs section (SEGPA) dedicated to pupils with
learning difficulties. Since last year, we also welcome a class from a medical institute.
Our school was rebuilt in 1997 and the building is very well-kept. It offers great facilities
to teachers and pupils (many classrooms, two gyms, a library, two IT rooms, science
rooms).
As many pupils often meet strong learning difficulties, they try to play truancy or end by
being real early school leavers, the school community has tried to tackle the problems.
So, a group of confirmed teachers has decided to experiment new ways of teaching,
new ways of collaborating, to create motivating creative class projects (theatre and
improvisation workshop, artistic projects).
A special place called the footbridge run by pedagogical assistants and teachers
offers one to one lessons and tutoring. After being identified as potential early school
leavers by their teachers, the school community (the Principal and Vice Principal, the
teachers, the nurse, the social worker, the careers adviser, the pedagogical assistants,
and the parents) try to find adapted solutions to help them.
The approach is also more global. Actions towards future pupils are developed,
especially between pupils from primary schools and parents as well. Stronger links are
developed with the community centres around our school. A new project, called Open
school is planned for the coming months: itll give our pupils an opportunity to discover
their school from another angle during the holidays.
Now this reflexive approach needs to be enlarged to a broader scale, to a European

scale. Our very positive experience of a former Comenius project The World in our
hands(from 2005 to 2008) has induced us to look for partners to create a new
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partnership dealing about Early School Leaving and to participate to the contact
seminar in Amiens.
In this new project well be responsible for the evaluation process together with our
Greek and Irish partners. Well also guide the creation of posters, the logo competition
and the writing of the travelling legends.
OPEN SCHOOL SBASTIEN FERGEAU.
Created in 1991 as a solution to young peoples inactivity during the holiday, Open
School keeps having a great success among young people and their families. It is a
simple idea : open the secondary schools and the lyces during the holiday, on
Wednesdays and Saturdays during the school year and welcome children and
teenagers who dont go on holiday or dont attend leisure centres activities. The
positive impacts are well-known : more motivated pupils, a better school climate, the
development of new partnerships with the school.
Here are the issues : to promote the pupils academic and social integration, to make
the school more attractive and finally to work in partnerships with different local actors
such as primary schools, community and leisure centres.
Open School can change the pedagogical relations, give pupils a desire to learn and a
meaning to what they learn.
In France, in 2011-2012, when our school decided to participate to this programme :
- 704 schools wanted to participate to the Open School Operation, 88% were
lower secondary schools ;
- 70% of the schools belonged to Educational Priority Areas ;
- 2700 weeks of Open School were planned ;
- 178 000 pupils were going to participate to Open School.
At Maryse Basti Secondary School, for the very first week of Open School, on the
first week of Eastern holiday, 38 pupils asked to participate (most of them were Year
10).
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The programme included : in the morning revising lessons and exercises to prepare
the GCSEs (Year 10) and cultural, fun and sports activities in the afternoon. Pupils had
the opportunity to discover new sports such as street hockey, Canadian hockey,
Vortex, Ultimate, Kinball. All the activities were free.
The next year, 45 pupils had the opportunity to travel to Paris, visit the Grevin museum
and discover Paris on a tourist river boat.
In order to organize all these activities, the school needs adult volunteers (teachers and
pedagogical assistants) to look after the pupils and a budget of 3500 euros per session
was dedicated to Open School.
An anonymous feedback at the end of the first year showed that pupils were really
keen to participate to such actions, felt more confident to work especially those with
great learning difficulties and enjoyed discovering new places they would not have
discovered without Open School.
Open School will start again for the third year on Eastern 2014. Pupils will be asked to
register a couple of weeks before its opening. The number of adults has increased in
the course of time, and at Maryse Bastie we are now ready to welcome a greater
number of pupils. Open School is one of the most important events of our school.
CLASS PROJECT SYLVIE WARY.
Among the different schemes created by our teachers in our school to prevent ESL,
one is definitely working: class project. What do we define as a class project?
Take a group of 25 or more pupils. Create a team of 4 or 5 adults (according to the

number of pupils involved in the project) who really want to work together, share all the
aspects of the preparation, who are ready to spend time, even extra time if necessary
for the success of the project. If possible choose colleagues who teach very different
subjects as P.E., Arts, Biology and English or any other subjects and are teaching the
same class. Choose several topics that can be worked out through the different
subjects.
Gather in a class different kinds of pupils: gifted and less gifted ones, disabled ones,
sporty and less sporty ones, boys and girls. In June of the previous school year, make
sure that your Principal will support you.
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Right at the beginning of the school year, in September, organize a first meeting with
the parents to explain the aims of the project: a project in which everyone has his/her
role to play, a project that will be a success if everybody really gets involved, a project
that will be supported by the whole school, a project that will be financed by collective
actions with the support of the parents.
Decide to travel abroad for example and use the entire school year time to prepare the
journey. Have on mind that no pupil is supposed to stay aside and that everyone will
participate to the journey. You will discover that is not a piece of cake!
In a school like ours, you will have to fight against the fear of the unknown, the fear of
leaving the security of the everyday life, the fear to adapt to new situations, even the
fear of the parents of leaving their children and of living without their children, the fear
of the parents who have never been abroad either. Its really a challenge.
In order to finance this project youll have to find different ways to collect money to
reduce the part of the families and send mails to find support. 64% of the pupils of the
class who took part in this project received a national grant, so for the families, this
project was a real opportunity.
For our school project York2013 we organized several special events: a Christmas
market, a special evening with an orchestra and a festive meal, a chorus concert and
finally a bazaar. All were great successes and allowed to reduce the price of the
journey.
The fact that the pupils had to participate to all these events allowed to create a new
atmosphere in the class, more confidence between adults and children, between
parents and teachers.
Then when we were abroad all together, teachers and pupils belonged to the same
group and in our accommodation in York we were Collge Maryse Basti. The feeling
of belonging to the same group was strong.
We were five adults for twenty-two children and as a result there was a real quality in
all the exchanges. There were five groups of four or five pupils with a referent teacher.
Our P.E. teacher who organized the groups, mixed all the pupils not according to their
preferences but according to their abilities, their genders and so pupils who didnt use
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to cooperate were obliged to work together to collect information, to achieve goals.

Then in the dormitories, pupils were mixed according to their preferences. So during
the stay all the pupils had the opportunity to mix and to make new friends.
When we came back to our school in France, the atmosphere of the class had really
changed and the pupils even asked to stay together in Year 10They were asked to
prepare an exhibition with photos, travel guides that were displayed at the bazaar at
the end of the school year.
You can discover the story of our class project on our school website.
http://college.marysebastie.free.fr/Intranet/media/txt/mb_school.pdf
GOOD PRACTICES IN OUR SCHOOL MARLNE FERGEAU.
In 2010-2011
Here are some good practices developed in a tutoring project between a Year 7 class
and a Year 8 class. The activities were realized by groups of two pupils, one of Year 7
and one of Year 8 and guided by two teachers.
The activities were:
-interviewing someone working in the school (teachers, principal, vice-principal, cook,

cleaning ladies) and creating a poster presenting the job.
- discovering how to use a software to seek information at the library.
- training sessions to prepare the road security exam taken at the end of Year 8.
- creating a speaking avatar online on a computer in English.
- going out in a park at the beginning of the school year to visit an outdoor exhibition
about sustainable development.
- at the end of the school year spending a full day outdoors, with a picnic, and doing
sports with all the teachers involved in the activities during the year (10 teachers).
Teachers enjoyed working by two, developing activities that sometimes had no links
with their own subjects. Pupils improved all along the year working in pairs. The Year 7
pupils were able to galvanize the Year 8 pupils who were more passive and had more
learning difficulties. They never refused to stay at school to work on these small
projects, even if they had more hours in their timetables.
15
The full day outdoors was really enjoyed by the adults and the pupils. It also shows that
sharing activities outside the school brought also a great benefit to all the actors of this
project.
In 2011 2012
Here are some good practices developed in a project created between two Year 9
classes that were both composed of many pupils with learning difficulties coming from
families with low incomes and often showing problematic behaviors.
- Picnic and sports activities shared by pupils and teachers, several times a year
to improve the relations between pupils and teachers.
- Help given to pupils to do their homework every fortnight, by teachers and

teaching assistants. The pupils involved dont do their homework at home and
dont learn their lessons. During these homework sessions, pupils are invited
to share their learning difficulties and teachers are there to help them to
progress.
- The class was sometimes divided into two groups or another adult helped the
teacher during the French, Maths or English lessons.
- Meetings with the families: parents were invited by the referent teacher and
another teacher of the class who could give a complementary feedback.
- Regular teachers meetings invested in the project to review the pupils

situations.
Teachers enjoyed working as a team in this project, but supporting these two classes
along the school year was rather difficult. Helping them with their homework one hour
every fortnight was not enough for those with heavy learning difficulties. But these
actions had positive impacts on the classes atmospheres and more confidence was
created between pupils and teachers.
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MARESEILLES COLLGE JEAN CLAUDE IZZO
The "Collge Jean Claude IZZO" is a Lower Secondary School. It is located in the
center of Marseille in the heart of Euromditerrane, a recent business district very
near the port. We are in its seventh year of running. We welcome 450 pupils from 11 to
16 years. According to French poverty standards, 80 percent are from a poor family
environment. As Marseille is a natural door to and from North Africa, we have high
rates of immigration and the many language and cultural difficulties associated. It is
classified as a priority educational area because of its characteristics. As our public is
naturally turned towards North Africa because of their origin, it looks very interesting to
enhance their European awareness have them discover the belonging to the European
Community and share common points in English.
I have built up a project to focus two classes of school leavers on vocational goals with
some motivated colleagues. The results are really encouraging because it has
increased their motivation and curiosity as well as their well-being in school.
Beside this, many extra classes are run too to help pupils, individually as well as in
groups.
The practice of sport is encouraged by the presence of an association strongly linked to

the school that offers free and multiple sports practice after school.
Every month, we gather with all the partners in and outside the school to identify school
leavers and try to give them an adapted answer on every class-level. It has created
strong links with the net of institutional and associative workers that interfere with our
school. This leads to a better caring to pupils who consequently become less likely to
leave school. The parents' association has become a partner in many initiatives and
we regularly meet them to organize the school's life.
As partners in the project, we will share our experience. We will also lead the sharing
among pupils, video productions and conferences, and make sure it shall work well, as
well technically as in coordinating these exchanges. We will take part to a collective
writing by pupils of stories about school leaving, sharing good practices on a common
tool (book of good practices), participate to the making of an evaluation grid. Our staff
will visit schools & colleagues members of our project to discover good practices from
other countries to take distance in their own practice & get new ideas. We will bring to
other countries motivated pupils to give life to their relationship that began with video &
internet exchange.
17
. A GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICES TO PREVENT EARLY SCHOOL
LEAVING DIDIER JAU
Passiveness, less homework, sudden change of behaviour, self-isolation from

classmates all these can be among the first warning signs of dropout pupils. When
the pupil starts to sleep in the classroom, never contributes to the lesson, frequently
disrupts the class, doesn't have any school supplies, shows frequent absenteeism,
doesn't write down the lesson or complete the tasks in class, the situation becomes
really serious and it's often too late to act
What can be done to avoid those situations?
What can be done in and out the classroom?
All pupils are different: they don't understand the same things at the same pace and in
the same way. A rigid approach to teaching can lead to a significant number of
pupilsdropping out. Taking into account the pupils individual difficulties obviously helps
to prevent early school leaving. Consequently it's important to aim at a differentiated
teaching that is specially adapted to the struggling pupils.
Here are some points on which teachers can work to provide this differentiation:
Motivation is clearly a fundamental aspect in the success of the pupils. There

are many ways to arouse their interest. Let's list some of them
o use a wide range of media (video, software, tools,...)
o work on disciplinary or cross-disciplinary projects
o make the pupils active in class and sometimes be part of the teaching
o develop extra school activities
A clear framework of what is expected from the pupil in terms of behaviour,

tasks to complete and success levels should be given. If it is adapted to the child, it can
reassure and helps him/her to organise their efforts. Particular care should be given to
the spoken and written instructions and the way they are perceived by the pupil.
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Homework is and has always been an issue for struggling pupils and for
teachers who are giving it.... It can be seen as a punishment by the child who often
doesn't have the right conditions to study at home. Although it is essential in building
the pupils independence, homework should be given in reasonable amounts and
always with a precise and essential aim.
Assessments only gives a bad or even unbearable image of the pupil who is not
succeeding in class. To avoid pupils giving in a blank copy, special care should be
brought to that.
Communication with the family has to be treated with special attention as

generally families who have a positive view of the school encourage their child to
succeed in class. We have to ensure that communication with parents does not occur
only with warnings when the pupils work is not satisfactory. The purpose of the
communication is also to help parents to identify the issues and to provide their own
support to the child. To succeed in this, team work involving the principal teacher with
the educational counselor, the guidance counsellor and the administration is essential.
Kind and gentle behaviour helps to build a relationship based on mutual trust
and respect with the child and further the feeling of justice that he needs. It's important
to praise them and encourage their even small successes.
Examples of good practices in Jean Claude Izzo school
Here are some illustrations of how we put into practice these guidelines in our school.
As reality is much more complicated than theory, each example often has several
aspects
In PE
o the teacher always tries to start a sports cycle with a game. It helps to make
them pay close attention to what is expected of them.
o Instead of long explanations of the instructions, the teacher or a pupil

demonstrates what should be done to give a concrete and clear example.
o Special care to the assessment is given as the grading scale could be difficult to
build and may cause a feeling of injustice.
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In English
o The teacher allows pupils to move around during the class to help other pupils
review an exercise or an assessment.
o The teacher organizes some writing work in pairs with pupils of different levels
and ensures that each one can find a task to do (one gives ideas, the other writes, or
searches on internet). This mentoring is also good for the pupils understanding as they
rephrase the notions.
o The teacher often gives those pupils who are struggling some of the more
simple daily tasks such as handing out the books, picking up the copies, or writing the
date in English.
o She always asks the struggling pupils to answer the easy questions.
In maths
o The teacher always makes the pupils rephrase the instructions by questioning
them (explaining a word, finding the verb of action, giving examples of a notion...)
o The teacher uses interactive exercises on the computer in class or as

homework as often as possible.
o The use of a dynamic geometric software to show some properties is also

helpful.
o Games and geometric drawings can also be used.
Cross-disciplinary
o In class 6E (which brings together struggling pupils), the principal teacher calls
on the family to take part in the monitoring the pupil at home. A cognitive assessment is
made which helps find out the childs difficulties and can lead to an extra-school
support (organized by the city council) or reorientation in a specialized school. Despite
the lower learning abilities of these pupils, only a few of them dropout during their
secondary school.
o The Ecole Envol project which aims to improve the learning process (through
the discovering of the free flight world) demonstrates that pupils with difficulty in
learning found this project brought out their leadership skills.
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o The Comenius project made pupils from class 3D (that brings together
struggling pupils with a vocational perspective) more motivated and aware of the
importance of speaking English, meeting people and behaving properly with them. It
has significantly increased their motivation at school.
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GREECE, 3RD GYMNASIO IRAKLIOU KRITIS
The 3rd gymnasium of Heraklio is an urban, public educational institution of general

secondary education in Heraklio, Crete which has about 600 students in total, aged
between 13 and 15 years old. Crete is the largest Greek island situated in the south of
Greece. Our school is equipped with essential educational facilities, such as interactive
white boards, computer labs and chemistry labs. Every year we implement cultural or
environmental projects, which may include the exchange of cultural and educational
visits of our students. Also, we cooperate with other institutions and take part in various
activities that require careful coordination, as well as team work and reinforce tolerance
to difference, develop cultural diversity and strengthen team spirit. Besides, we have
integration classes at our school for pupils with special educational needs, deaf pupils
in particular, who are taught the core subjects daily by special needs educational staff.
The target group of my organisation consists of teenagers aged between 13 and 15

years old. A lot of them are Greek, who need to keep up with all the latest
developments and rapid changes, but there is also a number of immigrants from other
countries, especially the Balkans, who try to integrate successfully into the mainstream
Greek society. Through the daily contact between teachers and students and the
production of youth projects our students remain alert and broaden their horizons,
which is the essence of every educational process.
To continue, some of our students face problems of assimilation and integration, have
difficulties in adjustment to the school environment and may fail to fit in. Our major
concern from our position as teachers is to ensure that the reflection on causes and
effects of possible aggression and the exploration of the psychological background of
teenagers that come from vulnerable and disadvantaged social environments
contribute to the prevention of the expansion of violence, hinder aggressive behaviour
and its manifestations and erase all forms of social prejudice that lead to the
perpetuation of deeply-rooted stereotypes. Therefore, a wide range of issues are raised
that need careful examination and elaboration. For example: How do pupils
communicate, interact with each other and adjust at school? How do they overcome
language barriers and religious, social or cultural differences? What do they bring to
their school environment? What does their school offer them? What is their contribution
to social progress and development? What kind of identity do they look for and
develop? How can we help our students effectively on a daily basis to release tension,
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resolve conflicts and deal with problems that the prolonged, generalized financial crisis
has intensified? Our ultimate goal is to build bridges of direct communication with the
students and encourage them to establish powerful connections with each other.
Consequently, it is essential to use innovative methods at school, in order to approach

young people, especially those who feel less privileged and could end up becoming
marginalized, so that they can make an important contribution to youth projects, raise
their awareness on global issues, enhance their self- confidence and develop their
autonomy. In general, it is of vital importance to reinforce every potential for social
solidarity and progress, offer students unlimited access to social improvements and
cultivate mutual respect for cultural variety and social diversity. Thus, one of our main
priorities at school is to motivate our students to turn from passive listeners into active
participants in all crucial, social developments of our community, to establish a safe
school environment responsive to their high aspirations as well as suitable for unfolding
their skills and prepare them to be actively involved in the decision-making process
regarding their own future as individuals and European citizens. But we still have a long
way to go until we manage to reach that goal. Indubitably, this European Lifelong
Learning Comenius programme is a significant step towards that direction.
All in all, the emergence of more and more multi-national communities nowadays
affects social prejudice and imposed stereotypes and has an impact on community
cohesion. As far as the educational sector in Greece is concerned, particular
consideration should be given to the following parameters: understanding diversity,
implementing tolerance to difference, migrations and mutual perceptions in Europe,
challenging the existing stereotypes, intercultural approaches in dealing with
strengthening social cohesion and solidarity in multicultural, urban contexts and facing
rising unemployment rates, salary cutbacks and constant reduction of the average
family income which influence young peoples quality of life, limit their future prospects
and lead to greater uncertainty as well as insecurity.
In conclusion, the issue of early school leaving is very wide and involves many factors
that need thorough elaboration. What is more, it can cause various social side-effects,
such as prolonged marginalization, intense isolation from society and gradual rejection,
increased social prejudice, an overwhelming sense of inferiority, all of which undermine
every potential for equal chances, social solidarity and community cohesion. Therefore,
it is absolutely necessary through European school partnerships, such as this one, that
promote transnational cooperation among schools to develop new, creative learning
23
strategies and equip our students with learning to learn skills that will help young
people feel a sense of belonging as equals to their community, so that cultural
diversity, social inclusion and equal treatment of all human beings can be possible.
From my perspective as a teacher, I try to make my students become conscious of

their own cultural identity and social values as well as fully aware of intercultural
interaction, so that they will put it into practice in a creative way for the design and
implementation of new projects. My main aim is to motivate my students to be able to
support their choices, respect different cultures, accept different socio-cultural attitudes
and realize the benefits of lifelong learning. Last but not least, I am convinced that
throughout the implementation of our project: Lets go to school in Europe! we can
make the students of all the schools involved in the partnership aware of the fact that
their school is one of the numerous schools of the member states (or potential
members) of the European Union. Thus, it has the added quality of being a European
school with European prospects. So, as parts of a much larger educational community
we can coordinate our efforts and cooperate to deal effectively with the common issue
of early school leaving.
NATIONAL POLICIES TO COMBAT EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING

