| dc.description.abstract | Policymakers in Norway have addressed dropout from upper secondary school as an increasing problem in a society, where knowledge and formal skills are gaining in importance to participate. Despite profound school reforms during the last two decades with the central aim to compensate for social inequalities, success in school is still strongly associated with family background (especially parents’ education). However, the reasons for dropping out from school are complex and they often have their roots in earlier phases of education or early childhood.This rapport draws on the assumption that dropping out from upper secondary school is a process that can start already in preschool years but also in every stage of education, especially in transition phases. The aim is to summarize research on effective prevention strategies to reduce incompletion rates, prevention strategies which address all stages of education from preschool up until upper secondary school.Students with a higher risk for dropping out comprise low achieving students, working class students, students with minority background and weak skills in Norwegian language, boys in particular those in vocational tracks with weak basic skills (e.g., reading and mathematical literacy). Prevention strategies in preschool age aim at fostering cognitive skills, especially reading and vocabulary to reduce inequalities in the long run. Research indicates a positive relation between participation in preschool facilities of high quality and later learning outcomes. Especially, vocabulary in preschool age seems to be a good predictor for reading skills later. Prevention strategies in primary school in particular address cognitive basic skills such as reading and numeric literacy to promote learning outcomes later and so indirectly prevent dropping out of high school. The research overview shows that there is a need for reading promotion activities, in particular after the first reading instruction phase. Further, the research overview reveals a need for early identifying low achieving students before implementing individualised strategies to overcome learning difficulties.During the last years most of the studies have concentrated on either preschool or elementary school or upper secondary school. Only few prevention strategies were identified for students in lower secondary school. Scholars agree that school outcomes in lower secondary school and motivation for learning are crucial factors for school completion. There is further need for research on prevention strategies addressing motivation and learning strategies in lower secondary school. In upper secondary school, students in vocational tracks make up the majority group at risk for dropping out and most prevention strategies address such students. International and national research indicate that flexible educational tracks, stronger focus on practical learning and subjects, focus on monitoring and mentoring of students at risk also in cooperation with external partners can have a positive effect on school completion rates. Furthermore, for students with minority background and a short living period in Norway, both bilingual professional training and specific training in Norwegian language are suggested. | en |
