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At Ayuda en Acción, we support the proposal of the State School Council in its annual report to reduce school dropout rates, proposing to reflect on the extension of compulsory education until the age of 18 together with other measures, such as the reduction of the ratio of students per class or the revision of educational concerts.
Addressing school dropout: urgent steps
This type of initiatives are urgent and necessary steps for the reduction of school dropout in Spain. This problem is one of the pending duties of our country since we have the second highest dropout rate in Europe (13.9% in 2022), despite the remarkable improvements since 2018.
As our studies reveal and our experience in this field endorses, school dropout is a worrying and complex phenomenon that is influenced by multiple factors - socioeconomic, geographical and gender inequalities. At the same time, this educational problem generates a diversity of impacts that have an impact precisely on the increase of these inequalities.
In this context, we believe that any extension of compulsory education must be accompanied by measures that address inequalities in a comprehensive manner. To this end, it is essential to ensure that all young people, regardless of their socioeconomic or geographic origin, have access to quality education. This implies not only increasing compulsory schooling, but also improving the quality and relevance of the education provided, in addition to the guidance system and skills associated with employability.
Ayuda en Acción against school dropout: successful transitions
In Spain, Ayuda en Acción applies a model based on successful transitions to avoid school failure and early school leaving. In addition, this model favors the completion of compulsory schooling, encourages educational continuity and strengthens the ability to access the labor market in order to contribute to the lives of young people from vulnerable backgrounds.
We have been observing and evidencing for years in our studies - such as the latest Prospective Study on Employment and Youth in Spain or the Disadvantaged Transitions Index - that poverty and lack of economic opportunities are related to access to quality education and difficulties in accessing basic goods for young people. Therefore, we emphasize that, although Spain has achieved a significant trend in reducing school dropout rates since the beginning of the crisis in 2008, the differences persist, being still one of the countries with the highest dropout rate in Europe only after Romania. In addition, there are significant territorial imbalances, since school dropout data by autonomous communities are very disparate.
Towards a just educational future: our recommendation
For Ayuda en Acción it is essential to ensure social inclusion through education and training, and we therefore recommend that, if the extension of compulsory education proposed by the annual report of the State School Council is considered, the structural aspects of inequality should be taken into account, as well as the development of policies that improve the economic situation of families and provide additional support to students at risk of dropping out of school.
In education, not only is it possible to further reduce school dropout rates and continue to improve the level of education, but other achievements are also possible in this decade, such as increasing equality and opportunities for all young people, reducing regional and gender gaps or improving access to basic goods such as housing. To this end, we believe it is essential to accompany this measure with more opportunities for access to and exit from the education system, to avoid educational segregation, to guarantee early childhood education from 0-3 years of age and, of course, to improve the quality of the public education system.
In addition, we highlight the importance of digital inclusion and gender equality in education, as the digital gap and gender inequalities can contribute to school dropout. Therefore, it is crucial that education policies promote equitable access to technology and address gender barriers in education.
Thus, we reaffirm our commitment to work together with all relevant stakeholders to implement effective solutions that guarantee the right of all young people to a quality education. We firmly believe that overcoming the challenges of school dropout and building a fairer and more equitable future for young people in Spain is both imperative and feasible.