STRATEGIES DEVELOPED AT NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVEL TO
REDUCE AND PREVENT EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING IN GREECE
LYKOGIANNAKI STYLIANI
A major reform of the educational system in Greece is in progress nowadays. In my

opinion, the new and improved Greek educational policy should aim at developing
students 21st century skills as well as ensuring students gradual integration in school,
so that their social inclusion can be enhanced. Moreover, the establishment of a
democratic and safe school environment that contributes to the development of a
positive atmosphere and encourages students initiative and active involvement at
school should become a priority.
In Greece there are different types of schools to cater for individual needs. To begin
with, students interested in art or music can choose to go to Art or Music schools where
they can further explore their potentials and develop their talents. Besides, there are
Experimental Schools to fulfil the needs of gifted students. Also, Second Opportunity
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Schools and Evening Schools have been established giving the opportunity to young
people who abandoned their schooling at an early stage to return to school, complete
their basic education and acquire a leaving certificate. Furthermore, Multi-cultural
Schools and Induction Classes are in operation for the integration and incorporation
of foreign pupils in the framework of measures taken by the Greek state to assure the
smooth inclusion of immigrants. In particular, special programmes are implemented for
the integration of children belonging to the gypsy community, such as a financial
benefit offered to gypsy families.
Apart from the above, vocational orientation can help students at risk of dropping out of
school to select educational outlets suitable for their interests, skills and aspirations.
More specifically, apprenticeship gives students the chance to get professionally
integrated and to have future perspectives of professional employment. Through the
connection of education with the job market students are motivated to remain at school
and finish their education. The combination of general education with specialized
technical vocational knowledge is of vital importance for the future successful
professional development of young people.
In addition, students engagement in the educational process is successfully reinforced

through the implementation of cultural, environmental, health and career programmes
at school, students participation in athletic events, as well as literary, art, science and
maths competitions. A variety of educational programmes takes place in our school
every year. Needless to say, the incorporation of a European dimension in education
through the involvement in European programmes in cooperation with European
schools and the exchange of cultural and educational visits motivate students to take
part in school activities that broaden their horizons and expand their learning.
The institution of supporting teaching classes is organized in our school as well as in

most schools aiming at helping pupils with low school performance or
underachievement and learning difficulties to overcome them, so that they do not need
to turn to private learning centres. Apart from functioning as a Centre for Supportive
Teaching, we have integration classes at our school for pupils with special educational
needs, deaf pupils in particular, who are taught the core subjects daily by special needs
educational staff. They are provided with personalised teaching in languages, maths,
physics, chemistry, so that they can keep up with the general, school timetable.
Furthermore, the following three institutions can contribute effectively to preventing

students with low achievement or aggressive behaviour from dropping out of school. At
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each Secondary School Education Directorate there is a Youth Counselling Station to
which any school may turn, with the written agreement of the guardian seeking
assistance in dealing with learning, psychological or social problems of the pupils. Also,
schools can communicate with KESYP (Centre for Counselling Support) in order to
deal with issues of psychological and social care or vocational orientation of the pupils.
A potential early school leaver can receive appropriate counselling from K.D.A.Y
(Centre for Diagnosis, Assessment and Support), to which pupils with learning
difficulties and possible intellectual deprivation may turn, always with the cooperation of
the school and the guardians, for the assessment of the problem. KDAY can give an
official document to the pupil who has a problem which has to be submitted to the
school, such as in the case of dyslexia, so that the pupils evaluation takes place in the
appropriate way. As a result, this process helps to deal with a probable school failure
that derives from a pupils learning difficulty.
The Ministry of Education operates an Observatory for the Prevention of School

Violence and Bullying aiming at designing and taking actions to combat violent
incidents and bullying behaviour at schools, as well as promoting and disseminating
anti-bullying projects.
Besides, the institution of parent schools takes place in several schools, including the
3rd Gymnasio Irakliou Kritis, once a week. Parents who participate in the meetings
have the chance to interact with specialists and get counselling.
The need for experts operating at school level specialized in counselling and
orientation, such as psychologists and social workers is of vital importance. It is
essential to reinforce schools by specialized personnel (advisors, psychologists or
social workers), who will be in a position to help pupils who face any kind of problems,
as well as teachers so that they may approach such pupils in an appropriate manner.
For example, there is a social worker in our school this year offering guidance and
support to students.
Moreover, during the teachers association pedagogical meetings, where discussion

takes place about the learning and family issues of the pupils, there is room for
planning, organizing, implementing and monitoring specific practices, which will be
operating in a preventive and protective manner for the pupils and will be encouraging
26
cooperation with the parents. It could become significantly helpful the organization of
an intervention programme addressing students underachievement and school failure
or the dropout issue during those meetings. A successful action plan should include the
maintenance of regular contact between school and a dropout pupil or a potential
dropout pupil, so that, through joint action, the pupils decision to give up his schooling
can be prevented. It is essential to tackle school dropout with communication and
discussion with the pupil at risk, as well as cooperation with the childs family. Regular
cooperation between the school and the pupils families regarding the pupils progress
and absences is very helpful.
In addition, continuous in-service teacher training is required. Further education and

training of teachers by specialists is necessary, so that teachers can be informed about
the implementation of modern, innovative pedagogical teaching methods. For instance,
project-based learning, collaborative learning, critical thinking, the use of technology
and authentic materials, as well as alternative assessment can contribute to dealing
with pupil indifference towards learning, activating all pupils in the educational process
and enhancing their self - esteem.
Last but not least, initiative is taken in many schools such as the 3rd Gymnasio Irakliou
Kritis to offer financial aid to families with low family income and support unemployed
parents.
In my view, we need to address the issue of Early School Leaving at national as well as
European level in a holistic and coordinated way, in order to ensure that the school
caters for the actual needs of the pupils and sets the foundations for a balanced
personal development and a good professional future for young people.
To conclude, appropriate funding and central planning from the Greek Ministry of
Education, as well as coordination between secondary school education offices,
schools, parents and local authorities is required for successful intervention and
reduction of early school leaving.
CLASS ACTIVITIES FOR DEVELOPING EMPATHY AND SELF ESTEEM

A common conclusion we have reached in all schools of the European project Lets go
to school in Europe! regarding early school leaving is that the profile of a potential
early school leaver, who is very likely to drop out at some point of his school life, is that
27
of a person who lacks self esteem and shows no signs of confidence in himself or of
someone who shows evidence of aggression or violent behaviour.
Therefore, in the following article I have included a variety of activities that I use in my
English classes to help my students cultivate empathy and enhance their self- esteem.
However they could be implemented in various different lessons as well to promote
inclusion and participation with positive results.
The suggested plan of action aims at tolerance of difference as well as the gradual
establishment of solid bonds and balanced connections, so that students can co-exist
harmoniously in the class and beyond it. As a result students with different
personalities and diverse social economic or cultural backgrounds will be able to
collaborate effectively in a balanced way. In general, the following expected outcomes
are anticipated: empowerment of social inclusion, collaboration, meaningful reflection,
enhancement of students socialization, solidarity, team spirit, empathy, developing a
sense of belonging, self-awareness and self-esteem.
All the activities are based on collaborative learning, because I believe that it helps
students significantly to create and develop: positive interdependence, individual
accountability, active participation, simultaneous interaction, critical thinking, social and
emotional maturity, as well as group cohesiveness.
1ST ACTIVITY
We welcome students and sit in a circle. We ask students to turn to the person next to
them (to form pairs) and for 5 minutes to tell each other how they feel and what
emotions they have experienced during the day. Then each student talks about the
feelings of his partner based on what the other person said and revealed or what he
has concluded. Apart from words, students can use body movements or facial
expressions to describe feelings.
2ND ACTIVITY
We put cards with written feelings in a box, mix them and then each student takes a
card of a different feeling, but does not reveal it to anyone else. Every student can use
3-4 classmates as "models" and plays the role of the sculptor, by creating a frozen
image that depicts the specific chosen emotion with the bodies of his classmates. The
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other students have to discover the emotion that the "sculpture" of the "artist"
represents. The "sculpture" puts a title on the image of the sculpture in the end. During
this exercise we can have soft music in the background.
3RD ACTIVITY
We show a brief scene from a movie to the students, an extract from the film: Dead
Poets Society: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hETfrVVVi0k
After watching the video we ask students to elaborate on the following questions first in
small groups and then share their thoughts and ideas with the rest of the class. We ask
students: a) to recognize the feelings of the protagonists, b) to observe the ways of
expressing feelings and possible reactions, and c) to identify the feelings that the
audiovisual stimulus has evoked in them.
Questions for reflection and elaboration during and after class:
How often do we try to realize the feelings we experience in our daily lives?
Why this does not always happen?
Why is it helpful to understand and handle our emotions in everyday life?
What hinders our feelings and what makes it harder to share feelings?
What are the usual ways of expressing unpleasant feelings?
How can we differentiate the expression of emotions according to the event that
provokes them?
Are positive emotions always associated with positive experiences and vice
versa?
Why do we deny the existence or suppress negative, unpleasant feelings?
Could a different expression of an emotion have a different impact on our

communication and interaction with other people?
How can our emotions affect our responses and determine our reactions?
Objectives: The students are expected:
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to understand the world of emotions
to recognize and express feelings within social context
to understand the other's perspective
to handle emotions
to use alternative ways of expression of negative emotions.
Conclusions: The students will be encouraged to discover and accept both pleasant
and unpleasant feelings. They will get in touch with their emotions and inner feelings,
redefine situations and connections, analyze and synthesize. They will practice
expressing their feelings in cohesive ways in various circumstances. They will
understand that the same feeling can be expressed in different situations and realize
the diversity of emotions.
4TH ACTIVITY
We make copies of the scripts that are included below (we may add more scripts if we
want) and cut them, so that each piece of paper narrates a different, very brief story
relevant to the everyday reality of the students. We put them in a colored box. Then we
ask students to choose a card at random and read aloud the script. The students are
divided in groups and take time to prepare in order to answer the 3 questions that
follow each story. Afterwards, they share their ideas with the class. For each scenario
we ask the same questions. These three questions are based on the link of thoughts,
feelings and actions. The central idea is that our perception of an event affects our
emotions, which in turn influence the way we act. Through this realization we can
understand how we and other people react in certain situations, so that we are able to
modify our behavior and change our attitude if necessary.
1st script
Svetlana is a new classmate from Bulgaria. The teacher in Maths asked her to write on
the board. As she was walking towards the board, she stumbled in Johns bag and fell
in front of all her classmates. 1. How did she feel? 2. What did she say to herself? 3.
What happened next?
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2nd script
John is in the second grade of junior high school. He is a tall boy but not very athletic.
Some kids in class make fun of him because of his weight and have started calling him
"burger" recently. 1. How did he feel? 2. What did he say to himself? 3. What happened
next?
3rd script
Rena and her friends do not like Maria at all. Last week they did a project for a school
teacher together, but they told the teacher that Maria did not cooperate, which was not
true. 1. How did Maria feel? 2. What did she say to herself? 3. What happened next?
4th script
Georges friends took his bag and hid it in another classroom during the break. He was
looking for it, but his friends claimed that they did it just for fun. 1. How did George
feel? 2. What did he say to himself? 3. What happened next?
Did you notice any similarities in your answers?
What do you think about the activity?
What do your answers reveal about your own positions, viewpoints, your social
attitudes and your own "emotional glasses" that are either inherited or created?
How do these emotional glasses affect your personal perceptions and points
of view or the way you see and interpret the behavior of others?
How will they affect your ability to put yourself in someone elses shoes and
tolerate difference?
5TH ACTIVITY
We create a circle with the students. We read all the scenarios again and give them
time to answer the 3 questions below, so that this time they have to come up with an
alternative version and think about how each child could have reacted differently in
every given situation. So, we ask students the following questions:
How else might each person have felt?
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How else could each child have thought?
How else could each child have behaved?
These are questions that will help students to reconstruct the thoughts that stem from
the emotional glasses they wear and the way they perceive reality. This exchange of
ideas will help them broaden their understanding of others and their perception of the
world around them. Eventually students will reach the conclusion that we all have
emotional glasses and the first thing we need to do is to understand what they are
and how often we wear them, in order to figure out how they affect us and the image
we have of ourselves, the image we have for others as well as our interactions. Then,
we allow enough time for reflection groups and journal writing.
Objectives: By the end of the lessons the students are expected:
to enhance empathy
to develop self-perception and self-concept
to reinforce self-image
to link emotions, thoughts and actions
Conclusions: Each individual perceives the world that surrounds him/her within the
framework provided by his own lenses, but he/she can choose to overlap lenses in
order to appreciate the other persons perspectives and arrive at shared meaning as
well as mutual, common understanding. Students will eventually begin redefining their
perceptions of things and their relevant, emerging implications. Students will practice
turning negatives into positives and dead ends into new beginnings. What is more, the
activity that is drawn from students everyday real life situations encourages students to
make connections with real life through assigned roles, asks students to think about
positions they may not necessarily identify with, initiates further meaningful discussions
and allows for evaluation and feedback in the form of reflection groups and writing
journals.
6TH ACTIVITY
The students work in pairs. We ask students to imagine that they are in New York,
where people gather from all parts of the world. Specifically, they are in the New York
subway. We print a number of metro stops equal to half the number of children and
32
copy them. For example, if children are twenty-four, we print twice twelve stops. We
distribute the papers and everyone is looking for the other person that gets off at the
same stop. Then we give the following instruction: For three minutes one student of
each pair is going to ask the other, the same question: "Who are you?" repeatedly after
each given reply. The student who replies has to come up with a different answer each
time. After the three minutes are over we ask students to switch and continue with the
same process so that both students from each pair have the chance to reveal
information regarding their identity.
How did you find the activity? How did you feel?
How did you define yourselves? In relation to what?
Did you discover any common identification features?
7TH ACTIVITY
All students as a group are asked to respond to the following situation: "The New York
subway is renovated and we have to paint the walls of one of its underground stations.
For this reason we will create together a graffiti design. Each of you can try to depict
and reflect on the graffiti features of his identity that he particularly likes and he is proud
of, by using paintings, words, symbols, etc."
What makes us feel proud?
Do you have any elements in common?
What interesting things did you discover about your classmates?
How did you find the activity?
Objectives: The students are expected:
to know their own identity
to enhance a positive self-concept
to develop respect for the identity of others
to focus on and highlight the positive aspects of identity
33
to enhance a positive attitude towards others and life in general
to recognize and accept diversity
to reinforce empathy
to identify differences and similarities between people
Conclusions: The students will have the opportunity to get to know each other and
discover common points of reference through mutual interaction and meaningful
collaboration. Moreover, they will be engaged in a journey of self discovery and will be
given time to explore their own identity and discover the identity of others as well as
develop self-confidence and a sense of belonging.
The above mentioned activities have been the outcome of a long term action plan I
carried out at my school during the school year 2012-2013 in cooperation with the
Youth Counselling Station of Heraklio, Crete, Greece.
The chain of activities suggested above allow for unexpected learning through mutual
interaction and collaboration work and aim at awakening and arousing students internal
feelings and inner thoughts as well as guiding their actions in a creative, cohesive way
in and beyond the classroom. They will lead them to the gradual realization that our
actions and reactions are the outcome of multiple parameters influenced by the
assigned roles we perform to comply with social conventions (such as the teacher and
student roles) and the social circumstances we find ourselves in. The proposed action
plan can contribute to raising students awareness regarding their self perception and
the perception of the world around them. Students will learn to put themselves into
someone elses shoes, will start listening to each other and become effective
discussion participants. Also, they will learn to consider different perspectives and take
into account different attitudes and viewpoints.
In other words, students will be able to identify, understand and accept different even
contrasting points of view expressed in the world surrounding them, since realizing and
respecting different perspectives requires time and practice. Also, students will be
34
encouraged to recognize the human context from which each thought, viewpoint,
perspective and action emerges.
To sum up, the activities challenge students to elaborate on diverse viewpoints,

incorporating a framework for understanding different, even conflicting perspectives
and exploring different positions. Moreover, the activities promote learning through
concrete experience, reflective observation and active experimentation. They enhance
learning by doing which has a more permanent input on students, learning through
direct involvement, through thinking about ones own experiences as well as the
experiences of others and learning by generating ideas and using concepts in order to
solve problems and make decisions.
INCORPORATING THE WORLD CAF METHOD IN THE CLASSROOM

The World Caf is a whole group interaction method focused on conversations. A Caf
Conversation is a creative process for leading collaborative dialogue, sharing
knowledge and creating possibilities for action in groups of all sizes. The environment
is set up like a caf, with paper-covered tables for four supplied with refreshments.
Students sit in groups around a table and hold a series of conversational rounds lasting
from 20 to 45 minutes about one or more questions which are personally meaningful to
them. At the end of each round, one person remains at each table as the host, while
the other three go to separate tables. Table hosts welcome newcomers to their tables
and share the essence of that table's conversation so far. The newcomers relate any
conversational threads they are carrying and then the conversation continues,
deepening as the round progresses. The activity is closed up by debriefing, so that the
participants share their impressions from the activity and review the arguments
mentioned during the debate.
DETAILED STAGES OF THE WORLD CAF PROCESS
Participants seat at small Cafe-style tables or in conversation clusters.
Questions or issues that genuinely matter to students lives, interests and goals
are chosen, participants explore in small groups similar questions and share their
experiences at nearby tables.
35
The teacher encourages both table hosts and members to write and draw key
ideas on their tablecloths e.g in the form of mind maps or to note main concepts on
large index cards in the center of the group.
Upon completing the initial round of conversation, the teacher asks one person
to remain at the table as the host, while the others serve as travelers or "ambassadors
of meaning." The travelers carry key ideas, themes and questions into their new
conversations.
The teacher asks the table host to welcome the new guests and briefly share
the main ideas, themes and questions of the initial conversation. Also, the teacher
encourages guests to link and connect ideas coming from their previous table
conversations, listening carefully and elaborating on each other's contributions.
By providing opportunities for students to move in several rounds of

conversation, ideas, questions, experiences and themes begin to unfold, link and
connect. At the end of the second round, all of the tables or conversation clusters in the
room will be enriched with insights from prior conversations.
In the third round of conversation, students can return to their original tables to
synthesize their discoveries, or they may continue travelling to new tables, leaving the
same or a new host at the table. Sometimes a new question that helps deepen the
exploration is posed for the third round of conversation.
After several rounds of conversation, the teacher initiates a period of sharing

discoveries and insights in a whole group conversation. Through these reflective
conversations patterns can be identified, collective knowledge expands, innovative
potentials as well as new possibilities for action emerge.
For more information visit: The World Caf Community Foundation. (n.d). World Caf
Method. Available at the website: http://www.theworldcafe.com (05/09/2013).
WRITING CREATIVE REFLECTIVE JOURNALS IN CLASS LYKOGIANNAKI

