Measures to Reduce School Drop-Out Rates

High school drop-out rates represent a major problem in several countries. They are mostly the result of a gradual process of student alienation from school initiated by various factors including a lack of motivation, poor performance at school and delinquent behaviour, often related to a difficult social background and specific school practices. One direct result of a high school drop-out rate is, for example, an increase in youth unemployment. One of the EU's aims is therefore to reduce the number of early school drop-outs to below 10% by 2020. This article compares different measures and projects that are applied in the various countries to reduce the school drop-out rate.