DISSERTACAO ABANDONO ESCOLAR MARIA - 2 (1).pdf

ABSTRACT
The recommendation of the European Union, from January 2011, to the European states
for them to adopt political prevention of school dropout, has been decreasing. Yet, in
some countries such as Portugal and Malta, they present very high values, which are our
starting point in this project.
The latest governors have been promoting drop out awareness national programs but,
according to Grilo (2010), these programs should have been elaborated towards the
local and in demand of the evolving community. As stated by the available statistics,
students have been staying longer at school during labour hour because of the class
offer, which suit them individually.
The drop out and the skipping classes became priority number one to the educational
system.
This study will characterise the dimension of the dropouts and missing classes in Ponta
Delgada County, in between 2010 and 2011. The early drop out rate, which, in turn,
while also decreasing, is still well above the European rate.
The explanation for those high dropouts rates does not only remain within the
educational system. Adolescents and young adults hardly stay longer at school because
society does not grant the appropriate importance to broad and inclusive education.
Regarding this aspect, some sectors of Portuguese society have received the recent
extension of compulsory schooling to 12 years with little enthusiasm, which is
suggestive. But this does not relieve to education system to develop, within it, efforts to
reduce school dropout, acting preventively starting from early years of schooling.
In this research we seek to determine whether or not exists a link between school
dropouts and economic status of their families. The relevant question is if school
dropout is directly related to families with very low social, cultural an economic
resources.
Keywords: School dropout, failure, family, economic resources, poverty, skipping
classes, school.
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