The Agency has published three project outputs which are the result of the activities of the Preventing School Failure (PSF) project, which has recently come to an end. This article provides an overview of the project’s outputs and key messages.
The PSF project examined the evidence to suggest that inclusive education policies have the potential to prevent school failure at both system and individual levels. The project reviewed and analysed European and international research and policy literature. A survey collected information from 14 Agency member countries, in an effort to identify and examine existing national policy measures for preventing school failure.
Overall, the PSF project provided evidence to suggest that:
- High-quality inclusive education systems can be organised to effectively meet diverse learner needs and to prevent school failure.
- Instead of compensating for poor academic outcomes, an inclusive system should build school capacity and raise the achievement of all learners. To reach this goal, national policies, measures and strategies need to adopt a systemic, whole school approach. At the same time, they must be learner-centred, focusing on at risk individuals.
The project suggests a comprehensive policy framework for preventing school failure. This includes several inclusive policy actions that can help countries make progress towards preventing school failure.
The project activities resulted in three inter-connected project outputs aimed at national, regional and local policy-makers for inclusive education:
- The Literature Review gives an overview of European and international research on the prevention of school failure in relation to inclusive education. Its findings informed and complemented the second strand of the project and the development of the project synthesis report.
- The Project Synthesis Report presents the overarching project findings. It includes information on the international and European policy context, the literature review findings and the outcomes of the country information analysis. The report gives an overview of the issue of school failure by analysing key policies and measures promoted by the 14 participating Agency member countries. Finally, it highlights the features of inclusive policy frameworks that enable progress towards preventing school failure.
- The Final Summary Report summarises the main project conclusions.
For more information, visit the PSF project web area which includes details of the project.