Page 105 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Contemporary European Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 105
the esl situation in switzerland
Cantons and their municipalities finance the majority of public expendi-
ture on education (90%) (Eurydice, n.d.).
In relation to the ESL issue, the situation is somewhat specific because
Switzerland is not a member of the EU so it does not follow the Europe 2020
targets. Thus, ESL as a separate and specific topic has received considerably
less attention than in EU member states. Yet in Switzerland ESL is embed-
ded in the wider context of tackling poverty, risk groups, employability etc.
The aim of this article is to describe the state of affairs and current trends
regarding ESL in Switzerland, to shed light on the context in which exper-
iments within the TITA project take place, thus guiding the interpretation
and generalisation of the findings. At the beginning, we present some char-
acteristics of the Swiss education system relevant to ESL (compulsory edu-
cation, transitions, grade-retention options, education and career guidance
etc.), followed by statistics on the level of ESL in Switzerland and ways of
dealing with ESL (usually in the broader context of addressing other issues
and not specifically ESL).
Methodology
We draw information for this article from documents and reports
available online (prepared by Switzerland’s local governments or institu-
tions), European documents, Eurostat, ministerial documents on ESL and
others. A search for scientific articles was conducted using the key words
“Switzerland”, “Swiss”, “ESL”, “ESLer” and “drop-out’ in the EBSCOhost
database, resulting in very few hits. A search was also conducted using the
backward procedure.
Some relevant characteristics of Swiss education system
Education in Switzerland is compulsory between the ages of 4 and 15 in
most cantons (in a few at age 5 or 6; EC/EACEA/Eurydice/Eurostat, 2014).
This period includes three transitions: from 2 years in kindergarten or pre-
school (Kindergarten / école enfantine / scuola dell’infanzia, 4–6 years) to
6 years in primary school (Primarschule / école primaire / scuola elementa-
re, 6–12 years) and 3 years at lower secondary level (Sekundarstufe I / secon-
daire I / scuola media, 12–15 years) (Eurydice, 2016). The division of years on
various levels varies in some cantons (Eurydice, n.d.). At lower secondary
level there is also 1 year in Gymnasiale Maturitätsshuln / écoles de maturité
105
Cantons and their municipalities finance the majority of public expendi-
ture on education (90%) (Eurydice, n.d.).
In relation to the ESL issue, the situation is somewhat specific because
Switzerland is not a member of the EU so it does not follow the Europe 2020
targets. Thus, ESL as a separate and specific topic has received considerably
less attention than in EU member states. Yet in Switzerland ESL is embed-
ded in the wider context of tackling poverty, risk groups, employability etc.
The aim of this article is to describe the state of affairs and current trends
regarding ESL in Switzerland, to shed light on the context in which exper-
iments within the TITA project take place, thus guiding the interpretation
and generalisation of the findings. At the beginning, we present some char-
acteristics of the Swiss education system relevant to ESL (compulsory edu-
cation, transitions, grade-retention options, education and career guidance
etc.), followed by statistics on the level of ESL in Switzerland and ways of
dealing with ESL (usually in the broader context of addressing other issues
and not specifically ESL).
Methodology
We draw information for this article from documents and reports
available online (prepared by Switzerland’s local governments or institu-
tions), European documents, Eurostat, ministerial documents on ESL and
others. A search for scientific articles was conducted using the key words
“Switzerland”, “Swiss”, “ESL”, “ESLer” and “drop-out’ in the EBSCOhost
database, resulting in very few hits. A search was also conducted using the
backward procedure.
Some relevant characteristics of Swiss education system
Education in Switzerland is compulsory between the ages of 4 and 15 in
most cantons (in a few at age 5 or 6; EC/EACEA/Eurydice/Eurostat, 2014).
This period includes three transitions: from 2 years in kindergarten or pre-
school (Kindergarten / école enfantine / scuola dell’infanzia, 4–6 years) to
6 years in primary school (Primarschule / école primaire / scuola elementa-
re, 6–12 years) and 3 years at lower secondary level (Sekundarstufe I / secon-
daire I / scuola media, 12–15 years) (Eurydice, 2016). The division of years on
various levels varies in some cantons (Eurydice, n.d.). At lower secondary
level there is also 1 year in Gymnasiale Maturitätsshuln / écoles de maturité
105
