Premature school leaving and solving problems of students from disadvantaged groups poses a problem for many EU countries which – being aware of economic and social consequences of this phenomenon – try to take a series of actions aimed at minimising it. "Don't drop out" is a project which is implemented by five cooperating countries: Poland, Greece Bulgaria, Italy and Portugal. When analysing the situation in five countries that are very different both culturally and geographically, we noticed that there are no proven good model solutions to prevent premature dropping out of school. The thematic scope of the project is so important for participating organisations and target groups because this problem appears irrespective of the country or the type of facility. Representatives of cooperating organisations believe that in order to prevent premature school drop-out, it is necessary to develop a systematic approach encompassing simultaneous activities at several levels: working with teachers and educators, working with parents and working with students. The project will help recognise vulnerable people, with problems, with special needs, and will also suggest how to organise work and responsibilities of a team that deals with these individuals. When implementing, we will consider together how to cope with that, since dropping out school often entails a sense of powerlessness, meaninglessness and extreme lack of motivation in these people. A motivating factor that ensures the success of this project is an innovative approach to cooperation and joint development of outcomes of people working directly with students, with methodological support of psychologists/experts. They will be involved in conducting workshops, which will provide inspiration for others. As a result, the participants will have a chance to share their reflections, experiences, good practices, which will lead to common outcome. The outcomes of this process will be presented in the form of a model Guidebook. In order to solve existing problems, one can use new, innovative instruments; though it is also possible to adapt solutions proven to be effective in other countries, regions or in other contexts, e.g. in relation to other target group. A significant factor fostering these actions can be experiences of adult people who struggled with this problem, so that they have a wider perspective, not only from people who left school at some point in their lives, but also from those who made an effort to come back to the education system. During implementation of the project and after its completion, every country will have an opportunity to share knowledge with colleagues from their facility or even other similar institutions in their region, which will allow not only to inspire others to act, but will also promote joint European actions. The organisation will conduct regular diagnosis of the problem, whereas the outcomes of the action will be subject to monitoring and evaluation. This is a project, the outcomes of which by enhancing competence of educators will be valuable contribution to the European area of skills and qualifications. It will have a local, national and European dimension, and the end-users will be learners with reduced social opportunities or with disabilities.
Through the implementation of the project, we planned to develop methods of preventing early school leaving. Proposals for preventive actions, prepared with partners, aim to keep students in the education system and to ensure that they receive promptly and effectively help that will enable them to return to education when they are in danger of abandoning it. The results of the project will help to recognize and identify people at risk of early school leaving, with problems or with special needs, and will also suggest how to organize the work of the team that will take care of these people. We wanted to propose and test effective systems of threat recognition and problem monitoring, thanks to which trends can be identified at the facility or local level, so that actions could be taken as soon as possible. New, innovative instruments could be used to solve the existing problems; it was also possible to adapt solutions proven in other countries, regions or in other contexts, e.g. in relation to a different target group. The effects of our work will be written down in the form of model teaching materials and used also after the completion of the project.
Early school leaving has a huge impact, both directly and indirectly, on everyone's life, regardless of where they live. Research shows that early school leavers are much more likely to experience unemployment and poverty than those who stay longer in school. Do not drop out is a cooperation project between five institutions from the following countries: Poland (coordinator), Greece, Bulgaria, Italy and Portugal. Before starting the work, we analyzed the situation related to early school leaving in the five countries mentioned, which are very different both culturally and geographically. We all confirmed that there are no proven model solutions to prevent early leaving, hence our idea to fill this gap and implement the project. Together, we found that in order to prevent early school leaving, a systemic approach should be developed that involves simultaneous activities on multiple levels: working with teachers and educators, working with parents and working with students. The thematic scope is important enough for the participating organizations and target groups, as this problem arises regardless of the country or the type of institution and audience.