Core competencies and the prevention of school failure and early school leaving

Abstract

There is an increasing awareness that school failure and early school leaving are processes, rather than discrete events, that often co-occur and can have lasting negative effects on children's development. Most of the literature has focused on risk factors for failure and dropout rather than on the promotion of competencies that can increase youths' likelihood of successfully completing high school. This chapter applies the core competencies framework to the promotion of youths' success within the school environment. We conclude with a brief review of evidence-based prevention strategies that address the five competencies and identify avenues for future research.

Assessment in mathematics education: responding to issues regarding methodology, policy, and equity

“…The lack of culturally responsive assessment could result in unequal educational opportunities for migrant students (Hopson and Hood 2005). The outcome could be that migrant students will be more likely to leave school early (Bradshaw et al 2008) or that fewer migrant students will be admitted to higher education (Hopson and Hood 2005).…”

Preventive healthcare surveillance can detect emerging behavioural problems that are related to later school dropouts

“…In addition to the prospect of reduced financial resources and adverse socio-economic consequences, school dropout status has a negative impact on the emotional, social and cognitive development of individuals. It also increases the risk of an unhealthy lifestyle, mental and behavioural disorders and involvement in criminal activities (2,3). School dropout is closely linked to health, both in terms of pathways of social causation and health selection (6), and, therefore, the generation of adolescent socio-economic health differences.…”

“…Behavioural problems at a young age have also been identified as determinants of later school dropout (2), but these have not been examined extensively and have not particularly been measured by regular youth healthcare from birth onwards. Professionals working in the field of preventive child and youth healthcare (PCYHC) can Abbreviations 95% CI, 95% Confidence interval; DSM-V, Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders fifth EDITION; IBM, International Business Machines Corporation; OR, Odds ratio; PCYHC, Preventive child and youth health care; ROA, Researchcentrum voor Onderwijs en Arbeidsmarkt (Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market); RPHS, Regional public health service; SPSS, Statistical package for the social sciences.…”

The teacher as linchpin

“…This decrease in student engagement sometimes results in leaving school early, which is often defined as the result of a long-term process in which the student withdraws from school (Appleton, Christenson, & Furlong, 2008;Bradshaw, O'Brennan & McNeely, 2008;Finn, 1993;Rumberger, 1995). Disengagement, leaving school early and drop out all have a negative connotation.…”

“…From a pedagogical perspective, dropout is defined as the outcome of a long-term process of withdrawal and disengagement of the student from school. This process of disengagement begins during the early school years and can ultimately lead to the student's dropping out in high school or vocational education (Bradshaw, O'Brennan, & McNeely, 2008;Dunn, Chambers, & Rabren, 2004;Finn, 1993;Rumberger, 1995). Most dropouts in the Netherlands have abandoned prevocational or vocational study (Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences, 2011a).…”