Page 64 - Guiding-at-risk-youth-through-learning-to-work-Lessons-from-across-Europe

Guiding at-risk youth through learning to work
Lessons from across Europe

problems, school climate, economic conditions, language barriers, health
matters, and individual student needs (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention, 2003). Truanting is a serious issue for young people as it can mean
they achieve very little formal education, skills and qualifications. This makes it
harder for them to participate effectively in the labour market and can cause
social marginalisation and isolation.
Different countries across Europe are tackling truancy by working together
with parents, law enforcement agencies, and social service agencies to identify
students who are showing the first signs of absenteeism. Various policies and
practices have been put in place: breakfast clubs, ICT registration systems,
following up on absentees, parent ‘pagers’, collaboration between parents and
young people, and changing the timetable of the school day (Kendall and Kinder,
2005). Several countries have introduced new attendance policies and early
warning systems to minimise the number of truants and to identify young people
at risk of absenteeism. For example, in Italy, the Netherlands and Austria,
existing student registration systems have been improved or new ones created to
monitor student attendance better and steps have been taken to enforce
compulsory school attendance to prevent unnoticed absences. The German
Federal State of Baden-Württemberg has launched the initiative Active against
truancy in schools (Aktiv gegen Schulschwänzen) as part of the regional strategic
framework to prevent early school leaving. The initiative helps to inform teachers,
trainee teachers and the police about truanting; it encourages early identification
of students at risk, so that they can be given appropriate support and guidance to
minimise the risk of them dropping out of education altogether.
It is also recognised that measures to address truancy need to address the
reasons young people are playing truant, rather than simply trying to enforce
participation. This is where complementary measures, such as mentoring
projects, supplementary tutoring schemes, alternative study pathways, career
guidance and other interventions discussed in this report, play an important role.
Equally important are investments to promote the emotional wellbeing of
children and young people, developing their social and emotional skills and
improving the overall ethos of a school.
Bullying and discrimination at school can have a profound effect on both
academic achievement and potential absenteeism. Young people subject to
bullying or discrimination are more likely to be depressed, lonely or anxious, have
low self-esteem, feel unwell, and even think about suicide (Limber, 2002). These
factors are likely to lead to disengagement from learning and from school, which
can subsequently lead to absenteeism and early school leaving. Moreover,
research has also shown that children who bully are more likely to play truant

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