Conference Agenda

The aim of this conference contribution is to deepen the understanding of the specific educational dilemmas that arise due to an aesthetic change in hip-hop music and culture, and to identify the values around which these dilemmas center in schools and after-school activities, as well as in juvinile detention centers.

This contribution stems from an ongoing research project that focuses, among other things, on educational dilemmas emerging in the wake of the evolving landscape of Swedish hip-hop. Over the past years, Swedish hip-hop has transitioned from being characterized by more emancipatory messages (Söderman, 2017) to increasingly embodying the aesthetic expressions known as 'drill' or 'gangster rap.' For educational settings utilizing hip-hop as a social pedagogical tool (Söderman, 2019), this aesthetic transformation presents pedagogical dilemmas. Hip-hop, previously used to prevent violence and crime, has now become the focal point of rap lyrics, popular artists, and music videos that engage in and depict violence and crime.

While this specific research project is based in Sweden, educational settings in several other countries also grapple with similar dilemmas related to the influence of 'drill' in local hip-hop, as seen for instance in the United Kingdom (Fastis, 2019), Denmark (Ringsager, 2017), and Germany (Güngör & Loh, 2017). In all these countries, including Sweden, hip-hop has previously, at least partially, been part of socio-pedagogical activities aimed at preventing young people from heading down destructive paths such as engaging in criminality and drug use. Work that is now being challenged by the aesthetic shift.

The theoretical framework for this contribution is based on Pierre Bourdieu's cultural and educational sociology (Bourdieu, 1977; 1984a; 1984b; 1990; 2000; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1970/2008). Theoretical concepts such as capital and distinction enable us to understand, interpret, and analyze the pedagogical and aesthetic values that gangster rap instigates among educators working with hip-hop in schools, after-school activities and juvinile detention centers, and also to analyze the educational values recognized in relation to hip-hop education.

For several years, school children across Europe and worldwide dealt with a variety of crises– such as the Covid-19 pandemic (e.g., school closures), the war in Ukraine and Gaza, the climate crisis— all of them with a likely impact on children’s social and emotional development, A particularly severe and profound impact of these events was shown on affective and internalized behavioral disorders (Cena et al., 2022; Kaman et al. 2023; Krammer, et al. 2022; Mulkey et al. 2023; Ravens-Sieberer et al. 2022; Walz et al. 2022). As outlined by Mulkey et al. (2023), a considerable degree of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic go well beyond the viral infection and have had a significant indirect effect on multiple areas of child development, school readiness, educational attainment, socialization skills and mental health, just to name some examples.In this regard, Walz et al. (2022) outlined in their meta-analysis, encompassing almost 800.000 European participants, a significant increase in depression symptoms, in particular for 16-18 years old male adolescents during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the authors, female adolescents also showed an increase in depression rate when accounting for only clinical depression symptoms (Walz et al. 2022). Along these lines, Cena et al. (2022), showed a steady increase of loneliness, affective disorders, and suicidal ideation for Italian adolescents. Finally, also Krammer et al. (2022) showed a significant increase of internalized behavioral problems for Austrian male and female sixth graders during the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, one of the shortcomings of the mentioned research is the primarily focus on adolescents. Moreover, the focus lies on a rather short time period, during the pandemic or shortly afterwards.

This paper aims to address the above-mentioned issues concentrating on 9-13 years old school children, and comparing data from ten years ago with data from some time after experiencing the Covid-19 restrictions. The main research question focuses on differences in the distribution and incidence of depression related affective disorders in Styria (Austrian):

1.) Are there any significant differences in the distribution and incidence of depression-related symptoms between the Styrian general school population of the years 2013 and 2024?

In this regard, we assume an increase of affective disorders in the Styrian school population. In addition, we will investigate whether this increase is focused only on specific groups at risk (e.g., low-income families), or if it is a more general phenomenon affecting the entire school population. To learn more about the connections between depression-related symptoms and other individual background factors, we also considered information on social media usage, educational background of the family, depression cases in the family etc.

The paperl concerns internalizing and externalizing behaviors among Polish adolescents attending primary schools in a medium-sized city in Poland. The aim of the study was to examine the levels of select problem behaviors (i.e., depression, withdrawal, somatic complaints, aggressive behaviors, delinquent behaviors, thought problems, and internalizing and externalizing disorders) in early adolescence. Another important aim was to establish the ranges of the norm and deviation which would indicate the need for intervention aimed at internalizing and externalizing disorders in the sample.

Externalizing disorders involve conduct and aggression problems, insufficiently regulated behaviors of an antisocial or oppositional-defiant nature, or behaviors which do not fit within accepted social norms. These all involve projecting internal problems experienced by the individual outwards. The basic symptoms of externalizing disorders are various manifestations of aggression, opposition against one’s surroundings, impul- sivity, destructiveness, and antisociality. Their emergence in childhood and adolescence are a significant predictor of chronic criminal behavior in adulthood (Wolańczyk, 2002). Externalizing problem behaviors such as aggression, damaging property, or stealing are among the most frequent adjustment problems in childhood and are the most reliable predictor of mental health problems in adulthood (Sanders et al., 2017). Children who exhibit externalizing behaviors may suffer a range of legal consequences which could significantly impact their future (Samek et al., 2014). High occurrence of externalizing disorders (Achenbach, 1982) may be a source of social maladjustment.

Internalizing behaviors refer to personality problems related to inhibition, anxiety, and overcontrolled behaviors. An excessive sense of control may lead to a deep, neurotic internalization of social norms. This may be the basis of excessive cautiousness in new and subjectively difficult situations, as well as shyness during interpersonal contact. Despite average or above-average intellectual abilities, individuals with internalizing disorders do not achieve adequately high results in school (the so-called inadequate school achievement syndrome), which facilitates a sense of being underappreciated (Wysocka et al., 2014).

In recent years, the world has seen an escalation in war situations and an increase in the number of disasters. In war situations, the risks that affect the educational process are even greater. Children need to be moved from one place to another, to a safer place. Sometimes it is difficult to know where the next stop should be and for how long. Where and how should education be organised in these situations of uncertain reality?

As by November 2023, according to UNICEF “400 million children – or about 1 child in every 5 – are living in or fleeing from conflict zones. They are losing family members and friends. And some are being recruited and used by armed forces or groups. Many of them have been displaced multiple times, risking separation from their families, losing critical years of education, and fraying ties to their communities”[1]. Even children grow up and become adults in this insecure reality, and it is not possible to know how long the insecurity will last and what the conditions and capacities for education will be.

When we look at the range of cases from different conflict countries, we see how non-specifically organised educational spaces are in an intermediate state of uncertainty. These cases are sometimes unique and unexpected, but they are important for overcoming the challenges of educational processes in uncertainty. There is no country and no educational system that is safe from risky situations and long-term uncertainties. "We have to learn to deal with uncertainty... to calculate with uncertainty...”[2]

War and conflict create unique levels of insecurity. How these shape educational settings and pedagogical situations is not yet well understood. Theoretical tools, conceptual understandings and analytical approaches are not defined at a scientific and academic level. It is not possible to formulate conflict-related uncertainties and bring them to the classroom, for example. There is still a lack of constructed knowledge about post-war reconstruction or conflict prevention, the role of time in understanding conflict or war, education in uncertainty related to political crisis, etc.

This systematic analysis aims to understand the complex interplay of factors related to the pedagogical processes, identifying schooling within uncertainties in war and conflicts.

The specific objective is to suggest a specific framework to understand uncertainty in education research on situations of simmering and hidden conflicts.

