Page 156 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Contemporary European Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 156
ear ly school leaving: contempor ary european perspectives
is called for – different pedagogic approaches are proposed (e.g. rec-
ognition of informal learning, the use of technology, collaborative
approaches through outdoor activities, teaching through arts and
sports). Moreover, within the context of the school climate, caring,
supportive and respectful teachers (along with other school staff)
who believe in students’ ability to academically succeed have a sig-
nificant impact on the lives of students at-risk for ESL and their de-
cision to remain at school. The opposite effect was found for splits
in the communication between students and teachers. Students en-
counter important support or discouragement already in everyday
school activities and interactions, thus financial resources or time
outside the classroom is not required. Interestingly, a climate of re-
spect and caring is often intended or assumed by the adults; howev-
er, it is not necessarily experienced by the student in this way. This
issue indicates the need to strengthen teachers’ initial and continu-
ous education in this respect.
Key words: early school leaving, school factors, school composition,
school structure, school practices, school climate
Introduction
As described in the two articles on ESL factors associated with: (1) an in-
dividual, their family and social background; and (2) to system character-
istics, the phenomenon and process of ESL can be viewed from the per-
spective of Bronfenbrenner’s (1996) ecological systems theory of human
development. Bronfenbrenner recognised that many different levels of en-
vironmental influence exist and impact one’s development. He identified
five environmental systems with which individuals interact: the microsys-
tem (i.e. people and institutions in the immediate surroundings – fami-
ly, peers, school), the mesosystem (i.e. interconnections between settings
in which the child participates, e.g. home-school relations), the exosystem
(processes and settings with an indirect influence on the individual, e.g. the
neighbourhood-community context, education system, social welfare), the
macrosystem (i.e. cultural influences) and the cronosystem (i.e. events and
changes over time) (see Figure 9). This multidimensional framework pre-
sents the basis for understanding risk and protective ESL factors and the
multifaceted nature of ESL. In the present article, we look in particular at
one specific setting within the microsystem – the school – and review the
scientific literature examining its impact on ESL.
156
is called for – different pedagogic approaches are proposed (e.g. rec-
ognition of informal learning, the use of technology, collaborative
approaches through outdoor activities, teaching through arts and
sports). Moreover, within the context of the school climate, caring,
supportive and respectful teachers (along with other school staff)
who believe in students’ ability to academically succeed have a sig-
nificant impact on the lives of students at-risk for ESL and their de-
cision to remain at school. The opposite effect was found for splits
in the communication between students and teachers. Students en-
counter important support or discouragement already in everyday
school activities and interactions, thus financial resources or time
outside the classroom is not required. Interestingly, a climate of re-
spect and caring is often intended or assumed by the adults; howev-
er, it is not necessarily experienced by the student in this way. This
issue indicates the need to strengthen teachers’ initial and continu-
ous education in this respect.
Key words: early school leaving, school factors, school composition,
school structure, school practices, school climate
Introduction
As described in the two articles on ESL factors associated with: (1) an in-
dividual, their family and social background; and (2) to system character-
istics, the phenomenon and process of ESL can be viewed from the per-
spective of Bronfenbrenner’s (1996) ecological systems theory of human
development. Bronfenbrenner recognised that many different levels of en-
vironmental influence exist and impact one’s development. He identified
five environmental systems with which individuals interact: the microsys-
tem (i.e. people and institutions in the immediate surroundings – fami-
ly, peers, school), the mesosystem (i.e. interconnections between settings
in which the child participates, e.g. home-school relations), the exosystem
(processes and settings with an indirect influence on the individual, e.g. the
neighbourhood-community context, education system, social welfare), the
macrosystem (i.e. cultural influences) and the cronosystem (i.e. events and
changes over time) (see Figure 9). This multidimensional framework pre-
sents the basis for understanding risk and protective ESL factors and the
multifaceted nature of ESL. In the present article, we look in particular at
one specific setting within the microsystem – the school – and review the
scientific literature examining its impact on ESL.
156