STYLIANI
Personal journal writing in the framework of any school lesson such as an English
lesson is a worthwhile activity. Through journal writing students have the opportunity to
36
discover themselves, explore in depth their feelings and opinions, as well as think
about their present or future place in society.
In order to practice reflective journal writing, teachers should introduce specific

questions which will enable students to respond thoughtfully, or suggest new journal
prompts which explore concepts in a critical way. When rewriting a journal prompt, it
would be a good idea to use a question form. Students respond more directly to this
than statement prompts such as: Write about the role your present family life plays in
selecting future paths. Suggested topics for journal entries could be the following: What
areas in people's lives are within their control? What areas in their lives are they
powerless to control? How do decisions made when people are young affect their lives
later on? When should you set future goals? What different types of goals do you have
for yourself? Which are most important to you? How would you try to achieve them?
Which goals depend on you alone, and which on others? How many of the goals that
you set are material goals? Do you think young people of other countries have different
priorities? How do they differ? Why do they differ?
A journal entry, once written, need not be forgotten. The teacher could combine the
benefits of the freedom of a journal and the thoughtfulness of formal writing by having
students later take an entry, analyze it and turn it into a finished formal essay. Students
could expand on their ideas, organize their points, and explain further some parts.
Students could discuss their ideas in small groups and then write essays. The teacher
could give several prompts on related ideas and encourage students to combine their
ideas in a longer, better developed essay. An alternative assignment would be to have
students use their journal entries as a source of inspiration for creating literary texts,
writing stories, poems or lyrics for songs that depict their feelings and reflect their inner
world.
GOOD PRACTICES TO PREVENT EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING KARKANAKI

ELENI
Students tend to report a variety of reasons for dropping out of school; therefore the
solutions to the problem are multidimensional. However, it is considered vital for
teachers to be able to identify the key indicators and early-warning signs that should
alert them to the need for interventions.
Smooth integration of students in the school classroom is very important as the

classroom itself is the environment where students come in touch not only with the
37
typical educational system but at the same time they socialize and interact with their
fellow students. Marginalization is the first and basic stage towards estrangement and
final drop out of school. For too many students, large comprehensive high schools are
a place to get lost rather than to thrive. Identifying students who tend to become
isolated and trying to approach them and make them feel at ease when at school or in
the classroom could be proved lifesaving for a teenager who is trying to find his
identity and prove his personal qualities to his peers. A concerned and trusted teacher
can make a difference between a students staying in school or dropping out. Most
importantly is for the teacher to ensure and provide a safe learning environment to
students. A comprehensive violence prevention plan, including conflict resolution, must
deal with potential violence as well as crisis management. Violence prevention means
providing daily experiences at all grade levels that enhance positive social attitudes
and effective interpersonal skills in all students.
Students who drop out of high school often suffer from low self-esteem. Teachers can
address this problem by working to build each struggling students confidence in their
abilities. With a little encouragement from a caring teacher, some students find the
strength to keep going until graduation. Shy students, with hardly any confidence in
themselves, can be motivated by teachers by assigning them tasks and encouraging
them to take initiatives and responsibility to perform easy tasks which will raise their
self-assurance. Praising every effort, regardless of its results, and emphasizing on the
positive points of the students personality and behaviour can also be motivating.
Moreover, it is important that the teacher should help students discover and realize
their abilities and hidden talents so as to believe in themselves. Comparing students
and deprecating them in front of the class should also be avoided. Each student is a
distinct personality and should be treated as such. Last but not least, teachers should
set the right example themselves. If students see in practice that everybody, even
teachers, can make mistakes, they will not be afraid of their own. A teacher is effective
when he implements what he teaches, admits he is mistaken and apologizes,
encourages the students instead of discouraging them, and explains things rather than
giving orders.
Boredom and school failure are also two key reasons students stop attending class and
wind up dropping out of school. No sustained and comprehensive effort to keep
38
students in school can afford to ignore what happens in the classroom. Strategies that
expand teaching methods to accommodate a range of learning styles, take advantage
of todays cornucopia of technological resources and meet the individual needs of each
student can yield substantial benefits. Technology offers some of the best opportunities
for delivering instruction that engages students in authentic learning, addresses
multiple intelligences and adapts to students learning styles. Incorporating, thus,
technology such as interactive whiteboards, projectors, laptops, computer labs etc, can
liven up a dull lesson and attract students attention. On the other hand, adopting
alternative teaching methods that would go beyond the traditional teacher-centered
model and would promote active participation of all students, regardless their cognitive
level, can develop students interest in the lesson and get them involved. This can be
achieved by applying teaching interventions which promote group work, pair work and
generally student-centered teaching. The use of music, video clips, films, newspapers,
magazines, games and stories can make a lesson appealing as well. A session that
does not exceed the normal attention span and ends with a game, for instance, is
always more effective and reaches its goal. Also, the developing of parallel actions in
the form of projects fosters the activation of different sectors where students have
some kind of an inclination and develops students skills. Even students who detest
traditional studying become active in projects, take roles and initiatives while
simultaneously they become interested in the process, develop their self-esteem and
learn how to work collaboratively and handle their interpersonal relationships. When
educators show students that there are different ways to learn, students find new and
creative ways to solve problems, achieve success and, in the long run, become lifelong
learners. Instruction that takes students into the broader community provides
opportunities for all students-especially experiential learners-to connect to academics
in a deeper, more powerful way. Teaching outside the classroom in places of
communication, experience and experimentation enriches practical and experiential
knowledge, reduces dullness and increases assimilation of knowledge. On the other
hand, when students are struggling and falling behind their peers, they may drop out of
school because they feel hopeless. School failure can provoke emotions of guilt, low
self-esteem and inefficiency. Identifying learning difficulties and weaknesses is vital for
the teacher in order to adjust and, in many cases, personalize their teaching to
students personal situation, learning style and cognitive level. Asking a weak student
the easiest questions, assigning personalized homework, being explicit and getting him
involved in the learning process without ignoring him can be proved very helpful and
will provide the student with pleasant and rewarding learning experiences. In addition,
39
sometimes students should be given the right of choice. For instance, they could be
allowed to choose whether to do a task during or after a lesson, work alone or in
groups or work in a certain way in order to accomplice assignments. This allows
differentiations by task on a more subtle level and supports different learning styles as
you can allow students to represent and manipulate information in various ways.
Finally, what can also be effective is being a little more lenient with evaluation as far as
weak students are concerned so as not for them to have to attend the same class
again with all the negative consequences this can have to their psychology watching
their classmates moving forward while they will have fallen behind with their studies
feeling useless and isolated. Positive evaluation and reinforcement will boost the
students willingness to keep trying.
Research consistently finds that family involvement has a direct, positive effect on
childrens achievement and is the most accurate predictor of a students success in
school. The way to deal with school abandonment is closely related to the teachers
contact and communication both with the students themselves and their families in
order to be in consultation and act protectively.
It is important for teachers to inform parents about students poor attendance, sudden
change of behavior or anything that alerts and worries them. Parents ongoing
engagement, regular communication with school staff and familiarity with their childs
schedule, courses progress and achievements remain central to students success.
Sharing their own concerns and experiences with the teachers can enlighten the latter
and help forestall any undesirable situations. Finally, few students realize just how
important it is to finish school. If a teacher learns that a student is struggling or planning
to drop out, they can help prevent the student leaving by talking to the student about
the importance of graduation. Some effective strategies include showing the student
jobs that require a high school degree, reading statistics about high school dropouts
and simply asking the student what careers they are most interested in. Chances are,
the students ideal career will require a high school diploma.
In conclusion, students who drop out of school often struggle to find jobs, support
themselves and create a successful, enjoyable life. By taking an interest, however,
teachers can prevent many of these students from leaving school in the first place. A
loving, caring, respecting teacher who will get personally involved can make a huge
difference in the life of a confused, struggling student.
40
IRELAND ST. KEVIN'S COMMUNIT Y COLLEGE
St. Kevin's Community College is a small secondary school on the outskirts of Dublin
City. There are approx. 40 teaching staff and 350 students. The school is in a
disadvantaged area of South West Dublin. St. Kevin's has nearly 26 years of
experience fighting against educational disadvantage.
Our students come from an area with many social problems, drug and alcohol abuse,
violence; crime and high unemployment are part of life for many of our students. In
recent times we have seen an increase in foreign nationals attending our school.
These students try hard to integrate but language skills are often a problem when it
comes to retention and attainment. We also have a small number of members of the
Irish Travelling Community. Although some members of the Traveling Community are
currently in senior cycle, a high proportion of the Irish Travellers leave school early
(especially the girls). St. Kevin's has many initiatives in place to try to fight the problem
of early school leaving.
For example:
School Completion Programme (SCP) - Targets at risk students from Primary school
and supervises their transition into secondary and supports the students throughout
secondary school.
Home School Liaison (HSL) - Full time member of staff who is the contact person
between school and home (visits families and organises activities for parents in school)
Care Team - Chaplain, Guidance Counsellor, HSCL - all full time members of staff,
available to help students through the tough times.
We cater for students with learning difficulties through alternative courses -
The Junior Certificate Schools Programme (JCSP) is a project/ continuous assessment

based Junior Certificate (State Exam)
The Leaving Certificate Applied Programme (LCA) is a project/ continuous assessment

based leaving certificate (State Exam)
There are many other supports in St. Kevin's both academic and pastoral aimed at
getting the best out of each student; but even with all this in place we lose students
every year before they have successfully completed their second level education. As a
41
partner in this project I would like to share all the good practice at St. Kevin's as well as
learn from the other partners. I hope to come up with some new initiatives to keep
students in school for longer and to ensure that their time in school is spent effectively
so that all students get the most out of their education.
THE BUDDY SYSTEM PROPOSAL AISLING CAFFREY
We want to make St. Kevins Community College a safe and welcoming place for our
first year students.
Most students will get through their first year without major problems. However nearly
all students could do with some help at some time especially in first year.
There are a number of issues facing first years:
Homework
Relationships with teachers
Relationships with students
Class work
Getting involved
We hope to pair each of our first year students with a buddy, someone not a teacher-
they can turn to if they are having difficulty settling in.
We hope to organise an event to get first years and their buddy working together (we
are thinking table quiz but are open to suggestions).
We hope to organise an event at the end of the year for buddies to show our
appreciation.
What is required of a buddy?
Get to know the student you are paired with.
Meet with them on a regular basis (once per week) to ask how they are getting
on.
Help them with any difficulty they are experiencing.
42
Look out for them around the school
We are inviting students from 2nd 5th year to be buddies to our incoming first years.
Proposed new Buddy System for all first year students
Aim: All first years will have a buddy from one of the other years. The Buddy acts as a
mentor to the first year and assists them throughout the year with adjusting to
secondary school.
How: Students will be handpicked by tutors & the teacher in charge. Chosen students
will be given an outline of what is expected of them and asked if they want to
participate. One student for each first year is then selected. An assembly will be held
where the buddy system is explained to all students, buddies and first years. An ice
breaking exercise would then be carried out (table quiz perhaps) to get students
chatting together.
Benefits:
Reduced bullying, increased attendance, improved academic achievement All in line

with DEIS Targets.
Role of the Buddy:
Ideally buddies will be paired with someone they know already or with someone with
whom they have something in common.
The buddy has an initial introductory meeting with the student, an informal chat to find
out how they are getting on in first year. The Buddy checks in with their student
throughout the week. Encourages the student to come in to school, finds out if there
are issues with subjects/attendance/homework and either helps the student deal with
these issues or refers the issues to the tutor/year head.
The teacher/teachers running the buddy system will then meet once per month with
buddies to monitor progress. There will be an event at the end of the year for first
years and buddies to mark the end of the year.
43
EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS
AISLING CAFFREY
Early School Leaving - Discussing and researching this topic leaves me with more
questions than answers. Early School Leaving - for the purpose of this article - is when
a student leaves secondary education without a useful educational qualification or
without the basic entry requirement to progress to third level education.
Broadly speaking, teachers are traditionally from middle class backgrounds with middle
class values, culture, expectations and language. Early school leavers tend to be from
working class backgrounds with a totally different set of values. The majority of early
school leavers in Ireland are boys whilst the majority of teachers in Ireland are women.
Can this lack of identification of educator with student and student with educator
contribute to the negative experience of school that causes some of our young people
to drop out?
The Irish government has invested a large amount of money in education over the
years and while this has been reduced in recent years there is still money being
invested in education for those students who find formal learning particularly difficult.
In my own school students are being withdrawn for one to one tuition; they have
reduced timetables to help them to concentrate on a smaller number of core subjects.
These students meet counsellors and psychologists; they are indentified through an
extravagant reward system. Still, our education system is failing these students.
Students are frustrated, angry, lacking in self esteem and have a very low locus of
control. In some cases, he trigger for this negativity is school. Instead of removing the
trigger we seek to bend, mould and adapt the student to the cause of their pain and
suffering. All too few alternatives are available.
Community based projects have had some success in keeping students in education.
This kind of project has the advantage of having an accurate knowledge of the needs
of the young people of the community in which it works. The line Projects are Dublin
44
community based projects. They were developed to meet the needs of young people
'at risk' or 'outside the system' in their respective communities. They feature various
educational and training programmes that are designed as a complementary system of
intervention encouraging young people back into mainstream education.
The project aims to assist young people, male and female, aged 13 to 18 years of age,
who are unable to avail of other established educational and training programmes
through:
o -- A positive and professional approach.
o -- Building self-esteem and confidence.
o -- Developing skill for education and employment.
o -- Positive intervention in close partnership with the relevant agencies.
It tries to provide a complimentary system of intervention that encourages young

people back into mainstream education. There is an emphasis on the use of ICT to
offer participants a different approach to learning that is more effective and enjoyable.
The Carline project is one of these projects a community based project set up to deal
with youth between the ages 13-18 years. Its purpose is to provide a stable
environment, so that job training, skill building, and education can take place in a more
efficient manner, with a higher probability of success.
The Irish Education has grown, developed and adapted over the years to cater for as
many learners as possible and yet there is approximately 10% of the population who
are considered early school leavers. These young people have increased their
chances dramatically of entering a life of poverty and dependence on the social welfare
system.
A lot has been done in Ireland with regards education but a lot more needs to be done.
We, as educators are failing 10% of our students. Investment in research and the
continued development of community based projects is a start. The research however
needs to be ongoing as the profile of the typical Irish student does not remain static.
45
ST. KEVINS COMMUNIT Y COLLEGE STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM
SUZANNE GRAHAM
Composition:
School Chaplain, Guidance Counsellor, Home School Community Liaison Officer,

School Completion Programme Coordinator, Learning Support Coordinator, National
Behaviour Support Services Teacher and Junior Cert School Programme Librarian &
Deputy Principal
Purpose/Goal:
The goal of Student Support is to organise, develop and maintain a comprehensive and
coordinated support service delivery system that will identify serve and enhance the
overall development of all students in the school.
The Student Support Team (SST) gives support, advice and services in order to
maximize the educational, emotional and behavioural needs of students. The SST
follows a systematic procedure for identifying and referring students in need of support
services, which emphasises proactive, preventative interventions that address both
individual and student needs as well as broader school issues.
The SST works very closely with Year Heads and Tutors and many external agencies
such as Clondalkin Adolescence Mental Health Services, Dochas, Educational Welfare
Officer, National Behaviour Support Service, Social Services, Local Youth Service, and
Dublin & Dun Laoghaire ETB Educational Physiological Services etc. Meetings take
place on a weekly basis to implement a combined approach to Student care.
The classroom teacher is acknowledged as the best source of insight into the
academic, social/emotional and physical well being of each child in his/her class. The
class teacher is overseen by the class Tutor and ultimately by the Year Head. Any
member of staff can report a concern to the SST at any stage but each Year Head
attend a Student Support meeting at least once each term.
The meetings are chaired by the head of the student support team who convenes
meetings, manages data, and facilitates the implementation of the recommendations of
the team.
46
Meetings are held on a regular schedule and adequate arrangements are made so that
each teacher can attend for the full time of the meeting.
Every effort is made to achieve parity among team members and all contributions are
valued.
Confidentiality is maintained in all aspects of the process.
Communication systems are sensitive to the needs of students, parents, teachers, and
community partners.
Whole Class Review:
Every Year Head attends SST at least once throughout the school year.
The presenting teacher comes prepared with student data (test scores,
behaviour notes, etc.) to discuss each student in a quick overview.
The purpose of the whole class review is to gain a snapshot of each child and to
determine any further interventions that may be needed (home visit, after-school,
tutoring, counselling, etc.).
At this meeting each student will be discussed to ensure they are receiving the
services they need.
At the conclusion of whole class review a summary will take place to indicate
who is responsible for what follow up activities to ensure each child achieves success.
The School Completion Programme (SCP) is an initiative that aims to have a significant
positive impact on levels of pupil retention in primary and secondary schools and on
the number of pupils who successfully complete the senior cycle.
The main aims of the SCP are:
to retain young people in formal education to completion of the senior cycle
to improve the quality of participation and educational attainment of targeted

children
to improve the attendance of targeted children in formal education
47
The Quarryvale / Balgaddy SCP is an area based programme that caters for five
schools in the local area: St. Kevins Community College, St. Bernadettes Junior and
Senior primary schools and Divine Mercy Junior and Senior primary schools.
Schools implement the SCP through a variety of initiatives such as morning and after-
school clubs, awards and trips, sports and art clubs, attendance initiatives
Our SCP starts when the students are in Primary school between the age of 4 and
12years.
Programmes currently running in St. Kevins CC
Currently in St. Kevins we provide the following initiatives and clubs to support and
encourage students to remain in school:
Transfer programme which consists of targeted students (i.e. those who are
already at risk of poor attendance and of dropping out of school early) attending
specially organised summer camps the year prior to starting in St. Kevins CC.
Homework clubs after school to help with homework
Sports Club both during the school day and after school
Breakfast club to feed students and also to help with homework
Provision of morning snack for whole school
Activity clubs particularly for girls to help build self esteem (Craft clubs)
Lunch club in local community centre provision of hot lunch and supervision
and activities by local Youth Service.
Library Club both before and after school
Book Club at lunch time
Sports programme after school
Horse riding for some students
Outdoor activities for different groups every week.
48
Use of Journal as passport and link with home students are not allowed in
school without their journal. It has diary for homework which must be signed by a
parent/guardian every night.
Paid night study for final year students
SCP attendance officer who checks registration every morning and afternoon
and communicates with home if a child is consistently missing. We at any one time
have a target list of approx 12 students who if not in school a call will be made home.
Mentoring programmes for students experiencing difficulties
Focus In Focus Out Support programme (see below*)
The Comenius Programme
Junior Achievement Programme. A link with the wider community where

volunteers from the business world come in and teach the students about the world of
business and encourage them to stay in school, to work hard and to reach their full
potential.
Dublin City University (DCU) Summer Scholars Programme. Students are

encouraged to apply for the summer programme at DCU where they can study
university style courses for reduced fees.
Trinity Access Programme (TAP). This is a programme hosted by the University

for students who wish to attend Trintiy College but do not achieve the full academic
requirements. They take part in a year long transition programme and enter full
university courses the following year.
In and Out List