The analysis will seek to explore the following key research questions

A) What are the theoretical views, understandings, formulations of uncertainty in educational research on situations of simmering and hidden conflicts?

B) What models of education are used in emergencies, conflicts and wars?

C) How should systematic analysis of schooling in uncertainty and pedagogy of uncertainty in war situations be constructed? What should be the scientific dimension of schooling in uncertainties?

However, there is no scientifically defined approach to uncertainty and schooling in uncertainty, especially in situations of war and conflict. In the current educational discourse, there are no models of education that can be used to navigate pedagogical challenges in situations of uncertainty.

Current educational research has identified different approaches to education in conflict countries and risks to education in war situations. It is possible to understand - how war affects children and their development [3], what type of risks and crises face education during the war [4], [5]. Therefore, as we can see educational researchers need to highlight the problems that cannot be solved by the rules and standards and that are outside the normal educational processes. The researches from the countries with armed conflicts show that the central importance is given to the security and the priority needs[6].

Asylum-seeking and refugee children are considered vulnerable because of their developmental immaturity and physical disability (Djampour, 2018). In the cases of unaccompanied minors, it is exacerbated by their lack of parental care (Eide, 2020; Engebrigtsen, 2020). The problematic nature of the flight from wars, hunger, and oppression, compounded with a possible susceptibility and actual exposure to other people’s abuse, violence, or other use of force, complicates their vulnerability and our understanding of fragility. On arrival in host nations, the definition of vulnerability that warrants who can be included is narrowly defined and re-defined, depending on what categories of migrants are given priority (Kalisha, 2023), for example, depending on which country is most ravaged by war. In Norwegian policy frameworks, education is offered as a right for all as long as the child is guaranteed to stay at least for 3 months.

However, asylum-seeking children do not have the same rights since many enter the country already at an age beyond the primary education deemed free for all, that is, upper secondary school. Additionally, there exist varied school experiences among the asylum-seekers, some being illiterate while others have completed high school. As such, placement connected to age becomes problematic as many 15-18-year-olds are placed in high schools without any prior experience in Norway- (Kalisha & Saevi, 2020; Kalisha & Sævi, 2021). The lack of clear structures on who is responsible for their education makes it difficult to acquire placement in the first place. Educating them is left to volunteers’ and county governors’ discretion. This means their right to education does not depend on their inherent vulnerability. Arguably, vulnerability, especially one linked to trauma, cannot be diagnosed while still in the asylum-seeking phase. Is it possible to still think of vulnerability as an inevitable human condition that remains a challenge to education and not a problem to be solved? Given that rights have to be enforced by the nation-state and that unaccompanied minors are yet to be part of the nation, the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees cannot enforce the said right to education until one is categorized as a refugee. The right to education and other rights due to asylum seekers tend to be suspended, and they receive the bare minimum while waiting for asylum. What would be the purpose of educating them?

In this paper, I look at vulnerability as a pedagogical challenge that does not need to be problematized, especially for children in forced migration. Instead, their vulnerability should be seen as something we constantly work with within education. Thinking of vulnerability this way juxtaposes it against rights due to them as human beings. Yet the young asylum-seekers, mainly from non-western countries, find themselves in an in-between position, a liminal and a gray area regarding their rights, especially when they keep changing in law. I question the positioning of vulnerability as a reason to grant residency while at the same time trivializing their other rights, like the right to education.

"I try to get the best out of my students, but there are parents who have a hard time supporting their child. And when the child has ADHD, I find it difficult. What is my responsibility as a teacher, and what is the responsibility of other support services? I tend to take it on myself anyway and to direct the parents” (teacher).

It is of great social importance to optimize the developmental opportunities of children in vulnerable families. When home, school, and care are well connected, this has a positive effect on children's well-being, learning performance and behaviour (De Greef, 2019), and leads to more self-efficacy within parents who feel insecure about parenting (Hoover-Dempsey et al.,2005; Waanders et al.,2007). Parental self-efficacy is strongly correlated with positive parent and child psychological functioning, child adjustment, parenting competence and parenting satisfaction (Jones & Prinz, 2005). For those families living in difficult situations, enhancing parenting self-efficacy may serve as a potential mechanism by which to improve the well-being of parents and children (Ibid, 2005).

Therefore, professionals should consider parents as competent and knowledgeable caregivers regarding their children's needs (Minjarez et al.,2013), and as equal and capable decision-making partners in determining the best support for themselves and their children (Damen et al.,2018). It is part of the professional ethical standard of teachers and youth care professionals to recognize the importance of the role of parents as educators, regardless of how problematic parenting might be and how insecure parents might feel. It also is important to incorporate the views of children through an active participation agenda, in the fulfilment of children’s rights under the obligations of the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child.

The purpose of youth care and special education is to reduce children's problems, increase their well-being, ensure that they can return home, or get them on the right track. Ultimately, parents must regain control over the upbringing of their children (Weiss et al.,2012), while children should have a say in how they grow up (Boomkens et al.,2018). Consequently, it is not only the relationship between parents and professionals, their cooperation and joint decision-making (‘alliance’) that matters, but also how competent parents feel about their parenting and how children feel that they are heard and seen. This is why this study focuses on parents’ self-efficacy (regarding parenting competences) and on children's voice, in addition to the usual aspects of the alliance (bond, goal, task).

We conducted a questionnaire study (N=479) in a wide variety of institutions in the Netherlands to compare perceptions of parents, children, youth care professionals and special education teachers about cooperation within different contexts (outpatient assistance, residential care, and special education). Forty-five interviews were carried out to explore how this cooperation is experienced in practice. The theoretical framework of the study is based on alliance research (Hawley & Garland, 2008; Lamers et al.,2015), with an extra focus on parental self-efficacy and children's voice. The findings suggest that cooperation with parents is going well, but professionals find it difficult to support parents’ self-efficacy concerning parenting competences (both questionnaire and interview study). Also, when children's voice gets enough attention, this influences the relationship positively. The interviews show that parental self-efficacy is insufficiently and inadequately supported by almost all professionals. It is positive to conclude, however, that many professionals are able to ‘see past’ incompetent parenting styles and different values on growing up (children) and bringing up (parents). Each context (outpatient assistance, residential youth care, and special education) has its own challenges, which is outlined in this presentation.

Students' behavioural problems are one of the greatest challenges facing teachers. At the same time, they have far-reaching consequences: There is a close connection between "deviant behaviour" in school, academic performance and later delinquent behaviour in adult live. According to these authors, an important driver is the disciplinary practice of teachers: the stricter and harsher it is, the more likely it is that deviant behaviour will intensify (Amemiya et al. 2020) and academic performance will decline (Del Toro & Wang 2022). This fact deserves attention because the disciplinary practices of teachers can vary greatly with comparable student behaviour. Although the nature of the behaviour itself has an influence on disciplinary responses, this is also influenced by contextual characteristics such as class composition (Rocque & Paternoster 2011; Payne & Welch, 2010; Welch & Payne, 2018). Our main interest in the present study is the question of how student behaviour develops over time under the influence of teacher behaviour and student composition.

