At the beginning of February this year, more than 30 teachers from 5 counties in the country attended a workshop organised by the Terre des hommes Foundation. This workshop is part of the project "NOROC in Education" (Norwegian-Romanian Initiative for Quality in Education), developed by Terre des hommes Foundation in partnership with ASCHFR Vâlcea Branch and FAFO (The Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research) from Norway, a project that joins other initiatives of Romanian authorities and NGOs on preventing and combating school dropout, proposing interventions to decrease the risk of school dropout among children from disadvantaged groups in rural and small urban areas in five counties: Olt, Dolj, Gorj, Bacău, Vâlcea.
In this context, the aim of the meeting was to prepare teachers for afterschool activities and working with children at risk of dropping out of school and/or with special educational needs. For this purpose, the integrated intervention guidelines for preventing and combating dropout and for working with children with special needs were presented. The guidelines detail the ways of working with children, parents and mentors, exemplifying the positive results achieved and detailing recommendations for work, providing concrete tools (identification and monitoring sheet for children at risk of dropping out, mentoring methodology and methodology for working with parents). These interventions will aim to reduce the risk of dropping out and improve the lives of pupils in NOROC partner schools.
The methodology for identifying and monitoring children at risk of dropping out of school aims to:
1.Identify children at risk of dropping out of school in the educational units involved in the project, in order to identify/analyze risk factors and ensure early intervention;
2. Monitoring children at risk of dropping out of school in the educational units involved in the project, in order to adapt interventions and prevent school failure.
During the project activities, as the methodology is implemented, the project team will make additions and adaptations so that it responds as well as possible to the realities on the ground and provides effective working examples for identifying and monitoring children at risk of dropping out of school. The methodology will then be included in an integrated intervention guide for preventing and combating early school leaving and working with children with special educational needs, and the guide will be distributed nationally.
"Involving all teachers in the development and implementation of an early warning system on the risk of dropping out, taking a proactive attitude and closely monitoring students at risk of dropping out, involving all stakeholders, increases the chances of planning and implementing interventions adapted to children's needs, which can provide a consistent basis for preventing dropout and ensuring school success. Absenteeism, drop-out and early school leaving reflect both individual and social problems, with multiple roots and consequences at all levels of the individual and society.
Given the drop-out rates recorded in Romania and the specificities of the phenomenon from several perspectives (vulnerable groups, disadvantaged areas, the multitude of causes and favouring factors), it is imperative that the efforts of the stakeholders be joint, the interventions be integrated, and regular monitoring and evaluation be part of a coherent system to prevent and combat school drop-out", says trainer Ema Șeclăman.
