Despite the significant developments made in the field of school integration of young people with vulnerable background and of high risk profile, Early School Leaving remains a challenge for EU Member States and Associated Countries. According to datasets released by Eurostat, 10.6% of young people (18-24 olds) in the EU in 2017 did not complete their studies at upper-secondary level and did not follow any other educational path or did not enrol in a vocational training program. Same source reveals that 12.1% of early leavers were young men and 8.9% young women. Students leave education and training for a variety of social, economic and family-related reasons. Early School Leaving is an obstacle of social and economic growth and development, as it impedes productivity and competitiveness and fuels poverty and social exclusion. In a period of emerging challenges, Europe has to make full use of its human capital and take preliminary measures to tackle social exclusion of vulnerable groups. As prevention is better than cure, consortium of APPLE project will develop innovative guides and an early warning platform, equipping educators, schools and component organisations and authorities with the necessary tools to halt Early Leaving. Special focus will be given at groups that are most likely to be exposed to the risk of early drop-out, such as refugee and migrant children and youth, members of Roma communities or religious, ethnic and linguistic minorities, students with special needs and learning disabilities, students from poor families and deprived rural areas. The above will be achieved through the implementation of the following activities: 1. Capacity Building Seminars for Educators 1.1. Desk and Empirical Research 1.2. Development of Seminar Curriculum 1.3. Implementation of the Capacity Building Seminars 2. Guide for Educators 2.1. Profiling 2.2. Focus Groups with Youth At Risk of Early Leaving 2.3. Developing a Guide for Educators 3. Online Early Warning and Early Drop-Out-Tackling Platform 3.1. Development of the Early Warning and Early Drop-Out-Tackling Platform 3.2. MOOCs curriculum 3.3. Piloting 4. Support for Policy Reform 4.1. Stakeholders Consultation Workshops 4.2. Participation at Targeted Conferences 4.3. Publications in Scientific Journals
-Increasing the Understanding of Factors Affecting Young People Retention in Education and Training: The project produced national research in all countries with relevant data -Raising Awareness &Increase Capacity of Educators: Almost 150 educators from the pilot countries have benefited from the activities developed in the framework of APPLE. -Encouraging the development of a safety net for Youth at Risk: consortium brought together educational actors and other stakeholders with common goals and concerns (424 people in total participated in the MEs of the project). -Developing Early Warning Guide: The platform for early warning has 99 registrations up to now. -Contributing in Policy Change and Reform: APPLE presented and published its white paper promoting policy change in the field. The paper is available in all partners languages and was also widely disseminated through the partners' networks and in the project's multiplier events.
Despite the significant developments made in the field of school integration of young people with vulnerable backgrounds and of high-risk profile, Early School Leaving remains a challenge for the EU Member States and Associated Countries. According to Eurostat, 10.6% of young people (18-24 olds) in the EU in 2017 did not complete their studies at the upper-secondary level and did not follow any other educational path or did not enrol in a vocational training program. The same source reveals that 12.1% of early leavers were young men and 8.9% were young women. Students leave education and training for a variety of social, economic and family-related reasons. Early School Leaving is an obstacle of social and economic growth and development, as it impedes productivity and competitiveness and fuels poverty and social exclusion. In a period of emerging challenges, Europe has to make full use of its human capital and take preliminary measures to tackle the social exclusion of vulnerable groups. In conclusion, the main need of this project is to protect the students who are at risk of early school leaving, enhance the skills of educators to deal with the phenomenon and avert it, and bring attention to stakeholders and policymakers.