Empirical studies on this question are generally rare, especially for primary schools, and only relate to partial aspects of the question. The available studies allow the following assessment: a) Deviant behaviour is higher in schools with a less privileged student body than in schools with a privileged student body, and this gap widens over time. B) Harsh punishments such as exclusion from school and lessons or a referral to the principal by teachers increase with the proportion of students from non-privileged families, even when controlling for student behaviour (Payne & Welch, 2010; Welch & Payne, 2018; Roque & Paternoster 2011 and Kinsler 2011 for primary school). C) Aggressive student behaviour occurs more frequently when minor deviant behaviour has previously been punished by official documentation (Amemiya et al., 2020). However, Amemiya et al. (2020) did not investigate the contextual influences on this development. These results suggest that deviant student behaviour is increasing as a result of harsher disciplinary practices by teachers, especially in schools with non-privileged students compared to schools with privileged students. However, as yet there is a lack of empirical evidence for this.

For a theoretical approach labelling theory can be used. According to this approach, teachers have to interpret behaviour in order to classify it as a rule violation and react to it. Primary school teachers, for example, react very differently to deviant behaviour, even to serious violations of school rules (Psunder, 2005; Skiba, 1997), ranging from ignoring to mild and harsh punishments. Punishments carried out in the presence of classmates can take on the function of labels. This means that a punishment labels a pupil as "deviant" and the following interactions refer to this label. This can result in teachers imposing increasingly strict sanctions (Bowditch 1993) and pupils describing themselves as deviant (Chiricos et al., 2007) and being more likely to join deviant groups of pupils (Bernburg et al. 2006). These effects of labelling lead to an increase in deviant behaviour over time. Although not explicitly modelled theoretically in the labelling approach, labelling processes could occur more frequently in schools with a less privileged student body. Teachers might expect more intense deviant behaviour in these schools, see their (cultural) authority at risk and believe they have to assert it through harsh punishments (Payne & Welch, 2010; Welch & Payne, 2010; Rocque and Paternoster, 2011). With this in mind, we expect the following: Harsher disciplinary practice is more common in schools with low-privileged compared to schools with privileged student bodies for the same student behaviour, which subsequently leads to higher proportions of deviant behaviour by students in schools with low-privileged compared to schools with privileged student bodies.

The shortage of qualified educators has raised concerns all over Europe and beyond. In Finland, the most drastic shortage of qualified staff is among early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers (Työvoimabarometri 2022, Kosunen et al 2023). The earlier research suggests that socio-economic composition of areas influences the professional choices and turnover of qualified educators. For example, studies focused on teachers' work preferences in comprehensive education show that teachers prefer to work in affluent institutions (e.g. Ingersoll & May 2012). The paper examines whether this vicious cycle of segregation where teacher segregation and socio-economic segregation of the neighborhoods are associated, that has been identified in comprehensive education can be identified also in ECEC.

This paper investigates the segregation of educators in ECEC in Finland, focusing on the relationship between socio-spatial and institutional segregation. Socio-spatial segregation refers to the differentiation of residential areas in terms of their socio-economic composition (e.g., Boterman et al. 2019). In this paper, institutional segregation refers to differentiation between educational institutions, such as ECEC centres, in terms of the distribution of qualified and non-qualified educators. While socio-spatial and institutional segregation have been extensively studied in comprehensive education (e.g. Boterman et al. 2019; Kauppinen et al. 2020), research related to ECEC is limited.

We ask:

1. How are the qualified and non-qualified educators distributed accross ECEC centers?

2. Is there an association between institutional teacher segregation and the socio-economic composition of the neighbourhood?

Minoritized youth encounter a myriad of challenges within the realm of urban education. These challenges can manifest as microaggressions and implicit/explicit prejudices from educators as well as structural impediments to their educational trajectories. Additionally, the wealth of knowledge these youth bring to their educational journey is often overlooked, portraying them as lacking in functional resources or capital (Kolluri, 2020; Rios-Aguilar & Neri, 2023). Despite these obstacles, many minoritized students adeptly navigate through these structural challenges to pursue postsecondary education.

Research on the experiences of students from minoritized backgrounds underscores the significant role played by their communities. Community cultural wealth emerges as a crucial support system, aiding these students in overcoming barriers and successfully transitioning to secondary education (Gao & Adamson, 2022; James-Gallaway, 2021; Margherio et al., 2020). Departing from the prevalent deficit approach that often frames minoritized and their communities as mere victims of achievement gaps, this study delves into the diverse resources or funds of knowledge available to these students within their communities and urban neighborhoods (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002: Steenwegen & Clycq, 2023).

To unravel the factors contributing to the resilience of minoritized youth and their ability to overcome obstacles (Ungar & Theron, 2020), we further draw on psychological research that highlights the pivotal role of children's communities and neighborhoods as potential support networks (Beese et al., 2023). This research strand views the ways in which children cope with negative experiences and surmount challenges as complex systems influenced by personal, familial, and contextual factors (Masten, 2018). Contributing elements within these systems are schools, after-hour clubs, sport centers and community members as role models.

Building on prior studies that explored the impact of community cultural wealth on the experiences of college students (Margherio et al., 2020; Ong et al., 2018), we lean in critical race theory and use the concept of "counterspaces" to unravel how community resources shape the ways in which young people counter inequality. Counterspaces represent environments, either as factual places in the neighborhood or symbolic spaces, where prevailing narratives of inequality are displaced, providing support and identity affirmation to minoritized and at-risk youth by connecting them to community cultural capital (Shirazi, 2019).

The primary research question guiding our investigation is: "Which spaces within the neighborhoods of minoritized children prove instrumental in overcoming experiences of inequality?" Within this research project we seek to unravel which spaces, both symbolically understood and effectively, contribute to the ability minoritized youth to overcome challenges and positively impact their educational pathways. This project explicitly focuses on the resources available in the communities and centers the experience of young adults who grew up in disadvantaged urban environments.

In 2022, 24.7% of children aged less than 18 in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion (Eurostat, 2023). This compared with 20.9% of adults (aged 18 or more). At the same time, the increasing datafication of societies and education systems (Erstad et al, 2023) means that emphasis, familiar for decades, on a ‘digital divide’ relating to variations in individuals’ digital access, caused by differences in their motivation, physical access, skills and usage opportunities (van Dijk 2006), has now extended to a ‘data divide’ (Andrejevic 2014), where data-driven technologies are not experienced equally. In turn, these have exacerbated existing levels of disadvantage. While only 5.4% of school-aged children in Europe are digitally deprived, the differences across countries are considerable, ranging from 0.7% in Estonia to 23.1% in Romania (Ayllon, Holmarsdottir & Lado, 2023). These forms of disadvantage are interdependent and have been magnified and highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis (Hayes et al, 2023).

This paper aims to explore the interactions between social and digital deprivation by examining the experiences of both disadvantaged young people and those who support them. To do this it brings together two theoretical perspectives. The first situates constructions of vulnerability, risk and disadvantage and their effects in a range of social, economic and political contexts, seeing them as constituent elements of being human rather than deficits located in the individual (Beckett, 2006; McLeod, 2012; Jopling & Zimmermann, 2023). The second is postdigital theory, a critical perspective which takes as a starting point the increasing ubiquity and indivisibility of digital technologies in our lives (Jandrić, MacKenzie & Knox, 2022). As such, it is deliberately hybrid, hard to define and unpredictable, representing “both a rupture in our existing theories and their continuation (Jandrić et al, 2018: 894). It is hoped that bringing these perspectives will offer new perspectives on how disadvantage is constructed and understood. The research questions for this study are:

• To what extent has digital disadvantage affected disadvantaged young people?
• How can disadvantaged young people be supported more effectively to develop the skills and capacities they need to overcome disadvantage and flourish in the future?

