Vocational training for students with a drop out risk: An alternative educational approach

Abstract

A dropout discourse has emerged; highlighting the economic risk that leaving secondary school before graduation poses to those who drop out and to society as a whole. Many initiatives aim to reduce the dropout rate. One such project, “The Third Way”, was established in 2012 with the aim of reducing dropouts in one secondary school among students on a vocational track - particularly in the programs Restaurant and food-processing and Health care, childhood and youth development. We have followed this project for two years through classroom observation and interviews with teachers and school management. "The Third Way" works at the interfaces of students, teachers, schools, and in cooperation with workplaces connected to the students’ vocational training in practical studies. Based on our analyses we see that flexibility among all actors in alternative vocational education, both in school and workplace practice, is crucial for the reduction of dropout rates. By adapting the curriculum within these alternative structures, we see that at-risk students have an increased likelihood of finishing their secondary education.