School Dropout and Completion

by Lamb, Stephen; Markussen, Eifred; Teese, Richard; Sandberg, Nina; Polesel, John

• ISBN13: 9789048197620
• ISBN10: 9048197627
• eBook ISBN(s): 9789048197637
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-10
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

School dropout remains a persistent and critical issue in many school systems, so much so that it is sometimes referred to as a crisis. Populations across the globe have come to depend on success at school for establishing careers and gaining access to post-school qualifications. Yet large numbers of young people are excluded from the advantages that successful completion of school brings and as a result are subjected to consequences such as higher likelihood of unemployment, lower earnings, greater dependence on welfare and poorer physical health and well-being. Over recent decades, most western nations have stepped up their efforts to reduce drop out and raise school completion rates while maintaining high standards. How school systems have approached this, and how successful they are, varies. This book compares the various approaches by evaluating their impact on rates of dropout and completion. Case studies of national systems are used to highlight the different approaches including institutional arrangements and the various alternative secondary school programs and their outcomes. The evaluation is based on several key questions: What are the main approaches? How do they work? For whom do they work? And, how successful are they in promoting high rates of completion and equivalent outcomes for all?This book examines the nature of the dropout problem in advanced industrialized countries with the goal of developing a broader, international understanding that can feed into public policy to help improve completion rates worldwide.

Table of Contents

School Dropout and Completion: An International Perspective	p. 1
Structures and Pathways
Pathways to School Completion: An International Comparison	p. 21
Case Studies
Introduction to the European Education Systems	p. 77
The Question of School Dropout: A French Perspective	p. 79
School Dropout and Completion in Spain	p. 99
Towards Compulsory Participation in England	p. 117
Participation in Post-Compulsory Learning in Scotland	p. 137
Germany's Education System and the Problem of Dropouts: Institutional Segregation and Program Diversification	p. 155
School Dropout in Secondary Education: The Case of Poland	p. 173
School Dropout and Completion in Switzerland	p. 191
Introduction to the Nordic Education Systems	p. 213
Dropout and Completion in Upper Secondary Education in Finland	p. 215
Dropout in a Small Society: Is the Icelandic Case Somehow Different?	p. 233
Early Leaving, Non-Completion and Completion in Upper Secondary Education in Norway	p. 253
Introduction to the New World Education Systems	p. 273
High School Dropouts in the United States	p. 275
Educational Systems and School Dropout in Canada	p. 295
School Dropout and Completion in Australia	p. 321
Programs, Equity and Policy
Vocational Education and Training in France and Germany: Friend or Foe of the Educationally Disadvantaged?	p. 343
Pathways to Completion for School Dropouts	p. 357
School Dropout and Inequality	p. 369
Policies to Reduce School Dropout and Increase Completion	p. 391
Index	p. 407
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.