This study focuses on comprehensive schools that are located in Finnish post-war high-rise suburban housing estates, known in Finland as lähiö. Since the 1990s, many lähiös have become socio-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods, where ethnic minorities have also begun to cluster. Finnish lähiös are often seen in a negative light in the public debate and in the eyes of outsiders even though residents do often not share this view. However, little research has so far been done in Finland on neighbourhood stigma, especially in the everyday school lives of pupils.

In this ethnographic study, we examine the everyday reactions of pupils from socio-economically different neighbourhoods to lähiö stigmatization. Pupils lived both inside and outside the stigmatized lähiös, but attended the same lähiö schools. We focus on the spatial and social hierarchies and inequalities that responding to lähiö stigma creates among pupils in schools. In this study, we ask:

1) How is lähiö stigma reflected in the everyday lives of pupils from different backgrounds and neighbourhoods, and how do they react to lähiö stigma at schools?
2) What kind of spatial and social hierarchies and inequalities are created among pupils as they react to lähiö stigma?

Theoretically, we draw on Wacquant’s (2007, 2008) concept of territorial stigmatization and Pryor and Reeder’s (2011) taxonomy of four types of stigma: public stigma, self-stigma, stigma by association and structural stigma (see also Bos et al. 2013). We are not only interested in how pupils from different backgrounds internalize stigma and what it entails, as Wacquant's stigmatization framework (2007; 2008) would suggest, but also in how they are able to resist and challenge it (e.g. Kirkness 2014; Palmer et al. 2004) at the level of different types of stigma.

Studies on territorial stigma have often focused either on the perceptions of residents of stigmatized neighborhoods or housing (e.g. Kirkness 2014; McKenzie 2012; Palmer et al. 2004), including young people (e.g. Sernhede 2011; Visser, Bolt and Kempen 2015), or on how residents from middle-class backgrounds seek to disengage from notorious neighborhoods (e.g. Pinkster, 2014; Watt 2009). However, the role of the school in territorial stigmatization and the perspectives of pupils from different backgrounds have received less attention.

The novelty of our research for European research on urban education and educational inequalities among young people is that 1) we analyse and compare the perspectives of pupils from different socio-economic backgrounds who live both inside and outside stigmatized lähiös, 2) we have a research design in which the structural factor that connects pupils is school and 3) we examine territorial stigmatization as a mechanism of inequality in pupils' school life.

The ECER 2024 theme urges us to explore innovative ways to address longstanding educational challenges, recognising the work that has already been done while at the same time acknowledging the key role to be played by education and educational researchers in shaping a hopeful future.

This symposium seeks to respond to this theme by exploring ways in which to expand educational possibilities for at-risk students by addressing underachievement and early school leaving (ESL). This is at the core of European strategic priorities and is even more critical in a post-pandemic era where educational possibilities have been stalled for marginalized students (Tarabini, A., et al. 2019; CEDEFOP, 2023). Drawing on findings from the large-scale Horizon Europe project ‘SCIREARLY’, the session synthesises evidence from ten European countries – Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Finland, Denmark, England, Italy, Greece, Malta and Belgium- across three papers. Using a range of methodological approaches - systematic review, scoping review, meta-analysis, and policy analysis – the symposium seeks to offer insights into the social determinants of underachievement and ESL, the role of high-quality early childhood education in addressing these challenges, and the range of policy approaches that prove to be effective in helping at-risk young people remain and thrive in school.

The symposium aims to :

(1) analyse the social determinants and root causes of underachievement and school dropout at primary and secondary education levels,

(2) investigate the influence of ECEC actions and programmes on basic skills, and

(3) map successful and less successful policies targeting the achievement gap from a comparative perspective.

Research Framework

This multidisciplinary European session includes three contributions that combine different methodologies. The first paper will see a systematic review of scientific literature on the social determinants of underachievement presented. This is followed by a scoping review and a meta-analysis that lists ECEC actions and programmes that better respond to children’s basic skills. The last paper discusses a policy analysis conducted in various European countries, identifying policy approaches that have been effective in addressing underachievement and ESL in the last 10 years.

Scholarly significance

While reducing underachievement and ESL has been the focus of many educational, research, and policy efforts in recent years, important gaps remain to be addressed. (European Commission, 2011; Siegle et al., 2012, Gillies and Misfsud, 2016) Therefore, advancing scientific knowledge to disentangle the link between the identified social determinants and achievement at school is essential, as is identifying transformative elements and contexts that allow all students, and in particular those identified as being at risk, to succeed. There is also a compelling argument requiring us to identify those elements within early childhood education and care that better equip children with robust basic skills that will enable them to stay in school and thrive throughout the later academic stages (Gonzalez-Motos & Sauri Saula, 2022).

In addition, while a vast number of policies and resources have been put in place to combat ESL and underachievement, the SCIREARLY project is currently pioneering the mapping of the most successful policies in this arena across different European countries. The multi-level and cross-national policy analysis presented in the symposium will allow us to gain a better understanding of the specific features behind successful educational policies, which in turn could inform future policy efforts to foster the success and well-being of all students in Europe (Benjamin, 2022).

Ultimately this symposium, drawing as it does on the insights of 10 European countries, allows us to explore what we know as European researchers, systematising this knowledge and ultimately facilitating its translation into effective policies and practices that comprehensively address underachievement and ESL (Schmitsek, 2022).

Early School Leaving (ESL) has devastating consequences for all students impacting employment, poverty, health, and political, social, and cultural participation (von Wachter, 2020). This paper reports key takeaways from systematic reviews to the research question: What does research say about the following key social determinants -institutional, socio-economic (SES), cognitive, cultural, linguistic, gender, socio-emotional and well-being and early childhood education and care (ECEC)- and root causes of underachievement in relation to ESL? The Prisma protocol (Paige et al, 2021) was used in the review process to examine relevant literature published from 2003-20023. Undertaken by partners from Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Malta, England, and Finland the review ultimately engaged systematically with 854 articles across the identified 8 social determinants. With regards to individual social determinants, institutional aspects such as grade retention, streaming and dominant mainstream curriculum are all associated with disengagement. Accessible counseling and guidance, and high teacher expectations, on the other hand, reduce underachievement (Oomen & Plant, 2014). Cognitive aspects like intelligence and self-concept play a key role and cultural dissonance relating to differing expectations and language use between home and school contributed to underachievement (Wilkinson, 2014). There is also evidence of higher levels of underachievement and ESL among boys, particularly from lower SES and minority groups. Stereotypical gender roles and associated teacher expectations translate into differences in school engagement and the lack of male teachers is also significant (Bhana, D. et al, 2022) Socio-economic status is the key determinant of underachievement with associated issues of expectation, resources, capacity, and stereotyping (Behtoui, 2017). The key aspects influencing students’ well-being and retention included the totality of students’ relationships as well as school climate, curricula, attitudes, and resources (Greenwood, L. & Kelly, C. (2019). In ECEC, underachievement is mainly linked to a lack of quality in early intervention and expert advice in the early years. The need for targeted support for young children with behavioral health issues was highlighted as was the negative impact of early segregation. The systematic reviews highlighted importantly how social determinants rarely operate in isolation with 4 key integrative themes emerging: • Family involvement is key factor to prevent and reduce underachievement and ESL. • Segregation-based practices undermine achievement and well-being. • School engagement and motivation positively correlate with less underachievement and ESL. • Teachers’ expectations and curriculum design are influential in reducing or aggravating these issues.

