REtention in SeCondary EdUcation: a European Network

Groningen, 5th - 11th October 2008

EXPERIMENTAL WORK CARRIED OUT AT ‘PALLADIO’ SCHOOL TO PREVENT THE PROBLEM OF DROPPING OUT

Since school year 2002/2003 up to now:

CIC – A space for listening ill-at-ease students and families ‘HELP’ remedial work in afternoon sessions Courses of Italian as a second language for foreign students

School year 2005/2006:

‘Studying method’ workshops

School year 2006/2007:

‘Tutored studying’ workshops First school project to promote retention

School year 2007/2008:

• Follow-up project towards retention

• School Project ‘Squadra che emoziona mi cambia / An exciting team favouring my personal change’

• ‘Skills for adolescence’- Training course for teachers by Lions Clubs International

CIC (Information and Consulting Centre) A space for listening ill-at-ease students and

families

Coordinator(s) Brunello Francesca, teacher of Religious Education at Palladio, with the help of other teachers (Mr. Caverzan U., RE teacher, La Rosa G. Maths, Mungiardi R. English)Dr. Luparelli, psychologist

Addressees All the students of Palladio, on advice of teachers or parents or on their own request

Objectives • To prevent young uneasiness• To prevent drug/alchool - addiction• To promote health education

Lenghth of the activity

The whole school year

Type of activity Individual talks , occasionally class meetings

Evaluation Positive. It has been a useful strategy not only to support and involve students and families but also to make them aware of the educational problems of teenagers

‘HELP’ remedial work in afternoon sessions

Coordinator(s) Cesaroni L., teacher of Italian at Palladio

Addressees All the students of Palladio with difficulties in one or more school subjects

Objectives • to help the students to study more efficiently, • to prepare task assignements or class tests, • to do some revision, • to improve their skills

Lenghth of the activity Two periods: the first from october to december, the second from february to may

Type of activity Individual or group afternoon lessons, taught by the teachers of Palladio

Evaluation and weak points

Positive but the students tend to face their learning problems at the ‘eleventh hour’, when it’s too late (for instance the afternoon before an important classtest); it is very difficult to make them understand how important is to plan their activities

Courses of Italian as a second language for foreign students

Coordinator(s) Since 2006, Roberta Salerno, teacher of English and Italian as a second language at Palladio

Addressees All the foreign students enrolled at Palladio who need to learn or improve their Italian language

Objectives • To teach the Italian language to the students just arrived in Italy • To help the foreign students, who already have the communication

language in Italian, to learn and use the relevant study language which allows them to face the specific, technical subjects

Lenghth of the activity

Two periods: the first from october to december, the second from february to may

Type of activity Individual or group afternoon lessons (at elementary or intermediate level), taught by specialized teachers, usually of Italian or Foreign Languages, of Palladio

Evaluation Positive and the first indispensable step to give the foreign students a chance of integration

‘Studying method ’ and ‘Tutored studying’ workshops

(2005/06 – 2006/07)

Coordinator(s) De Paoli Valeria and Cremonese Carla, teachers of Italian at Palladio

AddresseesStudents attending the 1st and the 2nd year,showing difficulties in their studying method and getting negative marks in many school subjects(a total of 139 students took part in this activitiy)

Objectives • To help –and often teach- the students how to study autonomously and efficiently in order to overcome their difficulties

Lenghth of the activity From october to april

Type of activity Workshops for small groups (max. 10 students) the students do their homework the teachers/tutors monitor their activity and support them

Subjects involved Italian/HistoryMaths and scientific subjectsEnglish

Timetable Afternoon, twice a week, 2:00/4:00 pm

Evaluation Through a questionnaire answered by students and parents – POSITIVE

Problems Funds to pay the teachersLack of human resources at PalladioRecruitment of external teachers In the school year 2006/07, families paid a small amount of money to support the school expenses

First school project to promote retention

PROGRAMME OF INTERVIEWS WITH STUDENTS AND PARENTSa.s. 2004-2005 , 2005-2006, 2006-2007

COORDINATOR CRISTINA FERRARESI (teacher of architectural design and guidance counsellor)

TARGET GROUPS Parents; students of the biennium and of the triennium (first two years at school and the following three years) that had school discomfort, low motivation and/or low self-esteem..

PERIOD OF ACTIVITY

The whole school year, but especially soon after the first term assessment, in the course of the second term and after the final school achievement.

TYPE OF ACTIVITY 1-Booking of the interviews to be carried out preferably in the afternoon or on Saturday morning favouring the parents’ participation. 2- Analysis of the state -of- the art and of the preceding situation.3-Check of the motivation with support of the interview questionnaire form.4- Determination of partial goals reachable in the brief period. 5- Planning and monitoring of school/ family meetings once a month or fortnightly depending on the urgency of the situation.6 –Evaluation of the activities carried out comparing the initial situation.