Communication
Linking staff/school to
emotional needs of the students
Care Management
Confidentiality
49
*There is a list in the staffroom of students to focus in on and to focus out on. This list
is compiled by the care team. Teachers do not need to know every detail about the
issues facing the individual student, but it is very useful to know which students are
dealing with external issues.
THE IMPORTANCE OF POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS IN BUILDING SELF-

ESTEEM SUZANNE GRAHAM
Working as a Chaplain brings with it many privileges the most important being the
ability to build trusting relationships. P. Hyde in his article The School Chaplain
confirms that the Chaplain has a role to play in assisting the school to realise in its day-
to-day operation the educational philosophy and mission statement it espouses. 1 St.
Kevins mission is focused on the ability to help all its students experience success. As
Chaplain, working to this definition it is necessary to look at how particular students can
be helped feel successful in an environment in which they usually feel anything but
successful. Hyde goes on to say that:
The chaplain achieves this in various ways; by attempting to develop people

holistically, by affirming the dignity of each individual, by helping students
achieve and maintain a positive self-image, by praying for and with students
and staff, by promoting individual and collective responsibility, by awakening in
the baptised their vocation to follow Christ, by providing liturgical and
sacramental celebrations, and by working with parents, parish and the wider
community.2
The lack of self-esteem among many of my students has emerged as an area of major
concern in St. Kevins. The way students feel about themselves influences the way
they relate to others, but also how they learn, and the choices they make for their future
lives. Self-esteem is intertwined with every dimension of our lives, consequently if an
individual has a good sense of self-esteem all the other dimensions of a successful life
flow from that. Authors define self-esteem in different ways. Before beginning to reflect
1
P. Hyde, The School Chaplain, J M. Feneney (ed), Beyond the Race for Points, p.161.
2
P. Hyde, Beyond the Race for Points, p.161.
50
on students lack of self-esteem, it is useful to clarify a suitable definition of what is

under consideration.
What is Self-Esteem?
It is generally agreed that there is a need to develop individuals with healthy or high
self-esteem characterized by tolerance and respect for others. People with good self-
esteem accept responsibility for their actions, have integrity and take pride in their
accomplishments. They are self-motivated, willing to take risks and are capable of
handling criticism. They are loving and lovable. They seek the challenge and
stimulation of worthwhile and demanding goals, and take command and control of their
lives. In other words, we need to help foster the development of people who have
healthy or authentic self-esteem because they trust their own being to be life affirming,
constructive, responsible and trustworthy.3
Unfortunately, efforts to convey the significance and critical nature of self-esteem have
been hampered by misconceptions and confusion over what is meant by the term self-
esteem. Some have referred to self-esteem as merely feeling good or having
positive feelings about oneself. Others have gone to the other extreme equating self -
esteem with egotism, arrogance, conceit, narcissism, a sense of superiority, leading
even to violence. Such characteristics cannot be attributed to authentic, healthy self-
esteem, because they are actually defensive reactions to the lack of authentic self-
esteem, which is sometimes referred to as pseudo self-esteem.
Individuals with defensive or low self-esteem typically focus on trying to prove

themselves or impress others. Some act with arrogance and contempt towards others.
They generally lack confidence in themselves, often having doubts about their worth
and acceptability, and hence are reluctant to take risks or expose themselves to failure.
They frequently blame others for their shortcomings rather than take responsibility for
their actions.
3
See International Association for Self-Esteem, What is Self-Esteem? *online+.
51
A close relationship has been documented between low self-esteem and such
problems as violence, alcoholism, drug abuse, eating disorders, school dropouts,
teenage pregnancy, suicide, and low academic achievement. 4 However, it has been
difficult to isolate it as a primary cause using traditional experimental research
methods, for it is usually only one of several contributing factors. What needs to be
stressed is that self-esteem is a critical component of any program aimed at self-
improvement, for it is one of the few solutions that offer hope to correcting these
problems. According to the National Association for Self-esteem, there is general
agreement that the term self-esteem includes cognitive, affective, and behavioural
elements5. It is cognitive as one consciously thinks about oneself when considering the
discrepancy between ones ideal self, (the person one wishes to be,) and the perceived
self (how one sees oneself). The affective element refers to the feelings or emotions
that one has when considering that discrepancy. The behavioural aspects of self-
esteem are manifested in such behaviours as assertiveness, resilience, being decisive
and respectful of others. Thus, self-esteem is difficult to define because of these
multiple dimensions. Although self-esteem is generally stable, it can fluctuate from
time to time, a phenomenon, which is referred to as global versus situational self-
esteem6, and which can make measuring or researching self-esteem very difficult.
It is important that the significance of self-esteem not be lost in the confusion over what
it means. N. Branden, a well-known psychotherapist, defined self-esteem several years
ago as The disposition to experience oneself as being competent to cope with the
basic challenges of life and of being worthy of happiness. 7 The international
Association for Self-Esteem modified this to define self-esteem as "The experience of
being capable of meeting life's challenges and being worthy of happiness." 8 This
4
P. Gurney, Self-esteem enhancement in children: A review of research findings, Educational Research.
29/2 (1987), pp. 130-136.
5
See International Association for Self-Esteem [online].
6
7
See N. Branden, In Defence of Self. Memo to California Task Force on Self-Esteem.
8
52
definition thus implies not only being worthy of respect, but also as having the basic
skills and competencies required to be successful in life.
This concept of self-esteem is founded on the premise that it is strongly connected to

both a sense of competence and worthiness and to the relationship between the two as
one lives life. The worthiness component of self-esteem is often misunderstood as
simply feeling good about oneself, when it actually is tied to whether or not a person
lives up to certain fundamental human values, such as finding meanings that foster
human growth and making commitments to them in a way that leads to a sense of
integrity and satisfaction.
It is felt by many that it is critical that any efforts to build self-esteem be grounded in
reality. It cannot be attained by merely reciting boosters or affirmations, nor can one
give others authentic self-esteem. To try to do so is likely to result in an inflated sense
of worth. Most feel that a sense of competence is strengthened through realistic and
accurate self-appraisal, meaningful accomplishments, overcoming adversities,
bouncing back from failures, and adopting practices such as assuming self-
responsibility and maintaining integrity, which engender ones sense of competence
and self-worth.
The objectives of a teacher or Chaplain should be to try to help develop individuals with
self-esteem that is well grounded in reality and balanced between an equal sense of
worth and competence. It would be easy to enter school and continually tell students
how great they are but after a period of time, those students would see through that. As
already stated there is a need to help the individual achieve a sense of self worth and
confidence by their own achievements. There is a need to help them cope with events
in life that they may find difficult and hope that they learn to cope with different
situations in a positive and responsible manner.
The Importance of Self-Esteem
Self-esteem takes the form of a need to enhance, protect, repair, or defend the self,
and has a significant influence on our behaviour. Anticipating the painful emotional
experience of failing to live up to our personal aspirations or the expectations of others
53
can motivate us to try harder, and to persevere in order to succeed. Conversely, fear of
the pain associated with a drop in self-esteem can lead us to avoid challenging
situations altogether. Threats to our level of self-esteem can also lead to lying or
cheating to avoid exposing ourselves. In school it is not uncommon for children with
low self-esteem to avoid trying for fear of failure and the resulting blow to their level of
self-esteem.9 Hence, rather than trying and failing they can rationalize that they failed
only because of their lack of effort.
It has been stated that there is evidence that childrens self-esteem can be enhanced
by teachers encouragement of self-rewarding behaviour on the part of their students.10
With increasing self-esteem comes improvement in academic performance, which, in
turn, enhances self-esteem. Further, above-average levels of self-esteem are
associated positively with better adjustment, more independence, less defensive and
11
deviant behaviour, and greater social effectiveness and acceptance of others.
Branden states,
I cannot think of a single psychological problem - from anxiety and

depression, to fear of intimacy or of success, to alcohol or drug abuse,
to spousal battering or child molestation, to suicide and crimes of
violence--that is not traceable to the problem of a poor self-concept.
Positive self-esteem is a cardinal requirement of a fulfilling life. There is
overwhelming evidence, including scientific research findings, that the
higher the level of an individuals self-esteem, the more likely that he or
12
she will treat others with respect, kindness and generosity.
Numerous social science studies have documented a link between low self-esteem and
such social ills as juvenile delinquency, violent crime, drug and alcohol abuse, teen
pregnancy, child and spousal abuse, chronic welfare dependency, and school drop out
9
See D. Lawerence, Enhancing Self-Esteem in the Classroom
10
D. Lawerence, Enhancing Self-Esteem in the Classroom, Introduction, p. ix
11
See P. Gurney, Self-esteem enhancement in children
12
N. Branden, In Defence of Self. p.
54
and failure. 13 While some of these claims are difficult to substantiate, this does not
lessen the significance of the connection between self-esteem and human behaviour.
Nurturing Self-Esteem
What we want is for young people to achieve optimum healthy self-esteem. It is felt it is
important to make a distinction between praise of children and young people and
recognition or appreciation for specific actions, accomplishments or achievements.
Healthy self-esteem is more likely to be developed when young people are engaged in
activities through which they can make real decisions and contributions rather than
activities that are frivolous and cute. It is particularly helpful to have young people
develop criteria of competence of their own. Young people need positive feedback
about their behaviour and their efforts, but it is most likely to strengthen their self -
esteem when it is specific and informative rather than in the form of general praise. 14 It
has become evident that it is not possible to give others healthy self-esteem. It is
possible to make them feel good, but self-esteem is more than just having happy
feelings.
Self-esteem does not exist in a vacuum, but is the product of evaluating oneself against
one or more criteria and reaching expected standards based on these criteria. It is
typically not fostered by easy success on a series of trivial tasks, but on tasks the
individual sees as challenging. These criteria vary not only between cultures and
subcultures, but also within them. To complicate the process, individuals typically
change their values and the criteria against which they evaluate themselves as they
proceed from childhood to adolescence and adulthood. Branden has identified six
major components of self-esteem found to be essential for nurturing and sustaining of
healthy self-esteem:
The practice of living consciously, e.g. seeking to understand not only

the world external to oneself but also ones inner world;
The practice of self-acceptance, e.g. the willingness to experience one's
own thoughts, feelings, and actions, without evasion or denial;
13
See P. Gurney, Self-esteem Enhancement in Children.
14
See P. Gurney, Self-esteem Enhancement in Children.
55
The practice of self-responsibility, e.g. taking responsibility for one's
choices and actions;
The practice of self-assertiveness, e.g. treating others with respect and
authenticity, refusing to fake the reality of one's true values and one's true
self;
The practice of living purposefully, e.g. identifying short-term and long-
term goals or purposes and formulating an action plan to achieve those
goals; and,
The practice of personal integrity, e.g. living with congruence between
15
what one knows, what one professes, and what one does.
There is general agreement that the level of self-esteem of young people can be
enhanced when significant adults and peers treat them with respect, when there are
strong feelings of trust, when their views, preferences, and opinions are considered,
and where they have opportunities to make real decisions and choices about events
and things that matter to them.16 A review of numerous research studies indicated that
there is evidence that children's self-esteem can be enhanced by teachers'
encouragement of self-rewarding behaviour on the part of their students. With
increasing self-esteem comes improvement in academic performance, which, in turn,
enhances self-esteem. Further, above-average levels of self-esteem were associated
positively with better adjustment, more independence, less defensive and deviant
behaviour, and greater social effectiveness and acceptance of others 17
There are a variety of approaches to the enhancement of self-esteem in the school

situation, though no research has been done on the comparative benefits of these
different approaches. According to the National Association for Self-Esteem these
approaches seem to fall into five categories:
Cognitive approach
Behavioural approach
Experiential approach
Skill developmental approach
15
See N. Braden, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem.
16
See D. Lawerence, Enhancing Self-Esteem in the Classroom,
17
P. Gurney, Self-Esteem Enhancement in Children: A review of research findings.
56
Environment approach 18
The cognitive approach focuses on changing the manner in which individuals view their
experience, to help them view things positively rather than negatively. Thus, individuals
are taught how to look for positive outcomes rather than negative aspects of their
situation. They are taught that they have a choice in how they wish to perceive an
event or experience, and that can be either positive or negative.
The behavioural approach teaches young people to adopt specific behaviours so that
they express themselves confidently so that others will relate to them in a positive
manner. Activities focus on posture, voice, and the manner in which they deal with
others. Through this approach many individuals who see themselves as victims take a
more assertive approach and are no longer treated as victims.
The experiential approach designs activities or situations that enable individuals to

experience their strengths, to relate to others in positive ways, and to receive positive
feedback from others in order to develop a more positive sense of identity. An example
of this approach is when a student is selected as "Student of the Day" and given
positive feedback by members of the class.
The skill developmental approach focuses on the development of specific skills with the
assumption that by functioning at higher-level individuals begin to achieve greater
success and thereby enhance their self-esteem. These skills include communication
skills, problem-solving skills, conflict resolution skills, reading skills, goal setting skills,
etc.
The environmental approach addresses all those aspects of a system, such as school
climate, that provide a positive environment where individuals can become involved in
decisions that directly affect them, set goals for themselves, receive encouragement
and specific feedback regarding their progress, and be treated with respect. This
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approach creates an environment that enables individuals to use their "self powers,
"empowering themselves and taking responsibility for their own self-esteem. 19
19
A Response /A Way forward
As chaplains, teachers and other significant adults in these young peoples lives how
can we help them on their journey to positive self-esteem? How can we impart to them
their innate goodness, their value as human beings? Braden talks about different
approaches to nurturing and sustaining self-esteem. The practise of living consciously,
of self-acceptance, of self-responsibility, of self-assertiveness, of living purposefully
and the practice of personal integrity, in isolation or combined can all help to raise self-
esteem. Below are some brief ways in which the Chaplain or teacher can help these
young people develop and improve their self-esteem.
The practice of self-acceptance in relation to students from disadvantaged

backgrounds is an important one. The ability and willingness to experience ones own
thoughts, feeling, and actions, without evasion or denial. For the chaplain this can be
enhanced by listening, listening attentively and empathising with the students. One
needs to respond flexibly to what is revealed. To be non-judgemental in your approach,
if you can accept the student unconditionally then they will learn to accept themselves.
One of the most important human needs is the need to feel valued.
The practice of self-responsibility - helping your students take responsibility for their
choices and actions. To acknowledge and praise what is good. To challenge your
students in a way that leads to growth is equally important. You need to transmit high
and positive expectations of your pupils in order for them to succeed.
The practice of self-assertiveness - many would argue that for many students with
behavioural problems self-assertiveness is not one of them. These students need to be
helped assert themselves in a responsible and acceptable manner. Teach them the
difference between assertiveness and aggression. Limited vocabulary can be a
hindrance for many of these young people. Often the phrase treat others as you would
like to be treated yourself is banded about. Let them see how people respond to
different stimuli. If someone shouts at you, how do you feel? How do you respond? Why? If someone
talks quietly to you and treats you with respect, how do you feel? Moreover, how do
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you respond? Talk things through with your students, role-play is a great way of
addressing this issue.
The practice of living purposefully - identifying short and long-term goals or purposes
and formulating an action plan to achieve these. Empowering adults transmit to their
students a sense of optimism and trust. Students pick up messages we send them,
positive messages can empower them to believe in themselves but unfortunately
negative messages have the opposite affect. Many of these students live day to day,
no future plans, hand to mouth is how they survive. The idea of planning for the future
is foreign to them. Help them focus on short term goals like getting to the end of the
day without being late for class. A very simple task but quite impossible for many.
Challenge them to come up with what is important to them, what they value or like
doing. School is a stepping stone to something greater find out what that greater is for
them and exploit it. If the students have a purpose in life they can feel a sense of
achievement and worth in working towards it. Provide your students with plenty of
opportunity to experience success and achievement, an example would be through
cooking, art, music, activities they can do well.
The practice of personal integrity - living with congruence between what one knows,
what one professes, and what one does. Practice what you preach, role models can
be very influential in peoples lives, help your students identify people they respect and
can look up to. Set realistic high expectations for your students and help them live up to
them. If we transmit to our students a sense of worth, if we show we believe in them
and their capacity to grow then as Martin confirms the self-fulfilling prophecy kicks in
and success experiences follow.19
Finally mentioned many times is the idea of not being able to give self-esteem, all the
chaplain or teacher can do is to create an environment/conditions, which will allow it to
flourish. The role of the Chaplain and teacher is concerned with the holistic
development of each student. Working with students from lower socio-economic
backgrounds is a challenging but rewarding job. In researching and writing this paper it
became apparent that there is no specific set of guidelines to follow. From my
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ROMANIA ST VASILE SCHOOL, PLOIE STI
St. Vasile secondary school is one of the most important public schools in Prahova
region (850.000 inhabitants), an area with a rich historical and cultural heritage. It was
first founded in 1895 by the nearby church.
Sf. Vasile" school provides pre-primary, primary and secondary level education to
almost 900 students. The school staff is engaged in motivating the students to learn
and in creating a welcoming and supportive educational environment.
The teachers are involved in tutoring children through overtime, offering them
counselling and moral support. They also attend in-service training courses for
teachers - activities to help them cope with the students' problems. Our school has
partnerships with major institutions of culture in our town (taking children to concerts,
theatre performances, new books presentations, holiday camps, educational trips) in
order to attract them to school and transform the leisure of children in a joy of learning.
For the past two years, we have attached a neighbouring school, "Ion Creanga", as a
structure to our school, as the number of students attending this school has diminished
constantly, not only because of the decreasing birth rate, but also because of many
students dropping out altogether. Many of these students come from mono-parental
families; some have major learning disabilities or behavioural problems. All these led to
the dissolution of this school as a juridical entity. Since starting with this school year,
absenteeism and early school leaving are the top priorities for our national educational
experience and research, it became apparent that the quality of relationship between
the teacher/chaplain and their pupils has a big influence on the students ability to
experience a sense of belonging and achievement in school, leading to better levels of
self-esteem. Teachers and chaplains that model acceptance and regard tend not to
take personally pupils behaviour that may be seen as unacceptable. Instead, they enter
into discussion with the student in a respectful, calm and firm manner thus building
relationships through which they can model best behaviour allowing students learn to
handle situations in a positive manner. This approach relies on a great investment in
time but is based on the belief that all of us can change and grow.
60
system, our teachers have now to deal with the specific issues that these children
have.
Sf. Vasile school, as a partner in this project, wishes to develop and share creative
and innovative methods to engage students, to learn from other European countries'
experience, to be connected with and apply the latest tools of motivating children to
study and stay in school. It will participate in concrete activities: participation of the
school representatives in the mobilities, participation in seminars, trainings, conference.
SOME SIMPLE WAYS TO KEEP STUDENTS AT SCHOOL GRATIELA