Behtoui, A. (2017). Social capital and the educational expectations of young people. European Educational Research Journal, 16(4), 487-503. Bhana, D., Moosa, S., Xu , Y. & Emilsen, K (2022). Men in early childhood education and care: on navigating a gendered terrain, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 30:4, 543 -556, DOI: 10.1080/1350293X.2022.2074070 Greenwood, L. & Kelly, C. (2019). Systematic literature review to explore how staff in schools describe how a sense of belonging is created for their pupils. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. Oomen, A. & Plant, P. (2014). Early school leaving and lifelong guidance. ELGPN concept note, No 6. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä. http://www.elgpn.eu/publications/browse-by-language/english/elgpnconcept-note-no.-6-early-school-leaving-and-lifelong-guidance/ Page, M.J., McKenzie, J.E., Bossuyt, P.M. et al (2021) The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ 372:n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71 - DOI - PubMed - PMC von Wachter, T. (2020). The Persistent Effects of Initial Labor Market Conditions for Young Adults and Their Sources. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 34(4), 168–194. Wilkinson, M. L. N., & Wilkinson, M. (2014). Helping Muslim boys succeed the case for history education. Curriculum Journal, 2 (3), 396–431. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2014.929527

Basic skills (literacy, maths, and science) are widely regarded as foundational to achieving personal fulfilment, employability, and social inclusion (European Commission, n.d.). They can be nurtured through high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) programmes to leverage young children’s educational possibilities and ameliorate some of the challenges facing those identified as being at risk(Shonkoff & Fisher, 2013). However, although quality in ECEC has been widely conceptualised (Ishimine et al. 2010), there is a scarcity of systematic research around the effects of specific features of ECEC programmes on basic skills. This paper aims at identifying and mapping effective ECEC programmes and interventions that foster students’ basic skills to inform educational policy and practice in Europe. A scoping review was carried out between April and July 2023 to map ECEC interventions that foster basic skills (Arksey & O'Malley, 2005). Following the PRISMA statement and the checklist (Higgins & Green, 2011), a total of 533 papers met the inclusion criteria (peer-reviewed publications in English from 2013 to 2023, involving educational interventions of more than 10 participants in school settings, and reflecting quantitative findings on basic skills among primary and secondary students). Only those that reported having a positive effect on basic skills and having employed a longitudinal, quasi-experimental, and/or RCT design, were selected for a subsequent meta- analysis. Four international databases were used for the scoping review: Web of Science, Scopus, Psycinfo, ERIC. Rayyan was used to collate and screen the papers for eligibility. Out of the 91 papers analysed, 3 proved to have a positive impact in Science, 61 in Literacy, 15 in Mathematics and 12 in more than one basic skill. Those interventions having a positive impact in science included play-based strategies and training for teachers to foster science knowledge. Literacy programmes saw the majority of positively correlated interventions. Out of the 61 papers dedicated to any literacy area, those based of dialogic or shared reading, along with programmes to boost or improve technology-mediated reading were particularly prominent. Programmes oriented to parents and teachers were also popular among the retrieved papers (12/61). Interventions that improved maths included number sense, play, storytelling and physical activity. Maths mediated by digital devices was the focus of 4/15 papers, and curriculum-based maths learning was at the core of 3/15 articles. This work aims to contribute to evidence-informed policy and practice by systematically identifying the features of successful ECEC interventions contributing to improve future learning outcomes.

Arksey, H., & O'Malley, L. (2005). Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 19-32. European Commission (n.d.). Why are key competences and basic skills important? https://education.ec.europa.eu/education-levels/school-education/key-competences-and- basic-skills Higgins, J. P., & Green, S. (2011). Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions 5.1.0. The Cochrane Collaboration. https://handbook-5-1.cochrane.org/ Ishimine, K., Tayler, C. & Bennett, J. (2010). Quality and early childhood education and care: A policy initiative for the 21st century. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 4, 67–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/2288-6729-4-2-67 Shonkoff, J.P., & Fisher, P.A. (2013). Rethinking evidence-based practice and two-generation programs to create the future of early childhood policy. Dev Psychopathol, 25(4 Pt 2): 1635- 53. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579413000813

This paper reports on a comparative analysis of Europe wide policy provision designed to meet the EU's Early School Leaving (ESL) reduction target. In 2011 the European Commission (EC) made recommendations to hel countries to tackle ESL which serves as the theoretical framework as well as criteria for this policy analysis. It emphasises the need for comprehensive approaches, focusing on the root causes of ESL and sustaining efforts to reduce it. The policy analysis relied on key data sources including the OECD Library, EC reports, government websites, national and regional research agencies, and agencies involved in providing compensation programmes. The framework outlines three categories of measures: Prevention -targeting the root problems leading to ESL including quality early childhood education, relevant curricula, flexible educational pathways, and strong guidance systems. Intervention -combatting emerging difficulties and supporting at-risk students through personalised guidance, extra-curricular activities, and improved learning environments. Compensation- offering second chance schemes and alternative pathways. The importance of a 'whole school approach' is highlighted, emphasising multi-site stakeholder collaboration. This acknowledges the role played by various services, including social, youth, and outreach services. Utilising the Eurostat ESL data from 2012 - 2021, a comparative analysis of countries categories as follows was undertaken: High Performers - countries with consistent ESL rates below 6% throughout the entire time period. ( Poland, Switzerland, Croatia, and Slovenia) High Improvement - countries that have achieved a reduction of ESL rates by more than 6 % over the same period. (Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, and Ireland) Low Performers - countries with ESL rates continuing to exceed 10% (Italy, United Kingdom, Norway, Bulgaria, Hungary, Cyprus, and Germany). The key findings of the policy analysis indicate that: All countries under examination possess explicit policies or legislation aimed at addressing ESL, encompassing preventive, interventive, and compensatory measures. Preventive and compensatory measures demonstrate stronger policy measures than interventions. The main challenge lies not in the lack of policy or legislation but rather in their implementation. Inadequate interagency collaboration and relatively unsophisticated evaluation of ESL measures were areas of weakness. Specific policies such as quality ECEC, supports for low SES students, and initiatives to enhance access pathways into education and VET are important. These results have helped identify strengths and gaps in ESL policy which should allow policymakers to make informed decisions in developing and implementing effective strategies. By comparing policies and practices, the analysis offers insights into successful approaches facilitating meaningful international benchmarking.

European Commission. (2013). Reducing early school leaving: Key messages and policy support Final Report of the Thematic Working Group on Early School Leaving November 2013. Accessed 21/05/2023 https://education.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/early-school-leaving- group2013-report_en.pdf European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice/Cedefop (2014). Tackling Early Leaving from Education and Training in Europe: Strategies, Policies and Measures. Eurydice and Cedefop Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2797/33979 Donlevy, V., Day, L., Andriescu, M., & Downes, P. (2019). Assessment of the implementation of the 2011 council recommendation on policies to reduce early school leaving. European Commission. European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop). (2017). Leaving education early: putting vocational education and training in centre stage: Ireland. European Commission. (2015). Education & Training 2020. Schools Policy. A Whole School Approach to Tackling Early School Leaving. European Commission (2022a). Proposal for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION - Pathways to School Success. https://eur- lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:3605c49b-f881-11ec-b94a- 01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF Eurostat. (2023a). Early Leavers from Education and Training. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php?title=Early_leavers_from_education_and_training#Early_leavers_from_ education_and_training_.E2.80.93_today_and_a_historical_comparison. Accessed 15/06/ 2023 European Commission (2023b) European Education Area: Quality education and training for all. Early SchoolLeaving. https://education.ec.europa.eu/education-levels/school- education/early-school-leaving OECD (2017). Starting Strong IV Early Childhood Education and Care - Data Country Note: Ireland. OECD Publishing. Accessed 19/07/2023 https://www.oecd.org/education/school/ECECDCN- Ireland.pdf

Networks hold a meeting during ECER. All interested are welcome.

