Early school leaving: in search of measurements and educational policies

Studies on early school leaving (ESL) have shown a multifaceted outline of measures, intervention strategies and policies. In the understanding of the phenomenon, the measuring methods play a key role. For example, the Eurostat indicator certifies an Italian ESL rate equal to 17%. This value reflects the percentage of the population aged 18-24 with at most lower secondary education and who were not in further education or training during the last four weeks preceding the survey. Instead, if we use the rate of non-completion, the amount reaches a value of 31%, 14 points above the European rate, equal to 1,304,906 young people lost. We believe that this amount is a sign of a structural anomaly of the school system. ESL requires the development of national strategies and policies. Without a systemic approach, it will be almost impossible to reach the 10% threshold fixed by the Europe 2020 strategy. The Council of the European Union along with European Commission have shown the way: the national plans for tackling the ESL should contain a balanced mix of educational measures of prevention, intervention and compensation, applied in a consistent way to the local level. Within the context of European recommendations, the VET can play a significant role when presenting elements of quality and attractiveness.