PADUROIU.
If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things. Albert Einstein
The problem of school dropout is a very difficult issue in Romania and its root cause,
poverty, is the the task for our government to solve and this is a long-term goal.
While we can do very little or nothing at all about the social-economical problems in
our country, we, as teachers, have an important role to play in trying to diminish the
number of sutdents who drop out of school. And one of the most important things that
we can do is to create a school environment that attracts students to school, no matter
what the reasons that would keep them out are.
Simple Ways to Cultivate Happiness in Schools
Successful schools are those that contribute to happiness in children. Now I'd like to
offer some suggestions for actions that school leaders and teachers can take in order
to cultivate happier schools.
Slow Down
When we slow down, we notice more, we appreciate more, we take notice of

relationships, learning, and goals. Everyone can benefit from slowing down: students,
teachers, and administrators. There's a direct correlation between our levels of
contentment and the pace at which we live our lives. In the classroom, this might look
like spending more time meeting with students, or lingering over a reading aloud, or
taking an extra 10 minutes to engage kids in a game outside after the breaks.
Get Outside
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Being outside, even for just a few minutes a day, can heighten our state of well-being.
We breathe fresh air, feel the elements on our skin - the warmth of the sun, the sting of
wind, the moisture of rain which connect us to the natural world. Even when it's cold
out, or when it's warm , we can take our students outside for a 5 minute walk, or we
can do silent reading outside and our feelings of happiness might
increase.Furthermore, when the weather is comfortable, why can't we have some
lessons outside?
Move Your Body
We all know this already, but I'm going to remind you anyway: moving our bodies
increases our happiness. Even if you can't take your kids outside, you can incorporate
stretching breaks into their days, play quick games that get their hearts pumping and
their energy out, or put on music and dance. Moments of movement are great and our
brains start producing the endorphins that make us happy right away
Sing
Singing requires us to breathe deeply, which makes us happier. Singing along to some
of our favorite music makes our brain release endorphins. If you teach elementary
school, then it's easy to get your kids singing every day. Teach them a simple song and
start the day with it. Use singing during transitions or to signal the end of an activity.
Find songs that connect with the content you're teaching - they'll remember it better
and they'll feel happier.And for teenage students, find the latest hit single and play it!
Smile
Even if you're not a smiley person, try smiling more often -- aim for authentic, genuine
smiles, but if you can't produce one, go ahead and fake it. Yes, even fake smiles can
move you along towards a more content state of being. And more than that, they can
have an affect on those looking at you. So teachers, administrators, just see what
happens if you smile more often at the people you interact with on a daily basis.
Student Takeover
Once in a while, it can be fun to let the students take over a lesson or two in a unit. Let
them become the teachers, and the teacher becomes the student. You can provide the
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topic they need to cover and give them some benchmarks, but the rest of the lesson
should be left up to the students. They get to engage with the material in a way that is
refreshing and new to them. Different student groups can be in charge of different
aspects of the lesson and can teach on different days. This approach has students
looking at information in a different way, and can allow the teachers to see what their
students can learn when they explore information on their own. For the daring teacher,
let the students choose the topic, prepare everything for the lesson, and teach the
class whatever they want.
Open Projects
Open projects have been very successful in my class. I've found that the more options I
gave my students, the better the projects have been. I used to dictate every part of my
project assignments. Students would ask to do things a little differently, and I'd give in,
surprised that their ideas were better than mine. Giving up control was a scary thought
at first, but it has paid off with some of the best work I've ever seen my students
complete.
Have Fun
Sometimes teachers forget to bring the fun to the classroom. We try so hard to cover
the curriculum that we work our students until they collapse. Sometimes it's good to just
set things aside for a day or two and have some fun .
There's so much more to say and do on this subject, but I hoped to start with some
simple and actionable ideas. What ideas do you have about integrating activities that
cultivate happiness in schools, so that students never think of dropping out or playing
truant?
PREVENTION OF SCHOOL ABANDONMENT ALINA ENESCU .
School dropout, a highly debated subject, is considered a factor which can prevent
development through education. School, a spring of knowledge, should be perceived
by students as a path to fulfillment.
They should be aware of and understand the importance of education in school. That is
why they must be guided, but more importantly motivated for the goal of education to
be achieved. All of these can be pursued and developed by removing any obstacle that
can favor school dropout.
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If we are to search for the meaning of the word combat in the dictionary, we will find
the following definition: to fight against an attitude by bringing counter-arguments, to
reject, to find measures of extermination. By stating a series of verbs, we can
synthesize our duties as teachers: to sustain, to offer, to correct, to form, to inform, to
convince. School dropout is a problem that deepens from generation to generation, and
the fight against it becomes even more difficult.
However, if we take this problem step by step, we can see that everything has an
interior reality, starting from the environment in which the student lives. The childs own
family influences most his choices. Parents are role models for their children, giving
advice to be followed. They must also be aware of the importance of studying, and
treating learning as an existential problem. The solution represents educating the
family like a whole, the attempt of the grown-ups to teach their offspring. Interaction
between family and school can prevent school dropout. If we manage to show a family
the importance of education, it would mean a first step in lowering the number of
students, who, unwittingly, leave the formal education system.
Beside this problem, there are other matters that can influence a student to give up
school: poverty, families with many children, ethnic or religious disadvantaging, being
part of a group of children who do not have school as a primary concern. By knowing
the situation, the teacher can help these students through counseling, through projects
that can increase the childrens self confidence, or through which they can learn of
friendship or support, moral, as well as financial.
One example is that of the students with very high results in school, but who cannot be
supported financially. In these cases, a solution can be collaboration between
institutions that can provide material aid to the family in question.
Regarding the religious or ethnical matters, there are meetings with specialized people
who can explain to the students that, even though they are different by religion or
ethnicity, they can accept each other and bond to one another. The moral support can
drive away the idea to abandon school, by making them aware and more open towards
diversity.
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We all must be aware that school is the place where our children learn that having a
purpose in life is good, the place where they form their behavior and from where they
get ideas which will turn them into capable people in the future
65
EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING- A PROBLEM OF THE EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM GILDA SCHINDLER .
Early School- Leaving is one of the most important problems of our educational
system. Each of us, educators, ask ourselves: What can I do? How can I prevent and
fight against this critical situation? What can I do in order to make school attractive and
desireable for my students? How can I make my classroom environment provocative
for my pupils?
In 2011 I had a pupil with a very low school- attendance, named for this study-
AZ.
She came from a very poor family. They were four children in that family and
she was the second one. Her younger brothers were only 3 and 5 years old and they
weren't attending kindergarden either. Her mother was unemployed and her father
didnt have a full time job. Her elder brother abandoned school, too, and left home a
year before I met her. They were living in studio apartment with an old grandmother.
I saw immediately that AZ was in great need. Even if she was my student for
just a year, I asked myself what I could do for her.
First of all, I provided for her a sufficient range of school materials, such as:
books, notebooks, writing instruments, etc. It was difficult for her just to come to school
with a proper schoolbag because she did not have the habit to do so. But we
encouraged her and after a few months I found her proud to be a pupil well grounded
for school.
My second aim was to transform my classroom environment into a most

welcoming space. My purpose was to make a difference between school and her living
conditions. I tried to make her feel comfortable at school, to get her used to better
standards of living. AZ soon realized that it was more convenient to spend time in
school, in a decent ambient, instead of staying home or out in the street. For AZ
school became a place of decency and wellness.
Sometimes AZ was prevented from going to school because she had to stay
home looking after her younger brothers. Her mother was supposed to go somewhere
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and the duty to keep the house under control was left for AZ. I had a lot of discussions
with her parents to prevent situations like this, but I couldn't find any support from
them. That's why I allowed her to come to school with her brothers, too. I told my
colleagues and my headmaster about this problem and I received their approval to do
so.
Twice a week I stayed at school after the classes were over to help AZ do her
homework. She was very interested in this activity, not only for the academic purpose,
but for the fact that someone, a grown up, manifested special interest in her.
During the Extracurricular Activities Week I tried to go with my pupils to factories

and to meet people with different jobs. My goal was to familiarize them to how the
work is done, how to choose a career for your life. AZ was very interested in hosiery
factory and we had a long conversation about how to succeed to become one of its
workers. I emphasized the role of the school education in order to reach her goal.
After a few years, AZ attended avocational school in this field and now she is
working in a tailor shop. I considered this a personal success, even if it is just a drop
in the ocean , and , given the opportunity, I will do all that is in my power to help other
students to stay in school and become aware of the essential role of education for the
fulfillment of their life.
COMMUNITY IS THE KEY MARIA ROU
Nowadays more and more children drop out of school contrary to what European
authorities believe that the 21st century is considered to be the civilized world.
Children get involved in an artificial world with no friends, partners, teachers, tutors,
classmates, students. Children might feel lonely without knowing that there are so
many helpful people who know how to make them grow like a beautiful flower. These
people are part of a COMMUNITY. The pure childrens blind eyes cannot see
because they do not go to school. The community they are members of could and
should help them financially or morally. Going to school is a duty towards others. Not
going to school cannot be charged as murder nor punished. But it is a huge mistake
towards us, as human beings, who need self-respect, love, knowledge, discovery,
discipline, loyalty. There are meritorious students who cannot afford to continue their
education owing to their financial difficulties but schools and the communities they are
part of always guide and train the students towards achieving excellence in their
professional and personal lives. Some students at risk are those with special
67
educational needs. For example, they may have learning disabilities or emotional and
behavioral problems that interfere with their learning and achievement. Others may be
students whose cultural backgrounds dont mesh easily with the dominant culture at
school. Still others may be students from home environments in which academic
success is neither supported nor encouraged.
All in all, EDUCATION is the best gift a COMMUNITY can give to someone as we all
know, Education opens doors.
ABSENTEEISM A PROBLEM OF THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY ANCA

DANILOF, SIMONA BRATU.
The contemporary society is characterized by high dynamics regarding values,

moral principles, social regulations with direct impact in every personality. Considering
the actual social-economical and political environment changes, impact on the
educational system is imminent. One of the negative aspects which characterizes the
educational system, from the perspective of our reality, is the increase of the
phenomenon of absenteeism.
School absenteeism is a particular case of deviant behavior, which we can

define as a type of conduct which goes out of the normal rule of conduct in society, or
as a behavior characterized by a significant deviation from social standards established
for a certain social statute. It represents a phenomenon which cannot be tolerated. Its
effects do not manifest only in the school environment, but it affects both the pupil and
the family and the community. The pupils which are missing school are confronted with
more problems than their colleagues which are regularly coming to school.
The causes of school absenteeism are of diverse nature, but the symptoms are
the same: missing school, without justifications, for a smaller or bigger period of time
with an increasing frequency. From the causes of school absenteeism, we can
mention: unfavorable living conditions, poverty, one parent families or families with
parents working abroad, lack of parental supervision, wrong attitude and behavior of
the family towards school, parents mentality, etc.
Thus, the causes of absenteeism are easy to remove, but the solutions are
harder to be identified. Some possible solutions are:
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- more flexible programs such as a second chance, for each age group; in the
bigger cities, such programs for smaller ages (12-16 years) can become a priority;
- school-family partnership with real actions;
- more efficient communication between teachers and pupils; the teacher has a
role of guidance, coordination and partner of the pupils activity;
- activities outside the school perimeter, targeted to attract the pupils towards the
school and towards regaining the respect this institution deserve; etc.
The solutions to reduce absenteeism are directly influenced by a good and functional
relation parent-school. A good communication between pupil, parent and teacher,
resourcing to the school counselor/psychologist can lead to identifying the personal
and psychological motivations for pupils break-away from school.
In conclusion, the fight against this phenomenon represents a challenge for the school,
and it cannot be successful unless all involved parties, pupils, teaches, parents, local
community understand the importance of the educational process for the contemporary
society, the need to adapt to the new facts of the social environment and the need to
focus our attention to the main character of this process: the pupil.
UNICEF AND THE FACTORS INFLUENCING SCHOOL DROPOUT ROXANA

AGA.
UNICEF developed the project Efficient solutions for preventing school dropout: costs
and mechanisms, which targets to support the general efforts to approach this
phenomenon. The project has a triple aim, to expand the database already existing
about the school dropout, and also, at the same time, to test a range of realistic
solutions and to estimate the costs of implementing on a large scale the respective
suggestions. Simultaneously, the efforts focused on a better training of all the actors of
the education system to prepare them to face the issue of the school dropout.
The report is a source of information about the condition of the Romanian educational
system and also a useful tool for identifying and applying realistic solutions for
preventing early dropout.
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According to figures presented in 2013 by the Minister of Education, Remus Pricopie,
in Romania there were almost 100,000 children and teenagers not enrolled in schools,
but UNICEF declares that the number could be much higher.
Thousands of children who are to attend the 10-grade compulsory education drop out
of school gradually, so that they are not able to read, write or count. Therefore, it is
understandable why a report of the European Commission for Education mentions that
one in 17 Romanians is illiterate.
The present report explores the causes of the early dropout, focusing on the passage
from lower to upper secondary school in small urban communities and on the outskirts
of cities. These causes will be analysed on three levels: the student and their family,
the community and the school.
Among the factors that favour school dropout at the level of the student and their family
are the following:
- Material needs. Families which are large, disorganized or lack resources have
problems in supplying the children with adequate clothing and sometimes need work
(in the fields or in the house to take care of younger siblings).
- Educational model of the parents. Very often, the children who give up education
come from families in which the parents did not attend more than eight grades. There is
also an upside frequently dropouts wish to complete their education at least up to
the 10th grade, to get some qualification in order not to end up like their parents,
simple day workers without any chance of succeeding in life.
- Educational model of the siblings is much more influential. In the families where the
eldest children dropped out from school, the younger children tend to reproduce this
model.
- The disorganization of the family entails material difficulties. The family divorce,
alcoholism, violence are signs preceding the dropout decision.
-Getting involved in activities at the limit of the law. Affiliation to neighbourhood gangs,
integration in child beggar networks lead almost always to dropping out of education,
70
as de-motivating factors, especially when passing to the 9th grade and immediately
after the beginning of the upper secondary school.
- A low level of confidence in education proves to be quite a stereotype invalidated by

reality. However, there appears to be a low level of confidence in education
immediately before the actual dropout. In this respect, it could be useful that the
students having already dropped out early to get in touch with those under risk of
dropping out, to inform them about their current image of school.
- The circulatory migration does not seem to be a real risk factor, but the truth is that
there are critical problems in reintegrating children of migrants who leave the system,
just to come again at older ages. The same problem appears in the case of children
who get into the educational system at older ages.
At the level of the communities, the most important factors that encompass the
early school dropout are as follows:
- The early marriage is a factor which prevents continuation of education especially in

rural communities.
- Giving birth to children tends to be a characteristic of some communities, rather than

an individual act. Coming from disorganized, poor families, the young girls find models,
in general, in the community in which they live.
- Lack of security in the area. There are communities where, due to high delinquency,
teachers are afraid to contact parents, the failure to collaborate leading to higher risks
of school dropout.
At the level of the school, the dropout can be determined by the recurrent and frequent
situations of repeating the years of study, by the insufficient integration in the class
community or by the poor quality of the relations with their teachers and colleagues.
Unfortunately there are very few actions aimed at preventing school dropout. The
teachers could have an outstanding role in the prevention of the early dropout, because
they are permanently in touch with the children and can identify and diagnose their
problems, being also able to warn competent authorities or non-governmental
organizations which can take action if needed. Although the main factors for
increasing the probability of withdrawing from the educational system can be found at
the level of the family and of the community, often the recommendations for reducing
these factors address mainly to school. There are no absolute priorities, other than the
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general objective of increasing school responsibility and the recommendations are not
at all substitutable, but rather complementary. The emphasis is laid on prevention;
however, there are recommendations regarding the reintegration of students who have
left education for a short time. Here are some possible directions for actions:
SCHOOL DROPOUT: A NATIONAL CONCERN ANA-SORINA