International research on student dropout describes its complex nature. In the past, researchers have focused on identifying key characteristics of students who drop out, such as various social, contextual and psychiatric risk factors (Abebe et al., 2015; Ingul et al., 2012). Moreover, researchers have pointed to clear connections between a high degree of truancy and absenteeism among students in primary and lower secondary school and drop out in upper secondary school (Bakken, 2018; Gottfried, 2014). The dropout rate is typically higher among boys compared to girls, among students with minority backgrounds compared to students who belong to the majority culture in a school, and among students with disability compared to those without a disability (Doll et al., 2013) When students drop out of secondary education, there are substantial social and economic consequences that can persist throughout their lives. They are more likely to be unemployed, to become teenage parents, to become involved in the criminal justice system, and to suffer a lifetime of low wages (Ressa & Andrews, 2022). Moreover, school dropouts affect high-income as well as low-income countries (Levin & Belfield, 2007).

The papers in this symposium address research on educational practices in Norway, Spain and Latin-America that aim to provide equitable education by accommodating students’ needs, and thereby prevent dropout and retain students in the school system. Critical questions and comments from the discussant will facilitate discussions on research and practice across the involved countries which will have relevance for a wider audience. The first paper will provide an overview of the existing international research in this area that serves as a basis for the empirical contributions of symposium which explore how school actors (teachers, school leaders) enact policies and engage in collaborations with a range of stakeholders and public services to accommodate the needs of heterogenous student populations. Internationally, researchers describe dropout among students as a complex problem. Therefore, the symposium addresses multi-actor collaboration across levels, institutional boundaries and professions. The work of these actors falls within different regulations, legal statutes, knowledge bases and resources, administrative logics, and traditions. Such collaborative work can potentially address and solve complex problems in specific contexts, but it may also create tensions that require coordination. The papers describe different educational contexts in which the challenges of providing equitable education to heterogeneous student populations are addressed in different ways, reflecting different understandings of inclusion and equity.

In this paper we present findings from an analysis of existing research on strategies to prevent dropout and retain students in secondary education. More knowledge about key characteristics of studies in this field is important because research plays an important role both in the formulation of problems and solutions - both for policy, practice and further research. Our starting point is that "dropout" can be characterised as a policy concept that has gradually become a key element in the governance of secondary education. For this study, we do not take a specific perspective on dropout as our starting point. Instead, we use analytical perspectives on knowledge production (Gunter & Ribbins, 2003) to shed light on the relationship between research, policy, and practice. By categorising the research literature as conceptual, descriptive, humanistic, critical, evaluative or instrumental, we concentrate on both features of the concept and phenomenon under investigation, as well as the research methods and theoretical perspectives used to study the phenomenon. The typologies have been developed to analyse the production of knowledge related to complex phenomena and thus also consider the context in which the knowledge is produced. The articles that make up the data material in the article have been identified through searches inspired by systematic methods in international databases. The aim of the research review is not to provide an exhaustive overview of the research field, but to identify, present and analyse the main features of the field in terms of the disciplines involved, research design and findings (Prøitz, 2023). The research overview can best be described as a 'critical review' (Grant & Booth, 2009), since it aims to shed light on what is being studied, by whom, with which methods and perspectives, as well as the context of the studies. Findings show that research on dropout has mainly concentrated on what characterises students who drop out and the reasons why they do not complete upper secondary education, but that over time there have been contributions from several academic disciplines and with other methods that together contribute to increased knowledge about the complexity of the concept and the phenomenon. Moreover, the perspectives on knowledge production give us a picture of what kind of research dominates and what we may need more of, as well as what the context in which the studies were produced may mean for how we understand the phenomenon.

Grant, M.J. & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26, 91-108 Gunter, H. & Ribbins, P. (2003). The Field of Educational Leadership: Studying Maps and Mapping Studies. British Journal of Educational Studies, 51, 254-281 Prøitz, T.S. (2023). Forskningsoversikter i utdanningsvitenskap. Fagbokforlaget.

Education is seen as a key to providing pupils with a basis to participate in society, and to ensure jobs. Young people, who do not complete their educations, will have difficulties entering the labour market (Arntzen and Grøgaard, 2012; Bäckman et al, 2015). Over the last 25 years, a range of national policies have been introduced to prevent dropout in upper secondary education. Previous research has shown key characteristics of the students who drop out and several studies have focused on the implementation of national policies. The purpose of the paper is to provide insights into the institutional work at school level to retain students in upper secondary schools. The paper addresses what characterizes the schools and the institutional and strategic work of the actors. The data are collected from six schools which are selected because of low degree of dropouts, which provide an opportunity to pay attention to promising practices. The theory of strategic work constitutes the analytical framework which allows us to delve into the balancing processes of recursiveness and adaptation with a strategy-as-practice approach. Building on Whittington (2006) enables us to explore strategic work from a micro-perspective based on interviews with school leaders and teachers about day-to-day activities, with attention to processes of institutionalized ways of doing things and adaptations that fit the local needs. The analysis explores strategy as situated accomplished activities, what people do rather than what organizations have (Whittington, 2006). Institutional work allows us to investigate actors` purposive actions through creating, maintaining and disrupting institutions (Lawrence & Suddaby, 2006 p. 215). The data have been subject to content analysis. Findings reveal that the schools seem to have an extensive space of maneuver. They have created their own organizational designs for how to retain the students which are complex and involves many actors who collaborate within and across several arenas. The analyses show efforts are made to prevent that the organizations are loosely coupled which is perceived to be a threat to dropout. The principals seem to be central agents in the construction of the designs and involvement of several actors with different professions who contribute to the tasks and responsibilities to strengthening the focus on retaining students. The analyses also reveal processes of recursiveness where the schools keep structures and practices that works, but also processes of adaptations where here-and now praxis and the recurring practices are critically examined and developed.

Coburn, C. E. (2004). Beyond decoupling: Rethinking the relationship between the institutional environment and the classroom. Sociology of Education, 77(3), 211–244. doi:10.1177/003804070407700302 Leithwood, K. & Seashore-Louis, K. (2012). Linking Leadership to Student Learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Lawrence, T. B., & Suddaby, R. (2006). Institutions and Institutional Work. In S. R. Clegg, C. Hardy, T. B. Lawrence, & W. R. Nord (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Organization Studies. Sage. Røvik, K. A. (2016). Knowledge Transfer as Translation: Review and Elements of an InstrumentalTheory. International Journal of Management Reviews, 18, 290-310. https://doi.org/DOI: 10.1111/ijmr.12097 Whittington, R. (2006). Completing the practice turn in strategy research. Organization Studies, 27(5), 613–634. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840606064101

