Tackling early school leaving: Principals’ insights into Portuguese upper secondary schools

This article addresses Early School Leaving (ESL) as a phenomenon that is identified in the EU and European countries such as Portugal as being the result of school disaffection that can be associated with social and educational problems. The relevance of this problem at the European level is highli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of education 2019-03, Vol.54 (1), p.151-162
Main Authors: Araújo, Helena C., Macedo, Eunice, Santos, Sofia A., Doroftei, Alexandra O.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administrator Attitudes
Alienation
Dropouts
Educational Practices
English (Second Language)
Foreign Countries
Head teachers
Identity
Investments
Labor market
Principals
School Culture
School dropouts
School principals
Second Language Learning
Secondary School Students
Secondary schools
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Summary:This article addresses Early School Leaving (ESL) as a phenomenon that is identified in the EU and European countries such as Portugal as being the result of school disaffection that can be associated with social and educational problems. The relevance of this problem at the European level is highlighted by the large number of European guidelines on the matter and by the inclusion of ESL as one of the main questions to be addressed by the Horizon 2020. Based on interviews, this article questions possible relationships between how principals perceive both ESL and the measures to deal with it and the culture of the school as an identity of differentia specifica (ethos). It should be emphasised that the approaches of these principals to ESL and the school‐based practices addressing it are quite diverse and relate to the ethos of the schools; students’ trajectories and the complex relationship between education and the labour market. The principals manifest their investment and implication in the provision of adequate measures for their specific contexts and see teachers and external partners as key actors.
ISSN:0141-8211
1465-3435
DOI:10.1111/ejed.12328