Gamers, surfers and social media users: The role of interest to prevent dropout
Associate Professor Lisbeth M. Brevik, Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Oslo, Norway
The typical student at risk of early school leaving – or dropout – in OECD countries is a boy under the age of 25, who attends vocational education and training (VET). Statistically, there are large differences between dropout rates in general studies and VET. The report Education at a Glance, published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2016), shows that ten times more students drop out of vocational studies compared to general studies (GS); with 2% dropout in GS and 20% in VET (OECD, 2016). Since one in seven young adults across all study programmes leave education and training too early, the quest for reduced share of dropout is intensified. In 2010, the average dropout rate was 15%, and the European Commission (EC) has expressed the policy target of reducing dropout to 10% by 2020 (EC, 2010; OECD, 2016). The report highlights the seriousness of student dropout:
One of the challenges facing education systems in many OECD countries is students’ disengagement and consequent dropout from the education system, meaning that they leave school without an upper secondary qualification. (OECD, 2016, p. 46)
Rich and poor countries alike Reducing dropout is an initiative that relates closely to social inclusion, interest, and skills. Students who experience social exclusion drop out of school more frequently than others, and so do students who lack interest in school or lack reading skills (OECD, 2016; World Bank, 2013). Such dropout profiles are found both in poor and rich countries. For example, in the PISA assessments, all participating countries have a sizable share of low performers (OECD, 2016). In fact, as much as a quarter of all 15-year-olds have poor reading skills, and students who perform poorly at the age of 15 face a risk of dropping out of school altogether (EC, 2010; OECD, 2016). Based on these numbers, developing reading skills and reducing dropout rates are matters of urgent concern. The report Education at a Glance links such poor school results to motivation: “Students’ lack of motivation can be the result of poor performance at school, which can, in turn, lead to further disengagement, creating a vicious circle” (OECD, 2016, p. 46). The role of motivation or interest should, therefore, not be underestimated.
The role of interest
It should come as no surprise that the dropout rates vary extensively between OECD countries/partners. For example, in 2014 Lithuania was ahead of the pol-
10
icy target both in general studies (GS) and in VET (4% in GS and 6% in VET), while Portugal was close (2% in GS and 12% in VET). In comparison, some OECD countries fulfil the policy target in GS only, while the dropout rate in VET is clearly higher, such as in Norway (3% in GS and 41% in VET), Denmark (4% in GS and 47% in VET), and Ireland (2% in GS and 56% in VET). These rates illustrate how important it is to reduce early school leaving.
| The COURAGE Project
This article will focus on a group of students, who are statistically at risk of dropping out of school. Most of these are boys in vocational education and training.