CONSTANTINESCU.
Early school dropout has recently incresed in Romania, and particularly affects four
categories of children: Rromes, children who grew up in poor families, children in rural
areas and those with disabilities. There facts are shown by a report carried out by
Romanian experts with the support of UNICEF Romania. Research regarding dropout
prevention, however, is severely underfunded, as well as the amounts allocated to
increasing academic achievement.In this paper, I am to present some of the factors
that favor early school dropout, and also try to give solutions for preventing this
phenomenon.
Some students at risk are those with special educational needs. For example, they may
have learning disabilities or emotional and behavioral problems that interfere with their
learning and achievement. Others may be students whose cultural backgrounds dont
mesh easily with the dominant culture at school. Still others may be students from
home environments in which academic success is neither supported nor encouraged.
Students at risk come from all socio-economic levels, but children of poor, single-
parent families are especially likely to leave school.
Financial difficulties is one of the most common factor. Large families, disorganized,
lacking resources, have problems in ensuring adequate clothing and food for all their
children and sometimes feel the need for labor force (either on the field or in the
household to take care of younger siblings). Family disorganization entail material
difficulties. Divorce, alcoholism, domestic violence are signs that often precede the
decision to abandon school.
Most often, students who drop school come from families in which parents have no
more than eight classes. But there are exceptions. There are quite frequently in
situations of abandonment students who want to complete their education, "even up to
10 classes," to have a qualification, so they do not end up like their parents, ordinary
laborers, no chance of success in life . But these are very isolated cases, mostly
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because this types of children do not meet the kind of support they need in teachers or
school counselors.
To continue the idea, at school level, dropout cases may be caused by repeating the
class too many times, insufficient integration into the classroom, or the quality of
relationships with teachers and peers. At school level there are very few actions to
prevent dropout. Teachers can play an important role in preventing early school
leaving, because they are constantly in contact with students, they can identify and
diagnose their problems and can attract the attention of authorities or non-
governmental organizations competent to intervene if necessary.
Although the main factors increasing the likelihood of dropping out school are located
in the family and community, recommendations for mitigating these factors are
addressed firstly to the school. There aren't any absolute priorities and recommended
actions are not interchangeable but complementary. The focus is on prevention, but
there are recommendations for reintegrating students who have recently given to
education.
Our education system is failing our students, our teachers and our economy. We
clearly know that, yet we have not made good on that failure by building a modern,
globally competitive educational experience for our children. When it comes to
education, in all the questions, the baselines, the benchmarks, the starting points we
choose pride over knowledge. As is true with any organization, only when we are
honest about why we are losing business, why our customers hate us, why no one
wants to buy our product, or why no one wants to work for us can we set about the
hard work of course correction.
But there is a question that rises in all of our minds: How can us, teachers, prevent
school dropout? Well, in my opinion, we can only try to make school atractive for all
types of children, especially for those who need it the most. Even though we only
spend a part of the day with our students, we can make the most of it, by showing them
that we care, and by offering our support. Students should see in us a confident, even
a refuge from all the things happening at home. Also, we can organize attractive
extracurricular activities, inside the school, that will increase the students interest and
trust in this institution.
EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING- WHY? FLORICA DOBRE.
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Early school leaving is defined, within the European Union, as a phenomenon which
includes young people who have dropped out of school before the end of compulsory
education, or those who have completed compulsory schooling but have not gained an
upper secondary qualification. The Europe 2020 strategy focuses on reducing the early
school leaving rate under 10% by 2020.
With direct impact upon the employability of young people, it affects the states security
from a social and economic point of view. Young people lacking a qualification are
more likely to be unemployed, to benefit from social aid (healthcare, social benefits)
and have a higher risk of social exclusion. They tend to be less involved in the
democratic processes that take place within states borders and are prone to criminality
and violence, due to the financial issues they are facing.
The primary resource of a state is the human resource well trained and ambitious
individuals are the ones that assure the states productivity and competitiveness. The
success and the failure of the educational process are polarizations of the same
phenomena. Analyzing the efficiency of the educational system based solely on the
number of students who passed their exams is a biased approach. The success of an
individual within the educational system is an indicator of the degree of concordance
between the requirements of the system and the capabilities of the individual. There is
a need of mutual adjustment between the two factors mentioned above.
The theories regarding early school leavers approach the problem from three distinct
perspectives. In an attempt to analyze the causes of the phenomena, one theory
claims that the early leavers are socially and psychologically different from the rest of
the group, the nature of their actions deriving from this differences (personality traits,
motivation, self-esteem, aggressiveness). The interactional perspective considers
abandonment a consequence of the interactions that took place between the individual
and the environment, other social actors like teachers and colleagues having a great
impact in the early leaving decision. This theory is sustained by Tinto (1979), who
claimed that usually the decision to drop out of school is based on a deficitary
interaction with the members of the collectivity. The final approach external constraint
states that the root cause of school abandonment is not poverty, but the
environmental factors the individual cannot control, like health, professional and family
obligations.
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Globally, 14% of young people decide to leave school early. In Romania, the
rate of early school leaving increased by 33% in the last 9 years. Taking into account
the current economic crisis, most likely the numbers of young people who decide to
drop out of school will increase significantly in the future. In order to manage the
problem of school abandonment, the European Union and other international
institutions have designed the following lines of actions: Preventive measures, which
include improving the quality of the educational system and providing equal chances
for all the young people; intervention, which consists in tutoring for children, creating
tighter connections with their parents and offering guidance when unpleasant situations
occur (like absents, low performances). Also, compensation should be applied in the
Romanian educational system, and second chances should be granted for those who
want to graduate and obtain an upper qualification.
REFLEXIONS AFTER APPLYING TWO QUESTIONNAIRES CRISTINA

MARIAN-IONESCU.
In order to identify the school life issues that lead to student absenteeism and school
dropout, we have designed two questionnaires, one for students and one for teachers
from the same school.
We are trying to identify the level of students awareness concerning the

importance of studying, the school problems students are confronted with, how
much support they need and where they should be looking for it. We also aim to
consider the measures that will encourage students to study willingly, read the
literary works listed in the syllabus, grasp their meaning and enable them to
express their viewpoints without difficulty.
In our approach, we have paid equal attention to teachers, as they are in

permanent contact with students, identify and diagnose their problems. Last,
but not least, they can take some action in order to prevent students lack of
interest in studying, absenteeism, school dropout.
Generally speaking, students think positively, attend classes willingly, have a

sense of reality and their goal aims at achieving school success.
Students trust teachers, the support they offer or can be offered. Nevertheless,
students need to be determined and work more closely with each other.
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The teachers know effective methods by means of which students can be encouraged
to participate actively and enthusiastically in their classes, to understand the
importance of studying. However, need to be more determined in applying these
methods. Teachers can take action to reduce absenteeism and prevent school dropout,
by organizing activities that involve students, thus managing to keep them within the
school premises.
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS
1. Do you think it is necessary to attend classes?
a) Yes, because.................................
b) No, because..................................
2. Have you ever skipped classes?
a) Yes, because of health problems
b) Yes, because I did not feel like doing it
c) Yes, due to lack of interest
d) Yes, for fear I might be caught not having studied
e) No.
3. Do you always understand what you are being taught during your classes?
a) always
b) most of the times
c) sometimes
d) never
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4. Do you run up against difficulties when doing your homework for your classes?
a) always
b) most of the times
c) sometimes
d) never
5. Does your teachers help you learn more easily, clear up your concepts,
eliminate any gaps in knowledge?
a) Yes, when you request further explanations.
b) Yes, by organizing extra classes at school.
c) No, I think he has no time to do that.
d) No, not needed.
6. When you do not understand or have not understood very well what you have
been taught during your Romanian classes :
a) You think you are not able to understand.
b) You give up studying.
c) You resume knowledge until you understand it.
d) You ask for your classmates support.
e) You ask for your teachers support.
f) You ask for your familys support.
7. How do you get ready for your lessons?
a) You reread your notes in class.
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b) You read the information / presentations in the course book.
c) You check the auxiliary teaching materials (preparatory guides, test books,
anthologies).
d) You read (in whole or fragmentary) literary works recommended by the teacher.
e) You do not think that it is necessary to get ready, only to attend the classes.
8. What do you find most difficult as far as studying is concerned?
a) Following teacher's explanations.
b) Communicating with the teacher during the lesson.
c) Remembering the essential concepts.
d) Reading the literary works recommended by the teacher.
e) Writing your homework.
9. Overall, during your classes, the teacher:
a) teaches while you are listening and taking notes
b) asks you questions only when he/she checks your homework or assesses
you
c) often asks you to answer questions, give examples, express your opinion, argue
for/against some statements.
d) wants you to study independently from books or other sources, and then he/she
checks you.
10. Do you collaborate closely with your classmates in solving the assignment you
have for your classes?
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a) Only when we are asked to work in pairs or teams.
b) Sometimes, when things are not clear enough.
c) Often, because you feel the need to consult with somebody.
d) Never, because you can work on your own.
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS
1. Do your students attend your classes enthusiastically?
a) always
b) often
c) seldom
2. Which are the most common reasons why some of your students do not
attend your classes?
a) health problems
b) sloth
c) lack of interest for studying
d) fear of being assessed
e) others:
3. Do you think it is necessary to use individualisation and differentiation

strategies in your lessons?
a) Yes,
because.....................................................................................................
........................................
b) No,
because.....................................................................................................
.........................................
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4. When your students get only partially successful results, you concentrate
your attention:
a) more on the acquired succes
b) more on the failure
c) equally on both types of results
5. Do you encounter any difficulties when it comes to your students reading of

the compulsory literary works listed in the syllabus?
a) Yes, a lot.
b) Yes, but a few.
c) No.
6. How would you apprecite your twelfth graders interest when it comes to
their preparation study for the exam?
a) very high
b) low
c) almost non-existent
7. Do you talk to other teachers about the students ability to communicate

orally and in writing?
a) often
b) seldom
c) never
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8. Do you create contexts, in your classes, of stimulating students to talk

about:
a) the necessity to study

often/seldom
b) the necessity of studing as part of their education

often/seldom
c) the importance of attending school

often/seldom
d) overcoming difficult situations which lead to absenteeism

often/seldom
SCHOOL - MICROCOSM OF SOCIETY VASILICA STAN.
First of all, I consider school as a living environment that must be neither a fortress nor
a sanctuary, but a place of progress, emancipation in contact with the real life. The
school aims to encourage all the pupils to learn, to acquire the necessary knowledge
and abilities to learn the entire life, I mean permanent learning , to promote self
confidence, to play an active role, take part in the economical, social and cultural life.
The school has to train pupils to be responsable citizens who will be able to contribute
to the development of a democratic ,pluralistic society that must be opened to
multiculture. These things make school not only a place for the acquiring and
consolidation of knowledge, but above all a forum for socializing and ushering a new
world. When pupils come to school they dont lose their identity. The violence they find
at school affects them a lot. School is not an oasis of oblivion. It is rather a place for
acquiring the proper skills for discovering science.
The role of the school is to activate a microcosmos of society, we have to encourage

the social heterogencity in class , as well as between different schools. We should
develop the strategies of preventing the school leaving and violence in school. We
must have dialogues with the pupils to ease their dreads and to analyse their personal
problems ,to discuss all the details ,to take into account the cultural, social and
economical diversity.
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Admitting diversity we prevent the stigma and the feeling of class affiliation that are
imposed, not chosen freely. School must teach pupils to promote peace and reject
violence from abroad. We must improve the habitat ,the environment to resist the
temptation to turn school into a camp surrounded by trench warfare.
It is necessary to improve the working conditions for all the teaching staff. Pupils should
be involved in obeying the school rules, to struggle against violence. The staff should
have regard for pupils, we must prevent the minor incidents to become major ones, for
example the absenteeism should be approached before it turns into school leaving for
good. We must take up attitude against indifference. Sometimes schools are tempted a
to pass over violence, absenteeism in silence, in order to to be well spoken of, but this
can never be a real solution. Violence must be censured without hesitation.
The punishment should be according to the seriousness of the facts and must be
educational.Mediation and remediation are the keys of the success in our endeavor to
prevent the absenteeism and violence in schools. The parternership between schools,
parents and the local community can contribute to the decrease of absenteeism, to a
full time involvment of the pupil. It is well known the fact that these problems referring
to pupils attending school are managed the best if they are identified in time and
measures should be taken immediately and parents should support the pupil
presence at school.
WAYS OF PREVENTING SCHOOL DROPOUT ALINA COTORCEANU,
Dropout prevention plan:
Helps misbehaved children and their classmates face the consequences of

their attitudes;
Aims to reduce violence in teachers- students relationship;
Requires a greater involvement of teachers in solving students deviant

behavior.
Teachers can use a set of methods and techniques in order to investigate and analyze
the cases of school maladjustment or school failure (i.e. systemic observation, analysis
of documents, case study etc.).
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Considering all the points, teachers can accordingly take some measures to prevent
all deviant attitudes.
How can parents and teachers prevent school failure? They should:
take time to listen and understand students fears and concerns.
set limits for students misbehavior and follow them constantly.
encourage students to get involved in school projects and extracurricular

activities.
organize team meetings including teachers, parents, school counselors and

they all cooperate to establish ways of supporting students and their future.
provide a social and familial environment that values education.
support students in choosing a career by organizing visits to universities or

local companies, by getting information about carriers and jobs and
encouraging part- time jobs.
emphasize the importance of study skills and intellectual work aquisitions,

both in schools and homes.
encourage voluntary work ( through promoting healthy habits, assisted

homework-doing, artistic and sporting activities or educational programs,
supervising the outdoor activities of younger students, charitable activities,
visits to community centers- foster care, nursing-, public performances
etc.).
STUDENTS ABSENTEEISM- CAUSES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

OVIDIU MARIAN- IONESCU.
We conducted a survey in our school, independently from the general survey included
in the project and shared by all the countries.72 students took part in this survey. They
had to tick three causes which they consider the most important in case of frequent
absenteism.
Their answers were:
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Family problems - 51
Health problems - 68
Their entourage inside and outside the school - 4
The lack of preparation for their exams - 1
The lack of daily preparation for classes -7
Misunderstandig the subjects taught during classes - 4
Learning at school is not necessary -2
The lack of interest in the school subject -3
Disliking some teachers -2
Getting involved in other activities (travelling, for example) - 6
The lack of spare time -6
Worrying about their own safety(violence) -0
The lack of activities within the school - 1
And here are some of the students own opinions on how to deal with
absenteism or dropout:
- Students should be warned that in case of a low attendance they would do

voluntary work within the school.
- If they play truant, students should be punished by decreasing their
conduct grade.
- A good solution for increasing attendance is communication. There are
numberless cases in which there is a lack of communication between
parents and children, between the head teacher and parents and, what is
more, the lack of a constructive dialogue between the class teacher and
students. Parents are not interested in their childrens friends and these are
usually the main cause of truancy.
-It is advisable that the counselling classes with educational topics should
be better organised.
-Teachers should find ways to make their lessons much more attractive and
clearly demonstrate the usefulness of their classes in the students future
life.
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- Teachers should raise students awareness and emphasize through their

teaching that school is important for their future and, regardless of their
financial or family difficulties, they have to continue their studies.
PREVENTING SCHOOL ABANDONMENT VALENTINA MONA IANCU.
School abandonment has always been an internationally debated issue that led to
marginalizing students, unemployment and poverty. Its causes are numerous and
difficult to remedy within the current social context, considering its deep and intricate
psychological and psycho-pedagogical roots.
It is important to reduce the motives behind school abandonment and to find a flexible
solution that will involve students in curricular and extra-curricular activities.
Firstly, the psychological causes can be eliminated through allocating an increasing

focus on children with lower social abilities or that have a deteriorated view about
themselves. Although it requires a supplementary effort from teachers and parents, the
results would surely be positive.
One method of achieving the previously mentioned target is including the children in an
educational project that will offer them multiple chances of development. For instance,
a theatre play organized with the support of one teacher and a group of parents can
involve all the students in one class. It will rise their level of interest and they will benefit
from a new experience, more creative and relaxing.
Another impediment is represented by the material status of the families. In this type of
situations it is absolutely necessary to accentuate the importance of education and the
benefits that come with it in the long term, even if the present time does not reveal this
aspect in an obvious way.
At a school level, a project that will help the financially disadvantaged students can be
proposed. The children could buy textbooks from their senior colleagues at more
affordable prices. Another option is allocating more resources to internal libraries: more
books that can be used by students either at home or in the study room.
Another point of view can be found in the psycho-pedagogical causes that influence the
students compatibility with the educational system they are a part of. Children receive
tension from teachers, namely the pressure of having high results and the fear of
evaluation. This places barriers in the students development up to their true potential
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and value. It is important to offer a positive motivation, so that evaluation is perceived
in a constructive manner.
In this sense, I believe that the class counselling sessions can help in improving the
student teacher relationship in the sense that it encourages the children to organize
their own path and style of development.
SCHOOL DROPOUT, THE COMPLEXITY BENEATH THE STATISTICS

LUMINIA MARIAN AND ROXANA AGA.
School dropout became a frequent phenomenon in our society, being generated by

factors extremely vulnerable to the changes in the contemporary world (the economic
and social crisis, the reversing social values, the decrease of school credibility etc.)
The restructuring of the society, from the economic and social points of view, confuses
the most important segment of the population, namely school children. These children
become inclined to drop out from school as a result of social issues at the level of both
family and school.
The following conceptual map is meant to suggest the extent to which the two
components of the social environment impact negatively the school child (student).
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STUDENT:
- despises school
- is not self reliant
- does not think of future
- does not feel any support
- becomes isolated
SCHOOL
- lack of special curriculum allowing students
to develop their skills
- much lower financial support for students
coming from poor families
- de-mobilising attitude of peers and teachers
towards students with poor results
FAMILY
- has precarious living conditions
din partea colegilor si profesorilor
- large families with many children
- children from monoparental families
- tradition in Romani families preventing girls from attending
school
-contempt for schools and its rules
Although it is clear that the social-economic conditions represent the underlying cause
of the school dropout, we can hardly generalize, give clear recipes and solutions, follow
a pattern or pretend we can be always successful, because of the incredibly complex
nature of this phenomenon.
The following case study is meant to demonstrate that we cannot put all the cases in a
frame and that all we can do is to be open, to be always close to children and their
families, especially if more conditions for dropout are present, to act in a convergent
way and not to lose hope.
MARIA, case study
87
Before becoming a case study, Maria was a quiet, reserved, excessively timid child.
She came late in our class, in the second part of the lower secondary cycle, during the
seventh grade, being transferred from a renowned school of our town.
Why did we select her for a case study? Well. Because this child is an exception she
cannot be placed in any of the categories of the school dropout causes. As soon as we
saw her, quiet, absent, with empty eyes, we knew that she was an introvert child with a
life experience unnatural for her age.
Coming from a well-off family, with an authoritarian father, proud of his success, and a
soft-hearted mother, too busy with her profession (she was a lawyer). Maria was
already in a dangerous entourage, a member of a gang of teenagers in a famous high
school of the town.
Trying to get her away from her friends, the mother brings the child to our school, in an
attempt to create a space for a development which could make her finalize her school
years. After only three weeks, the child starts to miss classes for days in a row, with no
sign that she minds it. She finishes the lower secondary cycle with difficulty, between
her night life spent in bars and her short visits to school.
Later, when, after a happy turn of events, she manages to be admitted in a high school,
Maria comes back to her bad habits, slips back to her friends and drops out of school.
Analyzing her situation while she was in the lower secondary school, we can identify
several causes which contributed to her maintenance in school, but also to her
dropping out of school in the first year of upper secondary cycle; these causes will
change the pyramid structure in the first part of the article. Here they are:
The Family:
Much too busy professionally, they lost connection with the child;
The parents did not succeed to control her programme and did not keep in touch with
school;
The parents did not involve the child in activities to keep her busy in her spare time;
She was not given clear limits and references for life, responsibility, human dignity.
The family did not understand her delicate nature permanently in search of guiding
marks.
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The School:
The teachers did not adapt the curriculum to help Maria recover the lost notions, as she
had fallen behind in her work, and they also avoided to involve her in the class
activities;
She could not be involved in the extracurricular programs;
She adapted to the new class environment very slowly, she was considered an
outsider in her class;
She was not directed to a school counselor who could help her understand herself and
complete her personality.
One might ask how we could make her go to the end of the eighth form. This is how
school teachers helped her:
We talked permanently to her, showing her how school will help her in future;
We managed to keep in touch with her parents and with the teachers of the class;
We managed to make her push herself, trust her intelligence and education, value her
family;
We tried to make her peers understand and accept her;
We explained to her that each child is important for us and that each, even tiny,
success of hers made her parents and her teachers to be proud.
Unfortunately the fact that she had to change school was not at all benefic for her. The
superior cycle added to her worries, she had different colleagues, teachers, a tighter
schedule which made her seek for comfort in her old group.
At present Maria is 24, she dropped out of school before finishing high school and her
parents try include her in a programme so that she can have an occupation to allow her
earn her living.
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SPAIN IES N1 GIJN, ASTURIAS
We want to involve students thoroughly in the activities. They are our priority, our main
concern; they are the end users of the outcomes of this project. The pupils, with the
help of teachers, will manage computer programs, in order to prepare presentations
and web sites about heroes, plots, writers' biography, all linked to the topic of the
project, school attendance.
We are a Compulsory-Secondary-Education School, whose students are 12 to 16

years old, High Level School (16-18) and Professional Training, Levels 2 and 3. It is
also for 15 to 17 aged youngsters at serious risk of social exclusion (Level 1 of
Professional Qualification).
We belong to a disadvantaged suburb in the city. Students' parents work at service