This paper focuses on strategies deployed by a secondary school located in a very disadvantaged context to prevent absenteeism and early dropout of students. Diamantino School offers compulsory lower secondary education and is one of four secondary schools officially classified as ‘low-performing’ in Seville. Although about a quarter of the students requires special educational support, the school achieves better rates of promotion and graduation than the schools with similar socioeconomic and cultural index (SECI). Ainscow’s (2005) conceptualization of inclusion is applied as an analytical framework for the data analysis in the sense of a never-ending process of analysis of what works and what does not; the use of evidence of various forms to identify and remove barriers and then create or adapt new methodologies and organisational arrangements, focusing on ‘the presence, participation and achievement of all students’; and putting the emphasis on ‘those groups of learners who may be at risk of marginalisation, exclusion or underachievement’. The study has a qualitative case study design and the analysis draws on various data sources such as semi-structured interviews, key documents, and survey data that are triangulated to provide a rich account on school leaders’ and teachers’ perceptions and practices of inclusion. Findings show that the school implements a long list of strategies to promote inclusion of special-needs students, including: a reinforcement programme for core subjects in 4th grade; flexible groupings for the teaching of English; group split and double –even triple—teaching; support activities arranged with a long list of external collaborating entities; their own curricular adaptations in a large number of lessons; etc. Moreover, an important strategy to prevent absenteeism and dropout is the flexible grouping of students: students can change groups even within the same academic year, and the groups are not the same for all subjects. In addition, a group is split when there is a support teacher, or the group is maintained with two or even three teachers in the class. This job of periodically rearranging the groups is very demanding for the leadership team. For this purpose, the team analyses the learning trajectory of each pupil using multiple criteria and often interviews the family. In conclusion, this case study illustrates how a school has developed strategies to accommodate individual students’ needs in collective group settings.

Ainscow, M. (2005). Developing inclusive education systems: What are the levers for change? Journal of Educational Change, 6, 109-124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10833-005-1298-4.

The paper presents the results from a two-phase study about the diversification of secondary education and the segmentation of education in Latin America. The focus of the study, carried out with the support of ECLAC during 2019 and 2021, were the dynamics of education’s segmentation in extended compulsory schooling settings. By analyzing the expansion of secondary education, this paper outlines historic and contemporary mechanisms that the State has used to extend compulsory schooling, albeit in ways that are segmented and which produce differential effects in terms of the schooling experience of adolescents and young people in the region. In its first phase, the study integrated an analysis of quantitative indicators in thirteen of the region’s countries with an analysis of the structures and institutional models of secondary school in six countries: Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico and Uruguay. The second phase examined the schooling experience of adolescents and young people in diversified structures. General and focus group interviews were conducted among a purposive sample of adolescents and young people regarding their access, trajectory and eventual (temporary or permanent) dropout. Overall, the study’s methodology combined a quantitative analysis of the main educational indicators of secondary education’s evolution in the region with a qualitative analysis of interviews to public officials and researchers (four per country) and to students (a purposive sample of 452 adolescents; 70-100 per country). By comparing the information, a matrix was developed to represent the forms of diversification of secondary education and its relation to educational segmentation. Classical categories were used for the analysis, such as educational segmentation (Ringer, 1979) to characterize the dual dynamic of inclusion and progressiveness (Author, 2017) in combination with more recent developments that allow for the analysis of the segmentation dynamics in the context of the extension of mandatory schooling. These developments include the notions of diversification and differentiation (Ojalehto et al., 2017). The main results indicate a particular form of compulsory secondary education expansion in the region under an extension-diversification pairing. This form of expansion creates at least three tensions: 1) between the laws and regulations intended to guarantee this extension and the actual outcomes for the educational trajectories, 2) between recent government efforts to sustain this extension and the persistence and/or creation of new educational segmentation mechanisms, and 3) between the perceived value of secondary education certification in social life and the relevance of the educational experience.

Acosta, F. (2017). Secondary Education Policies in Europe and Latin America: A Historical Comparative Analysis. In F. Acosta & S. Nogueira (eds), Educational Systems Towards 21st Century (pp. 21–44). Sense Publishers. Ojalehto, L., Kalalahti, M., Varjo, J & Kosunen, S. (2017). Differentiation and Diversification in Compulsory Education: A Conceptual Analysis. In K. Kantasalmi & G. Holm (eds), The State, Schooling, and Identity. Diversifying Education in Europe (pp. 125–148). Palgrave Macmillan. Ringer, F. (1979). Education and Society in Modern Europe. Indiana University Press. Ringer, F. (1990). On Segmentation in Modern European Education Systems: The Case of French Secondary Education 1865–1920. In D. Muller, F. Ringer & B. Simon (eds), The Rise of the Modern Educational System: Structural Change and Social Reproduction 1870–1920, (pp. 53–87). Cambridge University Press.

Educational achievement is considered central to economic development and social inclusion, which makes measuring and analysing learning outcomes central to education policy and research in Europe and beyond. Against the dominating views of learning outcomes as a phenomenon that can be made easily visible and objectively measured, the starting point of this study is that learning outcomes are constructed through complex processes influenced by manifold intersecting factors and actors. Thus, this study approaches learning outcomes as a dynamic, context-sensitive, and interactional phenomenon, which take various shapes, forms, and meanings for different people.

The objective of this study is to analyse and compare how young people perceive, cope with and relate learning outcomes to their life courses and biographies in the context of differing opportunity structures in Finland and Bulgaria. The study analyses the subjective meanings young people give to learning outcomes as part of their life projects in their particular contexts (c.f., Kovacheva & Rambla, 2022). The focus is on young adults who live in socio-demographically declining regions, who are or have previously been in vulnerable or multi-disadvantaged life situations, and who have faced disruptions on their educational pathways.

In this study, young people are addressed as experts of their own life courses and biographies. Theoretically the study draws from life course research and theorizations of opportunity structures (Roberts, 2009) together with the perspective of spatial justice (Soja, 2013). Life course research places young people’s life courses at the centre of the examination and considers how individual lives are embedded in institutional and socio-historical frames (Heinz et al., 2009). As part of individual life courses, also learning outcomes are constructed in the particular socio-historical contexts and socioeconomic conditions that form the structures of opportunities (Cefalo et al., 2020; Cefalo et al., 2024; Scandurra et al., 2020). Individuals are not seen as being imbued by social forces, order, and institutions, but also as active agents who respond and act to change them (e.g., Mortimer & Shanahan, 2003). That is, individuals exercise their agency within the limits of opportunity structures (Roberts, 2009). In other words, life courses of young people are constructed in a reciprocal and dynamic interaction of political, social, economic, cultural, and spatial conditions, welfare state regulations and provisions, and biographical decisions and strategies. In this frame, agency is understood as an intentional action within a given context, which is influenced but not determined by societal structures and socioeconomic conditions (Evans, 2007).

The viewpoint of spatial justice emphasises both the significance of space as an active force shaping human life, and the intersection of space and power in the distribution of socially valued resources and opportunities to use them (Soja, 2013; Williams, 2013). The spatial justice perspective is crucial when conducting in-depth comparative analyses in differing spatial contexts. In the field of education, spatial justice may be referred to the uneven distribution of resources and learning opportunities among regions, cities, neighbourhoods, and schools, along different divides and related to different factors. Spatial justice also helps to conceptualise learning outcomes as spatially conditioned phenomena. Furthermore, the spatial justice approach draws attention to the interaction of space and power and enables studying the spatial distribution of resources and opportunities of young people and their impact on the quality of learning outcomes. The spatial justice approach also re-interprets the analytical perspective on the agency of young people and their ability to shape their learning environments and navigate their life courses. Regarding young people in vulnerable and multi-disadvantaged positions, it helps to view them in light of the spatialised forms of exclusion and discrimination, which open or close their possibilities and opportunity structures.

