Around the world and throughout the United States, preventing students from dropping out is a challenge that educators face in alarming numbers. Other nations have been attempting to curb dropouts by putting in place prevention programs that are designed to keep students in school for the entirety of their academic careers. Educator Nancy Hoffman looked at the strategies of several different countries to see which programs worked and which did not.
Hoffman examined nations belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and what they were doing to keep "youths left behind" in the classroom. The countries that are part of OECD include the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, and Norway, and they all put in place policies to prevent their students from dropping out of school. Some of the countries had low dropout rates, whiles others had higher percentages, but they all tried to reduce the numbers even more.
"In vocational education and training (VET) systems in the countries that have really strong ones…they have much higher upper secondary completion rates, much higher rates of students going into the job market, and less unemployment," says Hoffman, who has worked with OECD and Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit organization that helps develop education and workforce strategies. "So, I started looking at what they were doing."
Some of the countries that have successful models combine work and education to offer incentives for students to stay in school or vocational programs while receiving training for careers after graduation. In some of the stronger-performing countries, they have wide VET systems, make sure their education systems and training align with labor market needs, and work with employers and unions to make sure students are prepared for work after school. Austria, Denmark, and Germany are among the European nations with such systems.
Other countries, such as the Netherlands, have taken even more drastic steps to keep students from dropping out. In the Netherlands, bus rides are offered to students who are not in school and could use transportation to classes and vocational programs. Norway shortened its vocational training to two years to help keep students in school.
"In the good systems, vocational education is the way the country believes most people get in with the labor market and learn for a wide variety of careers," Hoffman said.
Hoffman did not say that VET programs prevent students from dropping out, but some of the programs at least prepare young people for work. Some countries provide guarantees of employment if students complete their education or VET programs, offer financial or other forms of assistance if students look for work, and offer employers a chance to train students, so that the students are prepared to work for them.
"[Some countries] see that it's not a good deal for society to have a bunch of poorly educated young people who don't have skills and a way into the job market," Hoffman said, noting some of the incentives countries have to prevent this from happening. "Basically, they tell students they must stay in school until they have a credential."
