One of the most pressing challenges in secondary education today is early school leaving. In this project Ilmiofuturo working with Volda University address this problem in a transnational collaberation with Ørsta Upper Secondary School in Norway and Zoli-Adone Secondary School in Italy. The projects aims are to implement concrete measures for early detection and interventions of support of students at risk before they drop out.
The project has two main goals:
- To help the schools identify the early warning signs and underlying causes for early school leaving.
- To provide tools and strategies needed to implement early action encouraging students to complete their education.
These goals are achieved through developing and pilot testing of two project outputs.
- PR1: A digital risk indicator system which enables the teachers to identify at an early stage both risk factors, like low motivation, psycho-social issues and academic challenges, and protective factors, like resilience, social support, emotional skills.
- PR2: A program for educational success which offers personalised pathways and strategies based on the risk profile of each student. The program includes practical guidelines and tools that teachers can use directly in the classroom to counter the negative development.
The main target group of the project is teachers in vocational education programs at both partner schools. These teachers work closely with students who, because of high absence rate, low grades or disengagement, face risk of dropping out of school. The teachers received training on the new tools and both programs are now piloted in real classrooms in Norway and Italy. This also benefits the students in the selected classes who are monitored by the digital indicator system, and those found at risk are included in the individual support programs.
Early school leaving is a growing problem in both Norway and Italy where the dropout rates are above EU average. Teachers at both partner schools report a need for better tools to understand and respond to students needs and to act proactively. The transnational cooperation is of important value to the project. Norway and Italy differ in how they approach educational support. Italy offers more remedial lessons, while Norway emphasizes inclusive learning environments and mental health support. Still both countries face high inequalities in learning outcomes. The differences show the importance of sharing experiences and creating adaptable methods.
Keep Studying gives teachers the tools and training they need to support students at risk of dropping out. By working together across countries, we can learn from each other and find better ways to help young people stay in school so that every student has a better chance to succeed.