sector and manual jobs. A relevant number of students come from social housing and
receive assistance from municipal social departments (families at serious risk of social
exclusion).
In addition to the students in the area, we have participants with specific needs, due to
psychological, physical or sensitive handicaps. Our centre focuses on students who
have motor alterations; this involves that we have got to share schooling of similar
students with another centre. There are also immigrants, emigrants and children from
ethnic minorities among the students, most of them from Latin America, as well as
some from Morocco, China and Romania.
As an organization we are endowed with Aenor and EFQM (400+) quality seals.
Our role in the project will be that of evaluators, improving the monitorization of the
achievements, revision and coordination of the main goals for the planification and
execution of non-conformative actions, as well as the improvement proposals which
may derive from them.
All the institution will be involved in the project, taking action in the whole educational
levels (Compulsory Secondary Education, High School and Professional Training),
choosing Diversification Programmes, PCPI and ESO as target groups.
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LEARN BY PLAYING PAZ FONTICIELLA GUTIRREZ.
By submitting a game to a contest, created by a group of students, basically pursued

two goals: that already from the first moment of creation of the same students act as a
team, which must prevail over personal success socially, and that they come into
contact with the basic values of the playful experience, i.e.: have fun learning, respect
for the rules and practice the altruistic behavior.
That said, it should be commented that the Municipal Office of the language of the City
Council of Gijn has been calling for years a game contest applicable to the classroom
in the classes of Llingua Asturiana and literature in secondary and high school. Taking
advantage of this circumstance, during the course 2011/2012, four students from our
center, under the coordination of their teacher, developed the Board game, cognitive
type, shall we Antroxu?, on the Carnival in Asturies, through the rites, gastronomy,
sayings, party and paint related to this pagan celebration of great tradition in our land.
The search for information, which was reflected in a Board ad hoc and 210 cards with
so many issues, meant a educational process really interesting, where there was an
exchange of ideas, proposals, reflections and commitment, in a motivating work
environment. Students learned extra-curricular skills, had the opportunity to share and
express themselves creatively seeing their originality appreciated. In addition, already
while materials were produced it, led to the implementation of mental agility, planning
and concentration, so typical of the recreational activity itself.
Finally, the effort was awarded, so that, although the process was by itself very
enriching, the four students were able to see the game with their names printed on it,
as well as enjoying a trip to Miranda de Douro, in Portugal as an area linguistically
related to Asturias.
Our assessment of the experience is therefore highly positive, highlighting in particular

the reinforcement of students self-esteem after participating in this activity.
In the photo, Gael Acebal Anta and Beatriz Riesco Valcrcel, accompanied by their
teacher, collect the game do shall we Antroxu?, once edited, from the hands of the
Councillor of culture, Carlos Rubiera. 19/06/2012
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SILENCE! SHOT PAZ FONTICIELLA GUTIRREZ
In our current educational system, by involving ourselves in the realization of an artistic

and extracurricular activity, such as recording a video clip, teachers are expected to
have to invest part of our free time, but as the experiences far have so been positive
and rewarding, we always leave the door open for a next time.
There is no doubt that performing arts boost relations and coexistence among
adolescents, because work in common offers a great opportunity to promote values
such as respect, friendship, responsibility and solidarity among all members of the
group. In addition, it is not beyond us that artistic awareness helps promote healthy
leisure alternatives.
In this sense, the three teachers from IES n.1 of Xixn, who regularly meet to
coordinate the recording of videos, do so by taking these objectives in our sight:
- Create a framework for coexistence between companions and teachers.
- Encourage habits of behavior such as tolerance, cooperation and socialization.
- Make students feel the need to act in a disciplined manner.
- Strengthen the participants self-confidence.
To all this must be added that, when dealing with an activity of these characteristics,
we use some very interesting tools from the pedagogical perspective, because they
have a positive impact on the integral development of the adolescent, and they are:
focus, to observe, to give rein to imagination, listen and develop the feeling of empathy.
On the other hand, in the course of Llingua Asturiana and literature, as it is considered
an "easy" elective, pupils with poor academic record and little motivation to study tend
to follow it, thus forming kinds of heterogeneous groups. Hence, each course we
propose the realization of some projects that cross the boundaries of the classroom
and which may entail a challenge and an incentive, both for students and for teachers.
In the case of the recording of "El caicn" ("swing"), we joined a student of Chinese
origin and an other South-American, a student of Portuguese parents and two Gypsies,
as well as those from Asturian family after several generations, always with the
92
conviction of the benefits the contact of cultures, involves as such the achievement of a
more inclusive and progressive society.
When finally the participants looked at the result of the long road they have traveled ,
they became aware that each of them was an essential piece of that emotional puzzle.
PLAY TO LIVE HOW CAN WE MOTIVATE STUDENTS AT RISK OF

DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL ZARA GONZLEZ GARCA.
Playing for life, learning for life: What are they all about? Beyond mere literacy or
numeracy, the skills which are necessary to manage an adult life with any degree of
success are barely present in our secondary school classrooms.
Nowadays, teenagers face an uncertain future, as Mr. Ken Robinson stated in short
talks TED education [is] meant to take us into this future that we can't grasp. If you
think of it, children starting school this year will be retiring in 2065. Nobody has a clue ,
what the world will look like in five years' time. And yet we're meant to be educating
them for it. So the unpredictability, I think, is extraordinary. but obviously there are
some constants in our development as humanity. For instance, imagination is the
source of all human achievement (Robinson,2011).
Also, continuing with Ken Robinsons ideas, I must say that in our society creativity is
now as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.
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The logical thing is to formulate the following question: Why does creativity not have
this status in the curricula?
Why does school kill creativity?
There are a lot of answers. Clearly the first which comes to my mind is from economic
point of view. The educational system responds preferentially to economic criteria and
maintenance of the status quo. Furthermore, I would like to highlight the industrialist
as the predominant paradigm of the present, yet one which marks the school as heir to
an era that is obsolete. Undoubtedly, this situation calls for profound reforms, far from
the guidelines established by the Minister Wert.
There are many suggestions, such as promoting pedagogic autonomy in the schools to
encouraging a clear out of the system. Nevertheless just a few of those are taken into
account for a comprehensive transformation of the apathy that prevails in many
secondary schools. (Muoz, 2009)
In all of this, we must ask ourselves: Who is harmed the most by this? The students
who walks away from the school culture. Students who, despite being enrolled a
whopping 10 years, have not acquired basic instruments or academic skills to succeed
in the world. Students who have suffered sociocultural deprivation while the school
failed to compensate for inequalities. The first consequence of failure in the student's
appearance of the dangerous belief that the world of culture is not for them (Sanchez,
2001)
I HAVE A HYPOTHESIS. IF IN SECONDARY EDUCATION, REAL LEARNING

WERE RESPECTED AND UNDERSTOOD AS THAT WHICH ARISES IN THIS
COLLABORATION BETWEEN STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, WOULD WE BE
SPEAKING OF SCHOOL FAILURE?
In my day-today reality, learning is far from real and we find ourselves among
students with a strong disposition to dropping out early from school, or as we say about
them, students with a vocational school profile.
Well, now, what can we do with them? Currently, in Spanish legislation, we have
available a way out to these vocational school students that allows those who dont
achieve a basic high school diploma to receive professional training to transition them
to working life. But really, in practice, these students can only access this learning
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pathway at 15 years old, once theyve already gone through the first two years of high
school. So how is there life in secondary school during this time? ?
Boredom and behavior problems: Being in the classroom without really being
present.(DoMNGUE, 2011)
WIthin this framework, and still with the need for profound reform of the educational
system, projects are being planned to avoid early school dropout and above all offer
other options for the development of skills. In this vein, we see the Comenius Lets go
to school in Europe project, in which Secondary School #1 of Gijn participates. The
purpose of this project is to find the probable causes of early school dropout that are
common to different European countries, in addition to establishing lines of action that
allow the reduction of this worrying percentage.
One of the activities weve carried out in the SS#1 during this academic year has been
to develop alongside students work based on projects that allow them to come closer
to the adult world. One of them has been Play to Live.
PLAY TO LIVE
INTENDED FOR: Students at risk for early dropout in the first and second year of high
school.
OBJECTIVE: Developing real learning by working out simulated situations where

making decisions necessitates assuming responsibilities.
METHODOLOGY: Cooperation between equals, role playing, etc
TIMING: An academic year
TEACHERS INVOLVED: Special education teachers and the schools guidance

counselor.
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A typical activity from this project is described next.
In the car heading to work, I was listening to the radio. On the program, you could get
a free dinner. A boy and a girl had a few minutes to ask each other questions, and
later if they agreed to it, they won a dinner together, when theyd get to know each
other. The presenters complained that three weeks had passed without anyone
deciding to win. The average age of the participants is from 25-40 years, and the truth
was, it was funny to listen to.
Because of this, an activity occurred to me that would fit within our project. When I got
to SS#1, I realized that the entire group of 5 boys and girls had come, despite problems
with the law and school absenteeism.
Great! Today was a good day to put the idea into practice. I commented to them what I
had been listening to, and first we debated a bit about the existence of those programs.
But that wasnt the objective of the day: the idea was to make them able to play a role.
Each one received a piece of paper with a series of personal characteristics, such as
40-year-old man. I live with my parents. I am unemployed. I dont have a degree and
I like riding my motorcycle. or 28-year-old divorced woman with a son, freelance
journalist who loves to travel. They had one minute to ask each other questions and
decide if they would go to dinner with that person or not.
They took it really seriously and put into play all of their dramatic skills. We made a list
of the most common questions and debated the criteria that they all thought were basic
to decide whether to share their time with someone.
Surprise!
They all had the same ideas. The most important thing was education, then work, if
they lived alone, then finally their likes and tastes. They were really surprised, but we
continued the game
Now, with these same cards and characters, the students were to respond to a job
interview. The questions were generic, such as Why are you interested in working
here? What will you bring to the business? Level of studies, your best quality. What is
your biggest defect? Once again, the criteria were common. They wouldnt hire
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someone who was irresponsible, who wasnt interested in learning and wasnt
productive.
Reflecting on what happened; I think the kids completed both objectives of the
program: improving their empathy and coming closer to the adult perspective on real
life. Still, weve got a lot of things left to do. But their interest in participating, their
ability to reflect, their preparation of the responses: this was all real, involved, realistic,
participative, and of course very gratifying. Moving them away from a very negative
vision of their self-conception and moving them toward positive thinking that one can
be what he or she decides to be.
References
DoMNGUE, B. M. (2011). Luces y sombras las medidas de atencin a la diversidad en

el camino de la inclusin educativa. Revista Interuniversitaria De Formacin De
Profesorado, 25(1), 165-183.
Muoz, J. M. E. (2009). Buenas prcticas y programas extraordinarios de atencin al

alumnado en riesgo de exclusin educativa. Profesorado: Revista De Currculum Y
Formacin Del Profesorado, 13(3), 107-141.
Robinson, K. (2011). Out of our minds: Learning to be creative Capstone.
PREVENTIVE EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING.I NSTITUTIONAL APPROACHES

IN IES N 1. ALFONSO ACEBAL.
It is a objective of the the integral education of student educational system to achieve

that goal, the coordination between the different elements that interact on the learner is
one of the cornerstones of the educational intervention, as also what is the monitoring
of the training process to throughout his school.
To do this, an action plan, called plan for diversity (PAD), which is included in the
general documentation center, approved by all teachers and non-teaching people
working in the Institute is made. This plan of action is presently contemplated as one of
the strategic objectives of IES No. 1 the current biennium
In the PAD organizational measures (human and material resources), and curriculum
(adaptations of different level of significance) are contemplated, organized in different
levels of detail: at the first level, general and therefore applicable to the entire universe
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of students in a second level, screening among students which shows actions that
involve risk of failure / dropout, and on a third level, focusing on the individual.
to this end are three main hubs:
1 -. Department orientation as the axis around which are articulated, designed and
implemented various measures and actions designed in Action
2 -. Headquarters As an element that organizes, triggers and leads the activities of

monitoring, control and evaluation of the process
3 - The tutor as primary executor and direct reference to both the student and the
family.
The process to follow is:
- Initial screening : incorporating new students . Personal information is collected and

social history , recording it in the COT application, developed by the Ministry of
Education of the Principality of Asturias.
- Case studies and design intervention measures at plant level ; involved in organizing
student groups and therefore the basis of organization thereof, the allocation of human
resources ( faculty support , splittings , reinforcements ) , time organization of the
different materials, etc. .
- Assignment of teachers to group students according to the needs tutoring , materials

strengthen , students in need of remedial education , etc. .
- Organization of the curriculum of different subjects / areas . And consequently , the

planning of actions in the classroom throughout the course
- Development of reinforcement programs / individualized work plans should the need

arise.
- Planning and organizing mentoring sessions focused on the students.
- Planning, organization and sequencing of mentoring activities focused on families.
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One of the problems with a significant number of students is the irregularity in

attendance, arriving at giving it up (considering abandonment when a student does not
attend the center for more than two months period not be a cause for it)
To combat this neglect, a thread (dropout prevention) within the overall process PLAN
OF ATTENTION TO DIVERSITY (PAD) articulates
The plan consists dropout prevention (abbreviated mode):
- Monitoring of student attendance at all hours of class each teacher keeps a record of
the same in his personal documents.
- Notification of absences: a platform (SAUCE) used. Here each student absences are
recorded, indicating date, time and matter. Is done on a weekly basis.
- The application allows the tutor tracking attendance / absenteeism of students. When
the tutor detects unexcused absences by parents, is brought into contact with them,
asking about the reason for the non-attendance of his son.
- Parents have one week to justify (official center model) the child's absence.
When unexcused absences exceed 10%, parents cited for an interview at the institute.
In the same reasons are analyzed and it is a direct response to the same
If truancy continues, the Counselor who will receive the application to intervene in the
case. He cites family, causes are analyzed and guidelines aimed at addressing the
needs compensate causing irregular attendance are made.
If truancy continues, and reaches 20%, the Counselor will intersectoral documentation
Municipal Commission for the Prevention of dropout. Part of it:
- Ministry of Education
- Municipal social services
- State security bodies
- Ministry of Justice.
The family is cited and corresponding legal measures are taken.
In Spain schooling is compulsory until age 16.
Among the measures taken are:
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- Legal: withdrawal of social support, loss of parental rights - accountable-even going to
the withdrawal of parental rights and placement in a juvenile detention center.
- Education. modification of school schedules, significant modification of curriculum,

professional studies, etc..
All these measures are not very successful in the goal of increasing degree in post-
compulsory stages. The older you are achieving results, are passing through these
students incorporate learning linked with the labor market, acquiring skills and
manipulative weight
Current legislation does not take these steps before a student has completed three
years compulsory secondary education, which makes many young people turn 16
without being able to access this training. It is expected that the new legislation
addresses this issue, but to date, the government of Asturias concretions are known.
A PROPOSAL OF WORK FROM THE FILM INDUSTRY TO PREVENT

EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING.JUAN ANTONIO GONZLEZ MENCA
"The powerful educator of our time (...) is without a doubt the cinema".(Julian Marias,
Sentimental education).
In Spain, since schooling is mandatory, the existence of school absenteeism,

understood as the lack of school attendance from the student (not justified by the family
or legal guardian of the student), has early become common practice.
28% of students miss class without justification at least once every 15 days, twice that
of the OECD. Spanish abandonment figures were not far from European until the real
estate and tourist boom drove many young people away from the classroom. To the
extent of reaching the maximum of abandonment in 2008 (31.9%), while in Europe
children were still attending school.
One of the aspects that significantly influence students and their school experiences is
the schools climate and learning atmosphere school., different authors insist on the
importance of social relationships developed in the school between adults and students
(Bergeson et al., 2003), this aspect would be influencing the grade in which students
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feel that they "belong" to the school, the bending of students with the school or the final
act of the release: abandonment.
Therefore, interactions with teachers, in the perspective of students, has a priority and
as Romero (1999) points out, the ability of teachers to establish positive relationships
with the students is of utmost importance to them.
How can we improve those relationships between students and teachers?
In the cinema we find an answer, since as a ludic element, as a means of

communication, artistic work and social witness, it offers us a particular vision of the
world, capable of provoking reactions, emotional, intellectual and behavioural. It is a
powerful instrument that encourages reflection and debate, facilitating the development
of critical judgment and the person itself. Producing learning experienced and not just
declarative
Watching a film together allows a bridge for communication. Stuck in the virtual reality
that the film offers us, we share a common experience, a common situation about
which we all know the same.
As a teaching resource you need the action of teachers to guide the debate and
reflection, providing analysis of the issues raised and awareness. Because of its
formative character, it creates environments that entail a teaching and learning
environment that is taken back to the public, so they, from their identification with the
cases that appear and the characters, may question hegemonic models of
representation, stereotypes and values appearing in it.
In addition, if we think that films are a reflection of the social reality in which we live it
can easily be understood why we constantly rely on it, like a resource whose purpose
and intentionality is intended to be educational. It lends itself to different techniques of
analysis and discussion, hence another point of its potentially educational and
formative character, since we live in a society where image or Visual references are
present in the daily life of each of us.
Goals we intend to achieve with a film program that we have selected an

audiovisual theme of interest for our students?
Reflect on the importance of having an ideal, a dream, a goal, a challenge... and take
awareness of the effort involved to get it.
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Perform an approximation, by way of x - ray, of the reality of the environment where
you live, students from urban, demographic, and social point of view.
Agree on the main problems, situations and/or needs that the social environment
where students live may have, as well as their advantages and potentials.
Analyze and reflect on the importance of having a job and the consequences of their
loss.
Reflect on some aspects of the current crisis.
Reflect on socio-cultural conflicts and their relationship with the ignorance of each
other.
Compare the variables that shape cultural models based on womens own identity
through their body and their role. The mandates of gender.
Reflect on finding fair solutions to resolve conflicts of coexistence and conflict

between individuals and groups.
Identify opportunities for overcoming adversities that we can find in life and what or
who to lean on.
Reflect on how we can change our personal history committed to coexistence.
How to develop an activity of reflection and debate?
After watching the film, the class is divided into groups and followed by a discussion
about the replies. Each group will appoint a person who will be spokesperson to report
to the rest of the class an overview of what has been said.
The spokesperson for each group reports to the rest of the class the responses to the
questions posed. Teachers score on the Blackboard a summary or key words of the
responses given in groups.
After the exposure of the groups, teachers will open a round of interventions among
students and they will in turn, speak clarifying and incorporating new elements to the
reflection, through work sheets that address specific elements of each film.
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By way of conclusion, we can say that after the implementation of the programme of
film in the classroom, we note that students feel motivated, participate more eagerly
and are aware, not only of the possibilities of fun, but also the learning of it. All this
leads to avoid implicitly the faults of her since school attendance, because it is has
created a more positive relationship between students and teachers.
There have been very positive responses among which we can mention:
-- It encourages participation and discussion of those students who find it harder to

intervene.
-- It poses a debate among students that serves to strengthen the theoretical content.
-- Promotes observation, analysis and reflection.
-- Encourages the student to think and peruse on important aspects of the formation of
the people: happiness, freedom, love, feelings, religious beliefs, family issues...
"It is not excessive to say that the cinema is the instrument par excellence of the
sentimental education in our time." Julin Maras.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Ambrs Pallars, Alba; Breu Panyella, Ramon. Cine y educacin: el cine en el aula
de primaria y secundaria. 1 edicin. Ed. Gra, 2007.
- Toms y Garrido, M C. y Gl.M. La vida humana a travs del cine. Cuestiones de

