Assessing regional performance against early school leaving in Spain

Why do students leave school early in OECD countries? The role of regional labor markets and school policies

“…Even starting a job as part‐time work notably increases the risk of fully dropping out from school, highlighting the correlation between a dynamic labor market for the youth (high adolescent employment, low unemployment) and a higher ESL rate (Staff et al, 2020). Moreover, in countries such as Italy and Spain, studies based on regional level data have underscored the influence of the sectoral composition of the labor market and the driving role of the informal sector (Bayón‐Calvo et al, 2020; Borgna & Struffolino, 2017).…”

An endogenous analysis of early school leaving in Spain: The role of gender and regional inequalities

“…These findings have important implications for policy orientation, as regional inequalities seem to remain a structural feature in education outcomes not only in Spain, but in most southern European countries. The persistence of these regional imbalances in scholastic performance at all levels in education, as well as the fact that these inequalities seem to be partly attributed to the composition of the population (Bayón‐Calvo et al, 2020) therefore demand that policies are designed with a focus on the specific regional context. Donlevy et al.…”

“…The picture is in general better in the northern regions of Europe when compared to the southern ones (Cabrera Rodríguez, 2013). As Bayón‐Calvo et al (2020) showed, regional differences, despite being common in southern European countries, are greatest in Spain, which could be attributed to the socio‐economic and educational context as well as individual characteristics. In this sense, regional distribution could reflect an important part of socio‐economic segregation, showing the effect of variables such as poverty, social exclusion, unemployment or social class distribution.…”

“…(2019) state, Spain is an interesting case, as it is the country with the highest rate in the EU. In addition, Spain has important regional and gender disparities in early school leaving (Bayón‐Calvo et al, 2020; Donlevy et al., 2019).…”

“…De Witte and Van Klaveren (2012) highlighted the importance of assessing regional discretion when implementing education policies, especially in decentralised countries. Bayón‐Calvo et al (2020) demonstrated that regional inequalities in early school leaving could be attributed to both the socioeconomic composition of the population and institutional factors, such as expenditures on education or the implementation of education policies. Several policy documents also acknowledge the importance of adopting a regional focus in order to reduce regional disparities for outcomes in education.…”