Second school project to promote retention (2006/07)

Coordinator(s) Iola De Monte, teacher of English at Palladio with the support of a team consisting of three more teachers of Palladio (Carlo Carra, teacher of Physical Education, Danila Canzian, teacher of Italian, Patrizia Menegaldo, teacher of Maths) and the Principal

Addressees • all the students attending the Palladio showing difficulties in their studying method and getting negative

marks in many school subjects• their families• all the teachers of Palladio

Objectives • To help the students to overcome their difficulties• To know and analyze the students’ needs • To support the teachers of the classes involved• To work on the same wavelenghth with the CIC (Information and

Consulting Centre) of our school

Lenghth of the activity

The whole school year

Type of activity

• collecting data about the number of students with difficulties and negative marks;

• arranging regular meetings with the students involved and their parents;

• submitting of a questionnaire and analyzing the data from a statistic survey;

• organizing and taking part into meetings, conferences, training courses with experts in the field of retention and prevention of dropping outs

• carrying out specific activities aiming at supporting the students• collecting information and materials to inform the teachers

Problems Difficulties in the relationship and exchange of information between the project coordinator and the school teachers/class coordinatorsDifficulties to contact the parents due to the lack of an updated data base with mobile numbers and/or e-mail addresses

Evaluation It was the first step towards an experimental work which started giving the first results; positive expecially as regards the role of parents, for the first time involved in a joint relationship with teachers and students

Follow-up project towards retention (2007/2008)

Coordinator(s) Micaela Baruffi, teacher of Maths at Palladio,

Addressees All the students attending the biennio, that is the first two years of Palladio all the teachers of Palladio

Objectives To know and analyze the students’ studying habitsTo support the teachers of the classes involved

Lenghth of the activity

December/April

Type of activity • Collecting data, through a questionnaire answered by the students, about their studying habits (how many hours per day, per subject /which place: at home, at school /with whom: on their own, with a classmate, with the help of a teacher/ how often they attend the afternoon ‘help’ sessions etc.)

• Analysis of the data• Planning of the meetings of Dr. Andrea Sales (one of the two psychologists

working in our school) and the classes involved

Problems Difficulties in having many questionnaires back from the students who lost or forgot them

School Project ‘Squadra che emoziona mi cambia / An exciting team favouring my personal change’

(2007/2008)

Coordinator(s) Dr. Andrea Sales, psychologist, and his team of the Paradoxa Training Centre for the Person

Addressees Six classes of biennio, that is first and second year (aged 14-15), chosen among the ones with bigger problems of attention, motivation, socialization etc.

Main goal: to foster and develop the ability of knowing their emotions and give them a name

Objectives 1st year classes:• To explore and know the group dynamics responsible of

stereotyping the character of every classmate and teacher; • To dismantle the trend to judge everyboby according to

stereotypes; • To make the students aware of the existence of their roles;• To break up the idea that reality can’t be changed;• To scratch the students’ mental scheme according to which the

character is outside our control and cannot be modified.

2nd year classes• To define and develop the concept of choice and addiction in

everyday life;• To make the students aware of the difference between needs

and desires;• To make the students accept the idea that addictions cannot be

avoided but we can learn how to choose and manage them.

Lenghth of the activity

The whole school year

Type of activity

• Regular weekly meetings inside the classrooms, at the presence of dr. Sales, all other staff excluded

• Role-plays• Brainstorming • Group discussions• Meetings with students, parents, teachers, psychologists

Problems A typical nihilist attitude is a constant feature in teenagers; they frequently tend to give up and resign themselves, convinced that reality cannot be changed so they live passively their everyday events. It is not very easy to combat this attitude.

Evaluation Positive.In some classes the relationship among the students and between teachers and students has improved; a lot of students are still in touch with the psycologists of Paradoxa and contact them by mobile, e-mails, msn, asking for advice, suggestions or simply listening.

The experimental work is in progress so it is still too early to evaluate the impact (positive or not?) on their activities and school results. At the moment we don’t have figures showing how and how much these experimental activities are useful to help the students to overcome their difficulties and obtain better school performances.

‘Skills for adolescence’- Training course for teachers

Coordinator(s) Dr. Pratissoli Giacomo, sponsored by Lions Clubs International

Addressees all the teachers of Palladio and other secondary schools in Treviso24 teachers, from five different secondary schools, attended the course

Objectives • To make the teachers aware of an increasing uneasiness of teenagers facing the educational system

• To reflect upon the educational action and practice• To find new communicative approaches• To improve class atmosphere

Lenghth of the activity

27/28/29 september 2007 ( 26 hours)

Type of activity A theoretical part followed by a workshop where the teachers, working in groups, experimented practical, creative activities

Evaluation positive

Some worrying figures regarding ISIS ‘A. Palladio’At the end of school year 2007/2008:

• 23,68% of students in their first year failed• 38,60% of students had one or more ‘debiti/debts’ (in september they have to make extra tests to recover the failure)

• 21,95% of students in their second year failed• 40,65% of students had one or more ‘debiti/debts’

• 16,67% of students in their third year failed• 45,10% of students had one or more ‘debiti/debts’

• 10,13% of students in their forth year failed• 53,16% of students had one or more ‘debiti/debts’

• 10,00% of students in their final year failed

…but it would be out of place to imagine that all the students grouped in a classroom may benefit from psycho-pedagogical experimental work in one school year.In perspective we may have a vision that the results could start to appear on a long term of educational intervention.

By Roberta Salerno