Optimizing the developmental opportunities for all pupils is a major social concern. More collaboration between educational and youth care professionals in schools, as a preventive approach to prevent more serious problems, is recommended. This is important because of the difficulties teachers experience in handling students’ difficult behavior. In the Netherlands many students make use of youth aid and/or attend special education schools, due to their behavioral problems. However, interprofessional collaboration is difficult to realize. A systemic change, called ‘Passend onderwijs’ (a change towards inclusive education) was introduced in 2014 in the Netherlands, and evaluated in 2020. The evaluation shows that collaboration between education and youth services can create alignment issues (Ledoux & Waslander, 2020). It requires professionals to step beyond the boundaries of their own profession, and to implement daily educational practices, based on shared responsibility and shared expertise (Van Swet, 2017). Collaboration is "working with others to do things that you cannot do by yourself" (Sennett, 2012).

Although teachers generally feel competent in dealing with problematic student behavior, dealing with externalizing behavior evokes feelings of inadequacy (De Boer, 2020). Youth care professionals are insufficiently involved in questions regarding preventing problem behavior, encouraging positive behavior, and promoting well-being in the classroom. Research shows that working together on prevention strategies contributes to student well-being (Splett et al., 2020). In our study we developed several prevention strategies as tools for schools to make youth services accessible to all students. Providing a safe school environment and promoting wellbeing is important for all students to prevent behavioral problems (Lester & Cross, 2015).

In this research project it is examined how to support students’ social emotional learning by providing an integrated preventive approach which was developed by both teachers and youth workers, and implemented in the classroom. Teachers and youth workers collaborated in the classroom, they actually worked together. The participating schools in this project are special education schools, regular primary and secondary schools, with their respective youth care partners. This gives us three school types: Special education (SP), regular primary education (PE), and regular secondary education (SE). We present the findings of our questionnaire study among students and teachers (see Table 1) who filled in a questionnaire at the beginning of the project (2019), and after two years of implementation (2021).

The research questions are:

1) What is the contribution of the intervention to students' social-emotional learning?

2) In what ways and to what extent is the cooperation between education and youth welfare services strengthened during the project?

3) What competencies do teachers develop through the collaboration with youth care providers?

The findings suggest that the interventions in each school practice foster students’ social emotional learning and lead to an increased sense of wellbeing. Also, teachers learn to better manage complex behavioral situations in the classroom by collaborating with youth care professionals. Finally, the teachers and youth care workers work better together, due to an increased interdependency and flexibility. They need each other to achieve goals, and they learn to explore the boundaries of their own profession.

School drop-out is a multifaceted phenomenon, concerning in Italy all those underage students who, at different school stages (up to the age of 16) or training (up to the age of 18), manifest difficulties of different kinds, from dropping out of compulsory education without obtaining a qualification to repeated interruptions up to repetition rates and absenteeism. From the 1980s to the 2000s and beyond there is a progressive attenuation of the socio-economic model towards a multifactorial reading; but there are still few studies that directly question school components. The European Commission noted the importance of learning on this phenomenon through approaches capable to integrate large-scale quantitative surveys with qualitative analyses. Currently there is a gap in qualitative data, especially in research that seeks to explore the effectiveness of interventions to contrast school drop-out.

So, the research within which this contribution is embedded aims to study the effectiveness of some interventions designed to contrast school drop-out, which are still little studied in Italy. A privileged point of observation and field of intervention are those schools which propose alternative models of teaching and learning to the traditional school system, such as the popular and second-chance schools, which are a bulwark against drop-out. There is little scientific literature on second-chance in Italy and almost none on alternative education (with the exception of “method” schools, to which in Italy the concept of “alternative” is linked). The larger project aims to fill the gap starting to survey alternative education interventions and exploring some models of popular and second-chance experiences, in an inter-institutional perspective and connection between school and territory.

So, the first research question is: How widespread is alternative education in Lombardy? The larger project also asks: What are the main characteristics of these schools and interventions? What is their effectiveness in terms of well-being and school results?

This contribution presents the results of the first step of the research project, dedicated to mapping: a questionnaire will be distributed to all schools and some social realities in Lombardy – and selected schools in Italy – to map the presence of alternative schools/interventions in the region. This emerges as a very delicate phase in achieving the final output of the project, which is to set up a recognisable network of the schools and social realities dealing with alternative education in Lombardy, also with the collaboration of stakeholders and policymakers. This work will allow new experiences to be added to the roster of those already known: the second-chance schools “Sicomoro I Care” of the Foundation “Sicomoro per l’Istruzione” in Milan and Lodi; the alternative school “Scuola Bottega” in Milan; and the popular school of the Social Enterprise “Il Carro” in Monza. This phase will open to a two-phase exploratory design (mixed methods methodology) and to a professional development action-research addressed to teachers and educators working in alternative education.

In the panel discussion, we focus on how temporal and spatial structures affect the life courses of young people, especially those in vulnerable and multi-disadvantaged positions, and their learning performances. Young people’s life courses unfold in various local/regional opportunity structures, which “frame the configuration of possibilities and constraints for thought and action” (Benasso et al., 2022, p. 28) and expand or hinder the access to and accessibility of education (Parreira do Amaral et al., 2015). Our aim is to open the debate on how time and space as selected aspects of these opportunity structures interfere with the life courses of young people and, in particular, with the processes of their subjectivation. To proceed with the idea and the organisation of the panel discussion, we first briefly conceptualise our core concepts.

With regard to time, we depart from the observation that temporality, i.e., the sequence of life events, can be experienced differently by different groups of young people, e.g., as continuous, linear, but also as disruptive or fragmented reality (Hörschelmann, 2011). More specifically, time is inscribed and materialised in histories of (political, cultural, architectural, etc.) transformations that exercise impact over self-perception and identity of the subjects (Graves & Teulié, 2017) and their ability to imagine future. In reference to Doreen Massey, we conceptualise space as an interactive, heterogeneous, and open-ended construct of social and physical worlds, which can be modified, re-defined, contested and re-arranged in multiple, even, yet unknown ways (Massey, 2005). Finally, with the term subjectivation we refer to Michel Foucault (Foucault, 1988) and, in particular, to the notion of subjectivation as a form of self-conduct initiated and performed by the subjects themselves, rather than imposed on them by discursive structures (Bettinger, 2022).

By looking at the interplay of spatial/temporal structures and the processes of subjectivation, we seek to explore how young people’s life courses and subjective biographies unfold within and across European regions. We are well aware that the dialogue between Life Course Research (LCR) and Subjectivation Analysis (SA) has its epistemic limits and pitfalls. For example, while LCR stresses the time-dependent linkage between social structure, institutions, and individual action (Heinz et al., 2009), the process of subjectivation is conceptualised as a discursive effect of unavoidable and constant attempts to define individual self-conduct (Peter et al., 2018), with no specific temporal horizon. Similar differences can be identified in relation to space. Nevertheless, we seek to enable the dialogue between these two research domains specifically in order to account for the less known aspects of young people’s life courses.

To this end, in the panel we will present and compare findings from three European countries (Finland, Germany and Italy) using the data consisting of narrative biographical interviews with young people aged 18–29 years. The data were collected within an ongoing European research project Constructing Learning Outcomes in Europe: a multi-level analysis of (under)achievement in the life course (CLEAR) (2022-2025), which explores the factors that affect the quality of learning outcomes across European regions. In accordance with the conference’s theme, our panel contributes to the debates on how young people navigate their life courses through time (and space), especially during crises and modes of uncertainty. More pointedly, we aim to discuss how young Europeans, especially those facing multiple disadvantages, utilise their existing opportunities, how they perceive their learning performances, obtained skills and competencies, but also their ability to imagine their future(s).