School dropout There are many reasons often highly individual why some young people give up education

on and training prematurely: learning difficulties, social problems or a lack of motivation, guidance or support. Although the situation varies in different EU countries, the social phenomenon of early school leaving follows certain patterns. Early school leavers are more likely to have a lower socio-economic status or to belong to vulnerable social groups. On average, the rate of early school leaving in Europe is double for youth from migrant backgrounds compared to native youth. In addition, male students are more likely to drop out of school education. However, the impacts of individual and social conditions are also affected by the set-up of the educational system and the environment in individual schools. Since there is not a single reason for leaving education or vocational training, there are no easy answers. Low levels of education do not only have severe consequences for the young people concerned, but also high economic and social costs for society as a whole. In addition to current demographic changes, European countries cannot afford this enormous waste of talent. Strategies to prevent dropping out, or at the least to support young people re-entering mainstream education, must address both education and social policy. They should be evidence-based and be adaptable to local, regional and national conditions. In June 2010 the European heads of state and government adopted the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth 1 . Giving a strong message to Member States they decided that reducing the share of early school leavers to less than 10% Europe-wide by 2020 is one of the headline targets underpinning this strategy. In addition, the Member States agreed to set specific national targets. In order to support them the European Commission adopted in January 2011 a set of guidelines for policies to reduce early school leaving. In its Communication Tackling early school leaving: A key contribution to the Europe 2020 Agenda2 the Commission outlines the main causes of the problem and the risks for economic and societal development in Europe. It describes the impact early school leaving has on individuals, society and economies, and gives an overview on the existing and forthcoming EU-level measures to tackle it. A Council Recommendation3 which has been adopted by the EU Council on 20 May 2011 proposes a framework for coherent, comprehensive and evidence based policies against early school leaving. In line with these EU strategies and political guidelines, the present study identifies the need to reduce the proportion of young people dropping out of school and experiencing risks in their learning and to prepare children and adolescents to meet the challenges of European citizenship for the 21st century by modernizing educational systems to ensure a high quality of education at all levels. Currents concepts of reading, mathematical literacy and science literacy, as defined in the PISA 2009 assessment framework, include engagement as an integral part, and imply that a goal of education is to cultivate not only proficiency but also engagement (OECD, 2010). The challenge focuses on fostering active engagement opportunities and impetus for all students, and in particular for those at risk for learning or motivational problems or marginalization. Teachers have an important role in shaping young peoples engagement in education through the emotional, instructional and organizational support embedded in the classroom processes. Efforts to reform the learning environments of young people need to be based on up to date evidence-based information on facilitators of engagement but they also need to be supported by a wide range of stakeholders. The project will mobilize a wide range of resources to provide this support.
1 2

http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/targets/eu-targets/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/education/school-education/doc/earlycom_en.pdf 3 http://ec.europa.eu/education/school-education/doc/earlyrec_en.pdf

The present study investigates the effects of classroom processes and teacher-student interactions on students engagement and academic and motivational learning outcomes in preschool, primary and secondary school contexts. The project combines state-of-the-art knowledge about factors in the students learning and social environments (e.g., classroom processes) which support student engagement and prevent school drop-out with expertise on new innovative learning technologies, and effective interventions in teacher education and in-service training. Collaborative effort of highly distinguished researchers and educators at the European level provides an opportunity for devising incentives for teacher education, curricula development, and pedagogy to tackle the problems of school drop-out and waning student engagement. The study involves 21 institutions in 13 countries representing a wide geographical coverage of Europe.