Antropologa y Biotica. 3 edicin, Ed. Eiunsa. Madrid, 2009.
- Toms y Garrido, M C. y Rdenas Tolosa, Beatriz. Los sentimientos y la vida

afectiva a travs del cine. 1 edicin, Ed. Eiunsa. Madrid, 2009.
- Torre, Saturnino de la. El cine, un entorno educativo: veinte aos de experiencia a

travs del cine. 1 edicin, Narcea, S.A. de Ediciones. 2005.
https://cultura.gijon.es/page/6840-absentismo-escolar
http://elpais.com/tag/absentismo_escolar/a/
Cine Y Educacin 141J
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AN EMOTIONAL APPROACH TO THE FAMILIES THAT PREVENT SCHOOL

ABSENTEEISM JUAN ANTONIO GONZLEZ MENCA.
We can define the school absenteeism as irregular attendance, or repeated and

unjustified absences of the educational center, children in compulsory schooling, or no
schooling in this period. Melendro (2008).
Students at risk of school dropout manifest several common characteristics are

absentee youth who do not comply with mandatory attendance, absenting unjustified
way. They get low academic results, suspending a variable but high number of
subjects. They manifest any difficulty of learning (literacy, dixlesia, dyscalculia, etc.),
attention or concentration or specific educational needs derived from marginal social
situations or social and cultural deprivation. And they exhibit behaviors misfits, violation
of agreed rules.
Numerous studies (Garca and Delgado, 1994;) Lozano, 2003; Marchesi, Martnez and
Martn, 2004; Navarro, 2001) refer to the relationship between school failure, truancy
and risk of dropping out, indicating that the contexts in which students interact that the
three associated problems influence. Family, school, and peer group or society as a
whole determined in greater or lesser degree some of the causes of the appearance of
them.
This article aims to highlight, as well as describe the importance of the families of
students at risk of school dropout. The family plays a fundamental role in the academic
success of their children through the school support that provide them, expectations
that develop towards them and contacts that keep with the Institute. Moreover,
educational attainment is also conditioned by the quantity and quality of resources in
the environment and by the relationships that students keep with significant people of
the same, whether family or not.
The people involved in the teaching-learning process, obviously, have a varied profile.
From these lines you try to reflect what would be the ideal way of reaching a medium
family profile. But always keeping in mind, that own truancy usually have the etiology in
the same household, hence the difficulty of changing certain mental approach. That is
our aim and ultimate goal.
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Various authors such as Epstein, Coates, Clark, Sandres and Simon (1997) advises
the centres incorporate and develop activities that that family members can work more
closely with education staff not only schools but also other community entities. The
purpose of this collaboration would be the active generalization of the educational
objectives and better monetize the efforts and resources invested in the training of
children.
To organize this collaboration, there are several areas of cooperation between families
and schools working activities that optimize the everyday interactions that take place in
both environments for the benefit of minors. Martinez Gonzalez and San Fabian (2002)
define these areas in six:
Area I the Center as a source of assistance to families. Here are tutorials for family
members, information about educational resources, school parents and information
about the educational project of the Center.
Area II the family as a source of assistance to the Centre. In this area are set out
activities in which relatives give teachers information about their children, in relation to
their physical, social and emotional development. With these data you can make, by
specialists, palliative or preventive Diagnostics.
Area III collaboration of relatives in the Center, through extracurricular activities,

travel of end of course, cultural tours, etc.
Area IV involvement of family members in the activities of learning of their children

at home. Within this area include family queries to the faculty about the academic
progress of their children, guidance on study to follow habits and daily support through
various means (agenda, review of books, control of curriculum knowledge, etc.).
Area V participation of families in the organs of management and decision to the

Center. It would be the participation of the family in the School Council of the school.
Area VI connection and coordination center and families with other community social
entities in the environment. In our specific case with associations as the Secretariat
(Association that defends the rights of the Gypsy ethnic group) Roma, or plot
(Association that works with children at risk of social exclusion).
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To conclude this article, we can say that the work with the families in our Center,
through these six areas, has positive effects:
-In students, because it increases your school, skills and motivational performance
study. As well as to improve their behavior.
-In the family, because the professional and educational expectations of parents rise
towards their children, and themselves they want progress culturally to offer an aid of
better quality. It also improves their attitudes to teachers, and get involved in the
Organization and realization of initiatives promoted by the Center.
-In teacher, by improving their attitudes towards families since they know their
circumstances, and enhance the frequency and quality of contacts with these. Also
increases their motivation to exercise their education with students work to increase the
approach with them.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Marchesi, A. and Prez, E. (2003) The school failure. An international perspective.

Madrid. Alliance publishing.
Martnez Gonzlez, R.A. (1992). Exploration of the cooperation between family and
school needs. UNED.
Martnez Gonzlez, R.A. And San Fabin, J.L. (2002). Self-assessment of the
participatory culture of downtown. Organization and educational management. Town
Council of Gijn.
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TURKEY, AT AT URK IKOGRETIMOKULU -AMASYA
Our school is a primary and secondary school in Amasya, which has a very important
history. Our school has almost seven hundred students and forty teachers. It has
twelve classes, a computer lab, a science lab, a sports hall and a library. It has a lot of
students who have different social backgrounds. The school is located in the middle of
the city, but the families don't live in good conditions both physically and mentally.
Because most of the parents don't have a high education backgrounds or they left
school at early ages, they have limited abilities to educate their children. In addition, we
have some refugee and immigrant students from different countries, especially eastern
countries.
Early school leaving is an urgent and serious problem, both for individuals and society
as a whole. We want to work together to reduce the number of pupils who drops out
before the end of secondary education. We will include a wide range of measures such
as providing high quality early childhood education and care to give children a good
start into education, improving the transition from primary to secondary education,
turning schools into encouraging places for all pupil and providing pupils with individual
support when needed.In addition, young people who dropped out of education and
training need to get a second chance in a learning environment which addresses their
specific needs and helps them to re-gain confidence in learning.
Our school is one of the partners of this project and we have decided the activities
together with our partners. This is the first time we have organized a Comenius project,
we are inexperienced but our teachers and students are very ambitious to do this. They
haven't had any chance to meet different people, their cultures and traditions so far, but
we hope this time we will enable them to achieve this. They will meet European people
and know their people, cultures and education systems. They will have a chance to
compare them with themselves with their advantages and disadvantages. They will be
able to see the differences and similarities on curriculums and education systems. It is
very important for us to carry out the project because we want to encourage our
students to go on higher education and to learn foreign languages and to gain
intercultural awareness.
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RATE OF EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING IN THE EU ALI DURAN
Most young people successfully navigate the school system and make a transition into
further education or training opportunities, or into employment. However, one out of
every seven young Europeans leaves the education system without having the skills
or the qualifications which are now seen as necessary to make a successful transition
to the labour market and for active participation in todays knowledge-based economy.
This means that currently some 6.4 million young people in Europe are classified
as early school leavers1.
The rate of early school leaving (ESL) has declined in most parts of Europe. In 2000,
the rate stood at 17.6 % and there has been a reduction of 3.2 percentage points since
then; the ESL rate now stands at 14.4 %. By 2009, eight countries had reached a level
of ESL that was below the EUs 10 % target (Czech Republic, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland). Countries like Luxembourg, Lithuania
and Cyprus have seen significant reductions in the rate of ESL between 2000 and
2009.
The progress towards the EU target has however been much slower than
anticipated and indeed hoped, despite the wide range of interventions that have been
established across Europe. In several countries (Spain, Malta and Portugal) as many
as one in three young people leave the education system early. The ESL rate varies
from the high of nearly 37 % in Malta to just 4.3 % in Slovakia.
Causes
Young people who drop out of school come from diverse background. Early school
leaving is typically caused by a cumulative process of disengagement as a result
of personal, social, economic, geographical, education or family-related reasons. Such
reasons can be external or internal to school processes and experiences and they
are typically highly specific to the individual. For many, dissatisfaction results from a
variety of reasons such as bullying, poor academic performance, poor relationships
with teachers, lack of motivation or falling in with the wrong crowd, while others drop
out because they are facing personal or family problems, such as substance abuse or
homelessness. However, a significant part of the problem can be attributed to lack of
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support and guidance, disengagement from schooling and to secondary-level curricula
which too often do not offer enough options for varied courses, alternative teaching
pedagogies, experiential and other hands-on learning opportunities or sufficient
flexibility.
A summary of effective ESL practice
Across both (prevention and reintegration policies and measures), there are four broad
features determining strategic success. These are:
Acknowledgement of the issue and determination to firstly alleviate and, if possible,

prevent it and secondly to reintegrate early leavers into education.
Integrated strategic planning, policy implementation and service delivery and the
provision of adequate and effective supports for both early school leavers and those
who work with them.
Creativity, innovation, flexibility and willingness to change on the part of policy

makers and practitioners and, in particular, a problem-solving approach to the
individual dilemmas encountered by early school leavers and those at risk of dropping
out.
A broad approach to service delivery (in and out of schools) that:
communicates compassion, respect, challenge and high expectations to early school

leavers, their families, peers and communities;
encourages learners and promotes a sense of belonging;
is clear, cohesive, comprehensive and consistent, and is based on multiagency work;

and
is timely, vigilant, responsive, outcomes-oriented and cost-effective.
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CONCLUSIN
The purpose of this book is to share the practices currently being undertaken in
schools across Europe regarding early school leaving with all interested parties. Rates
of early school leaving vary greatly from country to country and there is also a huge
diversity in the strategies being implemented by teachers, management and
governments. One thing that recurred throughout the project as an ultimate cause of
our young people dropping out of school was low self esteem. The low self esteem
has many contributing factors repeated failure in education, discrimination, learning
difficulties, poverty, unstable family environment and a whole host of other
environmental factors; yet at many stages throughout this project we asked ourselves
that instead of tackling these factors could we work on the self esteem of the student.
It is rare that a student comfortable in their own skin and happy with who they are
drops out of education.
All of us who have worked on this project have learned a great deal about the factors
contributing to early school leaving and how this affects the students we see in front of
us in school every day. We have had the opportunity to work with our students to
increase their awareness of the importance of education. The young people working
directly on the project in the partner schools saw their profile within the school become
more important. For many of these youths it was the first time for them to fly or to see
another country. It was a real eye opener for many that their peers in other schools
faced the same difficulties as they did, these students were their equals not better,
not worse equal.
For the teachers involved in Lets go to School in Europe the whole experience has
been invaluable. We have been exposed to the practices you read about in this book
first hand. We have seen the benefits brought by teachers/management and other
systems, we have begun to adopt and adapt the good practices and are incorporating
them into our daily teaching. The mobilities to all partner schools had the effect of
increasing the visibility of the project in the host schools. More of our colleagues were
made aware of the project and became interested in the work we were doing after the
mobilities.
We hope you found something useful while reading this book, it is a compilation of
what we consider some of the best ways to help encourage and facilitate our young
people to remain in education. The purpose of compiling this book of best practices is
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so that it will be of benefit to all stakeholders in education, from the policy makers
themselves, to the schools and teachers, and most importantly those students who are
struggling to progress successfully through education systems in Europe and across
the world.
OUR PROJECT IN PICTURES
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The students works
A video showing our city, our school and some pupils during a music course is
available at: https://plus.google.com/109856477960994795024/posts. Our pupils have
worked on how to create a portrait and then they have discovered how to produce a
video thanks to Window movie maker.
Logotype competition
Here are some examples of logotypes created by some pupils at Maryse Basti
Secondary school. All the pupils of the school were asked to participate and had to
submit their production to the librarian.
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A typical recipe of our region
This recipe has been carried out in the Health, food, services workshop. The recipe
has been translated in class and then the pupils have practiced the vocabulary on food
and specific verbs.
You can find the video of the recipe on the blog: comeniusdublin 2014.blogspot.fr
Pupils are showing the kitchen, the tools and the ingredients needed for the recipe and
then you can see them tasting the cake with our Principal, Vice-Principal and the
teachers.
Girls dressing room: it is where they get dressed with overalls and hygiene
caps.
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Presentation of the tools
Making of Roul aux framboises et aux biscuits roses de Reims

Raspberries and pink biscuits of Rheims cake
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Follow the link to discover the video presenting the recipe and the tasting of this cake.
https://plus.google.com/109856477960994795024/posts
The travel logbooks
Our pupils have created travel logbooks at the end of the mobilities. In each travel
logbook, you can discover the portrait of the pupil, the week program, the activities that
took place at the partner schools, cultural aspects and some anecdotes such as how
they managed to visit the cockpit of a plane
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Here is an example of the first page of a travel logbook.
My name is Gwendeline. I'm fourteen
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I live in Reims.
I come from Reims.

I like dancing Hip-Hop.
Posters representing all the countries involved in the Comenius partnership were
created within these last two years and exhibited during the last Comenius meeting or
the festive events organized in our school.
Comenius corners were designed in our school to promote the project: in the hall, in
the library, in the corridors and some mobile posters.
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Mobile poster of the Comenius partnership showing all the countries involved in
the project.
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Posters to promote actions to fight Early school leaving.
These posters find their inspiration in well-known advertisement slogans. The pupils
from the Special Needs classes have visited all the Year 7 classes to promote these
messages. Then the Year 7 pupils have been asked to vote for the best poster. The
results have been published and displayed in the college hall.
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You can discover the posters on the blog:
https://plus.google.com/109856477960994795024/posts
Mobile board enhancing slogans to motivate pupils to go to school.
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Creating the posters.
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Leila, Johanna and Amandine: Year 9 pupils from the Special Needs are creating
posters to promote the struggle against Early School leaving.
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IRISH TEAM
Off to Turkey -on a plane for the 1st time
The Irish enjoying the signts of Istanbul's Blue Mosque
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Warren recieving his Comenius Certificate from Ali Duran our Turkish partner
Our Turkish friends!
Jack, Jake, Conor & Warren enjoying traditional Turkish music!
135
Visiting Lord Mayor in Austuria!
136
Exploring Austuria
Snowing - In Spain!!
137
Nathan, James, Kayley, Tanya & Clarissa first time in Spain and on a plane!
Nathan, Megan, Kelly & Jack explring Marseille
Teachers enjoyi ng the sunshine in Ma
138
On our way home from Marseille!
139
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Preventing Early School Leaving in Europe: A Collection of Good Practices

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Preventing Early School Leaving in Europe: A Collection of Good Practices

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LETS GO TO SCHOOL IN EUROPE A COLLECTION OF

GOOD PRACTICES] 2012-1-DK1-COM06-05363

SUMMARY OF THE PROYECT ................................................................................... 6

DENMARK NORRE NEBEL SKOLE............................................................................. 8

. GOOD PRACTICE ARTICLE AKSEL OELLGARD .................................................. 9

REIMS COLLGE MARYSE BASTI.................................................................... 11

OPEN SCHOOL SBASTIEN FERGEAU. ........................................................... 12

CLASS PROJECT SYLVIE WARY. ...................................................................... 13

GOOD PRACTICES IN OUR SCHOOL MARLNE FERGEAU. ........................... 15

MARESEILLES COLLGE JEAN CLAUDE IZZO .................................................... 17

. A GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICES TO PREVENT EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING

GREECE, 3RD GYMNASIO IRAKLIOU KRITIS ......................................................... 22

NATIONAL POLICIES TO COMBAT EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING STRATEGIES

CLASS ACTIVITIES FOR DEVELOPING EMPATHY AND SELF ESTEEM

INCORPORATING THE WORLD CAF METHOD IN THE CLASSROOM

WRITING CREATIVE REFLECTIVE JOURNALS IN CLASS LYKOGIANNAKI

GOOD PRACTICES TO PREVENT EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING KARKANAKI ELENI

IRELAND ST. KEVIN'S COMMUNITY COLLEGE....................................................... 41

THE BUDDY SYSTEM PROPOSAL AISLING CAFFREY..................................... 42

EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS AISLING

ST. KEVINS COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM SUZANNE

THE IMPORTANCE OF POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS IN BUILDING SELF-ESTEEM

ROMANIA ST VASILE SCHOOL, PLOIESTI ............................................................ 60

SOME SIMPLE WAYS TO KEEP STUDENTS AT SCHOOL GRATIELA PADUROIU.

PREVENTION OF SCHOOL ABANDONMENT ALINA ENESCU . ......................... 63

EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING- A PROBLEM OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

COMMUNITY IS THE KEY MARIA ROU............................................................... 67

ABSENTEEISM A PROBLEM OF THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY ANCA

UNICEF AND THE FACTORS INFLUENCING SCHOOL DROPOUT ROXANA

SCHOOL DROPOUT: A NATIONAL CONCERN ANA-SORINA

EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING- WHY? FLORICA DOBRE. ....................................... 73

REFLEXIONS AFTER APPLYING TWO QUESTIONNAIRES CRISTINA MARIAN-

SCHOOL - MICROCOSM OF SOCIETY VASILICA STAN. ..................................... 81

WAYS OF PREVENTING SCHOOL DROPOUT ALINA COTORCEANU, .............. 82

STUDENTS ABSENTEEISM- CAUSES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS OVIDIU

PREVENTING SCHOOL ABANDONMENT VALENTINA MONA IANCU. ................ 85

SCHOOL DROPOUT, THE COMPLEXITY BENEATH THE STATISTICS LUMINIA

SPAIN IES N1 GIJN, ASTURIAS ............................................................................ 90

LEARN BY PLAYING PAZ FONTICIELLA GUTIRREZ......................................... 91

SILENCE! SHOT PAZ FONTICIELLA GUTIRREZ ................................................ 92

PLAY TO LIVE HOW CAN WE MOTIVATE STUDENTS AT RISK OF DROPPING

A PROPOSAL OF WORK FROM THE FILM INDUSTRY TO PREVENT EARLY

AN EMOTIONAL APPROACH TO THE FAMILIES THAT PREVENT SCHOOL

TURKEY, ATATURK IKOGRETIMOKULU -AMASYA ............................................... 108

RATE OF EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING IN THE EU ALI DURAN ............................ 109

CONCLUSIN .......................................................................................................... 111

OUR PROJECT IN PICTURES ................................................................................. 112

. GOOD PRACTICE ARTICLE AKSEL OELLGARD

3 types of early school leavers:

- The ones who achieve poorly at school

- The ones who have social difficulties

- The ones who have disadvantaged backgrounds

Differentiated materials, our books often have texts in different levels

Differentiated teaching, we have different expectations and demands to the different

We have several not-academically subjects like woodwork, PE, needlework, home

Class dividing (we divide them in gender, interests, levels etc.)

Sport days several times a year

Theme days several times a year

Support teachers, who we can bring the class

Reading counselor at school

AKT department at school

Career guidance counselor at school

We are obliged to focus on social bonding between the students.