Comparative Perspectives on Early School Leaving in the European Union

Early School Leaving in the European Union provides an analysis of early school leaving (ESL) in nine European Union countries, with a particular focus on young people who were previously enrolled in educational institutions inside and outside mainstream secondary education. The comparative approach employed by this volume adds to the existing body of knowledge on ESL and develops an understanding of how young people navigate through different educational systems.

Contributors acknowledge the importance of reconstructing educational trajectories from the perspective of the individuals involved and, as a result, the book includes data collected during in-depth interviews, surveys, and insights from educational professionals, policymakers and representatives from civil society organisations. Adopting a classic tripartite approach, which acknowledges the complex nature of ESL, the book addresses individual, institutional and systemic factors. It identifies and analyses the prevention, intervention and compensation measures that can succeed in supporting young people’s attainment, and demonstrates how these can be used to reduce ESL.

This unique book will be highly relevant for academics, researchers and postgraduate students, as well as educational practitioners. Drawing on the insights provided by the authors, the book formulates policy recommendations that should also be of interest for policymakers in European countries and beyond.

Lore Van Praag, PhD Ghent University, is research coordinator at the Centre for Migration and Intercultural Studies (University of Antwerp) and project manager of the RESL.eu project. Her research interests focus on inequalities in education, tracking practices, ethnic minorities, early school leavers and humour.

Ward Nouwen is a sociologist of education and a PhD researcher at the Centre for Migration and Intercultural Studies of the University of Antwerp. His main research topics are school segregation, educational tracking, early school leaving and work-based learning.

Rut Van Caudenberg is a joint PhD candidate at the Centre for Migration and Intercultural Studies, University of Antwerp (Belgium) and the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain). Her research focuses on urban youth’s lived experiences of schooling and education in Flanders and Catalonia.

Noel Clycq, PhD University of Antwerp, is a visiting professor and holds the chair in ‘European values: discourses and prospects’ at the Faculty of Arts and is member of the Centre for Migration and Intercultural Studies (CeMIS), both at the University of Antwerp. His main research interests are socialization and identification processes in educational and family settings, with a focus on migration, diversity and Europe.

Christiane Timmerman, PhD Catholic University of Leuven, is the head of the Centre for Migration and Intercultural Studies, University of Antwerp. She has published on migration, ethnic minorities and education. She has coordinated various international projects, such as the RESL.eu project, the EUMIGINE project.